SEND

Learning from Lockdown Arrangements – Managing Transition and Behaviour

Posted on by Michhayw

An edited version of this piece will appear in the NAPE magazine in May 2021. Regular readers of my blog, may notice that I have updated some previous examples I have used in another piece I wrote in the Autumn Term 2020.

In her latest piece for NAPE, Michelle Prosser Haywood, SEND Lead at the University of Wolverhampton Multi Academy Trust, discusses transition plans and the ABC of behaviour management in the context of returning from National and Local Lockdown arrangements and what we can learn from this in the context of learners with SEND.

During all the National Lockdowns, learners with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), who had an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) were considered vulnerable and were able to attend school, if their parent/carer wished them to, in some cases similar arrangements were made for learners receiving School SEND support, learners awaiting external agency support and/or were in receipt of a draft EHCP, where provision had yet to be identified.

Some of this group of learners stayed at home, whereas others attended school usually in a bubble of mixed aged pupils, but for all them, different arrangements may have been made depending on individual circumstances.  There is no doubt that as a result of these differing practices which we have adopted over the last year, to meet this range of learners the way that we work with our learners who are identified as having Special Educational Need and Disability (SEND), may encourage us to think differently.

During lockdown one, we started to see some of these initial changes, through temporary changes to legislation, and evaluate what the impact of these changes may be after lockdown ended.

These first changes, mostly centred around using reasonable endeavours and the production of risk assessments. Reasonable is a word which is used in the SEND Code of Practice (2014), in terms of both endeavours and adjustments but the production of risk assessments as a concept is not commonly associated and used within the context of learners with SEND.

Transition Plans

The process of using risk assessments encouraged schools to ‘anticipate’ a learner’s response, on return to school and develop a transition plan. Although risk assessments were no longer required, during the Autumn term many schools continued to use them as good practice, especially as there have been subsequent lockdowns, whereby this has been required again to assist a learner’s reintegration back to school after a prolonged absence.

After establishing medical concerns and levels of vulnerability, where elements such as;’ is a learner exempt from wearing a mask?’ for example, individual plans, may have included, a staggered school start and a shorter day to support a learner with the new routine. Other learners, may have needed shorter days for alternative reasons. Working at home, for example, may have been preferable to some, rather than attending school, where there may be less sensory interaction and unpredictability.

ABC

Transition plans taking the format of an ‘anticipatory’ element can be continued to be used, when learners move between key stages or to new schools and settings and they could be tied to an ABC model of behaviour (Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence). The Antecedent is the trigger, and when returning from the lockdowns, these have been anticipated to some extent for us, as learners have more than likely experienced learning loss and lack of routine, which have to be re-established.

However, the antecedent can be unexpected and can arise in any situation, even whilst setting out the layout of the classroom for example, which includes where desks are placed, where learners are seated and what displays look like, as these can all be triggers of negative behaviour. For many learners with SEND, the biggest impact on returning from a lockdown has been this loss of routine and structure, and the familiarity of their own homes, where they feel safe.

More broadly, this could be considered true of any transition from class to class, key stage to key stage or school to school, where a learner is in an unfamiliar setting. Once a learner has shown a negative behaviour, we have to be careful that it does not become a habit, so the consequence is just as important as the antecedent. If a learner receives a ‘reward’ for their behaviour, whether it is positive or negative, this still provides some gratification and they may try and repeat the behaviour to receive the same response. Common examples are learners being asked to leave a lesson, when they have been finding learning difficult and standing in the corridor is a reprieve from this.

The development and confidence of delivering online learning and teaching, may have taken away some of these stresses, as learning has been more tailored to the individual circumstances. Many learners will have individual learning plans or calendars which may include some monitored interventions, such as Lexia or Flash Academy. Most schools will now have up to a year’s worth of online learning opportunities which can be used in class, to differentiate and group pupils. Many lessons have been recorded, so these can be paused and replayed. There are also more laptops in schools, so more monitored interventions can take place.

Examples

We must remember though, that we cannot always predict what might happen, and we may need undertake further evaluation, to understand the ABC, whereby we assess a situation on a day-by-day basis.

