nasen Connect March 2021

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HELPIN H HE ELLP LPIN PIN ING EVER EV ERYO YONE ACHIEVE MARCH 2021 / ISSUE 26

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20 020 Headtea achers’ Standards

Senssoryy processiing in the classroom

Th he practical im mplications for SENCOs

Inclusive person-centred planning

The evolution of person-centred practice and current research

EMAIL US: nasenconnect@nasen.org.uk

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#26

Welcome

By Professor Adam Boddison, Chief Executive, nasen

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elcome to the March edition of nasen Connect.

The beginning of this year has been challenging and busy for all of us working in education, and particularly for those supporting learners with SEND.

In January, nasen published the National SENCO Workforce Survey, which demonstrated that the pandemic had resulted in an amplification of the strengths and challenges of practice existing prior to COVID-19.

Whilst we know that all school-based colleagues are working harder than ever before, this report showed the specific pressures on SENCOs. My own reflection is that we need to act quickly to put long-term support in place for our education workforce if we want to retain them long term in the profession.

As Chair of the National SEND Reference Group, I spent much of January and February liaising with government on behalf of specialist settings to ensure they are duly considered as a central part of national decision making about schools. Whilst there is still much more to do in this area, it is clear that progress is being made.

We need to act quickly to put long-term support in place for our education workforce if we want to retain them long term in the profession

As always, my sincere thanks to everybody working in our schools or supporting children and young people with SEND. You are very much appreciated.

Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamBoddison Tel: 01827 311500 Fax: 01827 313005 Email: nasenconnect@nasen.org.uk Published by nasen nasen nasen House 4/5 Amber Business Village Amber Close Amington Tamworth Staffordshire B77 4RP

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necessarily those of the editor or nasen. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply recommendation by nasen. Not all photographs in nasen depict children with special educational needs.

Many of the photographs are taken in integrated classes. nasen would like to thank all those who have contributed photographs.

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INSIDE

Contents MARCH 2021 / ISSUE 26 REGULARS

6 / Membership Focus

10/ Sector Update

7 / Have your say

47 / Ask the team

8 / nasen Awards

48 / Reviews 50 / Events Diary

FEATURES

15 / Autism Spectrum

disorder (ASD) – understanding emotions

Mel Fisher outlines what the past 10 years have taught her about a relational approach to ASD.

18 / Sensory processing

A look at what is meant by the term ‘sensory processing’ and things to consider when identifying sensory differences.

22 / 2020 Headteachers’

Standards

The thinking behind the new standards, the practical implications for SENCOs and the view from a Trust leader.

26 / Inclusive belonging

Dr Lisa Needs examines the principles of inclusive belonging and outlines what schools can do in this area.

29 / The Diary of a

SENCO

Pippa McLean looks at using our own experiences to help forge a deeper connection with pupils with SEND.

30 / Attachment traits –

a teacher-led enquiry

The disruption of 2020/21 could lead to a further rise in children showing attachment traits. So, how can schools intervene effectively?

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35 / SEN – personcentred planning

Roehampton University’s Susana Castro-Kemp looks back at how person-centred planning has evolved, and outlines research into its impact on families.

39 / Championing

skills for SEND

Susan Barnes examines the importance of championing the talent and skills of apprentices with SEND and shows the value they bring to businesses.

42 / Building partnerships

How we can build partnerships between parents and teachers in SEN during adolescent years.

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15 18 My sincere thanks to everybody working in our schools or supporting children and young people with SEND. You are very much appreciated.

PROFESSOR ADAM BODDISON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, NASEN

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SECTOR UPDATE

MembershipFocus elcome to March’s Membership Focus.

We would like to start this month by thanking you all for your commitment to nasen as you join us on this exciting new membership journey. We have been overwhelmed by your positive feedback regarding our new services and we are truly grateful for your support.

Your nasen membership reflects our ongoing commitment to ensure expertise in SEND is available to every school and setting across the UK. To ensure you get the most out of our service, we’d like to take a moment to encourage you to visit the resources section of our new website. We’re pleased to be able to offer numerous complimentary resources, which are regularly uploaded for your convenience.

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We have recently produced a range of well-being resources, which look at how you can support the emotional well-being of pupils during lockdown. We continue to provide updated COVID-19 guidance, as well as a range of additional resources across all phases of education. Make sure you sign in to your account to view the full range of resources on offer – https://bit.ly/2ZGHNNj Our Early Years subscribers will be pleased to hear that we have secured additional funding to extend the work on the Early Years Resilience Development Pack for parents and practitioners. The 58-page resource has been popular with parents and practitioners as it is useful for supporting all young children, but particularly those with SEND, in these challenging and uncertain times.

Throughout March, we will host several complimentary webinars to support use of the pack within Early Years settings. You can find out more at https://bit.ly/3aIA4oa nasen is also pleased to be able to offer an exciting new range of paid-for SEND Services to further support your role and development.

Our new SENCO Support Service is exclusively available to nasen members and provides access to a comprehensive information hub organised into useful topics to help resolve all your SEND queries. It also provides access to email and telephone support. You can find out more at https://bit.ly/3uhhnQp If you have any further questions regarding our exciting new membership services, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at membership@nasen.org.uk

See your brand featured in our next edition of nasen Connect!

Advertise in this magazine from as little as £150! To 01( /') !/,% -1( )/ +%*',% -1 -(&%,)#+#1$ +.-*% *-"" Alistair Gilbert on 01827 311 500

With a print run of over 3,500, this glossy magazine is sent to all of our silver and gold members. Members can also view the publication online via the nasen website. It contains the latest news and features, including interviews with SEND professionals, practical resources and reviews of the latest products available on the market.

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HAVE YOUR SAY

e avsay...

Hyour nasenconnect@nasen.org.uk

We would love to hear from you so please send any comments or ‘letters’ to nasenconnect@nasen.org.uk In case your letter is chosen for publication, please do include your name and setting.

Don’t forget, you can ‘Have Your Say’ via Facebook and Twitter too.

01827 311500

@nasen_org

Have Your Say gives you, the reader, a forum to share your thoughts and opinions about current issues in the world of education and SEND. It is also the place to share your reactions to, and thoughts about, what you have read in previous editions of nasen Connect.

Inclusive teaching I found the article ‘Inclusive Teaching’ by Rachel Cosgrove in the January edition of Connect helpful and enlightening. I think the visual metaphor of the building of a house to help teachers understand the different starting points of pupils very useful, and I intend to use it with my staff in my next staff meeting. The knowledge and skills to be taught are likened to the foundations of the house, the vocabulary represents the bricks and new content represents the construction of the house with new tasks designed to make the content stick (the mortar).

Finally, the consolidation of learning is represented by the decoration of the house, with the application of knowledge in different formats. I’m considering producing a visual image to illustrate this metaphor or, better still, getting my staff to create their own!

Editor: This is certainly a clever metaphor used

by Rachel as it is an excellent way of getting the message across to all staff, whether experienced or new to the profession. It is easy to forget these key ideas when we are bound up with the pressures of the day-to-day job.

