SEND


Developing devoted expert practitioners in SEHM/SEND In her latest column on SEND this month,


regular columnist JAYNE FOSTER, CEO of Ethos Academy Trust, explains how the trust has set itself up as a place where practitioners want to work.


At Ethos, it’s all about our people - our children, young adults (and their families) and our amazing staff. Achieving our vision (to develop nurturing and inclusive learning communities) is dependent on attracting, training and retaining great people.


Unsurprisingly, with our priority and clear strategic focus placed on Social Emotional and Mental Health and wider Special Educational Need quality pro vision, this is one of our three objectives needed to address the importance of developing a pipeline of devoted expert SEHM/SEND practitioners.


When we started to look at our decisions and investment in recruitment, training, retention and succession planning, we wanted to ensure our culture and our vision were at the core. Unlike mainstream schools the length of time our children and young people spend with us varies, so our cohorts are ever-changing throughout any school term (with Elements Academy being the exception), and this requires a flexible and agile staffing structure that can be easily deployed to manage effectively changing dynamics and provide continuous quality care and education.


To commit fully to our objective and address such challenges, we expanded our HR model of one part-time manager to a team of four, with our part- time manager, Lesley Conway, taking on the more befitting title of ‘People and Culture Lead’. As a growing Trust, as you can imagine, their remit is ever increasing. Also growing is the number of children with SEHM needs and other SEND– and the increasing range and complexities of those needs. Across the sector, we will need more staff and a vigorous upskilling programme to meet the demand.


Within our EAT team we have exceptional devoted experts that cover a wide range of SEHM/SEND specialisms and have created a coaching culture where we utilise their wisdom and experience across the whole trust. Sharing best practice in-house has been invaluable for us, but to keep this quality of expertise we also needed to invest in quality CPD for our experts as well outside of EAT. Funding is obviously a major challenge for our sector, but we are developing beneficial relationships with external companies that align with our values (such as South Yorkshire Teaching Hub, Positive Regard and Portfolio Coaching) and sharing these experiences and expertise inhouse. We are keen to develop our own people and encourage career conversations that spark curiosity and raise aspirations – and have put systems in place that help us spot and nurture talent. We have recently celebrated the fact that one of our former inclusion workers at Ethos College has secured the role as Head of School at Enrich Academy from September 2023.


I can honestly say that it is the devotion of our staff as a collective and as individuals that is truly making a difference. It’s this magic that is improving the life chances of all of our children and young people. Therefore, we will continue to recruit for a cultural fit first - with experience and expertise as a bonus. We know we can provide the training and experiences, but we need to see that glint of devotion in our people. Then through our nurturing culture, our extensive range of CPD opportunities and bespoke career pathways, we can encourage and develop our people into truly wonderful educators and facilitators.


Above all we want to be a “great place to work” where people are highly valued for their expertise and devotion and encouraged to grow and develop in a nurturing and collaborative environment. We want to attract, train and retain a continual pipeline of quality devoted staff, committed to working in our values driven, pro-active, responsive and reflective organisation.


To overcome the challenges we face as a sector, we must invest in the development of a strong, engaged and motivated team of inclusive leaders, teachers and support staff who are devoted to (and excel at) securing outstanding outcomes for pupils with SEMH and wider SEND needs within and beyond the Trust.


If anyone in the sector would like to be part of our journal, and is willing to share their success stories and best practice, please contact me on jfoster@eat.uk.com


July/August 2023


The implications of absenteeism


for autistic pupils In her new regular column for Education Today this month, EMMA SANDERSON, Managing


Director of Options Autism, a specialist provider of education and care for autistic children, young people and adults and those with complex needs, discusses the implications of continued post-Covid absenteeism on autistic children and young people.


The recently published Spring attendance data from the DfE, shows that two years on, the pandemic continues to leave its mark on school attendance figures, particularly for those children and young people with special educational needs (SEN). The figures are incredibly concerning – 43,040 (30.1%) autistic pupils were recorded as ‘persistent absentees’ in 2020/21, compared to 12.1% of the overall school population. Autistic pupils are nearly three times more likely to be persistently absent than their neurotypical peers.


So where are all these autistic children and young people and why is attendance not improving?


On reflection the pandemic proved to be the perfect storm. For those who continued to attend school after lockdown, it became a quieter, calmer place. Smaller pupil numbers, greater space and a more regulated regimen and routine due to Covid safe procedures. The hustle and bustle was taken out of school, with one way corridors and staggered breaktimes.


For pupils who stayed home there were less of the daily challenges of a normal school day with reduced social interaction and group integration. And for their parents, supporting their online education could be difficult and meant that learning often revolved around favourite interests, activities and hobbies rather than structured schoolwork. Home was safe and comfortable. Once school resumed, for many it was like starting over. Extended separation from peers, accompanied in some cases by negative or adverse social media interaction during lockdown, exacerbated feelings of anxiety and exclusion.


For those who had attended throughout lockdown, returning to normality was often overwhelming - lots of people, lots of noise and less regulation, school immediately became challenging. The focus for schools was to ‘catch-up’ but for many pupils the focus should have been transitioning back into school once again. Research carried out in May 2021 by Dr Vaso Totsika (UCL) in response to increasing absence and a sharp rise in ‘Elective Home Education’ found that ‘blanket school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic likely exacerbated existing difficulties with school attendance for autistic children and children with an intellectual disability.’


With increased home schooling – apart from the impact on learning and the challenges to parents of supporting learning needs without specialist training, we must also consider the difficulties surrounding safeguarding these vulnerable children and young people.


Can we learn some lessons from the lockdown experience? Rather than trying to make autistic pupils ‘fit’ the traditional school model, we could make simple changes to the systems and school routines; one way corridors and reduced numbers of pupils in bathrooms, quiet areas available at break times – adjustments so schools can become more neurodiverse inclusive communities. For further information on Options Autism, please visit www.optionsautism.co.uk.


www.education-today.co.uk 27


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