Ruhella for example, was always late for school, and when she arrived, she was cross and angry, so she provoked arguments with teachers. An Early help Assessment, found that her family could not adjust to the everyday rhythm of getting up at the same time, accommodating other family members and leaving the house at the same time every day and her Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) identified that she had sequencing difficulties, and she has had several targets around telling the time.

Her lateness and struggle with a new routine had been anticipated but her behaviour was not and it was her daily outburst when she arrived which she then struggled to calm down from which was causing her and staff managing her behaviour a problem. Ruhella’s sequencing difficulties had an impact on her recall, and she was unable to articulate coherently, why she was cross, but with the help of a social story she and her parent started to understand her routine in the morning and the steps they all have to take to get ready to school.

Like Ruhella, Bart was also been struggling with the return to school but he did not want to leave his Mum and brother, clinging tightly to them and when he did eventually go into school. He often ran around the school rather than going into his classroom. In his classroom he was unsettled and frequently ran out crossing bubbles as he did.

After a discussion with Mum, it appeared that some of the behaviour could be anxiety driven, as there were signs at home, such as difficulty sleeping, bad dreams and bed wetting. The initial behaviour was rectified by a transition toy, helping Bart to feel safe and secure in his new class with a new teacher, which was brought into school and swapped with a tangle toy. He would then keep the tangle tool in his pocket and take it out when he needed it and at the end of the day the tangle toy was swapped back, so he could take his own toy home.

Often behaviour will take time to unravel and assess the trigger.

This can be compounded by additional needs such as Speech and Language difficulties and Autism, so we should ensure that our good practice around behaviour includes space for informal learning, flexibility, and there is time to be responsive to our learners throughout the school day.

Some suggestions for managing behaviour for learners with identified SEND

  • Consider factors outside the school, including family and friends and develop good relationships with parent/carers. Parents/carers know what works for their child at home and similar strategies may aid transition and help establish a sense of safety within the school environment
  • Develop ways to help learners articulate their behaviour and how change can be supported. Younger learners will need tools such as social stories and comic strip conversations and older learners may be able to respond within scaffolded conversations, identify the causes of their behaviour and work on targets to change it
  • Remind learners of the rules, and consider that some learners may need more reminders to correct their behaviour and different ways to remember them. Can visuals as well as written rules be used around the school? Can a Film be made of the behaviour expected, and be posted on the school website?
  • Keep any rules positive, ‘Remember to wear your face mask’ is better than ‘Anyone seen not wearing a face mask will get detention at lunch time’
  • Recognise in learners when their behaviour might change and in which locations. Can an adjustment made in the school corridor, if a learner’s behaviour changes when they walk to another location in the school?
  • Has enough transition work been completed? Do learners know the new routines, are teachers and other learners in the class unfamiliar?
  • Continue to Assess, Plan, Do and review, daily if required, less often if the behaviour is changing

ResearchSEND: Considering Abandoned Educational Research

Posted on by Michhayw

In my latest piece for nasen connect I consider ‘Rescuing, Recycling and Renovating abandoned research’ influenced by an Instagram feed called ‘its abandoned’ and some of the principles behind the recent publication ‘ResearchSEND in Ordinary Classrooms’

Have you come across ‘its abandoned’ on Instagram, a feed of pictures featuring not just abandoned buildings but also cars, railway lines and amusement parks?

Many of the buildings such as a castle in Scotland or a house in Detroit have stories of historical significance behind their abandonment and suggest there is possibility that they could be renovated, repaired or recycled, maybe to become a family home again or a wedding venue for example.

Whereas other featured abandoned items, usually objects such as the car in the forest in Finland covered in moss, or stonemason’s yard of full of  ‘giant’ uncompleted busts of past American Presidents have been deserted and could be considered unlikely to ever be useful or functional again.

I have often thought that elements of education policy and research are not dissimilar. There are policies, which carried huge weight at the time, but are long forgotten and are difficult to locate, such as the 1944 Education Policy which created the statutory system of education into three stages; primary, secondary and further education.

And then there is The Warnock Report (1978) which has been rediscovered over the last couple of years, with a publication from Rob Webster (Including Children & Young People with SEND in learning and life: How far have we come since the Warnock Enquiry and where do we go next) , an anniversary and a tribute at the TES Awards.

