SEN
What’s in a name? T
he majority of respondents (52 per cent) judged the current category of BESD to be unhelpful in identifying and meeting the underlying needs of children, such as those with emotional
and social diffi culties.” The results of the consultation reported in the Department for Education Green Paper on SEN (Support and Aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability, May 2012) seem to confi rm that the BESD category is on its way out. Respondents voiced concern that the category is unhelpful, overused and “does not lead to the right support being put in place”.
It is likely that any replacement category will enable more emphasis on identifying “unmet educational or other needs and whether a multi- agency assessment is necessary”. Will removing or changing the label make a real difference to outcomes for our BESD pupils?
A complicated category BESD covers a multitude of needs. The document The Education of Children and Young People with Behavioural. Emotional and Social Diffi culties as a Special Educational Need (DCSF, 2008) describes BESD as: ■ Being withdrawn and isolated, disruptive and disturbing. ■ Being hyperactive and lacking concentration. ■ Having immature social skills. ■ Presenting challenging behaviours arising from other complex special needs.
This represents a real spectrum of symptoms many of which also have their routes in mental health. The behavioural, emotional and social needs title can seem like a catch-all at times and it could be argued that under such a large umbrella there is less impetus to fi nd the primary cause of the diffi culties. Dr Rona Tutt, ex-headteacher of a school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties, is broadly in support of the redesignation. She told Headteacher Update: “I’ve always had a concern about the ‘label’ covering everything from the unusually withdrawn to the aggressive, acting out pupils, particularly when this means they may be put together in BESD provision. I think the need to look beneath the behaviour is paramount, as is the need for accurate diagnosis.”
10
How do we defi ne our pupils with emotional, behavioural and social needs? Suzanne O’Connell looks at how useful the BESD category is and whether abandoning it might improve children’s life chances
Irene Grant, national director of Nurture Group Network, agrees
that it is the underlying cause of the behaviour that must be the focus: “The label BESD should be changed as it places an undue emphasis on the behaviour being the primary cause of the diffi culty rather than the behaviours being the result of social and emotional diffi culties.” Gary Owens, headteacher at Penwith Short Stay School in Penzance, would prefer to see sub-divisions within the BESD category to aid clarity and diagnosis. He explained: “I would sub-divide the grouping into certain syndromes, such as ‘ODD’ (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), ‘ASD’ (Autism Spectrum Disorders), and especially mental health. I also feel the “social” in BESD needs reinforcing, as most, if not all, my students suffer from poor parenting coupled with poverty, low expectations and an endemic lack of trust in education.” This lack of confi dence and clarity in the category is refl ected in the inconsistencies in diagnosis. The threshold for being labelled as BESD can vary according to school, local authority, month of birth, level of disadvantage, age and stage. Concerns around the over-identification of SEN and BESD are highlighted in the 2010 Ofsted report The Special Educational Needs and Disability Review: A statement is not enough. The accusation is that in some cases pupils are diagnosed as having SEN to “make up for poor day-to-day teaching”. The implication is, improve teaching and the number of identifi ed SEN, including BESD pupils, will drop. Since this Ofsted report, the number of children labelled as having SEN in England has fallen by 90,000. The reasons for this may not solely be attributed to an increase in quality fi rst teaching. A recent TES article (SEN numbers drop 90K after Ofsted rebuke, August 2012), suggests
“I also feel the “social” in BESD needs reinforcing, as most, if not all, my students suffer from poor parenting coupled with poverty, low expectations and an endemic lack of trust in education”
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