Best practice: SEN Seeking additional help
Providing high quality SEN support across a whole school is no simple task. SENCOs should therefore not feel uncomfortable in seeking additional, external professional help. One of nasen’s Outstanding Schools, Frederick Bird Primary, receives regular support from external agencies who are educational experts. This ensures that the needs of all pupils are fulfilled, as assistant headteacher for inclusion, Natalie Franklin- Hackett, elucidates.
“As a school, we decided a couple of years ago to commission an outside agency to work alongside us, because the local authority could only offer us a limited amount of hours per term,” says Natalie. “We decided to get support from a clinical psychologist and an educational psychologist who could be here one day every week and become really embedded within the culture of the school.”
The psychologists were introduced to monitor and analyse student behaviour and to help staff ensure the correct procedures were in place to support all SEN pupils within the classroom so that every child is included. Furthermore, the method allows teachers at Frederick Bird to positively utilise time in the classroom for the benefit of all pupils.
In another nasen Outstanding Schools Project example, Camberwell Park Primary seeks outside help from a physiotherapist who works with SEN children with special physiological needs, and helps train staff on how to best cater to these pupils.
Transitioning between primary and secondary
When transitioning from primary to secondary school, children and young people with SEND often face additional obstacles and barriers to learning and integrating. Swanwick Hall Secondary School in Derbyshire is featured in nasen’s Outstanding Schools Project, and has been praised by parents of a number of SEN
pupils for enabling an easier transition. In one video, Lisa, the mother of pupil, Nathan, describes how her child had an extremely difficult time at primary school, outlining behavioural problems which the school simply deemed as ‘misbehaving’, rather than attempting to provide support for Nathan’s real problems. Lisa describes the negative comments made to her by Nathan’s primary headteacher about his transition into secondary school, stating that he would ‘never make it’. Believing her child had the capability to succeed, Lisa built a good relationship with Swanwick Hall before Nathan began the following academic year. Lisa says that Nathan was supported from day one, leading to an easy transition into secondary life, demonstrating the importance of schools working closely with parents to provide the best possible start for children young people with SEN.
This is why it is incredibly important that parents communicate any concerns over their children’s needs directly with schools, as early as possible. However, secondary schools also have a responsibility to liaise with primary schools to get an idea of any children who may have additional educational needs, whether the parents approach the school or not. Jill, a parent of a student, Jack, at Swanwick Hall, describes the struggles her son faced in carrying out ‘daunting’ new responsibilities such as following timetables and moving from class to class, which caused him to exhibit behavioural problems and increasingly get in trouble. Jill arranged an initial meeting with Swanwick Hall following her son’s repeated detentions, where the school determined that things would change immediately. The staff at Swanwick Hall are committed to promoting positive behaviour, and work to ensure that appropriate additional provision is in place where necessary. This includes a personalised approach for children who need it, enabling those with more challenging behaviour to get the extra help they may need. Jill states that following the initial meeting, things quickly improved for her son, highlighting the importance of tailored support for students with SEN, and the need for on-going communication between parents and schools, which helps create a partnership approach to SEN provision.
Even the most talented SENCO may sometimes feel a lack of confidence when it comes to managing a certain student’s needs, particularly during the transitional phases. As such, seeking help externally and gaining advice from bodies outside of the school is recommended in order to provide the best possible SEN practice. Our job at nasen is to provide support for professionals looking to better their knowledge, confidence and understanding in relation to SEN provision. CPD events such as nasen Live 2016, or our Collaborative Learning for SEN events in Manchester, Birmingham and Tyneside are designed to bring together everything that school leaders and SENCOs need to know in relation to providing outstanding SEN support. Our aim is to ensure that schools are empowered to offer best practice to the people for whom it matters the most: the children and young people themselves.
www.nasen.org.uk October 2015
www.education-today.co.uk 29
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