Forty years on, it may be difficult to appreciate the impact of the Warnock Report in changing narrative around SEN, its influence on subsequent government legislation, and its role in the creation of the modern SENCO, but it was this inquiry which informed the 1981 Education Act and amongst its outcomes, recommended that eleven categories of ‘handicap’ were replaced by one; Special Educational Need and introduced the Statement of SEN.

Equally, key pieces of research can be largely abandoned and overlooked but they may have paved the way for greater understanding. Dyslexia for example was first recorded in the British Medical Journal in 1896 when ‘Percy’ was described as having ‘an inability to learn to read’ and although it was described as ‘congenital word blindness’ a term which we don’t use today, it began an recognition that children and young people could have underlying difficulties which could make learning to read more difficult for them.

This is not the only example where dyslexia is concerned, there are many more, for example, Miles & Miles’ dyslexia research undertaken at Bangor University in the 1990s, is in essence the Dyslexia Friendly Schools checklist, which is not acknowledged and rarely mentioned but schools use ‘dyslexia friendly’ resources every day, often without realising it, as many of the strategies have become what could be considered ‘good teaching.

In previous editions of Nasen Connect I have spoken about the journey of ResearchSEND from its inaugural conference and now to the publication of a book two years later. ResearchSEND was set up and continues to be a knowledge exchange platform for sharing research and what works for pupils with SEND, and sharing our experience about research from the past and the present. We want to acknowledge that what we know in education does not exist in a vacuum, and much of what we know has a tradition of practice, which has been built on over many years.

ResearchSEND recognises that pieces of research can have impact but may have become hearsay in popular education language and we pick up and acknowledge original research and its intentions, throughout our promotion of the use of research in supporting learners with SEND.

In the recent ResearchSEND publication, ReserachSEND in Ordinary Classrooms there is a section entitled new voices, but paradoxically the new voices, all recent Primary PGCE trainee teachers have visited the past to put their subject into context. Jess Horsley for instance, has written an account based on her first hand experiences, but uses references such as Skinner’s (1974) focus on reinforcement, to consider the PECS system used in a Specialist setting.

Whilst Rona Tutt and Sean Starr through their consideration of policy around SEND recognise that provision for learners with SEND has been on a journey, responding to many inquiries, pieces of research and Education Acts throughout its Tour. The very title ‘ordinary classrooms’ has also been recycled from a range of publications that followed the Warnock Report in the 1980s to early 1990s, where ‘ordinary schools’ were the focus.

As Michael Jopling says at the end of the ResearchSEND in Ordinary Classrooms publication, we need to keep talking but we also need to continue to break down the barriers between research and practice that exist in education, and one way to do this, could be to recognise our already existing research tradition and rescue it from its current moss covered resting place in a forest in Finland!

ResearchSEND in Ordinary Classrooms is now available from Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/researchSEND-Ordinary-Classroom-Michelle-Haywood/dp/1912906015/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2OTLZUIA0NOTM&keywords=researchsend+in+ordinary+classrooms&qid=1562500894&s=gateway&sprefix=researchsend%2Cdigital-text%2C134&sr=8-1

 

Why run a Journal (Research) Club? #ResearchSENDExchange

Posted on by Michhayw

At Festable on the 2nd June 2018, the UK’s first National Festival of Specialist Learning, Sarah Rhodes and I ran two journal club workshops and launched the concept of #ResearchSENDExchange within the context of our organisation, @ResearchSEND

What is ResearchSEND?

ResearchSEND was developed to promote the importance of research in meeting the needs of learners with SEND through events, collaborations, publications and research projects.

Over the last year it is possible that you have read about ResearchSEND in publications, for example nasen connect (September 2017, Issue 5) or attended a national ResearchSEND Conference (Sheffield Hallam University in November, Oxford Brookes in January, The University of Wolverhampton in June) or seen ResearchSEND represented within other conferences such as The Chartered College of Teaching – Third Space events, The National Festival of Education and NasenLive

We will now be appearing more regularly, as we are part of the Whole School SEND Workforce Consortium and we will be running a series of pieces within nasen connect to explore the role of research in meeting the needs of learners with SEND.

When we established ResearchSEND, we set it out as three strands , Researching the bigger picture which considers research undertaken across the educational landscape and considers research undertaken by large research organisations such as EEF, commissioned research projects and large scale work undertaken by Universities.