I just wanted to say, I love nasen’s new website. It is so fresh, clear and easy to navigate. There seem to be more images which is great as they serve to remind us that what we do is all about supporting children and young people with SEND to access the curriculum and to be the best they can be. The

search: @nasen.org Recovery Curriculum I read with great relief the article about the Recovery Curriculum in the last edition of nasen Connect. There is so much talk and media attention about filling the gaps in children and young people’s knowledge and needing to ‘catch up’ with their learning, that their mental health and well-being can be forgotten. The article states that one in six children now have a mental health issue; it must be addressed collectively by highlighting mental health in schools and making the profession more aware of the trauma and anxiety that many are suffering.

Primary SENCO, Luton

Secondary SENCO, Lancashire

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drop-down menu from the tabs is really handy as it is helpful to see what is in each section at a glance and helps to find what you’re looking for. I have updated my membership information now and I intend to look at the annual webinar pass so I can take part in many of the webinars that are coming up in 2021. Thanks nasen!

Early Years SENCO, Devon

Editor: I’m glad you like the new website. It has been designed to be as user-friendly as possible.

As a Webinar Pass subscriber, don’t forget that as well as attending the live webinars, you have the option of coming back and watching the recording at a time that suits you.

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Editor: Indeed, this is an important issue that needs addressing countrywide and, as the article states, this situation can be used as the start of an ongoing initiative to raise the importance of addressing the well-being and mental health needs of pupils in schools for now and the future.

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SECTOR

A lo ok back at the

nasen Awards 2020 Last year was a strange time for all of us and, like many other organisations and charities, we were saddened to have to cancel some of our face-to-face events. ne of these was our annual nasen Awards ceremony, which would usually take place at the prestigious Waldorf Hotel in London.

The Awards provide us with a fantastic opportunity tyy to recognise and reward those people whose actions make a real difference to the lives of children and young people with SEND, and we were determined to not let COVID-19 get in the way of that!

Instead, we continued to accept award entries, and so our committed judges got to work shortlisting entries from home.

Winners were then announced during a dedicated social media campaign using the hashtag #nasenwinners2020 All winners still received an award, certificate and, as an extra ‘thank you’ this year, some high street gift vouchers.

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We want to take this opportunity tyy in our March edition of nasen Connect to o look back and celebrate some of those e much-deserving winners.

THE LLOYD PA R K CHI LD RE N’ S C HAR I T Y

The Lloyd Park Children’s Charity tyy in Waltham Forest, won the nasen 2020 Award for Early Years Provision, sponsored

by Nursery World.

The charity tyy operates three childcare settings and offers community tyy services provision. Specialist support is tailored to children’s individual needs, from those on the autistic spectrum to behaviour or speech and language difficulties.

The team’s dedication led to positive outcomes being secured for all children working below expected levels of development or SEND. Statistics show

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Matt Rooney

KEEP AN EY E OUT FOR THE NA SEN AWA RDS 2 021 .

NO MINATION S ARE DU E TO OP E N I N A P RI L 2021 . that 93 per cent of children in their care make progress within at least one aspect of the prime areas, and all children make progress in their language and communication.

Wendy Fields, chief executive of The Lloyd Park Children’s Charity ty, y said: “Our mission is to build brighter futures for children and families.”

A COMPLE TE L IS T O F LAS T YE AR’ S WINN E RS:

Wilmslow High School

D E RWE N CO L L EGE

Derwen College

M ATT ROON EY Matt Rooney, headteacher at St Giles School in Retford, won the SEND Leader of the Year Award, sponsored by the National Education Union (NEU).

Matt was put in the spotlight for his dedication to supporting the needs of children with complex and additional needs, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to creating the school’s COVID-19 Operational Guidance, a document that has been downloaded over 3,500 times and been recognised by the Department for Education as best practice, Matt provides exceptional leadership to his staff and his pupils.

Working across social care, health and education, Matt ensures children with complex and additional needs receive the best possible care and support.

Matt said: “What a total surprise and huge honour! I am extremely proud, but I would like to do something with this accolade, to be a change-maker and a champion to drive much-needed improvements across the sector.”

Derwen College, a college for young adults with SEND, won the Innovation Award for Technology.

The college won the award for its part in the development of a new technology to support students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) into work.

It partnered with developers Starfish Labs to create a new collection of iOS and Android-compatible apps to help its students.

The apps are designed specifically for use by people with special educational needs and include apps to help students learn to work in the college’s training hotel and Premier Inn hotels, as well as in café or shop environments.

A spokesperson said: “The apps offer students greater independence, which ultimately leads to increased self-confidence and a more independent way of working and living.” (Derwen College)

AWA R D

WINNER

The nasen Award for Early Years Provision sponsored

by Nursery World

The Lloyd Park Children’s Charity, Walthamstow

The nasen Award for Primary Provision sponsored by GL Assessment

Wheldrake with Thorganby CE School, York

The nasen Award for Secondary Provision sponsored by Nisai Group

The Autism Resource Provision at Wilmslow High School, Wilmslow

The nasen Award for 1625 Provision sponsored

by Ambitious about Autism

Abbots Lea School, Liverpool

Provision of the Year Award sponsored by Axcis Education

Prince Albert Primary School, Birmingham

The nasen Award for Coproduction with Children and Young People and their Families sponsored

by The Seashell Trust

Bright Heart Education Ltd, London

Young Person/Youth (up to 25 years) Achievement Award sponsored by Thrive

Marcus Wilton, Warrington

SEND Leader of the Year Award sponsored

by National Education Union (NEU)

Matthew Rooney, St Giles School, Nottinghamshire

Learning Support Staff Member of the Year Award sponsored by Access 1st

Lydia Hyde, London

nasen Teacher of the Year Award

Jon White, Clare Mount Specialist Sports College, Wirral

The Innovation Award for Technology

Derwen College – ‘Digital Support Work’ project, Oswestry

The David Ryan Publication Award

The Suffolk SEND Partnership - ‘Post 16 Transitions Guide’, Suffolk

The International Provision of the Year Award

The British School New Delhi, India

WI LMSLOW H I GH S C H OOL Wilmslow High School’s Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) resource provision was successful in winning the nasen Award for secondary provision, sponsored by Nisai.

Headteacher at Wilmslow High School, Dr James Pulle, said: “We are thrilled to receive the prestigious Nasen award for best secondary provision. Nasen is central in driving the SEND agenda forward on a national level, as well as helping to ensure that the young people of today are given every opportunity ty.” y For more informati tion, i please visit htt ttps://bit t it.ly/3sBBdnF t

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SECTOR UPDATE

Sector

A L L T H E L AT E S T NEWS FROM ACROSS SEND

Update

SENCO report reveals the impact of COVID-19 on pupils aunched at the end of January 2021, The National SENCO Workforce Survey 2020 report was conducted by Bath Spa University, in collaboration with nasen.

The report highlighted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pupils with SEND, along with the concerns around the provision of specialist support for children and young people and the impact on SENCOs. Warning of a growing divide during the third national lockdown, the report followed a study that examined the experiences of SENCOs during the pandemic and the first national lockdown. The findings of the study highlighted several issues around universal inclusive provision and differentiation of SEN Support in the context of online teaching.

Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of SENCOs stated that their school experienced challenges with providing virtual support for children with SEN, and 8 in 10 said they found it difficult to provide differentiated learning online.

