1. Guidance notes for leadership teams
Inclusion Development Programme: Supporting pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties
These notes are designed to provide a summary of the key messages and also to align these messages with other priorities in schools. They could be used at a cluster meeting with other school leaders or consultants to see how the resource could fit into existing or planned CPD for your school.
There are also seven further video clips which you may like to view:
1. A headteacher talks about looking for the underlying causes for the behaviour
2. An assistant headteacher discusses the importance of quality first teaching and the climate for learning
3. A deputy headteacher talks about the importance of everyone having consistency of approach and expectations of pupils
4. A headteacher looks at the journey that the school has taken
5. A headteacher talks about the importance of having high expectations in relationships, behaviour and academic achievement
6. A headteacher describes how a flexible staffing structure works for her school
7. A Children’s Services Officer describes how she can support schools.
Guidance notes for leadership teams

2. Who is this resource for?
Newly and recently qualified teachers
Teachers returning to the profession
Teaching assistants and learning mentors
Other adults working in schools with children and young people
Leadership teams working in schools which seek to have high standards of behaviour and learning for all pupils
This resource is designed to support all teachers and teaching assistants. It is NOT just a resource for SENCOs or inclusion managers and their teams.
The themes and areas are common to both primary and secondary colleagues. It allows staff to address, discuss and learn more about these areas at a foundation level. Further courses and resources are identified in the library should colleagues wish to become more qualified in this area.
It is relevant to leadership and leadership teams as it is yet another opportunity for these groups to reflect on their progress in developing a high quality inclusive learning environment. In 2006 Ofsted reported that ‘Pupils with even the most severe and complex needs were able to make outstanding progress in all types of settings. High quality specialist teachers and a commitment by leaders to create opportunities to include all pupils were the keys to success’. Inclusion: Does it matter where pupils are taught? Ofsted (2006)

3. How might it be used in schools?
Priorities for school improvement can be identified upon completion of the self-evaluation audit tool
Some groups of teachers and other adults may identify this as an area for their own professional development
Your ongoing monitoring and tracking of pupil progress will identify how well pupils with BESD are doing in your school. Where pupils with BESD are not making the required levels of progress staff may wish to know what else they can be doing to improve this area. The resource has a self-evaluation document within it. Use this to gather information about the confidence level of staff in this area.

4. How might it align itself with other priorities in school?
Any continuing professional development (CPD) programme in school which is seeking to improve quality first teaching should consider this resource as part of that provision
The approach assumes that the school understands and embraces the features of effective CPD
A school which embraces the features of effective CPD is likely to:
have a direct relationship with what teachers are doing in their own classrooms
use external expertise linked to school-based activity, involving observation and feedback – especially teachers observing and learning from each other and expert colleagues
include peer support – colleagues supporting one another rather than leadership by supervisors
provide scope for participants to identify the focus of their development
enable all staff to be reflective and focus on their contribution to children's learning and attainment
provide opportunities to work with other colleagues and share practice
include opportunities to receive regular and structured feedback
apply processes for sustaining CPD over time to embed learning in classroom practice
include opportunities for independent self-study.
Adapted from Excellence and enjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years (2005).
See also ‘Key elements of Effective CPD’ located in the library in the inclusion development Programme: Supporting pupils with dyslexia and speech, language and communication needs Search using ‘speech, language and communication needs’

5. Meeting the needs of pupils with BESD is complex
…and it needs to be addressed at the following levels:
Whole-school ethos and policies
Classroom practice, climate for learning and quality first teaching
Evidence based interventions where the progress of the pupil is monitored and which is delivered by appropriately trained staff
BESD is a complex notion and in order to best support pupils members of leadership teams are encouraged to look at this from three perspectives.

