TTR0096

Written evidence submitted by National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen)

1. Introduction and reason for submitting evidence

nasen (National Association for Special Educational Needs) welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Education Select Committee for their inquiry into teacher recruitment, training and retention. In relation to this inquiry, nasen is taking a particular focus on the fundamental importance of a workforce that is trained, upskilled and confident to support all pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

2. Background on Special Educational Needs (SEN)

A child or young person* has special educational needs (SEN) if they have a learning difficulty or disability which requires special educational provision to be made, which, according to the SEND code of practice (2015), is educational or training provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools or settings.

Currently, the educational experience for, and outcomes of, pupils with SEND is not as good as it is for those without SEND. For example, it is reported that:

• The attainment gap between children and young people with SEN and their peers is twice as big as the gap between children and young people eligible for free school meals (disadvantaged) and their peers. Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
• Children and young people with SEN are up to four times more likely to be excluded (permanent or fixed-term through suspension) than those without SEN. Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England, Autumn term 2021/22 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)
• 36% of pupils with SEND experience frequent bullying (https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/all-about-bullying/at-risk-groups/sen-disability/do-children-send-experience-more )
• Young people with SEN are more likely to be not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) and are 25% less likely to be in sustained employment by their mid/late 20’s compared to their peers not identified with SEN. Outcomes for pupils eligible for free school meals and identified with special educational needs (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Schools are facing a double challenge around SEND: prevalence and complexity (epi.org.uk https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/high-needs-funding-overview/). The number of children and young people identified with SEN continues to rise. In 2021/22 almost 1.5 million children and young people in England were identified with SEN[1].

Additionally, the increasingly complex characterisation of SEND is driving an increase in support needs in the classroom. Teaching staff are increasingly expected to have specific theoretical, and increasingly, neuropsychological knowledge about a growing set of categories in order to support their students with more complex needs. Schools are bound by the SEND code of practice to ensure high quality teaching and teachers are bound by their professional standards to appropriately adapt their teaching to respond to the needs of all pupils.

We also know that access to support for SEND is largely dictated by the school a pupil attends (https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/news/the-level-of-support-offered-to-children-with-special-educational-needs-is-decided-by-a-postcode-lottery ), which also points to a clear need for better and more consistent training for teachers and leaders in SEND and inclusion.
To respond to some of these challenges, nasen advocates for career-long teacher education and professional development to be set into a context of inclusion by design and be learner-led rather than label-led.

3. The current situation regarding teacher recruitment and retention

3a. Question: What are the main factors leading to difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified teachers?
Whilst there are undoubtedly myriad reasons to explore here, such as salaries, the public perception of education and workload, for our response, nasen is focusing solely upon issues which directly affect pupils with SEND.

As SENCOs usually manage a teaching commitment alongside their SENCO role, their retention is relevant within this inquiry. We know from our SENCO workload study, commissioned with Bath Spa university, that only 40% of SENCOs stated that they intended to be in the role in 5 years’ time. 27% cited workload as the primary reason for considering leaving. Since these reports, the proportion of children identified with SEN has continued to rise, adding to workload. Without dedicated protected time to allow this to be completed during working hours and additional support, SENCOs are increasingly finding their workload unmanageable. Addressing SENCO workload requires a review of the responsibilities and typical tasks, as it is generally accepted that a disproportionate amount of SENCO time is used on administrative burdens as compared to strategic leadership which can impact upon the quality of provision for pupils.

We also recognise that special schools and some alternative provision settings are disproportionally affected by difficulties in recruitment. As reported here, an analysis of Department for Education (DfE) workforce figures from November 2021 shows that for every 1,000 teacher posts in special schools, thirteen were filled by a temporary staff member (1.3 per cent), in comparison to five in 1,000 (0.5 per cent) across all state-funded schools. The rate of teacher vacancies was also twice as high in special schools and AP. Some of the reasons for this issue include a lack of incentives for potential teachers to consider specialist teaching, in contrast to schemes such as bursaries for shortage subjects; misconceptions about the role and career opportunities and better salary prospects elsewhere, particularly, but not solely, for support staff.

Within the recent DfE report on the working lives of teachers and leaders, the issues of workload and high levels of stress are restated. This report found that less than half (46%) of early career teachers (ECTs) felt prepared by their training to teach pupils with SEND and that the biggest barrier to accessing CPD was workload or competing priorities. This raises the need to review how trainee, new and early career teachers are trained effectively in SEND and how this is developed across their careers. The same report shows a higher prevalence of reporting bullying and discrimination by teachers and leaders with a disability than with no disability. This suggests a need for greater staff training in real inclusion.