SENCOs reported a sharp increase in workload as schools adapted to the pandemic, resulting in more management tasks and paperwork while responding to ever-changing guidance. Nearly three-quarters of SENCOS surveyed (72 per cent) felt that felt that their schools had experienced challenges in providing support for children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) during the lockdown, and only 1 in 10 were happy with the support they received during the pandemic.

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Almost two-thirds (64.4 per cent) of SENCOs would have welcomed more support and guidance from central government – findings that have led to recommendations around the provision of national exemplars and guidance in responding to unprecedented events in the future.

Among the recommendations for policymakers was a call for the SENCO role to have legally protected time to enable SENCOs to manage the demands of the role. Calling for a minimum of 1.5 days per week to be allocated to the role, the report stated that further work is required to identify the amount of time

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needed in relation to factors such as the number of SEN pupils within the school, its size and its geographic location. The report also advised that a SENCO-specific strand should be incorporated within the DfE Workload Project and that further guidance, in addition to the SEND Code of Practice, should be developed.

To access the full report, visit https://bit.ly/3pacPbo

Don’t want to wait for the next edition? Check out https://nasen.org.uk/news

Funding extended for projects supporting SEND The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the extension of £42 million in funding to projects that help raise educational standards, improve services and provide practical support to disadvantaged families and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Under the plans, current contracts and grants which enable schools, colleges, families and local authorities to support thousands of children with SEND, will be re-awarded by the Government. Increased funding for local parent carer forums, support to improve council provision of local services, improved training for education staff in working with children and young people with specific needs and an advice helpline were amongst the services provided.

To find out more, visit https://bit.ly/2NtLmU7

REVIEW OF CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH PROVISION A report by the Children’s Commissioner for England on the issue of capacity in NHS children’s mental health in the period leading to March 2020 has been published.

This is the fourth report completed by Anne Longfield since taking on the role of commissioner and she acknowledges that, although services have expanded, they still do not meet the level of need. As children’s education and social opportunities have suffered major disruption due to COVID-19, a study estimates that one in six children now have a probable mental health condition (NHS study July 2020). Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are being created to provide integrated care across schools and the NHS; a development welcomed by the sector, particularly in the light of the pandemic.

The Children’s Commissioner censures the lack of ambition in the plan to roll out NHS-led counselling within schools with the target of 25 per cent of areas by 2023, calling for the target to be increased so that children do not have to wait another decade before being able to access a suitable mental health service.

To read the report, visit https://bit.ly/3aoKNUJ

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SECTOR UPDATE

KNOWLEDGE BOXES FOR LEARNING SUPPORT ASSISTANTS Project partners of the IMAS II Project have recently completed five Knowledge Boxes for use by learning and support assistants, and any others interested in any of the topics covered. These topics include Disabled Children’s Rights in Education; Interaction and Communication; Cognition and Learning; Physical and Sensory Impairment; and Emotions and Behaviour.

Each Knowledge Box contains theoretical information as well as practical strategies and approaches for supporting disabled children and young people in school and includes a wide range of materials. The Knowledge Boxes are available free of charge, upon free registration on the Disability Leaders of Tomorrow website.

Consultation on high needs national funding formula launches

Access the five Knowledge Boxes here: https://bit.ly/3sMLoXv

The Government launched a consultation examining the high needs national funding formula (NFF), which closes on 24 March 2021. The consultation is the first stage of the high needs NFF review, which examines how the high needs NFF can be improved in order to achieve the highest quality support for children and young people with SEND. Local authorities in England, schools and colleges, other interested organisations and individuals are invited to respond to specific proposals for a small number of changes to the national funding formula that the Government will use to allocate high needs funding to local authorities in the 2022-23 financial year. The Government is also seeking views on possible future, longer term changes to the formula.

To take part in the consultation, visit https://bit.ly/3al6t42

PROJECT EXAMINING DECISION-MAKING PROCESS FOR SOCIAL CARE SUPPORT TO FAMILIES LAUNCHES Living Assessments is a five-year project between the University of Cambridge, University of Kent and the National Children’s Bureau, that studies the decisionmaking process for providing social care support to children and families, the impact of that support, and the lived experiences of assessments.

The project is recruiting three groups of ‘Experts by Experience’ to commit to being part of the project until Dec 2022. Project participants will include 20 disabled children and young people (aged 11 to 25), 20 care leavers (aged 16 to 25) and 20 parents with children aged 0-25, who have undergone a social care assessment.

Participants will attend virtual meetings until face-to-face meetings are once again possible, collectively reviewing research findings along with facilitating data analysis,

drafting publications, presenting their personal experiences at conferences and parliamentary. The project provides the opportunity to have individual and collective voices heard as part of a national project and participants will also receive a £20 voucher for each session that they attend, along with skills training, support, references, access to team-building activities and events.

All travel, accommodation and sustenance, including specialist arrangements and carers, will be paid upfront or reimbursed and anyone experiencing disabilities, communication challenges, SEN or lacking confidence will receive specialised support, such as small group work, breaks, one-to-one support or creative activities.

To find out more, visit https://bit.ly/2M175Cn

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Don’t Do want to wait for the next edition? Check out https://nasen.org.uk/news htt

New re report examines SEN exp p experiences during fi firstt national t lockdown A report by the National Foundation for Education Research (NfER), Nuffield and Ask Research on the experiences of SEN providers and parents of SEN children during the first national lockdown has launched.

The report highlights the findings of a study conducted between March and August 2020 examining the views of 201 senior leaders of special schools and colleges in England, along with 40 providers and 40 parents or carers. A survey of 515 parents/carers whose children attended special schools and colleges supporting children with SEND was also conducted.

The study focused on issues such as in-school provision, at-home support, support provided by health, care, and social services and the wider context for families and their children. It offers insights into the experiences of providers and families during the most recent lockdown and the findings are intended to inform policy makers regarding restrictions implemented in any future lockdowns.

The report makes 10 recommendations covering issues such as specialist-trained staff, remote education provision needs, health and social care support services for pupils to be maintained and urgent assessment of support delivered remotely.

NDCS online survey

Last year, the Youth Advisory Board of the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) launched the Deaf Works Everywhere campaign.

As part of this campaign, NDCS has created an online survey in conjunction with British Sign Language videos that aims to find out all about young people’s experiences and views of volunteering and work experience. So, if you know a 13-25, deaf person, who lives in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, put them in touch. The survey takes around 15 minutes to complete. All answers are anonymous, and one respondent will be selected at random for a £30 Amazon gift certificate.

Visit https://bit.ly/367HvCJ to find out more.

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FEEATURE ➜

TEACHING & LEARNING

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Understanding emotions Mel Fisher, Thrive’s® Relationship Manager for the East of England and mother of an autistic son, outlines what the past 10 years have taught her about a relational approach to ASD. hile every child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is unique, common characteristics include sensory issues and difficulties with social interaction and emotional expression. This means that these relational skills need to be explicitly taught. If we want our children to be able to respond appropriately when another person is happy, sad, angry or upset, we need to teach them what this looks and feels like.

