1. Palmerston School Direct Research
Sophie Caines and Amy Nokes

2. Is there a demand for an SEN specific route into teaching?
Research Question:
Is there a demand for an SEN specific route into teaching?

3. Research rationale
This research set out to identify whether or not there is a purpose and demand for a SEN specific route into teaching and what the specific requirements of this would be.
This may influence future recruitment and the skills of teachers entering the profession.

4. Policy Review
The Warnock Report (1978) ethos that ‘the child should fit the school rather than the school fit the child’ led to the abandonment of SEN specific Teacher Training Routes.
Many of the issues and recommendations of the Warnock Report almost 40 years ago are echoed within the Lamb Inquiry (2009), the Salt Review (2010) and Carter’s recent Review of Initial Teacher Training (2015).

5. Policy Review Full Circle The main similarities are summarised as:
all trainees and newly-qualified teachers should be given training in Special Educational Needs
the skill set of SEN trained teachers should be effectively used
there is real value in a career within the field of SEN

6. Policy Review
However, in recent years, this has not been realised in a SEN specific training route.

7. Sample
19 Trainees, from two separate SEN School Direct course cohorts in the North West completed questionnaires prior to teacher training.
23 Teachers in three different SEN schools involved in SEN School Direct courses completed questionnaires regarding their own teacher training and their readiness to teach in an SEN school.
Head teachers from three different SEN schools involved in a SEN School Direct course about their opinions on the course itself and on the skills, attitudes and qualities they look for in teachers at their school. One primary, mainstream head teacher was also interviewed as a control.

8. Data Collection/Questions
Trainees
Questionnaires were used to clarify:
situation & experience prior to starting a SEN School Direct course
reasons for wanting to be a teacher & a special needs teacher in particular
reasons for choosing the SEN School Direct route & their perceptions of the route at this time
feelings prior to starting the course
career ambitions
perceptions of the role of a teacher & a special needs teacher in particular

9. Data Analysis: Trainees

10. Data Analysis: Trainees

11. Data Analysis: Trainees

12. Findings/Conclusions
Trainees
main perceptions of how the role of an SEN teacher differs to a mainstream teacher were: requirement to further personalize learning; an increased need for differentiation; it is a more pastoral role with more responsibility to safeguard students (themed).
Primary motivations for training as a special needs teacher were: in order to make more of a difference; to achieve social equality and justice for pupils with SEN and the perceived job satisfaction

13. Data Collection/Questions
SEN Teachers
Questionnaires were used to clarify:
nature of their teaching training route & it’s effectiveness in preparing them to teach in a SEN school
teaching experience to date
ideas regarding skills and knowledge necessary for a teacher of pupils with SEN

14. Data Analysis: Teachers of pupils with SEN

15. Data Analysis: Teachers of pupils with SEN

16. Findings/Conclusions
SEN Teachers
Not one respondent described their mainstream teacher training as ideal or even very useful in preparing them to teach students with SEN. A large majority said it was of little or no use.
The main areas of knowledge or skills that teachers wish they had known before teaching in SEN were: how to plan for & meet a variety of learning needs; behavior management strategies; which resources were effective/useful; how to use assessment effectively; how to meet communication needs.

17. Data Collection/Questions
Headteachers
Interviews established:
route in teaching & subsequent training, their motivations for wanting to work in education
skills, attitudes & qualities they look for in teachers at their school
opinions of a SEN School Direct route and the teachers it will produce

18. Data Analysis: Headteachers
What skills do you look for in teachers at your school?

19. Data Analysis: Headteachers
What attitudes & qualities do you look for in teachers at your school?

20. Data Analysis: Headteachers
What are your perceived pros & cons of a SEN ITT route?
Pros
Cons
avoids losing people to nursing and social care - makes SEN a profession of choice
gives the career path more status and gives SEN pupils more status
provides a good foundation of training for teachers new to SEN
it could produce an outstanding cohort of teachers
an ideal route for TAs who could be teachers but have not made it/had the chance
it would well equip trainees/future teachers for meeting the needs of SEN students in mainstream – developing knowledge of a different child
a much needed route
the trainees will have experience of a range of different special educational needs
they will have better behaviour management skills
the trainees will have a better understanding of assessment and planning, and how to moderate their own judgments”
if you have a passion for SEN it’s the best position for success
being an SEN teacher requires a different skill set to a mainstream teacher – there are different stresses and strains, you need to be a different type of person
other people’s attitudes towards the route
there is a lot to cover during the course – it may need to be 2 years in length to allow for enough school-based experience
perceptions of their teaching skills from the wider educational community
perceptions from the wider educational community that mainstream teaching should come before SEN teaching
some schools may struggle to shortlist someone who only had SEN experience – they might believe that you can’t meet all of the teaching standards if you only work with SEN
possible limitation of not having experience of teaching the National Curriculum across subjects up to level 6, even though it’s a primary qualification

21. Findings/Conclusions
Head Teachers
Priority attributes for recruitment were: high level of resilience, child centred approach, learning strategies, personalization of learning, humour and high aspirations for pupils with SEN.
Pros – a thorough grounding in SEN and makes SEN a profession of choice
Cons – perceptions of teaching skills by the wider educational community

22. Summary Findings/Conclusions
Overall the data consistently validates the purpose of the SEN specific route.
Over subscription to the SEN specific route clearly indicates a demand from prospective trainees for a SEN Specific route.

23. Recommendations Continue to provide and develop a SEN specific route
There is both supply and demand.

24. Recommendations
The data indicates that the specific training requirements of a SEN specific route would be:
Behaviour Management skills
Teaching children with a range of SEN
Staff management skills
In depth understanding of the personalisation of learning

25. Recommendations
The data indicates that the particular recruitment requirements of a SEN specific route would be the identification of :
Child centred approach, a genuine passion, personal resilience, a focus on children with SEN’s achievement and plenty of potential!

26. Long Term Recommendations
Further tracking of the trainees will indicate whether the course is purposeful and relevant in the long term.

27. Any Questions?