Teach Secondary 13.8

FREE RESOURCE A pupil passport template bit.ly/ts138-PP1 65 teachwire.net/secondary S E N D Freedom from FRICTION I n September 2024, I lost my passport for around 72 hours, and it was incredibly stressful. I needed it to change my driving licence, as I’d recently moved. Not having it made simple things, like upgrading my broadband, into an administrative nightmare. In everyday life, a passport isn’t usually essential. We can survive without one, but it does act as a gatekeeper to a better existence. It smooths the way. ‘ Yes you can come in, ’ says border control. ‘ Yes I can do that for you, ’ says the bank clerk. ‘With’, not ‘to’ Pupil passports (also known as ‘pen portraits’) have been used in schools for many years now, though they became more common following the introduction of the SEND Code of Practice in 2015. Around this time, the sector was shifting its efforts towards co-production – the idea that all of those involved in SEND provision, and especially the young person themselves, should formulate a support plan together, so that final plans are done with , rather than done to . A pupil passport, or pen portrait, is a means by which students can influence what adults know about them, in their own words. The process of creating the pupil passport itself will involve thinking about the most useful information the young person’s teachers and support staff should know. If produced correctly, the finished document can then smooth a young person’s passage through their days at secondary. No longer will they have to repeatedly advocate for themselves: ‘ Please, can I have the enlarged paper copy? ’; ‘ May I leave five minutes early, as it takes me longer to walk to the dining room? ’ As teenagers, having to find the strength to continually ask for these reasonable adjustments is, quite frankly, not reasonable. A good pen portrait will let their days flowmore easily: ‘ Here is your prepared material, ’ says the maths teacher. ‘ Please go to your next lesson when you’re ready, ’ says the cover supervisor. Doors are opened, and difficult encounters become rarer. Key considerations However, pupil passports are only of value if done well . If they’re not, they’ll barely be worth the paper they’re written on – so be sure to consider the following: 1. Has enough time been allocated for co-production? There should be no quick ‘copy and paste’ job from last year’s document to the next. Pupil passports should be based on conversations with the young person, their parents and those teachers who know themwell. Discerning and capturing what’s really useful to know – that’s where the value lies. 2. Are these documents ‘lit up’ for staff ? A pupil passport sat in a filing cabinet helps no one. Have you allowed enough time at the start of the year for INSET sessions? Do your heads of department talk to their teams about them? It can be helpful to invite teachers and/or students to talk to staff about the difference a pupil passport has made for them. 3. Is the content properly understood? Your school’s SENCo should be willing and available to talk staff through the more specialist wording that can be found in a pupil passport. If a student’s document states that they have ‘ interoception difficulties ’ or ‘ hyposensitivity relating to temperature ’, what does this actually mean? 4. Is the information practical ? It’s all very well recording that the young person can ‘ Get overwhelmed in a noisy classroom ’ – but what can we actually do about that? Provide guidance: ‘ I can get overwhelmed in a noisy classroom– give me a warning if it is going to be a loud, interactive lesson, and the option of sitting outside and working in a pair or on my own. ’ Pupil passports can help to oil the cogs in a busy secondary school. Co-produced carefully, their very creation will help your young people feel consulted, listened to and involved, and help smooth their – and your – path through the day. Lower stress leads to more learning, making for a win-win. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rebecca Leek has been a primary and secondary teacher, SENCo. headteacher and MAT CEO; she is currently the Executive Director of the Suffolk Primary Headteacher’s Association The time you set aside for creating pen portraits and pupil passports will be time well spent, advises Rebecca Leek ...