Three years on from SEND Transformation heralded in by a revised SEND Code of Practice (2014), DFE annual releases (DFE 2017) continue to show that the West Midlands (WM) Region, where 87% of schools are judged by Ofsted to be good or outstanding (Ofsted 2017), has the highest percentage of pupils identified as having a Special Educational Needs, with either an Education, Health, Care Plan (EHCP) or at SEND Support.
The WM Region is made up of fourteen Local Authorities (LA) ranging from Unitary authorities to large rural counties. Of the LAs, Sandwell, underwent an Ofsted Joint Area Review in March which indicated that ‘Children and young people who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make slower academic progress from their starting points than other pupils in Sandwell’ and ‘EHC plans are dominated by educational needs and frequently lack health and social care information. At times, information from health and social care professionals is not received and, occasionally, even when it is received, it is not used. This means that needs are not fully identified within plans’ Joint area review of Sandwell (Ofsted March 2017)
Sandwell is not the only LA where pupils with SEND needs are judged not to be met, the Annual Ofsted Report issued in December 2017, stated that ‘Children and young people identified as needing SEND (special educational needs and disability) support but who do not have an education, health and care plan often have a much poorer experience of the education system than their peers. In the local authorities we inspected, leaders were not clear how their actions were improving outcomes for these children and young people’.
Leaders of SEND in the WM recognise that this a pattern that cannot continue for learners with SEND in the region. The recent success of DFE funded projects such as Whole School SEND has shown how successful school to school models can be in creating a catalyst for better educational outcomes for learning through sharing good practice and developing communities of practice.
The initial think tank meeting of interested professionals from across the region met in September 2018 in a venue provided by Endeavour MAT and with David Bateson chair of the National SEND Forum as an invited guest. After introductions and a road mapping exercise the group identified priorities which could be addressed through a Forum structure. At a follow up meeting Terms of Reference were established and a Governance structure of a steering group and four reference groups to mirror the four broad areas of the SEN Code of Practice was accepted.
The current structure is,
Steering Group and Overall Chair – Michelle Haywood (University of Wolverhampton & ECMAT)
Steering Group and Overall Deputy Chairs – Sabrina Hobbs (Severndale Academy) & Richard Redgate (Manor Hall MAT)
Group admin support – Louisie Morris (Severndale Academy)
Associates – Ian Hunt (St Barts, MAT), Karen Warrington (Broadmeadow), Paul Elliott (Endeavour MAT), Peter Harwood (University of Wolverhampton), Sarah Whittington (Tettenhallwood School) Michael Surr (Nasen) & Lorraine Peterson (Chadsgove TSA)
Reference Group Coordinator – Sarah Rhodes (University of Wolverhampton)
Cognition & Learning Reference Group – Tony Dooley (Two Rivers)
Sensory & Physical Reference Group – Melisa Buxton (SaxonHill) & Diane Ellingham (Orchard)
Speech, Language & Communication Reference Group – Tayce Mason (Woodhouse Primary, ECMAT) & Sarah Rhodes
Social, Emotional, Mental Health Reference Group – Neil Toplass (Shenstone Lodge) & Cathal Lynch (CEP MAT)
Long term, the WM School Based SEND Forum (WMSBSF) as a community of practice, purposes to analyse and consider provision within the region to improve outcomes for pupils with SEND, through the use of research methodology, its wide knowledge of the sector within which it operates and developing new ways of working, including examining existing commissioning processes. If there are barriers to providing adequate provision, then the WMSBSF intends to address these through its reference groups and find appropriate and workable solutions.
In the short time that the group has been in existence, some actions have already been taken, such as a contribution through the National SEND Forum to the DFE Mental Health Green Paper Consultation, contribution to the DFE consultation on Strengthening QTS and improving career progression for teachers through the SEND ITE partnership and presenting at the Chartered College, Third Space Conference on the 17th March on ‘bringing schools together to meet the news of learners with SEND’.
Over time the Governance structure will include a wide range of professionals from Early Years, School Age and Further Education, Mainstream and Specialist settings as well as Enhanced provision, representation from leaders within Initial Teacher Education (ITE), and Local Authority representation involved in statutory LA functions.
The WM SEND Forum would welcome colleagues from the West Midlands to join the reference group sessions. These provide on the group’s actions and future planning, overviews from within the West Midlands region to enhance the work of the group and give attendee the opportunity to contribute to the work of the forum and support future work streams.
Planned reference groups for 2018 are 17th April, 18th June, 2nd October and 13th November.
Please join us

Contacts

Michelle Haywood
Email: michelle.haywood@wlv.ac.uk
Twitter: @michhayw @researchSEND
Sarah Rhodes
Email: sarah.rhodes2@wlv.ac.uk
Twitter: @sarah_rhodes2
An edited version of this blog appears in Nasen Connect, Issue 8, March 2018.