6. 1. Whole school: key questions
Do you have a statement about values and relationships that is reflected in your learning and teaching and behaviour policies?
How does the whole-school CPD programme ensure that all staff have appropriate skills to meet the needs of pupils with a range of special education needs (SEN) and disabilities?
How is your Disability Equality Scheme reviewed, updated and shared with staff and parents? Does this clearly indicate the targets that the school has set itself regarding outcomes for pupils with SEN and disabilities?
How does the school monitor the effectiveness of provision for and teaching of pupils with a range of SEN?
Are parents and staff clear about the systems in place for identification of and support for pupils with SEN?
Where is this information available?
Is the desired ethos of the school shared with all stakeholders?
Ethos
The Ofsted report Inclusion does it matter where pupils are taught? (2006) identified that schools where children and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities made outstanding progress had the following key features: an inclusive ethos; high expectations; good relationships; specialist staff with a high level of skilled support;and regular academically and socially focused professional development for all staff, based on needs.
Several areas contribute to creating the ethos of the school or setting. These include: the values, beliefs and principles underlying policy and practice; the emotional well-being of the learning community; the nature of the relationships within the learning community (adults with adults, adults with children, children with children); a shared understanding of the rights and responsibilities of all members of the learning community; the nature of relationships with the wider community – parents, carers and other professionals and agencies engaged with the child and family; the systems for promoting good behaviour and regular attendance; the systems for combating bullying and discrimination in all its forms; how the environment is organised and cared for; the ways adults speak to and listen to children; and the attitude taken to children’s community languages and to their use.
There is also a study topic in the National Programme for school leaders in Behaviour and Attendance (NPSLBA): Vision and Values: Creating an ethos. This may be found at: Search using ‘NPSLBA’
For further information on your Disability Equality Schemes the following guidance is available for schools: Implementing the Disability Discrimination Act in Schools and Early Years Settings,
This can be ordered by schools and voluntary organisations. You can also call (quoting the reference number DOC-EN). Further support materials from DCSF on Disability Equality Schemes will be available in November 2009.

7. 2. Classroom practice and quality first teaching: key questions
Is there a framework for the preparation, delivery and monitoring of quality first teaching which includes using a range of strategies to ensure Assessment for Learning?
Are high expectations and positive relationships at the heart of classroom practice?
Is there a common framework for supporting and reinforcing good behaviour in the classroom?
Do staff feel confident to meet the needs of a range of pupils with SEN in their classrooms, including BESD?
Are resources and approaches which support pupils with SEN such as the Inclusion Development Programme actively promoted through school development groups?
Classroom practice will include QFT, AFL, personalisation, classroom management as referenced in the (school) learning and teaching policy and assessment for learning policy.
Monitoring the effectiveness of provision for teaching of pupils with SEN
Your school learning and teaching policy will guide you here but there are additional checklists available for pupils with SEN within all of the Inclusion Development Programme resources. Each of the areas in the Inclusion Development Programme has a self-evaluation tool which allows staff to identify the areas where they are most and least confident. Using this tool could be a starting point for a whole school audit.
The Inclusion Development Programme may be found at: Select ‘Inclusion’
Assessment for Learning
Further information and guidance on assessment for learning may be found at:
Search using ‘primary assessment’ or ‘secondary assessment’

8. 3. Individual interventions with appropriately trained staff: Key questions:
Does your provision map demonstrate clearly how pupils with BESD are supported through Waves 1, 2 and 3?
Is your partnership work with a range of professionals aligned in a strategic way so that staff have professional support and training on an ongoing basis to meet the range of needs of pupils with SEN including BESD?
Is the organisation sufficiently flexible to allow staff to gain additional qualifications, become reflective practitioners and coach each other to higher levels of performance in order to improve outcomes for pupils with SEN including those with BESD?
Does your provision map demonstrate clearly how pupils with BESD are supported through Waves 1, 2 and 3?
The SEN/AEN Value for Money Resource Pack for Schools is a voluntary tool produced by the Audit Commission in conjunction with the National Strategies and the DCSF. It supports schools to identify the resources that come into school for SEN/AEN to: support the personalisation agenda; help schools to improve their strategic planning for support and interventions; and, critically, to lead them to focus on evaluation of progress and outcomes. Search using ‘SEN/LDD self-evaluation’

