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We had a super time exhibiting at nasen live on 20–21 May. It was great to meet so many people and to introduce them to the merits of our Professional Assessment Programme; National Award; CCET and MEd SEND. We also enjoyed attending excellent talks by leading education lawyer Mark Blois and nasen chief executive Jane Friswell – both of whom have featured in our online publication: The SEND Practitioner.
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:
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.
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‘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.
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‘As a lawyer it’s easy to highlight the weaknesses and vulnerable spots in the legislation and the risks and the legal pitfalls that we have discussed. However, 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 I think most would acknowledge that we should.’ (Mark Blois)
In this month’s issue of The SEND Practitioner, leading education lawyer Mark Blois answers your questions on the complexities of the legal landscape and SEND practice with clarity and verve.
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‘[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.
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‘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.
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We have put The SEND Practitioner on hold for this month. Why, you may ask? We’re waiting for the dust to settle and looking forward to interviewing a big name in SEND this coming October. We’ll keep you posted!
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‘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.’ Natalie Packer
The sixth issue of The SEND Practitioner published today – on the eve of the 1 September SEN reforms. After a long and lovely summer, a September to trump all Septembers is almost here. To that end, we have interviewed author and education expert Natalie Packer and trawled through the past five issues of The SEND Practitioner to bring you a ‘pep talk’ of expert quotes to spur you on into September and beyond.
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Over the past academic year, we have provided CCET and CPT3A training pathways for around 550 national and international education professionals. Taking one of three unique routes (online, bespoke or intensive), these candidates are currently navigating the programme and will be eligible to join the British Psychological Society’s (BPS’s) Register of Qualifications in Test Use (RQTU) upon completion. This official record of all test users who have been awarded qualifications in educational test use is globally recognised and is applied for by the majority of our graduates. Last year, for example, almost 400 of our CCET/CPT3A alumni joined the BPS Register.
With education facing one of its toughest years of change this September, we look forward to preparing a record number of educationalists to meet that challenge in the coming academic year.
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‘There was a real need for change. However, some of the processes supporting the trials and development of the legislation could have been more effective. We can’t go back now but, as SENCOs, we can have a real impact on the future through our practice.’ Gareth D Morewood
The fifth issue of The SEND Practitioner published within days of the new Code’s approval by both Houses on 29 July. With the Act and the new Code coming into force on 1 September, the pressure is on for all SEND practitioners. As before, we asked you to tell us what you wanted to know and Gareth gave us some really practical answers to your questions. This issue has been received well and is a really good port of call for any SEND practitioners who have any questions or doubts about what do and how to prepare as the new academic year draws ever closer.
