SEN0390

Written evidence submitted by Dr Tristan Middleton

Support for children and young people with SEND

The EHCP assessment and planning process is currently adversarial and failing.

Key area to address include:

• Often the lack of inclusive provision and struggle to fund provision in schools prompts parents and schools to apply for an EHCP assessment. If all schools embedded inclusive practice more effectively and could access funding for this, then the demand for EHCPs would reduce.
• Local authorities are not adhering to their statutory requirements in assessing and issuing EHCP requests. This is evidenced by the numbers of tribunal appeals around EHCP assessment requests and the percentage of decisions which go against local authorities. Case law indicates a very low threshold for assessing for an EHCP however the number of assessments does not reflect this.
• The process for EHCP assessment is not transparent. The guidance to parents on local authority websites varies widely and key information is not consistent. The criteria used when making decisions whether to assess for an EHCP, beyond the two statutory indicators, is not shared on local authority websites.

Current and future model of SEND provision

The DfE, under the previous government, discouraged the use of Inclusive Education as a framework. Much of the DfE guidance and documentation does not use the terminology of inclusion. “Inclusion” needs to be clearly defined and promoted within guidance and documentation released by the DfE and Ofsted. In particular definitions need to move beyond terminology of “support” and “accommodation”, to focus on valuing diversity within our schools and other education settings.

The SENCo is a key role in schools. Currently SEN funding is not ringfenced and SENCos often have no access to this funding. Parity with the approach of Pupil Premium funding should be considered.

Guidance should mandate protected time for the SENCo role.

SENCos hold a responsibility for staff development. In order for this to be effectively executed, inclusion needs to be valued within schools. SENCos currently say that moving on an inclusive education pathway is generally sidelined by the narrow focus on ensuring schools achieve targets relating to assessment of STEM subjects.

As a result of the 2023 SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, the nature of SENCo training has declined. The ideological move away from postgraduate level National Award for SEN Coordination (NASENCo) to an NPQ was put in place, in spite of evidence pointing to significant negative impact. In comparison to the NASENCo, learners taking the NPQ SENCo have less teaching and learning hours, reduced engagement with research and loose the opportunity use their study towards further master’s level study. The DfE should revisit the nature of SENCo training and consider the advantages of postgraduate level study as a route to leadership of SEN.

Finance, funding and capacity of SEND provision

Significant funding has been diverted to Multi Academy Trusts and away from local authorities. Nevertheless, local authorities have still maintained the responsibility for all learners with SEND. This has led to local authority SEND budgets being further stretched.

SENCos in local authority maintained schools speak about the continuing decline in access to SEND support for their schools. Services which support a graduated approach to SEND provision for these schools, such as Educational Psychology services and Advisory Teacher services are no longer accessible. Accounts of these services no longer being open to referrals, raising their thresholds and of waiting lists of 6 to 18 months are commonplace. The impact of these barriers is significant on children and as a result, morale amongst SENCos is extremely low.

In order for schools to improve their inclusive approach to provision for learners with SEND, they need to be flexible and responsive to need. This has a consequence on staffing, requiring adaptability and staffing availability. Schools currently are struggling to maintain adequate levels of staffing.

Teaching Assistants / Learning Support Assistants are key professionals in the provision of support for learners identified with SEND. Demands on Teaching Assistants / Learning Support Assistants are high, yet remuneration is low. One Teaching Assistant recently said to me, “I could earn more in Tesco than I do as a TA and I wouldn’t have to take work home”. Many schools are now struggling to recruit Teaching Assistants / Learning Support Assistants. The role needs better recognition, improved salary and conditions, and schools need additional funding to cover this change.

Accountability and inspection of SEND provision

The Inclusive and Relational Approaches Working Group is currently formulating a set of draft criteria for the inclusion element of the Ofsted report card. The current draft is included below. You can read more about the working group here. (https://www.nurtureuk.org/the-inclusive-and-relational-approaches-working-group/)

In addition, the Ofsted approach needs to be remodelled to taking a collaborative approach to school improvement, rather than punitive approach. There had been much discussion about this prior to the last election. Currently schools are judged and spend too much time preparing for and dealing with Ofsted, which detracts from their focus on the needs of their pupils.