9. 1. Introduction
The introduction module will help you to locate information on:
The characters
The structure of the course
The self-evaluation
The library

10. The self-evaluation
This audit tool will help you to gather base line information about the perceived skills and knowledge of your staff in the area of pupils with SEN and BESD
You can view this tool by accessing file 5.1 in the library section of the module: Self-evaluation checklist for the learner
It would be good practice to gather this base line information, collate it and then after some IDP related activities gather some ‘post’ data to establish how far staff feel they are more confident in this area.

11. Structure of the course
The e-learning materials and the video footage last approximately one and a half hours in length.
However, it is expected that schools will use this resource as part of their CPD to stimulate discussion about their policies and ethos and could also observe each other as part of a ‘lesson study’ to improve practice and develop skills in this area.
There are five areas of study.
Each area addresses a key question which many new teachers and teaching assistants may wish to know the answers to and which more experienced teachers may wish to revisit.
The menu allows you to visit each of these questions in which ever order you prefer but essentially each unit builds upon the previous one.
A collaborative inquiry approach led by a knowledgeable and experienced practitioner is essential if staff are to gain a deeper understanding of the key questions.

12. Questions raised at a local area cluster meeting
Approach
Scenario approach
Questions raised at a local area cluster meeting
Primary and secondary practitioners provide solutions by reflecting on their practice
You will be introduced to a set of fictional characters and the questions are answered through a scenario approach.
The situations are explored through a local area cluster meeting where a range of professionals are meeting to reflect upon approaches that they adopt when meeting the needs of pupils with BESD.
There are also practitioners from primary and secondary schools and they support each other to find solutions.

13. Characters
Alan was a secondary school deputy headteacher and now works as a behaviour specialist for the local authority. Barbara is an experienced primary SENCO who has just completed her NPSLBA and is acting as a lead within the cluster.

14. Key messages in module 1:
1. How do BESD develop?
Key messages in module 1:
BESD has many antecedents:
- social
- emotional
- cognitive
- physical
Early gaps in attachment experiences are fundamental to the development of BESD
There is a strong correlation between other SEN and BESD
Mental health problems often contribute to BESD
The first module explores child development, issues connected with mental health and the correlation between BESD and other special educational needs.
Further resources to support you
In May 2008 the DCSF issued revised guidance on the education of children and young people with BESD. On this site you will also find a link to the department's 2001 guidance on promoting mental health in schools and Early Years settings. This explains how teachers and others, working alongside other agencies as appropriate, can promote children and young people's mental health and can intervene effectively with those experiencing problems. It provides case studies of children and young people whose behaviour, social and/or emotional development is causing concern and suggests strategies to address both the presenting behaviour and the underlying causes. The report is called The Education of children and young people with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties as a Special Educational needs (DCSF 2008) and may be found at

15. 1. How do BESD develop? In this module…
Mandeep teaches Leanne and asks the question
Further information about attachment and development
Some schools' provision for children with BESD includes nurture groups. To find out more about nurture groups go to the Nurture Group website at
Further information about mental health
Another report which may be of interest to you is Children and young people in mind: The final report of the national CAMHS review. The independent CAMHS review was commissioned to look at how mainstream and universal settings are meeting the educational, care and support of children and young people at risk of and experiencing emerging emotional, behavioural, psychological and mental health problems. The review has looked at how CAMHS are meeting the needs of some of the most vulnerable children, with complex and challenging needs to ensure that they are delivered in a more integrated way. It has considered how we can deliver better outcomes for children with mental health problems and identified practical solutions to how those delivering, managing and commissioning services can address the challenges they face This may be found at
Further information about other SEN
The National Strategies Inclusion Development Programme: Supporting pupils with dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs and Inclusion Development Programme: Supporting pupils on the autism spectrum give additional background information and strategies to support pupils with other SEN. These materials are available for EYFS and primary and secondary schools and may be found at
Select ‘Inclusion’
The following websites can also provide further information regarding additional SEN
Trust/Home.aspx