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A 2015 study carried out by Kevin Conallen and Phil Reed showed that children with autism can differentiate betw tween w emotions, they just require more prompting to identify fyy the appropriate label. As the mother to an autistic son and someone who has spent my career working with children with ASD in a variety tyy of mainstream and specialist settings, I have learned a lot about what is effective in helping children to do this and I believe that the best way to achieve this is to have a relational approach with the child.

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BIO M E L F ISH ER Mel Fisher has spent much of her career working with children with ASD in mainstream and d specialist settings including residential al schools. She provided ded behavioural and emotional support as part of a team based in Suffolk and nd outreach services to schools in Norfolk.

She is now Thrive’s Relationship Manager ger for the East of England. For more information about Thrive® see:

www.thriveapproach.com

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FEATU URE

TEACHING & LEARNING

WHAT IS A RELATIONAL APPROACH AND WHAT ARE ITS BENEFITS? A relational approach is a way of interacting or communicating with others that embodies core values such as respect, inclusiveness, honesty ty, y compassion, co-operation and authenticity ty. y Being introduced to a relational approach 10 years ago was life-changing for me and I wish that I had known this when my autistic son was younger. For me, this learning came when I was working in a specialist setting for children with Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and I learned about the Thrive Approach®, which trains teachers and other education professionals in how to help children to become more emotionally resilient.

Throughout my career, I have worked with many children with ASD and I remain convinced that a relational approach is appropriate and beneficial to use with children with ASD. These children often have interrupted development in their early years which impacts on their ability tyy to self-regulate and communicate their needs, especially where expression of emotion is concerned.

This is due to the way they perceive information, the way they experience the world, the way they process this information and, last of all, the role of emotions in regulation. By using a relational approach, we can support children to recognise and respond to their feelings and to name their sensations and emotions.

Autistic children, and neuroty typical y children, have a well-developed set of

We can make our intervention effective and teach them more appropriate strategies to help them deal with the situation they find challenging na s e n c onne c t

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defensive behaviours they use to ensure their needs are met but these are not always helpful or socially appropriate.

It can feel uncomfortable for us to challenge these defensive behaviours as, for the child, they are coping mechanisms and to remove them could temporarily appear to cause more distress by pushing them further outside their window of tolerance. But with the knowledge and support provided by a relational approach we can have the confidence to know how and when to intervene. We can make our intervention effective and teach them more appropriate strategies to help them deal with the situation they find challenging.

Children with autism often need to learn to be creative and imaginative by being given repeated opportunities to express themselves

HOW HO W CAN WE DEVELOP A RELATIONAL APPROACH? Creativity tyy and the arts are at the heart of a relational approach and play is a crucial part of this learning. Play improves opportunities for connection with others by engaging children emotionally. Providing them with new experiences and strategies to express their needs allows them to try, through drama, music and role play, ways to manage new and challenging situations.

This supports children to understand who they are and how to be in their relationships with others. Children with autism often need to learn to be creative and imaginative by being given repeated opportunities to role play, express themselves and learn from observing their peers.

Play begins at birth with the parent and child learning to interact with each other.

This could be peek-a-boo or tickling and involves attunement and connection through the the face face and via positive touch. For many autisticc children, even at this early stage, they find this uncomfortable.

If the baby doesn’t react positively to the adult and reciprocate the play th then, understandably, the caregiver might be inclined to stop, creating an unintended rupture or possible in interruptions in forming a secure attachm ment ment or or bond. bond. Difficult Difficulties with eye contact and posittive touch, there efore, start at the first stage of development

and we can relate this to problems in developing relationships with others.

As the baby grows and starts to explore their surroundings, they might not engage with the caregiver and show a lack of interest in playing or even a rejection of play that is sensory. As this capacity tyy to play is so important in normal development, it is imperative that children are given the opportunities to go back and experience this earlier stage in their lives again with many repeated, positive experiences of connection with a trusted adult.

THE START OF CONNECTION As we learn more about autism, we understand the importance of establishing a relationship and making a connection with the child. Even though autistic children often appear to reject this, human contact and relationships are a basic need for us all. Children can be taught how to accept relationships with others and enjoy them, but it must be carefully, patiently and sensitively done.

Difficulties with positive touch, eye contact and sensory perception are classic difficulties in people with autism. Massage has a positive effect on reducing anxiety tyy and stress levels as touch is important to the nervous system. Oxytocin is released through loving touch and is a natural antidote to the stress hormone cortisol.

Before children can accept massage, they need to experience a range of activities designed to encourage positive touch through play and the arts. Making any

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form of eye contact is uncomfortable for some people with autism and, again, we have a range of ways to support children to find this more acceptable by concentrating on activities around the face. It is an interesting fact that people with autism often focus on the mouth rather than eyes, finding that less challenging.

We know that children and young people on the spectrum are often in states of high arousal due to uncomfortable levels of anxiety ty. y Understanding what they are frightened of or worried about is key to reducing this stress. Using the relationship you have with them, you can anticipate these needs by observing their behaviour, supporting them to remain regulated by understanding and naming what they are likely to be feeling, anticipating threat and challenge in order to minimise it, noticing when they are dysregulated, validating their feelings and containing them. These relational responses support children to become calmer and provide them with vital self-regulation tools for the future.

Autism is lifelong, but education can and does make a huge difference. The challenge is to discover what social and emotional learning children need, then use proven strategies and activities so that the learning is safe, effective and meaningful.

By focusing on supporting the child through a positive, trusting relationship, we can then work with the interruptions identified to make them emotionally stronger and more resilient in times of stress so that every child can thrive and rea alise theiir fulll pottenttiall.

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FEATURE

TEACHING & LEARNING

Sensory processing in the classroom In part one of this two-part series, Kim Griffin explores what is meant by the term sensory processing and things to consider when identifying sensory differences.

ensory Processing Disorder (SPD) or Sensory Integrative Dysfunction are the terms used when children (and adults) are not interpreting effectively the sensory information they receive and so may not generate an appropriate response to this information (Bialer, D. & Miller, L.J. 2011).

I will stress at the start of this article, whilst the term SPD is widely used, at the time of

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writing it is still not a formally recognised standalone diagnosis.

This is why sensory differences alone do not typically qualify for additional support. The term is useful, however, for describing the sensory differences individuals may experience.

AUTISM AND SENSORY PROCESSING Whilst SPD is not a standalone diagnosis, research indicates that

between 82 per cent and 97 per cent of individuals with autism experience sensory under or over responsivity (Dellapiazza, F. et al 2018). So, if you have a student in the classroom that has an autism diagnosis, it is highly likely you have a student who processes sensory information differently. These students will need support and modifications to successfully engage in the classroom.

WHAT IS MEANT BY THE TERM SENSORY PROCESSING? When therapists use the term sensory processing, they are actually referring to three different processes. The terms they use will also depend on which author/ researcher they are reading and learning from. I will use Lucy Miller’s model, but other common models include the revised Ayres Sensory Integration model and Winnie Dunn’s Sensory Profile.

P RO CE SS 1 – S EN SO RY M O D ULAT IO N Sensory modulation is ‘the ability to produce a behaviour and/or response that matches the nature and intensity of the sensory input and environment’ (Miller, L.J. 2014). So, it is the ability to ensure your response matches the sensory messages that were received. Where there is a mismatch you might see: over-responsivity or sensitivity under-responsivity or not responding to sensory input craving or seeking out extra sensory input.