New researchers, New voices which encourages teachers undertaking their own personal research to have the space to share that work. This may be to support their CPD and may be part of a further study project, for example a Master’s Degree and ChangeMonday which examines how research can be translated into classroom practice to improve pupil outcomes.

What constitutes research?

Research, in essence, attempts to solve a problem, and within our ResearchSEND organisation we are seeking to use research to better meet the needs of children and young people with SEND.

As research can be about gathering new data from evidence based practice, undertaking reviews of existing research and synthesising information, at ReserachSEND we see this as a way to enhance our classroom practice, but recognise that busy class teachers do not always have time to consider if what they are using has a solid research background

We know research is often transferable and we can interpret research approaches and results to our own practice by modifying aspects to be more appropriate to our own setting, institution, or practice, and again we recognise this is not always possible to do within the busy working day (and certainly not when you get home in the evening!).

But it is advocated by our own professional Teacher Standards, ‘demonstrate a critical understanding of developments in the subject and curriculum areas and promote the value of scholarship’ (3B within Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge)

It is still the case, that as educators we consider research to be an activity undertaken after we have gained Qualified Teacher Status by academics or those engaging in professional or higher level study. Although, in our experience educators are continually reaching out to understand more about how they teach and support their learners in schools and their classrooms, especially around pupils requiring additional support. Consequently we are all actively trying to improve our practice, but we don’t always consider what we are doing as ‘research’.

Much of the activity undertaken to plan a lesson and meet the needs of the learners within the lesson is a form of research. We might need to revise our subject knowledge, or plan how to cover a certain learning objective. We may address this in various ways, including using search engines such as google or simply asking a colleague who may be a subject specialist or lead that area for the school.

A SENCO in a school is often considered the subject specialist on all things SEND, but this is an area where no one can be specialist; all pupils with SEND have differing needs and require a range of support strategies. All teachers will be aware of how to support the pupils in their class and where to go for additional support but knowing how to engage with research to improve pupil outcomes is also key.

If we would like to engage more in research around our classroom practice, especially SEND then we do on occasions have to actively consider the more traditional forms of research such as peer reviewed journals, which we often do not have time to read (or even find!).

But to combat this, maybe we should build research engagement into our continuous performance development (CPD) model and maybe we could do this via discussion groups and if we do than a journal (research) club might be a great start to this.

What is a Journal (research) club?

Martina Esis writing about medical journal clubs for the British Medical Journal in 2007, refers to an example she found of a journal club taking place above St Bartholomew’s hospital in the mid-1800s, as ‘a kind of club…where we could sit and read journals’ indicating that journal clubs are not new to the medical profession, but that they can be a way to keep professionals up to date.

The concept of a reading group is not new to us in education either, as many of us take part in one in one form or another. However we often take part to socialise and read fiction rather than educational pieces.

The reading group, to which I belong for example, is not made up of teachers, it is made of up of my friends (of which many are not teachers!). Our preference is historical fiction, we have been in existence for over ten years and we have covered a range of topics in our group, which without the fiction text as a backbone to the discussion may never have occurred.

Journal (research) clubs in Education do not have to be dissimilar to the reading group format we know from our own experience or the films and novels in which they feature. Journal (research) clubs like reading groups can be in any format, discussion over tea and cake or following a more formal pattern and engaging with an established reading group format. We have yet to have anything quite as popular as the reading club promoted by Richard & Judy within WHSmith, which produce books specifically for reading groups with questions for discussion published in the back of the book, but that, does not mean we cannot make a start.

If schools that are are willing to share examples of their journal club successes, do so, then we have the start of a good model to follow and by selecting and reading journals it could familiarise us all with the structure and language of research and can facilitate evidence informed discussions, around how we use research in our classrooms

ResearchSEND is not quite Richard and Judy (yet!) but there is no reason why schools cannot be supported to embrace a journal club and ResearchSEND to facilitate this development.

Starting a Journal (research) Club

For a journal club to be successful it should really be given space and integrated into existing staff CPD. This could be achieved in a number of ways, in a large secondary school for example it could take place within faculties to enhance subject specialism, whereas in a small primary school, all staff may read the same piece and discuss how it could contribute to change in practice.