16. 2. How can I improve provision in the classroom for pupils with BESD?
Key messages in module 2:
Many pupils need explicit teaching to develop their social and emotional skills
Positive relationships are key to promoting the well-being of pupils with BESD
Consider the classroom environment and be mindful of how this can affect behaviour
Quality first teaching which is personalised to take account of pupils with BESD is crucial
Pupils with BESD are often more comfortable once routines are established
Further information
Managing challenging behaviour (Ofsted)
This report gives an account of behaviour in schools based on national evidence and provides an analysis of behaviour in a range of educational settings based on visits by Ofsted. The settings included Early Years provision, mainstream and special schools, pupil referral units, secure training centres and colleges.
Healthy Minds: Promoting emotional health and well being in schools Ofsted (2005)
This report examines the vital role played by schools in promoting the emotional well-being of their pupils. It analyses practice based on evidence gathered from visits to 72 schools and reports on the impact of the guidance provided to schools.
Social and Emotional aspects of learning for Secondary school (2007) and Promoting and supporting positive behaviour in primary schools (SEAL)
As part of the Primary and Secondary Strategies a set of resources have been developed by the DCSF (2005, 2007). They are an explicit, structured, whole-curriculum framework for teaching social, emotional and behavioural skills to all pupils. Primary and secondary SEAL uses a five-fold categorisation, first developed by Goleman (1996): Self-awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy and social skills. They include resources that can be used with students, staff and parents. The underlying principles behind the SEAL resources include: the importance of a whole-school approach; building on the work the school is already doing and fitting in within the school's unique character, making sure the skills and attitudes are demonstrated by all staff through the way they relate to children and through the teaching styles they use.

17. 2. How can I improve provision in the classroom for pupils with BESD?
How can I make better provision for pupils with BESD?
Zoe teaches Josh and asks the question
You may find out more about setting appropriate educational targets for pupils with SEN including those with BESD in The Progression Guidance.
The purpose of this guidance is to raise expectations and set out the evidence of the progress already being made by learners with special educational needs, learning difficulties and disabilities (SEN/LDD). The focus is on those working below age-related expectations. It fulfils a commitment from the Children’s Plan 2007: ’We will provide better data for schools on how well children with special educational needs are progressing.’
This guidance brings together three key principles and three sets of national data to support local authorities (LAs) and schools in evaluating the progress of learners with SEN/LDD. This is the first time that national comparative data for English, mathematics and science has been able to inform expectations and to help set realistic but stretching targets for this group of learners in the way that has been possible, for some time, for other learners. This guidance may be found at:
Search using ‘special educational needs’
There is also an electronic professional development module to support the setting of targets for pupils with SEN. This supports LAs and schools in: developing a wider understanding of learners identified as having SEN/LDD; building SEN into systems of management and support in schools and Las; using data to evaluate the progress of learners with SEN/LDD; setting meaningful but stretching targets; and planning teaching and learning for those with SEN/LDD. The module is located on the National Strategies website and can be found at:

18. 3. How can I support individual pupils with BESD more effectively?
Key messages in module 3:
Have whole-school strategies in place to manage emotional outbursts
Ensure that you are familiar with and understand the provision that is already in place
What happens during unstructured time can have a big impact on classroom learning
Be particularly aware of the anxiety that is caused by transition
Further resources to support you:
Supporting school self-evaluation is an interactive self-evaluation tool designed to help leadership teams in primary and secondary schools to assess the stage of development of the school in selected focus areas. It offers the opportunity to consider a range of 'best fit' statements using the continuum 'focusing, developing, establishing, enhancing' and then to confirm or alter this initial judgement by referring to descriptors of the kind of evidence a school might look for in its own practice. This resource may be found at:
Issues around transition are also addressed in the Inclusion Development Programme: Supporting pupils on the autism spectrum
The Inclusion Development Programme may be found at Select ‘Inclusion’