Inclusive and Relational Approaches Working Group – Draft of the ‘Inclusion and Belonging’ Criterion for the upcoming Ofsted report cards

This document sets out a potential list of criteria for rating the inclusion aspect of the new Ofsted report cards. We believe that inclusion should be the foundation of every education setting, upon which successful curriculum delivery is built.

Elements of these criteria have been taken from the existing Ofsted School Inspection Handbook (please see here for the handbook).

Exemplary

●        The school meets all of the criteria for strong practice securely and consistently.

●        The quality of inclusion and belonging provision in the school is exceptional.

In addition, the following apply:

●        The way the school develops a sense of belonging for pupils, staff and parents is exemplary and is worthy of being shared with others.

●        In this instance, belonging is defined as: “The extent to which pupils feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in the school social environment.”[1]

●        Inclusive practice is central to the school’s ethos and integrated into delivery of the curriculum.

●        Pupils consistently have highly positive attitudes and commitment to their education. They are highly motivated and persistent in the face of difficulties. Pupils make a highly positive, tangible contribution to the life of the school and/or the wider community. Pupils actively support the well-being of other pupils.

Strong Practice

●        The school’s leadership and policy development takes a whole-school approach to inclusion, and all staff receive the necessary training, support and designated time to deliver an inclusive approach to education. They feel well supported and have a good understanding of what makes an inclusive environment.

●        The school assesses the social, emotional and mental health needs of all pupils, as part of a holistic approach to inclusion. Each pupil’s individual needs are considered, and targeted support is put in place to address any unmet social, emotional and mental health needs.

●        Pupils feel safe, happy and a sense of belonging in school. They feel supported to develop positive relationships with educators, fellow pupils, and with the learning environment.

●        The school environment provides the necessary support for all pupils to access the curriculum.

●        The school’s policies pertaining to behaviour and relationships consider children’s individual needs, including the needs of children with SEND or unrecognised SEND.

●        The school’s SEND provision, and provision for children with suspected or unrecognised SEND, is culturally competent and takes into account the individual needs of families from diverse backgrounds.

●        The school promotes diversity and equitable access effectively. As a result, pupils understand, appreciate and respect the inherent value of each individual.

●        The school is well-embedded in its local community. The school values and recognises the experience of its community, and delivers a shared approach delivered in collaboration with its community, including parents, who are engaged in the school’s approach to supporting their children.

●        The school provides strong support for children in need and care experienced children, and works well in partnership with other agencies as well as the local authority to provide support for all pupils.

●        The school provides high-quality support for children at risk of, and children who are experiencing, emotionally based school avoidance.

●        Pupils understand and respect views, beliefs and opinions that are different from their own. They show respect for the different protected characteristics as defined in law. The school is able to constructively engage with, and address, discriminatory perspectives through education.

●        The school has an effective anti-bullying policy, which includes developing a school culture where bullying is not tolerated, and a clear process for how reports of bullying will be addressed.

●        Students and support staff are involved in decision-making, and understand how their input shapes their school environment.

Assessment/delivery

●        Pupils feed back to inspectors through a range of platforms, including surveys and questionnaires, as well as focus groups. When listening to the voices of parents and young people, inspectors consult a representative sample of voices. A near-peer model can also be used to facilitate this. Surveys and questionnaires are inclusive in design, using e.g. visual prompts to express questions in diverse ways where appropriate.

●        Parents  and staff feed back via surveys and questionnaires – a particular area of focus is the amount of meaningful engagement the school undertakes with parents.

●        The school’s improvement planning/longer term vision for the school includes planning for increasing/maintaining an inclusive environment, and meeting the social, emotional and mental health needs of all pupils. The school takes an equity literacy approach to improvement planning.

●        The school’s records and analysis of attendance data, pupils taken off roll, exclusions and suspensions, use of part-time timetables and approach to addressing incidents of poor behaviour reflects a commitment to an inclusive approach. A gap analysis lens is taken to identify where children may have been removed from the roll, or moved elsewhere.

●        Inspectors should also consider the school’s own data, from tools used to assess and support social, emotional and mental health needs (for example, information collected via the Boxall Profile Online).

January 2025