This difference in reactivity is usually what people think of when they consider sensory processing.

sensory messages (for example, whether a sound is loud or quiet, if food is hot or cold). Sensory discrimination includes knowing where the sensory message occurred: was a sound on your right or left or was it close or far away?

PRO CE SS 3 – S E NSO RY M O V E M E NT This relates to the movement challenges that might occur when sensory messages aren’t being processed effectively and includes dyspraxia and postural control.

Dyspraxia relates to difficulties planning and organising new and novel movements.

Postural control relates to posture, balance and stability.

P R O CE SS 2 – S E NSO RY D ISCRIM INAT IO N Sensory discrimination is the ability to process the qualities and intensity of

BIO KIM GRIFFIN Kim is a paediatric occupational therapist.

She has extensive experience working with children who have sensory and/or motor skill challenges, including those with autism and dyspraxia.

Her current focus is creating online training and resources for schools, teachers and parents. Her training ‘Sensory Processing with GriffinOT’ was shortlisted for the Nasen 2020 Awards.

She tweets as @Griffin_OT and can be found on Facebook as GriffinSensoryOT www.GriffinOT.com

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ST E P 2

WHY IS SENSORY PROCESSING IMPORTANT? The sensory information we receive forms the basis for our decision making. If our brain isn’t processing this information accurately or if it isn’t able to ignore things that aren’t important, it is much harder for us to produce an appropriate response.

You can compare it to a computer: the input comes from the mouse, keyboard and maybe touch screen. The operating system processes the input to ‘produce’ something.

If the operating system isn’t working properly then we might not be able to print a document, send an email or upload a blog post; the outcome is not what we had hoped for.

With sensory processing, the brain is like the operating system. If it’s not sending the sensory messages to the right place or paying enough attention to the right message and organising it in a way it can be used, then the response

may not be appropriate. The outcome is typically unexpected behaviour or difficultly completing activities and tasks.

IDENTIFYING IF A STUDENT MIGHT HAVE DIFFICULTY PROCESSING SENSORY INFORMATION STEP 1

Put on your ‘sensory goggles’ when you’re observing behaviour and how a student moves or completes (or doesn’t complete) activities. You might identify that the student is refusing to use glue because they don’t like the stickiness or that the student is constantly tripping up because their vestibular system is slow to respond.

ST E P 3

The first thing that teachers need to do to identify if a student has difficulty with processing sensory information is to familiarise themselves with the eight senses.

Yes, all eight! This includes the vestibular and proprioceptive senses and also interoception.

EXAMPLES AT S C H O O L

A well-known example is when a student experiences sensitivity to sounds.

They might find noises in the classroom that others don’t even notice a challenge. The ticking of the clock or the whirring of the projector might be a constant distraction. Spaces like the lunch hall, or activities like whole school assembly and PE can become overwhelming. So, the student might avoid these activities, overreact or shut down in response to the auditory overload.

Another example might be a student who is slower to react to and process information. These students might receive an instruction but not respond straight away. The lunch bell might go, but they don’t immediately hear it. They could take much longer to get going during PE and be clumsier than other students.

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Use a model like ABC (Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence) to observe and review behaviour. Alongside your usual observations, consider sensory inputs as well. Think about how the student might be processing sensations in the environment from the other students, yourself and the activity. Are there any sensations that make it easier or harder for the student to be successful? Do any of the consequences encourage the student to repeat behaviour?

One student with touch sensitivity that I worked with, found the cloakroom a very difficult space as there were so many other children bumping into him. His initial reflexive reaction was to hit other students which resulted in him being sent to a quiet comfy sofa outside the head teacher’s office. The student learnt very quickly that if he hit out in overwhelming environments, he got to go to a quiet comfy space. So, the consequence was actually encouraging the unwanted behaviour as it helped him to meet his sensory needs.

In the next article, we will cover sensory support ideas for the classroom.

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LEADERSHIP

Making good use of the 2020 Headteachers’ Standards Following the publication of the Headteacher Standards Review Group’s report in late 2020, we look at the thinking behind the new standards, the practical implications for SENCOs and the view from a Trust leader.

At the core of the new Headteacher Standards is the section on ethics and professional conduct na s e n c onne c t

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MALCOLM TR O BE C BE ,

C H A I R OF T HE H EAD TEA C HE R S TAND A R DS RE VI EW GR O U P : The review group was determined to develop standards that were clear, fit for purpose and of real practical use to heads, employers and those engaged in leadership training and development. The group gathered evidence, examining what leadership standards were used in other jurisdictions

It must be acknowledged that leaders do not lead within a vacuum where everything is equal

and professions, and curating research about what makes for successful leadership in schools.

We were keen to support coherence, consistency, and progression through a person’s career as they moved into various leadership positions; building from the Teachers’ Standards and the Early Career Framework was important.

Whilst acknowledging there were things to be learnt from outside the sphere of education, we were aware of the specificities in the complex activities of leading a school. There is a great deal of expert knowledge and experience that is a critical and necessary requirement of being an effective school leader.

We spent a significant amount of time considering how inclusion and SEND should be represented in the standards; we viewed them as strands running through all the standards, but they were given particular prominence in Standard 5.

In the consultation phase, we received overwhelming support for including a leadership dimension on ethics and

ERICA W O L S TENHO LME ,

S OUTH W E S T RE G I ONA L L E A D FO R W H OLE S C HO O L S E N D:

As the educations system is everevolving, the review group felt it important to consider how the standards could be used across the developing range of leadership roles in schools. This speaks to the national agenda of expert leadership, and the practical purpose of the standards is to provide a framework for training middle and senior leaders aspiring to headship. The position of SENCO is one such leadership role.

At the core of the new Headteacher Standards is the section on ethics and professional conduct, which consists of statements that define the behaviour and attitudes expected of headteachers. One example is that they ‘serve in the best interests of the school’s pupils’.

The role of the SENCO is to manage inclusion across the school, leading the school community to adopt inclusive values

and practices. Therefore, as the National College stated in 2010, it is important to consider that “the effective school leader is motivated by a fundamental moral purpose towards inclusion as a core value, and with this a non-negotiable commitment to enabling achievement for all children within school, believing that all children have a right to achieve their potential, while also understanding that achievement is far wider than simply a numerical level”.

The second section sets out the 10 Headteacher Standards; references to inclusion are evident in every section.

Section 5 explicitly references children and young people with special educational needs, stating that headteachers must: Ensure the school holds ambitious expectations for all pupils with additional and special educational needs and disabilities

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professional conduct. In this section, we sought to express how headteachers engender public trust in school leadership, and how they maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour.

Standards are a key component of appraisal and, although our brief was to develop standards for those leading a single school, we wanted them to be used across a wide range of school leadership roles. As Angela demonstrates in her section below, we could see how it would be wholly appropriate to expect leaders to meet those standards relevant to their roles.

In this way, I believe the 2020 standards should be of great practical use across a range of leadership roles.