In our recent membership survey, over half of respondents felt that their capacity to support young people with SEND has decreased over the last year, with many citing reduced staffing, lack of funding, staff shortages at borough level, higher numbers of pupils identified with SEN but no increase in adults to support.

3b. Question: Which subjects are most affected?
The current teacher recruitment and retention issues are having a detrimental effect on the number of specialist teachers available to deliver subjects; the NFER statistics showed that only 55% of maths lessons in Autumn 2021 were staffed by subject specialists. Studies have shown that subject-specific training of teachers is responsible for more effective teaching resulting in higher student proficiency (Porsch and Whannell 2019). This is especially necessary for those who may need additional support to access the curriculum, such as pupils with SEND.

3c. Question: How does the situation differ across the country and across different types of schools and colleges?
Specialist settings are being significantly impacted by the retention and recruitment of teaching staff, including teaching assistants (see earlier comments). For specialist and mainstream schools, such support staff, alongside teachers provide a range of vital support in the education of children with SEND.

3d. Question: What impact does this have on pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND?
Difficulties with recruitment and retention can lead to inconsistent support, which disproportionally impacts children and young people with SEN. Inconsistent support can include a lack of expertise in providing for pupils with SEN; for example, staff not expert in the subject they are teaching, not expert in developmental understanding, unable to identify needs and misconceptions and address them, unable to form and maintain effective relationships with pupils, unable to access the support they need to high quality professional development, mentoring and coaching, insufficient time to plan and deliver high quality teaching in line with an effective graduated approach.

Where there are staffing gaps for certain subjects, the breadth of the curriculum for all can be at risk with many subject specialists deployed to key examination classes and key stage 3 classes being delivered by non-specialists. This may impact upon achievement, attainment, motivation and engagement with subjects, particularly given the greatest teaching expertise is crucial for ensuring pupils with SEND can learn.

A lack of teacher confidence in teaching pupils with SEND due to gaps in, or ineffective, professional development can result in the poorer outcomes we outlined at the start.
Evidence was given at a debate in Westminster on 22 March 2023 which found that more children are being sent to alternative provision due to a reduced specialist workforce.

4. Question: What action should the Department take to address the challenges in teacher recruitment and retention?

• Review all teacher training requirements and opportunities in SEND, taking an inclusion by design approach which can aim to reduce, rather than increase, teacher workload
• Re-focus accountability measures around inclusion and align all policy areas to drive this
• Fully review SENCO workload and responsibilities and protect an accurate amount of time for the role to be genuinely effective for pupils with SEND
• Work with the specialist sectors to incentivise recruitment and retention effectively
• Aim to collect workforce demographic data on disability and neurodiversity and engage a representative section of the workforce to consider how to address these challenges (where challenges are in addition to those more generally recognised, such as workload, pay and access to specialist support services)
   

4a. Question: What has been the impact of the new bursaries and scholarships announced in October? Not applicable.
 

5. How well does the current teacher training framework work to prepare new teachers and how could it be improved?

5a. Question: What has been the impact of the Early Career Framework implemented in September 2021? Not applicable.

5b. Question: Are there ways in which teacher training could be improved to address the challenges in recruitment and retention?

• Fully review all teacher training requirements and opportunities in SEND, taking an inclusion by design approach which can aim to reduce, rather than increase, teacher workload
• Ensure all teachers have protected time for and prioritised access to effective professional development for SEND, including through inclusion by design approaches
• Ensure all leaders prioritise inclusion and value the rights of staff to effective professional development for SEND
• Ensure that the voice of all sections of the teaching workforce is captured when seeking how to address the challenges

5c. Question: How does teacher training in England compare internationally, and what are the benefits and disadvantages of the English system? Not applicable.
 

6. Question: How do challenges in teacher recruitment, training and retention compare to those being faced in other professions/ sectors of the economy, and is there anything that can be learned from other professions/ sectors of the economy? Not applicable.
 

7. Question: What particular challenges exist in teacher recruitment, training and retention for teachers from different demographic backgrounds? Not applicable.

7a. Question: How well does the demographic makeup of the teaching workforce reflect that of the pupils they teach?

The annual School workforce in England report does not cover characteristics such as disability or neurodivergence. Collecting these data would enable informed strategy and indicate the level of that reflection.

* Throughout we will now refer to children and young people as ‘pupils’ solely to reduce word count.

April 2023

Submission authored by Alison Willett (Education Director) on behalf of nasen
(National Association for Special Educational Needs)  21.04.2023                                  Page 4 of 4