To ensure success it is essential to select an appropriate research piece, and this could be the most challenging aspect of the club, not only selecting the piece but also where to access it from.

Selecting your research piece

Many of us access research daily, without realising it; What is the best iron when we are replacing one, what an actor has been in before when we are watching a film and following up something we may have read in the news.

We do this through a range of different sources, online (and paper) newspapers, twitter, Facebook, blogs. But these sources are not always the orginal source and searching for the original source material it can be a challenge, outside of an academic library (although not all academic libraries subscribe to all academic journals, so beware of this myth!)

What we often aren’t aware of when reading for pleasure and in our own time, is the original source material, and the piece we may be reading could be secondary source which may contain a bias, could be influenced by popular media or are we aware how the piece been interpreted from the original source.

Common examples of headlines which refer to original research often quote examples thus, ‘eating blue cheese can cure XXX’ but beware, only three people may have been cured of XXX out of the research group of 20 and this was a selected group of 20 young adults (between the age of 25 -26) with YYY.

Not all original research is behind firewalls, either, and there are local libraries (and academic libraries will issue visitor passes if asked) which can  give access to a range of databases such as ScienceDirect, Proquest, ERIC, PSychInfo, Pubmed, JSTOR (although to use then you have to sit in the library, they cannot be used remotely). Google Scholar is cited as an easy to use database, but often it gives access to abstracts only, and the original source will still need to be sort, and may be available elsewhere for a charge.

The Education Journal Club Website, lists ways of accessing original research, which limits searching and can stay within an area of interest. They mention shopping around, for example nasen gold membership gives access to all three of their journals, which could cost around £78 a subscription if buying separately. http://www.edujournalclub.com/access-to-research/ 

Or joining the Chartered College of Teachers which their website says gives access to 2,000 text journals, e-books, research and materials.

 

Now you have your article… Time to get started!

 

If you are running a research journal club in your school we would love to hear from you.

@ResearchSEND

#ResearchSENDExchange

 

References

Esisi, M (2007) Journal Clubs (accessed 10.06.2018) http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/Journal_clubs

 

The West Midlands School Based SEND Forum

Posted on by Michhayw

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.

I remember…

Posted on by Michhayw

I remember learning to read.

I remember whizzing through the first Peter and Jane books and reading about Pat the dog. I remember the frustration when I started to find it more tricky and it became a struggle.

I remember not being able to decode words. I would make them up to fit the text. For many years I thought the words ‘long vehicle’ on the back of a lorry were ‘long voyager’. My 6 year old logic was that  the lorry travelled a long way, ‘on a long voyage’.

I remember group reading, when I couldn’t keep up and when other children had to fill in the gaps for me. I remember one boy laughing at me because I couldn’t say binoculars and another because I couldn’t spell conversation.

I remember not being able to pronounce words and not being able to spell any of the words I was given to learn. I was given six spellings a week, when I was in year three on a Monday and tested on a Friday, I could never learn them all.

I remember I really wanted a fountain pen, and my Dad said I could have one if I got all my spellings correct for 5 weeks. It look me all year to achieve this, but only because the groups I got correct were regular patterns such as ‘ee’.

A year later, my brother with the same challenge did it in five weeks and didn’t really want a pen (can’t remember what he had – I’ll have to ask him)

Over the years I had avoided things such as modern foreign languages, reciting the alphabet and listening to any directions which involved hand gestures signalling left and right. I know if I cant’t spell a word or someone’s name I have to ask them to write it for me and I always have to ask for telephone numbers to be repeated in chunks.

I didn’t know I was dyslexic until I was 27.

By this time I had mastered reading and spelling and was embarking on a Masters in SEN and Educational Psychology and the first module was specific learning difficulties (dyslexia).

Mostly having a specific learning is an advantage, I know what I can and cannot do. I know I’m a big picture thinker and have some good ideas. I know I can find solutions and problem solve. I know I can drive things forward. I know not everyone can always see or understand my vision, but it usually makes sense and works out.

I have had to teach myself to be organised and love an excel spreadsheet for some of the work I do, but I would rather be drawing mind maps on large sheets of paper with a range of chunky felt tip pens. My notebooks are a mystery to most people (as some of my colleagues will testify) with arrows, lines and stars drawn everywhere, but they work for me.