BIO M ALCO LM T RO BE CBE Malcolm chaired the DfE Headteachers’ Standards Review Group. He is currently an independent educational consultant specialising in leadership and governance. He was previously Headteacher of Malmesbury School in Wiltshire and then Deputy General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.

Establish and sustain culture and practices that enable pupils to access the curriculum and learn effectively Ensure the school works effectively in partnership with parents, carers, and professionals, to identify the additional needs and special educational needs and disabilities of pupils, providing support and adaptation where appropriate Ensure the school fulfils its statutory duties with regard to the SEND code of practice.

With every leader being a leader of SEND and every teacher being a teacher of SEND, good provision is a collective responsibility, but it is the SENCO who provides the expert leadership.

However, it must be acknowledged that leaders do not lead within a vacuum where everything is equal, but instead according to their circumstances.

Therefore, whilst the standards provide a framework that everyone should be making an open and honest attempt to achieve, for some they will be the

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Download the Headteachers’ Standards 2020 at https://bit.ly/2Y6mV19) and access the Nolan Principles at https://bit.ly/2ZioN7K

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minimum and they will be able to offer far more to support children with SEND. The current situation is a reminder that we are only as strong as one another, and that the actions of all of us count as we strive for equity and equality of opportunity for our children and young people. Finally, just as the standards are universal, so are the attributes of leadership. Therefore, should the role of SENCO be considered a stepping-stone on the pathway to headship?

BIO ER ICA W OLS TENH OLME Erica is the South West regional lead for Whole School SEND. She is currently an independent educational consultant specialising in special needs. She was previously a strategic SENCO for an all-through school and a secondary school within the Olympus Trust in South Gloucestershire.

AN GE L A H OLD S W O RTH ,

CEO AT S EA V I E W TR U S T: The Sea View Trust is a North West based inclusive Trust comprised of three primary academies, two special academies and a specialist college.

The Trust was formed through merger in November 2019 and, since this date, a key focus has been the harmonisation of terms and conditions for all staff.

The Sea View Trust invests heavily in continuing professional development for all. As part of the DfE Opportunity Area programme, many staff in our Trust have benefited from the national professional qualifications (NPQ) suite and were therefore highly familiar with the previous Headteacher Standards.

In response to COVID-19 pressures, which have significantly impacted staff attendance in our academies, the decision was taken to delay the appraisal cycle end-date to November 2021. Fortuitously, this allowed Trust academies to be early adopters of the 2020 Headteacher Standards, incorporating them into the 2020-21 appraisal cycle for all leadership teams.

All staff paid on the leadership spine, and those with aspirations for leadership roles, were provided with a copy of the 2020 Headteacher Standards, presented as simple self-evaluation grid. Appraisees identified if they met, partially met, or

exceeded the standard, evidencing their response. Self-evaluation outcomes were used to frame the appraisal conversation, with the appraiser ‘testing’ the evidencebase provided.

In assessing the impact of the appraisal approach, we welcome the priority afforded to ethics and professional conduct within the revised standards. Trust leaders are keen to use these standards to drive forward leadership which reflects the core vision and values of the Trust. Conversations around the implementation of these standards and the embodiment of the Seven Principles of Public Life (Nolan Principles) are particularly important in supporting those who are new to leadership roles, with these standards being equally transferable to those in senior teaching or business roles within our Trust academies.

BIO ANGELA HOLDSWORTH MA (SEN) Angela is the Lancashire and West Yorkshire regional lead for Whole School SEND and Teaching School Council national SEND lead. Angela is also CEO for the Sea View Trust, an inclusive Lancashire-based Trust, and has 25 years of senior leadership experience in special and mainstream schools.

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Trust leaders are keen to use these standards to drive forward leadership which reflects the core vision and values of the Trust.

As an inclusive trust we welcome a standard wholly focused on Additional and Special Educational Needs.

However, we encourage all our leaders to view all 10 Headteacher Standards through a lens of inclusivity and believe this to be central to our mainstream school leaders’ focus on both culture and ethos and strong, effective governance.

We believe that leadership is a journey and that the Standards can be used in a supportive appraisal system, almost like a spiral curriculum, to ensure those reaching headship have the full complement of prerequisite skills.

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INCLUSIVE BELONGING: creating the space to make a difference

Dr Lisa Needs examines the principles of inclusive belonging and outlines what schools can do to ensure this approach is embedded in their overall provision.

BIO LI S A NE E D S Dr Needs works as Outreach Lead Teacher and Communications Lead at Medina House Special School in the Isle of Wight. She has taught in special and mainstream schools across all age ranges, worked as a SENCO and SENCO trainer and in an advisory role for inclusion and English as an additional language. Lisa is a member of nasen’s Specialist Advisory board and is currently working on online training modules for schools around curriculum access.

2020 ... what a year!

The endless recalibrations that COVID-19 set in motion mean that we are in a time of shifting paradigms. Living in the world of the bubble is new to everyone; there is a sense of seeing through glass and dealing with the refraction that happens. Everything shifts, old orders change, and creating stability has become the task of the moment.

So how are we all feeling in this strange new world? How do we belong and fit in to it? Is belonging a useful concept for us to examine now that we have come so far on our inclusion journey?

WHERE NEXT ON THE INCLUSION ROAD? The inclusion agenda has moved mountains since the pre-Warnock (1978)

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days, when many pupils were deemed ineducable, but statistics show we still have much more to do. However, in this time of Recovery Curriculum work, where we rebuild our school communities and deal with the many losses that we all continue to experience, is it time for a fresh look at inclusion? Are there any parts of practice we used before that we can change?

It’s interesting to reflect that much of inclusion terminology still has a bit of a ‘done to’ feel about it, and it’s important to think about what the experience of inclusion is really like for our pupils. Is there something for everyone in our curriculum? Can everyone experience success in the way our school days are set up? Does everyone have a chance to truly belong to the school?

Even with the best of intentions, inclusive practice can become a mechanical checklist where, at its worst, provision is done to, rather than with, the pupils. In 2021, with a focus on how we all belong to our changing school communities, it’s interesting to reflect on how our inclusion journey enhances a feeling of belonging. Taking a quick snapshot of Inclusive Belonging in our own setting can be very helpful here. (See right)

VALUABLE DAYS – CREATING SPACE FOR BELONGING In some models of inclusion there is still a hangover from the days of the medical model of disability. Pupils can be included into existing systems which may not work for them, rather than starting with the person and working from their perspective. They may be included into existing models of agreed cognitive development, behavioural norms that are determined by society or language-based systems which use a code they are not confident with. Often this can mean that the positives about the person are lost in a sea of outcomes which do not work for the person at the centre of it all. No one size can ever fit all and looking through an inclusive belonging lens can be very useful in avoiding these ineffective inclusion pathways. It’s always good to look at how pupils will make sense of their experience.

To quote Goethe, “Nothing is more highly to be prized than the value of each day”. Looking proactively at what opportunities the day brings for pupils to be recognised, or be a part of something, can help create inclusive spaces that assist progress.

This year, with all the ongoing challenges, is a great time to make belonging part of our inclusion journey.

Useful questions to ask when examining provision are:

How can you find out how pupils feel being a part of their class or bubble?

How good are staff at being effective communication partners and advocates for all pupils?

