There’s something really satisfying about coming to the end of one academic year and beginning to plan for the new one. Maybe it’s knowing that anything that went wrong this year can be improved on in the next, or perhaps it’s reflecting on the things that went really well. Whether the last year was good or bad, organising for the new term is something that needs to be done without the blinkers on.
Special educational needs and disabilities coordinators (Sendcos) have just as many things to plan for as departmental heads and subject leaders, however they choose to do it. (I was extremely meticulous, and would note everything I wanted to achieve down to the week or day on which I intended to do it; others are happy to set goals for each term or half term.)
So, what do Sendcos need to put in their calendars? The questions below are not exhaustive and will depend on each school and devolved responsibilities, but they offer a good start:
Funding
- When is the deadline for bids for your local authority’s top up/high needs funding? Can you apply at any time during the year? (It will also help to know when any training or information update sessions are being run.) Leave yourself enough time to write bids: they take longer than you think, especially if the student is new to you and you are having to chase information from different teachers and agencies.
- When are you going to look at (or spend) the special educational needs and disabilities (Send) budget? What licences are due to expire?
Training
- Have you booked any continuing professional development (CPD) sessions? Do you have university days scheduled for your National Award for SEN Coordination (Nasenco) course?
- Are you providing any staff training - and, if so, when? Do you need preparation time? Will you have time to follow up on or embed the training? Will you have a series of drop-in sessions for staff support needs?
Reporting/reviewing
- When are the annual reviews of your education, health and care plans/statements due? I suggest putting a note in the diary six weeks and three weeks before the review date. On the first of these dates, send out the invitations and begin collating your data. Three weeks before the deadline, chase any missing information and write your reports, reminding anyone who hasn’t responded that they need to submit something in writing. Leave yourself enough time after the reviews to record notes, set up new plans and update staff.
- Who are you reviewing from your Send register? Plans should be looked at three times a year. Try to schedule reviews to coincide with parents’ evenings where possible (it saves you one meeting a year), but you will need longer time slots, a private space and the information to hand if you don’t teach the student. Block time for collecting information into your diary at least two weeks before a meeting, and set a reminder to chase or collate this information a week before.
- Do any pupils need to come off the register? Take the opportunity to prune it as and when you can rather than waiting until the end of the year.
Meetings
- When are your network and moderation meetings? Can you attend them all or are there any clashes? If the latter, who can go in your place and how will they update you? Set aside time in the diary for both eventualities.
- When are you meeting your Send governor, local authority Send team, education psychologist, speech and language team, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) team, counsellor, and so on? Are they booked in to see students, staff and parents, or just you? Are they running any training sessions for staff or group sessions for pupils?
Data
- When (and how) are you collecting data to inform your practice? Ideally, this should be in line with whole-school data collections but do you need anything additional - for example, reading ages? When are you going to analyse the information, produce a report and plan actions from the data presented? Factor in time to do this.
- Have you looked at Analyse School Performance (formerly RAISEonline)? And how about attendance data, behaviour information and input from teachers/teaching assistants (TAs)?
Examinations
- When do concession applications for examinations need to be completed? Have you got the required data? If you are the one who’s collecting this, when will you do it?
- When is the deadline for applications for modified papers?
Interventions
- Do you need to write reports for Send pupils or will the EHCP suffice? Will you write reports for any intervention sessions they have been attending? Generally the answer is no, but if a student has been receiving an intervention every day for the past year (for example, Reading Recovery), then it is good practice to let parents know what their child has been up to while out of the classroom.
- Ideally you will be reviewing and adjusting your interventions as you go, but have you also planned a session to assess the data in more detail so you can scrap the ones that aren’t working? Have you set aside time to research replacements and ask for trials from companies?
- Are your provision maps fit for purpose?
Transition
- Once you know your new cohort, have you planned in transition meetings? Sometimes you will be dictating the dates; sometimes you will have to fit in with the feeder or receiving school. If you want to choose the dates, get in there first with your organised Sendco calendar.
General administration
- Are you participating in any awareness weeks or heading towards recognition awards? When are these due and what resources or information do you need beforehand?
- Does your school have enhanced provision? If so, when are the deadlines for any reports and bids associated with this?
- Has your senior leadership team included you in scheduling observations to monitor the effectiveness of whole-school Send provision? Use this information to inform your future CPD sessions for staff and to provide training for your TAs.
- When are the census dates and what needs to be updated for them? You may need to speak to your administrative staff or data team to change categories on the school management information system.
- When are the school policies due for update? You probably have responsibility for your school’s medical, accessibility and disability discrimination policies. Leave yourself time beforehand to research any changes to national and local Send policy. Remember to refer to the local offer and how your school fits in with this. Make sure, too, to leave yourself time to review the teaching and learning policies produced by the different department areas, to ensure that these adhere to the Send code of practice.
As you begin to fill in your calendar, make sure that you leave gaps around major events (such as funding bids and major reviews); time before to collate, write, review, and chase and time after to write and reflect. Don’t forget that there will be interim bids throughout the year, EHCP requests, additional meetings, a few crises to handle that will eat into your time so do make sure you plan is flexible enough to incorporate these so you don’t get panicked or thrown off course. This is meant to be a rough guide to planning your time next year, and while the questions raised are important, they are not exhaustive. It’s important you take time to reflect on how your year has gone and/or how your school works in order the create a plan that’s suited to you and the needs of your school and its community making sure that it is linked back to the local offer from your local authority.
Abigail Hawkins is a Sendco at Edukey
Edukey provide outstanding software to help Sendcos succeed. For further information click here.
