SEN0367
Written evidence submitted by Mrs Becky Brooks
CONCERNS
I work in a 2 form entry infant school in Hampshire, where we have a high level of SEND need across the school, including children already with EHCPs, some that are pending and those on the SEND register.
I have been the SENDCo for the past two years and this is now my third year in post.
Over the past two years, we have had some support from a SEND team in Hampshire who have come in to support us, especially with a particular cohort who is extremely tricky. However, it is sometimes impossible as a SENDCo to get support. My time out of class for my SENDCo role is spent chasing SEND caseworkers, Speech and language therapists and outside agencies, which should be providing us with outreach support. My caseworker has changed three times in the two years I have been there, with me regularly having to speak to her manager just to get an answer to a simple question. As you can imagine, this is a frustration to myself and obviously to parents.
During my first year of being a SENDCO I had a Speech and language therapist, who never came in or signposted me to someone else, I am aware that she was on maternity leave but no one came out to my school until May 23.
As a local authority we have no access, unless as a school we pay to Occupational therapist support, which many of my children’s EHCPs state they should be receiving this support.
Our outreach support are stretched and end up taking 3-4 months to get back to you once you have filled in liaison forms – which might be too late for that early intervention support of that child.
The quality of SEND support is not good enough due to funding and training. Everything seems to come at a cost and if you don’t have the money as a school, there is no other way to be supported. We have had free training from behaviour support and put all strategies in place that have been suggested, for example, Zones of Regulation, Emotion coaching, a school dog.
Funding within school for children within a mainstream school is extremely hard. Even if a child has an EHCP and is exceptional once as a school you pay the notional pay of £6000 that doesn’t even pay for a 1 to 1 Learning Support Assistant. So for example in our school where there is high number of SEND we are paying a lot of money out to support the SEND children.
Behaviours are becoming more severe within school and adults and children are becoming hurt within schools. Certain children feel unsafe within school due to other children and their behaviours.
When specialist schools are consulted about a child, they say they can’t meet need with sometimes not even seeing the child. Even as a mainstream school we have to consult about a child just on paper – but can’t speak to parents, however we’re made, as a mainstream school, to make a judgement about a child.
As a mainstream school, we have to take the children we are consulted about however a specialised provision who has the resources, training and the funding can say no. I understand that the amount of SEND child is rising, however teachers and other staff are leaving the profession rapidly and some of these issues are due to not being supported. More specialised provisions need to be built, which I know is the vision or more funding is given to school for training, specialised teachers to be employed or nurture provisions for the children within the school to be implemented.
If as a school you want to have a resourced provision, you have to have all SEND children from the local authority or further in order to get funding. However, as a school if you provide this provision you don’t get the funding to support this.
Alternative provision for infant aged children is either non-existent or really expensive, some only provide children 15 hours a week, so the children still aren’t receiving ‘full time’ education, whatever that looks like.
The current curriculum is so archaic and does not provide enough support for children with SEND to see their progress compared to peers, as there is such a lid on it.
As there isn’t a multi-agency approach when EHCPs are written/reviewed means at times, the outcomes/specialists/work within school isn’t clear.
Parents who seem to ‘shout’ the loudest or are able to ring/email constantly seem to get the support they need, however parents that don’t or can’t seem to be waiting a long time in order to get the support they need.
As we work on the borders of Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire all EHCP proformas are different, so having one consistent one across would help.
I understand that this seems quite negative, but I feel as a professional if the SEND provision isn’t changed lots of SEND children will be failed.
January 2025