Although in times of stress it may be more apparent that I have dyslexia and I make mistakes such as  texting the wrong person (I have done this twice to the same person, over the last couple of months – so apologies to them) or not expressing myself clearly enough, this is usually because lots is going on, and I do have to verbalise things many times. I think in pictures and I forget not everyone is visual or can see the same pictures as me. But I can remember conversations, even if others can’t and what people are wearing when I meet them (so beware!).

I recently worked with a school to produce a play which celebrated dyslexia and I was humbled by one of the pupils who as a teenager was proud to call himself dyslexic and recognise his strengths and weaknesses. For me I didn’t have this confidence or knowledge, when I was a teenager, nor did I know why everything was so difficult, but as an adult I have the empathy and understanding to support early diagnosis so other pupils can stand up and be proud.

Dyslexia is a gift and one I’m proud to say I have.

Filing in a Carrier Bag – Reflections on the National SENCO Award

Posted on by Michhayw

Today we welcomed forty-four SENCOs to the seventh cohort of our National SENCO Award course. We work with The University of Birmingham to deliver this programme. The University is a Department of Education and National College for Teaching & Leadership approved provider for the National Award and has been running professional courses for SENCOs for fifteen years.

In 2010 when we first collaborated with The University of Birmingham, we used to show a film clip from Teachers TV to start discussion about the role of the SENCO.The clip showed a High School SENCO who was largely disorganised and struggled to prioritise tasks. She was shadowed by a ‘guru of priorities’ who gave her helpful tips throughout the day. On the National Award we used the clip to demonstrate organisation, and filled carrier bags with paperwork that could be the contents of a SENCOs ‘pigeon hole’ or their ‘in tray’. We asked our SENCOs to file the paperwork in order of priorities and encouraged them to ‘trash’ (word used in the clip) some of the items. The clip also promoted provision mapping as a new concept and an SEN Consultant visited her to help her set one up for her school.

Since 2010 nearly two hundred SENCOs have undertaken their National Award with us and a lot has changed since we welcomed our first cohort. The Teachers TV clip is no longer available (I’ve searched hosting sites such as you tube, and can’t find it), a version of a provision map is standard in every school and the carrier bags have either been replaced with a range of canvas bags acquired from The Education Show, or more likely  with a range of electronic devices and storage systems.

In 2010 I brought my first iPhone (iPhone 3s and I’m now on version 6) and the iPad had yet to be available, so most SENCOs had limited access to electronic resources and we would photocopy and/or scan journal articles, which could fill another set of bags over the course. Now we keep everything on the Canvas learning platform in the cloud and provide wi-fi for everyone to access them.

However the biggest changes to the Award since 2010 have been the recent SEND Reforms and the NCTL Learning Outcomes Framework. The National Award has always been a Masters level course (60 credits) which has required coursework to enable participants to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding but the role of the SENCO within school has evolved, and we now prefer to describe it as  SEN Leader. We would expect all SENCOs or would actively encourage them if they are not, to be a member of the Senior Leadership team. We want SENCOs to be  in a position to monitor the effectiveness of staff who work with pupils with SEND, to monitor the provision for pupils with SEND more effectively and to contribute more widely to  leadership and management across their school.

Over the ten days that we deliver the course  SEN leadership is integral  to the programme and we ask participants to reflect on their role back in school. The focus of each day still remains in general terms as it was in 2010,

Day 1- The Role of the SENCO and The SEN Code of Practice

Day 2 – Identification, Assessment & Intervention

Day 3 – Cognition & Learning

Day 4 – Communication & Interaction

Day 5 – Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs

Day 6 – Managing & Developing Provision

Day 7 – Partnership & Participation

Day 8 – Physical & Sensory Needs

Day 9 – Leadership & Management

Day 10 – Presentations

At the end of the programme, participants give presentations on a SEN Leadership activity they have undertaken in School, which focuses on a range of themes from assessment & identification, monitoring, tracking & evaluation, improving teaching & learning, efficient use of resources, developing expertise, working with pupils & parents and improving outcomes.

I am very proud to be supporting SENCOs again this year to become great SEN Leaders and hope this cohort benefit as much from this course as our previous SENCOs have. I wish all our SENCOs the best and hope we have now fully moved on from the days of the carrier bag file. I’ll let you know.