SEN Code of Practice Top Ten need to know impacts on your school

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1 SEN Code of Practice Top Ten need to know impacts on your school

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3 SEN Code of Practice Top Ten need to know impacts on your school By James Randall A former senior Local Authority manager with first-hand experience of managing significant organisational change resulting from government legislation in the complex area of children and young people, our Business Manager is uniquely placed to assess the impact of the latest SEN Code of Practice on SEND provision within schools. Get in touch: james.randall@focuspsychology.com

4 SEN Code of Practice Top Ten need to know impacts on your school Is your school ready for September 2014? The SEN Code of Practice is the statutory guidance on Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014, it relates to children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabled children and young people. The Code of Practice will have a profound impact on all schools in England and Wales but it is a complex and daunting read (253 pages). In this report we present our list of the top ten need to know facts for schools from the guidance.

5 Impact #1 You can t just ignore it..and it comes into force in September 2014 SEN Code of Practice - Top Ten need to know impacts on your school The Code of Practice is statutory guidance and specifically applies to many organisations, including the governing bodies of maintained, non-maintained and independent schools, specialist schools and early years providers. It applies equally to all age ranges from 0 to 25. The majority of the regulations and the Code of Practice come into force in September 2014.

6 SEN Code of Practice - Top Ten need to know impacts on your school Impact #2 Everything starts from Quality First Teaching The Code is clear in its anticipation that High quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised will meet the individual needs of the majority of children and young people Under the Code, schools need to continually demonstrate the effectiveness of the approaches they are putting into place to support children and young people who have or may have SEND. This means that all teaching staff need to understand the strategies to identify and support vulnerable pupils, not just the SENCo and School Improvement staff.

7 SEN Code of Practice - Top Ten need to know impacts on your school Impact #3 You need to capture the Child and Parent Voice The principles of the code are very clear that schools must have regard to the views, wishes and feelings of the child or young person and their parents/guardians, this includes being able to demonstrate that they have participated as fully as possible in any decisions. Consideration of whether SEND provision is required should start with the desired outcomes of all concerned, including the expected progress and attainment and the views and wishes of the pupil and their parents/guardians.

8 Don t rely on EHC plans Impact #4.and any associated money. SEN Code of Practice - Top Ten need to know impacts on your school The Code contains significant information on Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, however schools need to be very aware that the coordinated assessment process is not a replacement for the statutory assessment process in terms of a gateway for additional funds. EHC plans will only be used for children and young people with significant need, the vast majority of children with SEND will not get an EHC plan. Schools need to consider the financial implications of this new situation, they are required to support children and young people with SEND but cannot expect additional targeted funding.

9 SEN Code of Practice - Top Ten need to know impacts on your school Impact #5 Your school must have in-house SEND capability A child or young person that has SEND but does not have an EHC plan must be educated in a mainstream setting and schools must not refuse to admit or continue to support a child who has SEND but does not have an EHC plan simply because they do not feel able to cater for their needs. With budgets tight, schools would be advised to enhance their in-house ability to identity and support children and young people with SEND; basic capabilities such as an understanding of how children learn and meta-cognition are essential for ALL teaching and support staff, not just the SENCo.

10 Impact #6 Eliminate the Velcro LSA SEN Code of Practice - Top Ten need to know impacts on your school Sadly the historical response to many children and young people with SEND has been to employ a Learning Support Assistant (LSA) within the classroom who works specifically with them, allowing the teacher to get on with the rest of the class. The Code requires a continuous Plan Do and Review cycle which requires their class or subject teacher to remain responsible for the child on a daily basis. Not only will the use of LSAs in the Velcro role work against this cycle, it is also highly inefficient from a financial perspective. LSAs with appropriate training and management can support significantly more pupils in more effective ways.

11 Impact #7 The rise of the SENCo SEN Code of Practice - Top Ten need to know impacts on your school Many schools already understand the importance of the SENCo role, but it is still common to see the duties of a SENCo simply added to the responsibilities of a full-time teacher. Post September 2014 the role of the SENCo becomes even more vital to the performance and effectiveness of schools. Your SENCo needs time to do their job productively (in larger schools the role should be full time), they need continuous professional training and the ability to manage support staff (such as LSAs) to maximum benefit.

12 SEN Code of Practice - Top Ten need to know impacts on your school The importance of Nurture based practice Impact #8.dispelling the myth: we re teachers, not therapists! The Code places significant additional accountabilities on schools to identify and support children and young people with SEND and it recognises the clear link between SEN, socio-economic and health factors. All staff within schools therefore need to understand nurture based practice. No matter how long you stare at RAISEonline, our most vulnerable learners will fail to meet expectations, not because they don t want to but because they can t. Neglect and chaos fails to support development of resilience, self-efficacy, motivation, self-worth, executive functioning the very skills that are needed to be a successful learner. If we don t concentrate on nurturing these first, no amount of booster sessions are going to work.

13 Beware of labels Impact #9.they are not a substitute for action. SEN Code of Practice - Top Ten need to know impacts on your school By its nature the Code relies to a certain extent on the ability to identify SEND within schools and appropriate identification is, of course, a prerequisite for effective intervention. However the process of labelling a child or young person is not an end in itself; a poor assessment of need is one that simply labels without suggesting action, just because a class teacher can now say Jonnie has ASC does not mean they are going to know how to effectively support him. Schools will be held to account on the effectiveness of their SEND interventions, not for the number or variety of labels assigned to pupils.

14 SEN Code of Practice - Top Ten need to know impacts on your school Impact #10 Learn to make the money work harder Schools have many pressures on their finances, the Code makes it clear however, that much of the funding for SEND provision has already been allocated directly to schools and they are expected to account for this spend. While schools are not expected to meet the full costs of more expensive provisions these are likely to be the exception rather than the rule. Schools must therefore think smart to maximise their limited spend on SEND; approaches such as flexible and competent LSA utilisation, targeted training to enhance knowledge and skills and increased group, rather then individual, intervention can all make the money go further.

15 Conclusions It is tempting to ignore or play lip service to the SEN Code of Practice, after all, there are so many pressures on modern schools it can feel like just another burden. However, understanding the vision behind the Code and making your approach to SEND a significant part of your school strategy can help to deliver very real, positive changes where they count educational attainment for all. James Randall FocusPsychology

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