How valued are the strengths that are not obviously academic/progression related?

What roles in school can pupils have?

What can be done to further a sense of belonging?

How can pupils know that they have agency and that what they do matters?

Valuable days ... do days in school make sense to pupils?

Focusing and reflecting on belonging as an essential part of the inclusion journey can give a new energy to our provision and remind everyone that we are all in this together!

In 2021, with a focus on how we all belong to our changing school communities, it’s interesting to reflect on how our inclusion journey enhances a feeling of belonging.

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IN CL U SI VE BE LO N G IN G SN AP SH O T To develop a sens

e of inclusive belonging the following questions can provide a useful focus: Does our inclusive practice recognise what everyone can do, or is it wholly focus ed on a can’t do/catch-up model?

How are we using co-production; are we working with rather than doing to?

Is everyone in our setting accepting and celebrating difference and diversity?

How do all staff understand inclusive belonging?

How do we promote and value contr ibutions from everyone?

Does our CPD celebrate diversity and widen the inclusive knowledge base of the scho ol?

Noticing ... do staff notice what pupi ls can do?

How can you create a sense of ident ity for pupils as successful learners?

What opportunities are there throughou t the day for creating success?

Are inclusive strategies embedded in planning and policies, or are they an add–on?

Are our inclusion strategies creating a sense of belonging?

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The Diary of a SENCO

Be a goldminer and a keeper of treasure!

In this first article in the series, Pippa McLean looks at using our own experiences to help forge a deeper connection with pupils with SEND. his morning I spent a good while with R who was struggling to come in through the door. I’m not even sure how we eventually managed to coax him out of the car, but I found myself trying to unpick what was going on for him. He was completely debilitated by his feelings and then suddenly, 40 minutes later, he hit a eureka moment. He was actually good at something ... really good at something. He was far better at doing it than me (me being a full-grown adult, and him a six-year-old). He was the expert, instead of the failure he had as a recurring internal monologue ... and it all started with talking about our holidays.

I’m willing to put my mind to most things, but there are things I cannot do, such as skiing (yes, I know that’s not very ‘Growth Mindset’ of me, but that’s the point).

I’ve tried skiing a couple of times. My first attempts were lessons when I was 46 years old.

I thought I was quite brave just giving it a go so late in the day, BIO but where I’d hoped I’d see some AN P IP PA M C LE small signs of improvement the is a Pippa McLean second time round, things only en be s teacher and ha got worse. My fear increased to 12 er ov r a SENCO fo the point that I couldn’t control ht ug ta s ha e Sh years. rough the shaking in my legs. Yes, I’d Bo on nd Lo e in th urrock known it would be hard work, of Newham, Th

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is and Essex and O in a NC SE a ly current fant and mainstream in . ol nursery scho

and that things wouldn’t just fall into place overnight, but I’d hoped there’d be at least a glimmer of progress.

I’m ok with not being able to ski because I don’t need to. It’s a skill I can go without.

But, what if your fear of ‘I just can’t’ is just about stepping through the classroom door?

So, there we were, talking about our holidays and R suddenly realised that he was actually a brilliant skier, confidently mastering black runs with his family, whilst I shared my story of crying and shaky legs. This boosted his self-belief and gave him a safe place to begin to express how he felt about the process of writing.

My vulnerability helped uncover his. His feelings of being overwhelmed; of not knowing how to even start; of feeling frozen to the spot. I knew what that felt like.

As SENCOs it’s part of our job to try to work out what’s going on for children, to try to identify the internal and external barriers that get in the way of their learning. If we can tap into personal experiences where we hit barriers, it reminds us of how big these accompanying emotions can feel. We are called to build trusting relationships with pupils, and as we dig deep, we’ll often find hiddenn gold that can be refined and d polished so that it shines in ways we never imagined.

b ut stt about ’t’ is just o ‘I just can’t What if your fear of oor? t e classroom door? t rough th tepping th ste ww w.na s e n.o rg .u k

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As SENCOs i ’s part it r of o our job to trry to work out whatt’s going on for ch childreen.

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SPOTLIGHT

Att ttachment t traits: A teacherled enquiry

The disruption of 2020/21 could lead to a further rise in children showing attachment traits, so how can schools intervene effectively?

Professor Barry Carpenter and teachers Louise Fulcher-Insull and Rebecca Southall, give an overview of their teacher-led enquiry. he number of children with attachment issues is rising and, despite a wealth of literature on the subject, there is relatively little practitioner-led, SEN-focused research.

When we consider that children with a formal diagnosis of an attachment disorder are more likely to be in the foster or care systems (CLDD, 2011), and that 70 per

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cent of looked-after children have some form of SEN, this becomes significant.

Our own behaviour tracking data at Wyre Forest School shows that Looked-After Children (LAC) and previously LAC make up 15 per cent of the school population and yet account for 25 per cent of all negative behaviour incidents. This suggests that pupils with a higher risk of attachment disorder because of early childhood trauma or relationship breakdown are struggling in the school environment.

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DEVELOPING AN INTERVENTION To design our intervention, we used the graduated approach to developing good practice with the four stages of assess, plan, do and review (SEND code of practice, 2015) as well as the accessible research cycle; a series of eight questions to guide our thinking as we began to assess pupil needs.

To guide us in developing our methods we used ‘Imitation is the basis of all learning’, and our aim to develop an

BIO P R O FE S S O R B A R RY CARPENTER Barry is Professor of Mental Health in Education at Oxford Brookes University.

He was previously a headteacher in three schools.

intervention that supports accuracy, fluency and generalisations became our teaching principle. To ensure long-term success we needed to make sure our intervention was shared and delivered to a high standard by others. Our delivery principle was a specific intervention in class, leading to coaching and assimilation into classroom practice/culture.

Providing opportunities to “practice turn taking, build up social skills and experience positive interactions” (CLDD 2011) are critical factors in relationship building and we decided on an evidence-based sensory approach to learning. As a starting point the Sensory Box, designed and developed

by Tina Rae and Nurture UK, was selected.

THE SELECTION PROCESS

REBECCA S O U T HA L L Rebecca has worked in special education at Wyre Forest School in Worcestershire for 12 years. She has been working as a class teacher for five years and has a particular interest in the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on children and their education.

LOUISE FU L C HE R - I N S U L L Louise is a teacher at a special school in Worcestershire. She has been teaching for 11 years and has an interest in working with children with additional needs including attachment disorder.

Initially it was planned that three cyclical cohorts across one academic year (15 children) would be selected. Each cohort would represent a mix of abilities from the full range of early years classes on role in June 2019; sessions began in the September.

In order to select pupils for our intervention we used a comprehensive, evidence-based checklist designed by Golding (2013). Pupils who scored highly showed traits of ambivalent, avoidant or disorganised attachment traits. Teachers were also able to discuss pupils making lower progress in the EYFS PSED strand (particularly managing feelings and making relationships) than in other curriculum areas.

As all the pupils within the study have additional needs in their cognitive and communicative function, comparing their social and emotional progress to their progress in other areas enabled us to highlight the significant difficulties.

Some were chosen because they were withdrawn, others were disengaged and found it hard to access school alongside their peers. All children showed some degree of difficulty in interacting with adults and building relationships.

