FEATRE FOCUS: SEND
unsupported, communication difficulties can escalate into far bigger, life-changing concerns, impacting integration socially, leading to behavioural issues and resulting in a higher likelihood of exclusion. Dealing with these problems as they happen,
now. Providing support for these children when they need it, now. Is integral to preventing these sorts of figures from being perpetuated.
Speech therapy Communication issues come in a wide variety of forms. But one of the easier to detect can be speech sounds difficulties. Aside from losing progress that has been made and knocking a child’s confidence it can also perpetuate problems such as maintaining peer relationships. In some cases, it can also lead to bullying, if the issue is easily identified by other children and there are few things more damaging to a child’s self- esteem than bullying.
Autism Children with autism often require routine. A trigger for disruptive behaviours that can be hard to control is frequent inconsistency. It can cause anxiety, especially in a transitional phase. So, finding ways to ensure regularity in routines and relationships can be key to delivering the support that autistic children need to thrive. Within a school that might care for up to 2,000
children, is it possible for educators to hope to cater to the special needs of individual pupils without external support? How can educators refer SEN children to the appropriate support? And where can SENCOs look for alternatives if the usual avenues remain closed? There are a number of avenues available.
Working with restricted agencies At the moment, agencies are discussing ways in which to safely return to schools. These would involve working within designated areas, maintaining the two-metre rule, and wearing PPE. With the very real threat of a second wave of coronavirus looming and numerous localised lockdowns and restrictions in place, this seems to be the best option available to SEN support workers at present. But there are obvious
drawbacks. One of the most obvious being, the difficulty of
connecting to children through PPE. Despite the fact that mask-wearing is becoming normalised, it is still difficult to read emotions for all of us when a face mask is in place. This is doubly difficult for certain SEN groups. PPE also risks becoming a distraction. And it’s almost impossible for children to relax in an obviously formal and sterile environment. Then, of course, there’s the added threat of disruption to these services should a return to lockdown be required.
Technology Technology has already played a large part across education throughout the pandemic. Home schooling with Zoom calls and Tapestry-based assignments became the norm throughout April, May and June. But the potential for the use of tech in the educational setting is only just beginning to be revealed. And it could play a very real part in the provision of SEN support. Children are far more comfortable using
technology than adults. So, integrating tech into their SEN programme often feels like a natural progression. It’s also empowering because digital therapy provides a degree of control that traditional therapy lacks – if a child doesn’t like what’s happening, they can simply close their device and walk away. The knowledge of that means that most children don’t; it’s the perception of control that matters. And of course, with technology comes consistency. Because even if a second wave comes and schools lockdown again, the SEN support can still be provided and accessed in exactly the same way. And that’s what makes tech such a strong consideration for long-term SEN delivery. During lockdown, over 70% of children who required speech therapy through Mable Therapy were able to continue receiving support online. Digitisation has been embraced in this area and used well, highlighting the potential for using technology to provide further SEN support.
Who can you talk to for SEN advice now? One of the problems when it comes to SEN support is that different procedures are in place in different locations, so there’s no single, simple fix.
If your school needs support right now, your local authority is probably your best port of call. They’ll be able to tell you what measures are currently in place and what help your students can access. If you already have a Service Level Agreement
in place with an external agency, do check to find out what help they can provide, what strategies they have in place to ensure support continues during the coming months and what their obligations to your school are. And if the answers aren’t satisfactory, check your contract for an exit clause.
Summary While opinions might vary when it comes to finding a way forward in SEN provision, the two things that everyone must agree upon are that it’s unacceptable for children to be left without the support they very much need and that teachers need more help to ensure that that support is given. How we can ensure that those two criteria can be answered must be seriously considered in the immediate future.
Recommended resources for support and information:
Supporting a child returning to school after lockdown: Young Minds
https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/supporting-a- child-returning-to-school-after-lockdown/
Supporting deaf education during the Coronavirus pandemic – resources from BATOD members and others
https://www.batod.org.uk/resources- category/supporting-deaf-education-during-the- coronavirus-pandemic-resources-from-batod- members-and-others/
Schools Guide to implementing an Online therapy Provision: Mable Therapy
https://mabletherapy.com/2020/04/27/online- speech-and-language/
Coronavirus: education and school: National Autistic Society
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and- guidance/topics/coronavirus/education-and- schools
Coronavirus: How we can help you: Royal National Institute for the Blind
https://www.rnib.org.uk/professionals/education- professionals/coronavirus-how-we-can-help-you
October 2020
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