SEND
Developing nurturing and inclusive learning communities
In the first of a new regular series looking at SEND and alternative provision, we are delighted to welcome JAYNE FOSTER, CEO of Ethos Academy, to our list of contributors. Jayne has worked in education for 29 years and in 2005 moved from mainstream to
alternative provision. She was appointed headteacher at Ethos College in 2012 before taking up the role of CEO of Ethos Academy in 2018. In her first piece for Education Today she explains the Academy’s mission.
Formed in Sept 2018 with three AP schools that already had a close working relationship within Kirklees LA, Ethos Academy Trust has evolved as a specialist organisation with a key focus on provisions that are linked to SEMH and wider SEND. In 2020 a further AP based in Wakefield joined the Trust and in 2022 Elements Academy became its first SEMH special school.
Despite the many challenges we face in this profession, I’m eternally grateful to be in this privileged position. It’s the combination of working collaboratively with some of the best SEHM and SEND experts in our field, alongside our kind, devoted and nurturing staff and watching our brilliant, complex and challenged young people grow in resilience and confidence and achieve incredible outcomes, that sets this job apart. We regularly welcome visitors interested in learning more about AP, so please get in touch if you would be interested to see what we do.
In a nutshell our purpose, our overarching mission is, to develop nurturing and inclusive learning communities. This is within our five Trust schools, and also within mainstream schools. Our outreach team help develop mainstream expertise so that all pupils with SEHM /SEND needs are met as far down the continuum as possible. In an ideal world, all children belong and deserve the right to be educated within their own communities, and our aim is to provide the support that enables this to happen wherever we can.
We’re an ambitious Trust. We knew we needed a robust strategy that would keep us focused and help us achieve our three main objectives. • To be leaders in inclusive practice • To change the narrative (to eradicate outdated misconceptions • Develop devoted expert practitioners in SEHM/SEND These were carefully considered and involved all of our stakeholders - from board members, to parents and carers, to staff and pupils - to make sure we made holistic choices regarding our absolute priorities and focus so that we were all aligned from the start. We are now halfway through the second year of our five year plan and have made huge strides, learned many lessons and hope our story inspires positive conversations.
The reason for accepting this task of writing a monthly column is to support our second objective to challenge outdated misconceptions and stereotypes around alterative and special provision and the children and young people it serves. As educators and facilitators, we know that no two children are alike, they are unique and come to education with their own set of social, emotional and physical behaviours and academic range. For the next three months I will be sharing our successes, challenges and learnings around each objective. If anyone in the sector would like to be part of our journal, and are willing to share their success stories and best practice, please contact me on
jfoster@eat.uk.com
April 2023
Strategies to support pupils with social and
emotional difficulties In the first of a two-part series this month KATRINA BROWN, SENDCo at Histon and
Impington Park Primary School, part of Meridian Trust, looks at the ways mainstream schools can support their SEND students.
Mainstream schools work hard to support pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties, helping them realise their potential whilst minimising the wider impact of behaviours that can result from disordered social and emotional development.
Informed, responsive and flexible approaches are more essential now than ever. Schools need to be a place of security and nurture, and offer an environment where children can express their emotions in a regulated manner. Strong and responsive relationships between school adults and children – underpinned by a predictable structure to the day, and tasks that address gaps in development and learning – can ultimately promote success. Relationships
Schools adopting a trauma-informed approach will deploy adults who understand the importance of relationships in supporting children to settle emotionally and physically.
Behaviour needs to be understood as a means of communication and responses to this should be calm, measured and consistent. Any adult who comes into contact with a pupil needs to know the child and adhere to an agreed approach. The goal is to ensure stress is minimised but also that adults are acutely aware of any warning signs and what intervention is necessary to get back on track.
When adults have a shared understanding that the behaviour of the child is an expression of a deeper need, they are more likely to be able to support the child to make a sustainable behavioural change which relies on self-regulation. Adults deployed to work with pupils who have social and emotional regulation difficulties should be able to focus on ‘the now’ and move on quickly from their own disappointments. They must remain patient, consistent, calm and flexible and have the confidence to employ strategies to de-escalate. Whether children spend all or part of their day in a specialist provision or are mainly in class, adults need to work hard to build attachments and foster trust. Language used with children with Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) needs to be clear. Instructions should be delivered in calm, simple language so that the core message is not missed. If the next task could potentially trigger a negative response, the adult needs to manage the expectations, such as, “we can enjoy this game even if we don’t come first.” It is expected that children will make their own choices but sometimes circumstances mean the adult needs to instruct; for example, rather than “Would you like to tidy up now?” say “It’s time to tidy up”. Behaviour management
It is important to recognise the behaviours as they occur to reinforce what is expected. Staff should agree what the principal pro-social behaviours are and consistently encourage and acknowledge them.
The recognition system can be recorded or verbal but should become so familiar to the child that they use the language independently, can explain what it means and recognise themselves when they are doing it. Throughout the day, adults should point out the following to the child so that she grows to believe that: • I think before I act • I can have a go • I accept my mistakes • I am considerate of others • I bounce back • I am positive
• I listen • I keep my problems small • I accept challenges • I do not give up • I do the right thing • I am an independent learner
Behaviour management for pupils with PSED needs will often be individualised with risk thoughtfully planned for and recorded as part of a one-page profile or an explicit risk reduction plan. Rules are in place to safeguard and to ensure that children can be taught well enough to learn and move on from their starting points.
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