There is no doubt that, up and down the country, schools are facing challenges around behaviour management. However, we need to be careful that in our response to this, at a school and a system level, we are giving due consideration to the SEND Code of Practice and equalities duties.
Of particular concern for me at the moment is the use of Slant. Though the specific meaning of the acronym can vary slightly, it fundamentally means: sit up, lean forward, ask and answers questions, nod your head and track the speaker. It is a behaviour-for-learning approach dictated to pupils and rigorously enforced.
Slant was first introduced into US schools over a decade ago and it is now firmly embedded in many UK schools.
SEND and school behaviour
There is no doubt that the Slant approach may be working well in some schools, and that some leaders have been sensible about its implementation. However, I fear that, in some cases, special educational needs and disability (SEND) hasn’t been enough of a consideration, and in others, SEND hasn’t been thought of at all.
From my own experience and from my reading on SEND, I am certain that it is unreasonable to expect some pupils with SEND to consistently comply with the Slant approach.
So my questions are these: how far are school leaders adapting Slant for these pupils? How far are they tracking the data to see where SEND is a challenge in accessing Slant as a behaviour-for-learning tool? And how well are they communicating all of this to the pupil and to their parents?
If we take “sit up straight” as an example, that’s very much about posture. A young person who has difficulties around balance and coordination, often aligned to dyspraxia, may not be able to sustain sitting up straight, especially for a long period of time.
Or what about “tracking the speaker”? This is about demonstrating that you are paying attention. Young people with SEND may be listening but may be unable - for a variety of reasons out of their control - to consistently maintain focus on an individual. For example, they may experience information overload and find it overwhelming.
Speech and language challenges
And when the Slant approach refers to “ask and answer questions”, we need to consider those with speech, language and communication needs. Challenges around communication and interaction may be an issue here. In addition, those pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs may have low self-esteem or anxiety or may not feel confident or comfortable in answering and asking questions in front of peers, or being put on the spot in this way.
What’s more, some may need additional time to process information and may feel better asking and answering questions in smaller groups. Others may need alternative communication strategies to support them, such as signs, symbols and non-verbal cues.
Has your school really interrogated all these issues? From some of the examples I have seen that have been celebrated on social media, it’s clear that in some schools this has not happened.
I’m urging school leaders to carefully ensure that, in designing their behaviour policy, reasonable adjustments are made for pupils with SEND. Make sure that the behaviour policy is flexible and individualised for pupils with SEND.
Moreover, senior leaders really need to analyse and track groups of students to identify patterns and trends. This is to better understand and determine to what extent pupils with SEND are most likely to be the group who are penalised - including receiving detentions, being placed in internal isolation or even suspended - as a result of non-compliance with the Slant approach.
It is crucial that teachers have sufficient training and development, too, and that training is revisited frequently to ensure that classroom staff fully understand how to implement this approach for pupils with SEND and to ensure they meet the needs of pupils with special needs through making reasonable adjustments.
There is no doubt that the Slant approach provides consistency and routine. Many children with SEND may need that - but not to the extent of being penalised through control and compliance methods that appear non-inclusive.
This isn’t about calling out individual schools using this approach, as some schools are implementing SLANT effectively: they are going above and beyond to make sure that individual needs are met and that the equality duties and the SEND Code of Practice are being fulfilled.
But if you haven’t ensured that this routine for learning is inclusive, that you have properly considered diverse needs, that all your pupils genuinely have a chance of being successful in its use, then there is a risk that Slant is not in the best interests of children with SEND.
Clive Lawrence is currently headteacher at one of the biggest secondary special needs schools in the Midlands for students between the ages of 11 and 19. He has previously led SEND in a large multi-academy trust and has been an executive headteacher of a split-site special school, which he led to Ofsted ‘outstanding’ within 16 months. He tweets @CliveLawrence00
