During the course of the day, we noticed that the DfE’s ‘Children with special needs: an analysis – 2015’ statistics release hadn’t been published. Indeed, the DfE’s message on its website contained the following message:
‘Statistics release cancelled
From 2015, we shall cease the publication of ‘Children with special educational needs: an analysis’ in its current format. This change will mean that SEN data and associated commentary will no longer be collated from other source data; however, we shall replace this with a document signposting users to all relevant releases, with a cover note on date of releases, to enable them to find existing data easily in a timely manner on gov.uk.’
For more detail, see http://bit.ly/1MYh3wY
As a result of this, we spoke to a DfE press officer a few moments ago. He provided us with the following statement:
‘Ultimately, the publication itself hasn’t been cancelled. We’re changing the way that it’s published to make it a bit more user friendly and better organised really. So, it will be published there in due course and it will be regularly updated rather than published annually. So, it was slightly misleading what was originally on there, so we hope that that clears it up a little bit.’
We asked for a ballpark publication date, but he was unable to provide us with a firm figure. He did, however, assure us that he will keep us posted. In turn, we will let you know as soon as we have an inkling.
‘Deafness is not a learning disability and yet in England just 36% of deaf children achieved five good GCSEs last year, compared to 65% of hearing children.’ Susan Daniels OBE in the 12th issue of The SEND Practitioner
In line with Susan Daniel’s startling statistic, we published the 12th issue of The SEND Practitioner on the day of the GCSE results.
Edward Farrow
We were really pleased to welcome Brian Lamb back to The SEND Practitioner well over a year since he first graced the pages of our inaugural issue. Since then, the SEN reforms have made some qualified progress. However, on balance, the sheer scale of the cultural change that is afoot reflects on a timescale more rooted in years than months. And it is against this background that a health check of the state of the current reforms reveals both positives and negatives.
More specifically, as Mark Blois pointed out in the ninth issue, Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and personal budgets continue to cause concern for some of our readership, against a broader palette of ongoing tweaks, adaptions and reinventions that many schools will need to make over the coming years.
However, what is interesting, and what comes across in Brian’s analysis, is that ‘many’ does not mean ‘all’. In that, I mean that there are some schools who have not been troubled by the reforms at all. One such school was Frederick Bremer – the brilliant institution at the heart of Channel 4’s Educating the East End.
When we interviewed Emma Hillman (deputy head) and Francesca Richards (SENCO) towards the end of last year, I asked them whether their person-centred approach had enabled them to navigate the SEN reforms more easily. Because of their inclusive person-centred practice, they both responded with a resounding ‘yes’. Francesca Richards stated that:
‘Yes, it’s been pretty smooth for us. This is because a lot of our SEN practices were already person-centred. For example, our annual statement reviews already constructed a person-centred approach that puts the child and the child’s voice at the heart of the process, alongside rigorous support systems that foster this child-centred approach. So, the practice that we have put in place has allowed us to adapt to the changes quite easily.’ Francesca Richards in the eighth issue of The SEND Practitioner
Of course, no school is the same. However, the type of whole-school person-centred approach that an inner-city school like Frederick Bremer follows has reaped extraordinary dividends — echoed by the words of Brian Lamb in our latest issue:
‘At root, it’s about adopting a quality first teaching approach. Get that in place and you will get parents onside to help your whole-school approach really take off. It’s a big investment upfront, but very big rewards will follow if you get it right.’ Brian Lamb in the 11th issue of The SEND Practitioner
The challenges are huge; the rewards are great; and, over the coming months, we hope that The SEND Practitioner will help you on your way.
|
||||||
|
Edward Farrow
This month, The SEND Practitioner is 13 months old.
In a year of seismic education reforms, we’ve published ten issues, have thousands of subscribers, and have interviewed a host of experts in their fields.
From:
- A leading lawyer to a top person-centred planning expert.
- The stars of Channel Four’s Educating the East End to the chief executive of nasen.
- An outstanding SEN author to a highly regarded SENCO.
- The director of the Autism Education Trust to one of the DfE’s leading civil servants.
- The former chief executive of nasen to one of our country’s most influential SEND experts and author of the highly regarded Lamb Report.
It’s been an utterly illuminating ride, one that has been made even greater by our genuinely engaged readership, who have asked us questions every step of the way.
To celebrate over a year of The SEND Practitioner, we were delighted to speak to Brian Lamb OBE for the second time yesterday. Brian took centre stage for our inaugural first issue and we thought that it would make perfect sense to talk to him a full nine months after the SEN reforms took place.
