When the Secretary for Education labels the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system as a ‘lose, lose, lose’ situation, it’s clear there are serious issues at play
CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on NFER
The pandemic has exacerbated concerns around attendance, behaviour, and mental health, all while real-term funding declines. This puts schools under immense pressure, particularly in supporting pupils with SEND.
The Government’s SEND and AP Improvement Plan calls for a ‘united workforce’ around the child but strangely leaves out multi-academy trusts (MATs) as key stakeholders. To address this gap, NFER’s new report sheds light on how some MATs are stepping up to better support their SEND pupils and what lessons can be drawn.
Over the recent autumn and spring terms, they interviewed 49 trust leaders and school SENCOs across 19 MATs identified for promising practices in SEND provision. Here are three key strategies these MATs are using to support SEND.
Supporting not stipulating
Rather than MATs leaders mandating particular approaches, they instead tended to provide a vision or framework to align schools in terms of culture and standards. A designated SEND leader within the MAT leadership team was seen to be particularly valuable for providing specialised and strategic support, and for understanding the nature of the challenges SENCOs were facing.
Internal SEND inspections were likewise reported by both MAT leaders and SENCOs to be positive, constructive experiences that focused both on the school’s strengths and their areas for development. All interviewees emphasised the importance of schools within the trust having agency over the nature of their provision as school staff are best placed to understand the needs and context of their pupils.
Resources, resources, resources
Schools are facing lengthy waiting lists to access the specialist services required for pupils with SEND. Some MATs, however, reported bringing these services in-house as a resource for their schools to draw on. Interviewees also highlighted that the economies of scale afforded by acting as a school group enabled access at reduced rates to training opportunities, interventions and needs assessment resources for their schools.
The sharing of additional resources such as templates, toolkits and guidance also help to reduce SENCO workload. While financial resources from central MAT teams were mentioned, these tended to consist of a small amount of additional funding for discrete ambitions, and support accessing and optimising funding from other sources.
Communities of practice
Being a SENCO can be an isolating role: often they are the only staff member in the school with their specialism, and even their line manager may not have a full picture of the day-to-day responsibilities and challenges of the job. The SENCOs we spoke to unanimously appreciated the opportunities for collaboration and communication with other SENCOs, as well as with the MAT SEND leader (where available), not just in terms of knowledge exchange but also moral support.
SENCOs reported interacting through regular cross-trust SENCO meetings, instant-messaging groups, school visits and/or local buddy systems. Collaboration with Special schools within the trust (where applicable) was likewise seen to be valuable in providing access to specialist SEND expertise.
Collaboration between schools can only do so much to address SEND challenges
The research findings shed initial insights on the ways in which MATs and other school groups might best support pupils with SEND. However, we need more evidence on how these practices may or may not influence outcomes for pupils. Moreover, while school groups can do more to better support their staff and pupils in relation to SEND, they alone cannot overcome the challenges of an overloaded and underfunded SEND system.
The Government must prioritise fixing the SEND system by addressing staffing challenges, providing adequate resources, and supporting effective provision for pupils with SEND. Ensuring that schools and local authorities can work together effectively is crucial to making meaningful progress.
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