Teach Secondary 13.8

As of January 2023, 17% of pupils in England identified as having SEND. That’s around 1 in 6. As I type these words, 400,000 children are seeking support frommedical services for a suspected developmental condition. It feels as though a revolution is happening in the world of SEND, right now. In response to the news that over 20,000 children in England are currently waiting for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessment, the British Psychological Society has launched a campaign calling for every school to have a named educational psychologist based in their local authority (tiny.cc/ts138-ND1 ). At the same time, the Children’s Commissioner, Rachel De Souza, has published a report (see tiny.cc/ts138- ND2) in which she demands ‘urgent action’ and “ Better support in mainstream schools, improved awareness and training for frontline professionals in education, health care. ” Culture of blame And then last month, a group of charities and experts wrote an open letter to the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson (see bit. ly/ts138-ND3), highlighting the ‘culture of blame’ that has emerged in relation to children with SEND. The letter describes how parents, teachers, LAworkers and even young people themselves are being shamed for the very existence of SEND itself, with no real action being taken to alleviate the challenges any of them face. The letter calls for a number of changes, and concludes by pointing out that, “ This must include a repositioning of ‘SEND’ within the wider education system, so that it is no longer viewed as a ‘bolt-on’ or afterthought as it is now. Rather, those children and young people who need something additional and/or different to access education must be considered as central to all educational policy. ” Such an approach would, the letter’s authors argue, reverse much of the damage inadvertently caused by the introduction of Michael Gove’s sweeping education reforms in 2014, which, whilst striving for increased expectations and attainment, in reality proved to be, “ Narrow, prescriptive, ” and disadvantageous to huge swathes of the children that the government was purporting to help. Towards awhole school approach None of this will be news to those working in SEND, of course. All three of the interventions mentioned above stress the crucial necessity of a whole school approach – and yet, I’ve seen for myself the look of terror onmany a member of staff’s face when the prospect of a ‘whole school approach’ is mentioned. I entirely understand why that might be their response. As a mental health campaigner, I’ll often look at the latest statistics, consider the enormity of the issue and then find myself completely overwhelmed, unsure where to start. When this happens, I’ll call to mind one of the best pieces of advice I ever heard: ‘ Think globally, act locally.’ It’s a phrase frequently used in activist circles, alongside the ‘patchwork quilt’ analogy, which says that we each have our own sphere of influence – our own ‘patch’. These patches might not look like much on their own, but when sewn together, they can cover a lot. The smallest successes With that inmind, I asked three SEND experts their advice on what school staff can do to improve matters right now. As far as Ellie Costello, director of the charity Square Pegs, is concerned, “ Don’t wait for the cavalry – the SEND revolution is unlikely to be a silver bullet. Meet the child where they’re at, use professional curiosity to explore what might be going on, and build psychological safety, trust and belonging. ” Ginny Bootman, a SENCo and headteacher with over 30 years’ experience in education, meanwhile suggests that. “ The little things do make the biggest difference. Changing the seating to suit the needs of the individual child; providing visual timetables and ensuring equipment is easily to hand, for example. ” An anonymous LAworker with responsibility for SEND further told me that, “ When we interviewed older children and young adults who had found learning difficult about what had helped them at school, they didn’t talk about interventions and groups. They spoke about teachers who gave them the benefit of the doubt that they were trying – who acknowledged that not having remembered instructions didn’t mean they weren’t listening. Teachers who could see when students were working hard, and noticed even the smallest successes.” We’ve become used to hearing about the rising levels of demand, inconsistent provision and growing resentment when it comes to SEND support in schools – but the voices of those campaigning for dramatic changes are getting louder... Natasha Devon Natasha Devon is a writer, broadcaster and campaigner on issues relating to education and mental health; to find out more, visit natashadevon.com or follow @_NatashaDevon 21 teachwire.net/secondary S C H O O L O F T H O U G H T