The 11th issue Q&A with Brian will publish before the month is out and will be followed closely by June’s 12th issue – featuring an interview with a world-class Cambridge University academic, psychologist and working memory expert.
If you already subscribe to The SEND Practitioner, thank you for reading. If you don’t and would like to, please sign up to our free-zine here.
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a selection of quotes from some of our more recent contributors.
Gareth D Morewood on adapting and preparing for SEN reform
‘As with any change, a lot of potential issues may arise. However, with change comes great opportunity. There is an awful lot of information and support out there, so embrace it and you will find that being a SENCO doesn’t need to be a lonely job.’
Read the fifth issue of The SEND Practitioner.
Natalie Packer offers a few final words on preparing for SEN reform
‘Don’t panic! Remember, 1 September is the start of the process. To that end, schools, local authorities and the DfE are all anticipating at least a three-year transition period. It’s an organic process, so we aren’t expected to do everything at once. Develop an action plan to help you prioritise.’
Read the sixth issue of The SEND Practitioner.
Jane Friswell speaks about the post-SEN reform landscape
‘Keep calm and don’t panic. If you’re confident that you’re providing good quality provision for all children in your setting, then the new SEN requirements should not be a great challenge for you.’
Read the seventh issue of The SEND Practitioner.
Exploring Channel Four’s Educating the East End and the SEN landscape
‘[Our] inclusive approach, combined with effective classroom support (particularly in maths and English), means that we are able to meet the needs of our students.’
Read the eighth issue of The SEND Practitioner.
Mark Blois looks at the SEN legal landscape
‘If SEND practitioners get hung up on the pitfalls and negatives, rather than seizing the opportunity to try and push through cultural change, then we probably won’t see the level of change that most would acknowledge that we should.’
Read the ninth issue of The SEND Practitioner.
Colin Newton explores person-centred planning
‘Let’s use the person-centred planning way of working as tools to enable us to reach a truly inclusive society built around the needs of its most challenging and vulnerable young people.’
Read the tenth issue of The SEND Practitioner.
‘Let’s make inclusion happen between us, nobody else is going to do it. Don’t wait for the government, and don’t wait for the DfE. We have got to do this together really. Let’s move forward and let’s use the person-centred planning way of working as tools to enable us to reach a truly inclusive society built around the needs of its most challenging and vulnerable young people.’ (Colin Newton)
In our March/April issue of The SEND Practitioner, one of the UK’s leading inclusion pioneers highlights the importance of person-centred planning at a particularly prescient time – one where inclusion and person-centred planning have very much taken centre stage.
|
||||||
|
‘[Our] inclusive approach, combined with effective classroom support (particularly in maths and English), means that we are able to meet the needs of our students.’ Francesca Richards (Frederick Bremer’s SENCO)
From senior management, to school staff; from pupils, to parents; Educating the East End is a singular triumph that champions the nurturing power of a school that really does place the pupil at the heart of everything. To bear witness to the school’s holistic approach and to see the joy that its staff and pupils gleaned from each other was a rare privilege. To see the progress that each pupil made – whatever their background, ability, or disability – was remarkable.
Against a landscape of ever-present change in education, it is genuinely inspiring to see what a pupil-centred approach really looks like. To speak to Frederick Bremer’s deputy head (Emma Hillman) and SENCO (Francesca Richards) and realise that this has also enabled them to navigate the SEN reforms relatively easily was instructive.
If you haven’t already done so, we hope that you might take a few minutes in which to read our latest issue of The SEND Practitioner. We also hope that, if you haven’t already seen the series, you might take some time to watch an episode or two. Believe us, it’s worth it.
‘Keep calm and don’t panic. If you’re confident that you’re providing good quality provision for all children in your setting, then the new SEN requirements should not be a great challenge for you. Whatever you do, make sure that you use this year as an opportunity to review and reflect on your good, and maybe not so good, practices. Take stock and remember that you’ve only got this year to do that, so make sure that you do it well.’ Jane Friswell
The seventh issue of The SEND Practitioner published today – over six weeks since the SEN reforms ‘kicked in’. Given such degrees of change, we were delighted when Jane Friswell – CEO of nasen – agreed to speak with us. Jane has been instrumental in setting up nasen’s Gateway with the DfE and has in-depth understanding of the SEN reforms.
If you want to know what you really need to know, then Jane’s responses will enlighten, inform and ground you in the year ahead.