SENCO up-date meeting October 2013 INSET Development Team
2 Outline of the session Up-date on the Essex SEND strategy Education Essex – SENCO Bulletin 2013 Teachers’ Standards 2013 School Inspection Handbook Ofsted compliant provision review and analysing SEN data New courses Draft Code of Practice consultation Oct-Dec
Strategy for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
4 Why the strategy was developed To address the poor outcomes being achieved by many children and young people belonging to what is a sizeable vulnerable group (35,455 children and young people in Essex representing 17% of the schools population). To meet changing legislative requirements – Children and Families Bill
5 How the strategy was developed Feedback Extensive from Consultation Activity Engagement and Involvement of Subject Matter Experts Researching Best Practice (e.g. SEND Pathfinders) An online consultation receiving 1,000 responses. A discussion workbook with 59 young people with SEN/D A number of audience specific events (e.g. NHS staff, Governor Advisory Group etc. Four SEND engagement events with a broad range of partners and stakeholders.
6 The strategy’s vision To ensure that all Children and Young People with SEND have a full range of support and opportunities available to them and are provided with opportunities to maximise their life chances, goals and aspirations.
7 The strategy’s principles Easily accessible and available information is shared effectively between organisations Services are delivered through partnership working and joint commissioning where appropriate A strong and coordinated approach to early intervention and support exists Most SEND needs are met in mainstream settings - with special school support
8 Parents, families and carers are viewed as experts regarding their child’s needs and are involved with young people themselves in decision making Inclusion and participation in family, school and community life Equality of access to a range of services with Increased choice and control Quality provision is based on robust evidence New, existing and evolving statutory responsibilities are and continue to be met
The priorities 9 Priority 1 - Ensure every child with SEND can go to a good or outstanding school or education setting Priority 2 - Commission/deliver a range of high quality provision for all children and young people with SEND Priority 3 - Ensure a smooth progression to adulthood for all young people with SEND Priority 4 - Improve the assessment and identification of SEND across agencies Allow early and accurate assessment (through a more coordinated process) to support interventions and prevent escalation with the need for more costly interventions in the future. Through single Education Health and Social Care Plans. More schools demonstrate rapid and sustained improvement through increased educational psychology provision, Continued access to specialist teaching and Well trained SEN/D staff Increasing the range and number of specialist provision places available including enhanced mainstream autism provision. Improved access to and identification of services through a Local Offer (0-25) Increasing the number aged in education employment and/or training and promoting independent living with more choice and control (Personal Budgets)
Strategy Launch The strategy will launch on 6 January 2014 – pending approval from ECC Cabinet. A copy of the draft strategy can be downloaded from the following URL – Schools/Schools/Special-Education- Needs/Pages/Essex-SEND- consultation.aspx 10
11 Implementation Plan A key driver of the strategy’s vision and priorities is the SEND Strategy Implementation Plan 2014/15. For each delivery objective a number of actions have been identified to achieve this. This plan will be monitored regularly and reviewed and refreshed annually throughout the strategy’s five year lifespan. This flexible approach allows us to be responsive to change as the strategy is delivered.
Local Offer Aims Statutory Compliance - Children and Families Bill Accessibility and ease of navigation Manage complexity Meet customer information expectations A two way communication/interactive solution Useful to practitioners Content management can be centrally controlled and easily devolved 12
Local Offer – Core Components 13 Powerful Search Mechanism Accessible Question and Answer/Forums Notification Mechanisms
SEND Excellence Project Delivering SEND Excellence in Essex Schools Reduce the inequalities in outcomes for pupils on the SEN COP at SA+ Support schools to improve their practice and performance for pupils with SA+ SEND and their families Support schools to develop a dynamic and robust contribution to the LOCAL OFFER for the SA+ cohort LEADERSHIP Recruit, develop and retain teams of expert and experienced school leaders and governors for SEND Strengthened CPD offer for school SEND leaders Develop leadership role of the successful specialist sector Create/commission workforce development packages for SEND leadership roles EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS Support schools to achieve excellent partnerships with schools, services and agencies to in order to drive up the quality of provision for children and young people with SEND. Support schools to improve the way in which they shape and evaluate partnership working to meet priority SA+ needs Form strong relationships with key local and national bodies to improve Essex standards Help schools to improve the way in which they work in partnership with parents around challenging SEND issues and individual pupil progress CURRICULUM – LEARNING AND TEACHING Support schools to develop the way in which they contribute and enhance the Essex Local Offer through developing an effective range of in-class and additional interventions and strategies SEND Excellence pilot with NE Cluster DISS Report follow through project with Peter Blatchford Guidance tool for Essex schools written by Essex SENCOs/HTs/Govs Support schools to improve effective use of resources (PPG, School SEN Budget) for SA+ STANDARDS & PERFORMANCE Provide a more rapid and decisive response to school failure and underperformance where standards for children and young people with SEND are not good enough Promote the SEND Provision Tool as a catalyst for school evaluations and improvement Commission effective review teams with insight and expertise for SA+ practice and provision Support schools to set targets with accuracy and ambition Support schools to measure and demonstrate impact effectively UNDERPINNING WAYS OF WORKING Accurate analysis of data and intelligence will inform our SA + priorities moving forward and define our success measures Cross- team Quadrant working will provide SA+ solutions and strategies bespoke to quadrants and localities SEN focus groups will bring together key SEN services with standards and excellence SEN SECs for data analysis and cohesive approaches for our SA+ cohort Design and resource Essex schools to engage and improve through the AFA programme with SA+ as a focus group ESSEX SEND PROVISIONS Ensure the range, location and quality of specialist provisions play a key role in supporting pupils on a school based code. Develop the outreach function of specialist provisions & hubs Develop the CPD function of specialist provisions & hubs Develop the family support function of specialist provisions & hubs
Education Essex – SENCO Bulletin Every 2 weeks: Current issue: 22 nd Oct Next issue: 5 th Nov 15
Teachers’ Standards 2013 Section 5 is the most relevant section for SEN – no changes 16
Ofsted 2013 The School Inspection Handbook – very useful document for reading between the lines… 17
Ofsted compliant provision review Document designed for SENCOs and Senior Leaders Based on previous provision review document but up-dated to use with Ofsted framework Analysing SEN data Half day guidance session: 6 th November Chelmsford City FC or e mail 18
Courses for SENCOs Using the P Scales to (im)prove progress - 2 x half days 13 th /27 th November Softly, softly - using qualitative data to evidence progress - half day 12 th December A Class Act - half day 25 th November Chelmsford City FC 19
New courses for 2013 Let’s get supporting young children with SEN 19 th November Include me in – supporting and teaching pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties 26 th Nov/10 th Dec (half day) See for more details and booking arrangementswww.mycourses.e-gfl.org 20
The draft Code of Practice Consultation running until 9 th December aft-0-to-25-special-educational-needs-sen-code- of-practice-draft-regulations 21
Consultation on transition to Education, Health and Care Plans Group discussion on the consultation questions 22
Consultation on draft SENCO Regulations 2014 Does your job description need some attention? 23