19. 3. How can I support individual pupils with BESD more effectively?
Beth works closely with Daniel and asks the question
The Primary Framework
The changes contained in the renewed Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics reflect national policy developments and are built upon research and evaluation undertaken since the late 1990s. There has been widespread consultation on the content of the Framework, and changes that have been incorporated include: extending it to the beginning of funded education, to create greater coherence and continuity within and between stages of care and education; creating a clearer set of outcomes to support teachers and practitioners in planning for progression in literacy and mathematics to help raise the attainment of all children; personalising learning and securing intervention for those children who need it bringing an increased sense of drive and momentum to literacy and mathematics through the primary phase; involving some scaling up of expectations and a greater focus upon planning for progression through a teaching sequence over an extended unit of work covering two or three weeks; supporting schools and settings in implementing the recommendations of the Rose report through the provision of high-quality teaching of phonics and early reading; supporting improved leadership and management of literacy and mathematics to stimulate and improve standards further; reducing workload and fostering professional dialogue on how to use the Framework flexibly to meet the needs of children through focused CPD; and introducing a new, electronic format which allows for customised planning, teaching and assessment, with the ability to link quickly to a wide range of teaching and learning resources available through the Primary National Strategy. You will find the primary framework at:
Select ‘Primary’
The secondary framework is available at
Select ‘Secondary’

20. 4. What are the other sources of support?
Key messages in module 4:
You can contribute to and gain support for a pupil with BESD through a thoughtfully designed Pastoral support programme (PSP)
A pupil with complex needs will be receiving support from a range of professionals: consider how these programmes can be built upon in the classroom
Engaging with the parents and carers of pupils with BESD to gain their support is crucial and can be extremely valuable
There are many creative strategies which have been successfully adopted to engage with ‘hard to reach’ families.
The NPSLBA
The National Programme for Specialist Leaders of Behaviour and Attendance (NPSLBA) is an active learning programme, developed by the DCSF for all professionals working in the field. The NPSLBA is based on a model of effective learning that follows five stages: acquisition of knowledge; modeling of good practice; practice application; feedback; and reflection, embedding the experience. There may be individuals in your school who would like to develop their skills further in this area.
The programme offers:
an opportunity for professionals at all levels of responsibility to develop and enhance their leadership skills within the context of Behaviour and Attendance (B&A), building on a distributed leadership model
a choice of study topics, including links to other relevant National Strategies materials. The NPSLBA study topics are also cross-referenced to a wider range of other sources and websites
a focus on leadership within B&A leading to professional recognition where none had previously existed
an opportunity to extend learning from the programme into formal accreditation routes.
Topics within the NPSLBA which are particularly relevant to supporting the needs of pupils with SEN in BESD are:
Vision and values: Creating an ethos.
Leadership: Developing opportunities for learning social and emotional skills and the management of provision for individual need.
Behaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulties: Establishing peer support, multi-agency work, developing approaches to working with parents and carers.
More information about the NPSLBA may be found at: Search using 'NPSLBA’

21. 4. What are the other sources of support?
Steve teaches Wayne and asks the question…
To read and learn more about safe-guarding, looked-after children and multi-agency work go to
To read and learn more about the work of the Youth Justice Board go to
To learn more about multi-agency work, removing barriers to partnership working read Your child, your schools, our future; building a 21st century school system ref: DCSF at
To read the recommendations in Brian Lamb’s review of SEN and Disability, around engagement and communication with parents go to:
To learn more about the role of professionals within Community Mental Health Teams go to:
PSPs – pastoral support programme; CAF – the Common Assessment Framework; CS – Children’s Services

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