Delivering high-quality special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision across a large number of schools is not straightforward. But getting it right is vital to ensure that all receive the help and support they need.
That is why at Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust (BBCET), a trust of 39 schools across the North East, we have spent the past two years working towards a SEND strategy aimed at ensuring that we have a strong and connected offer for all students - one that develops expertise and builds confidence among staff.
Creating a SEND strategy for a MAT
Here’s what we have done so far:
1. Understanding needs
Initially our approach was to listen to and understand what our schools needed; using both the voice of staff and data insights.
For example, we considered quantitative information on education, health and care plans and SEN support numbers across the trust, and analysed data on attendance, attainment and progress by school
Meanwhile, directors of support had established relationships with schools and were able to provide qualitative insights into SEND provision, in all schools, and we were able to triangulate that with Ofsted reports.
We also introduced a consistent self-evaluation tool, which provided data on areas of strength and areas for development as identified by the schools themselves, and the cohort picture around this.
This helped us to see the areas we needed to work on quickly; chiefly workforce development priorities, support for schools with meeting the needs of autistic pupils and provision for meeting speech and language needs.
2. Focusing on early identification
Another area for action was effective identification of need and early intervention.
To this end we have introduced an offer to support primary schools to identify and meet speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) via the implementation of one of three programmes for screening and intervention (WellComm, Talk Boost and Speech and Language Link).
All schools also have a named speech and language therapist who supports them with audits of current provision, the creation of action plans and the introduction of screening for children in early years and Year 3.
These therapists are employed via service-level agreements with local NHS trusts, but their work is entirely determined by us. The job descriptions were created through collaboration with the team leads and myself, and posts were recruited to jointly.
We have also introduced screening of Year 7 students in one of our five secondary schools, using the support of one of our speech and language therapist, and this extends to another school this term. By September all secondary schools will be rolling out screening in Year 7 and interventions, overseen by the team.
The impact is clear already. The risks of under-identifying or not meeting speech, language and communication needs are high but we are now identifying children early who will benefit from intervention, some of whom had not yet been flagged by schools or their families.
3. Better access to educational psychologists
With local authority educational psychology teams increasingly needing to be focused on meeting their statutory responsibilities, their capacity for traded work - which includes early intervention for individual children, work with cohorts, whole-school training and support for staff - has significantly diminished. Yet this work is crucial to support schools with changing and increasingly complex needs.
We have been able to facilitate more seamless access to educational psychologists, and schools are now able to commission days from one of a team of three educational psychologists who are working independently but predominantly with our trust schools.
This facilitates effective support at earlier points in children’s journeys, and supports the implementation of whole-school approaches to maintaining mental health and wellbeing.
4. Staff training
Finally, significant time has been dedicated to creating a robust workforce development offer for staff to build confidence in working with all pupils.
Based on our data audit, we have been able to identify where we should focus staff training and provide the necessary support, from webinars and live sessions to CPD and learning resources.
We also provide training and discussion forums for targeted groups: for example, half-termly Sendco networks and an annual conference, SLCN intervention programme networks and subject leader groups in both primary and secondary phases.
Key to our approach is finding best practice and creating opportunities for that to be shared between professionals and between schools, utilising existing practice and skills to best effect. Sendcos may support other schools with the development of aspects of provision or share experience around interventions. There is a central resource holding a wealth of advice and information, accessible to Sendcos and headteachers.
We also co-produced a comprehensive training pack on adaptive teaching, which includes resources in use in our schools such as videos and templates, ensuring alignment around consistent good practices across the trust.
The way forward
Overall, improving outcomes for children with SEND, and inclusion, can only be achieved by having strong, constructive relationships between all involved. This includes the children and young people themselves, their families, their schools, the trust and all external services.
On top of that, we need evidence-based planning and the delivery of purposeful support to schools. We need robust staff development and effective systems and processes. We still have a way to go to get all of this right, but if we want to support all children to succeed it is work that must take centre stage.
Nicola Taylor is director of SEND at Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust (BBCET)