As part of our assessment, we analysed the checklist data provided by teachers. The next step was to build a more complete picture of each child. The engagement profile was chosen because strong engagement skills lie at the heart of effective learning (Carpenter, et al, 2015).

These were carried out by researchers alongside class teachers, and pupils were observed in self-chosen motivating activities

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to ensure the researchers were able to observe different areas of engagement.

This information was invaluable as we moved into the ‘plan’ phase, helping us determine which of our sensory activities would best suit each individual.

Our sessions were 12 minutes long, twice a week. They followed a set format of two sensory activities, matching pupil interest, followed by a calming bubbles activity for all pupils. We set a limit, scheduling the intervention to conclude after a term (20 sessions). Using our scales, measurable progress could then be examined.

Sessions were observed and video clips recorded using the Evidence for Learning app (EFL). Recording our interactions was vital and EFL proved to be invaluable in monitoring the delivery of the intervention.

We were able to share our findings to ensure rigour, and the triangulation of evidence made sure that SLT could corroborate our findings and judgments.

For the first cohort of children, the data from the adapted Golding scales showed that four out of five reduced their overall score and had moved towards ‘age-typical’ behaviours in each of the areas. Arguably of particular significance was that all five children reduced their scores for the attachment-specific area of the scale. The reduction in these scores ranged from seven per cent to 33 per cent with an average of 9.8 points difference in the attachment section, showing that

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the sessions helped pupils develop their relationships not only with the interveners but also with their classroom teams.

Throughout the study, it was discovered that some children needed personalised activities in each session because of the characteristics of attachment style they demonstrated. These children often brought a transition object to the sessions and needed the adult to engage through an interest in this object and by following the child’s agenda. Others responded positively to consistency and predictability in the activities during the sessions.

As the priority for selection to the project was based on behaviour data and gaps in PSED data as identified by SLT, the first cohort coincidentally consisted of only male students. It was decided that the second cohort would also include girls to ensure a broad range of children had the opportunity to participate.

Throughout one term, the children of cohort one received between 13 and 20 sessions working on the intervention. The number of sessions varied due to each child’s attendance at school within the term.

Through analysis of these sessions, imitation was identified as key to the process. Dittrich and Tutt (2008) note that, from a very early age, babies and children learn from repeating the behaviours of others. This led to an increased emphasis on

Pupils with a higher risk of attachment disorder because of early childhood trauma or relationship breakdown are struggling in the school environment.

imitation for children in the second cohort.

As a result of these discoveries, the children in cohort two experienced more personalised activity choices, still largely originating from adaptations to Rae’s sensory activity box activities.

OUTCOMES In conclusion, the evidence suggests that two sessions of 12 minutes per week can help children build secure relationships with adults and bring their behaviours within typical age or stage expectations. Anecdotal evidence, as well as the data collected, indicates that children can become more confident, feel more settled and build their trust in adults to care for and nurture them.

The findings have several implications for classroom practice. Practitioners should be encouraged to dedicate short periods of time to this intervention to maximise relationship-building potential. Imitation needs to be a component of this intervention and each child needs one-to-one time on a twice-weekly basis. This time investment is relatively low, but the impact could extend far beyond just that child alone; Champion

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(2005) notes that brain differences can affect the child’s ability to self-regulate which, in a school-based context, could impact the whole classroom.

Given the disruption caused by the pandemic, this study is more relevant than ever. Bomber (2007) highlights the importance of consistency and the key adult in building relationships. These relationships will have been disrupted during this time ‘requiring recovery, repair and rebuilding’ (Carpenter and Carpenter, 2020). Additionally, other children may be experiencing feelings of fear and abandonment by their class team because of the pandemic. The findings of this study may go some way towards helping school staff develop new interventions which enable these relationships to once again flourish.

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SPOTLIGHT

SEN Person-centred planning Susana Castro-Kemp, from Roehampton University, looks back at how person-centred planning has evolved, and outlines the university’s research into its impact on young people and families. nterest in person-centred approaches in SEND has increased substantially over the past two decades. Developed over 30 years ago in the US, it became particularly central in the UK with the 2001 White Paper, Valuing People (https://bit.ly/3agPG1U).

Person-centred planning (PCP) approaches include a range of principles and practices that reflect the unique circumstances of each child across assessment, planning and intervention. PCP should account for the aspirations and capacities expressed by the child or young person, or those ‘adequately’ representing them. Lastly, PCP should also mobilise the child/young person’s family and wider social network in a fair and just manner, making good use of resources available from the statutory procedures (Mansell & Beadle-Brown, 2004).

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In England, the introduction of the Children and Families Act 2014 likely helped to enhance this trend. The 2014 policy for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) clearly places more emphasis on the child’s or family’s own voice in the education, health and care planning process, and on participation as the ultimate outcome of holistic provision. It is also possible that the growing popularity of personcentred approaches might have led to the development and implementation of a policy that is (at least in theory) more progressive in the extent to which it considers the interests of the individual child. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that research and professional practice in SEND have moved towards a more person-centred framework, valuing individualisation, access to children’s voices and family involvement.

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Unfortunately, that did not always translate into higher-quality PCP practices.

Between 2015 and 2020 my team at Roehampton University looked at how some of these PCP principles have been put into practice. A number of obstacles to the implementation of PCP have been systematically identified in research: inadequate and imprecise access to the children’s own perspectives (https://bit.ly/3tVDP1d) poorly designed outcomes (https://bit.ly/3piJ87n), which are not workable low-quality descriptions of needs lacking in detail and specificity (https://bit.ly/2NqJ1cI).

The connection between these problems is the need for a common language and a systematic framework to implement PCP. Practitioners lack systematic guidance on

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If you are a practitioner working in SEND and you would like to learn more about training and resources on person-centred practices, please contact Dr Susana Castro-Kemp at Susana.Castro-Kemp@roehampton.ac.uk

SPOTLIGHT

how to be person-centred on an everyday basis, and they lack the tools to make PCP workable and transferable across disciplines.

It may be argued that such a system is already at our disposal in the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF): https://bit.ly/379MYta The year 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of the ICF by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is the classification system that all United Nations members committed to endorse as the gold standard for the documentation of disability. Despite this, the ICF is still not very well known in the UK. Used mainly by occupational therapists and speech and language therapists, the purpose of the ICF is to serve as a framework and system to support the documentation of children’s needs in an individualised yet holistic manner, involving biological, psychosocial and environmental dimensions of children’s lives.

The ICF enables a person-centred approach to documenting disability, applicable in any area of SEND provision,

including statutory services or SEND support. Its potential to promote adequate documentation of the education, health and care planning process has been widely demonstrated but it can extend to other areas of the SEND system, such as the development of individualised education plans, for example.

The ICF is accessible both through a browser on the WHO’s website and as a manual. The taxonomy provides detailed descriptions of all possible body functions and structures, activities, forms of participation and environmental factors that can be relevant in describing the individual circumstances of one particular child. Moreover, it provides a level of detail that we often see lacking in statutory documentation (for example, within the code relating to having a conversation, we can specify whether the child’s difficulty or ability, is in initiating the conversation, sustaining it, or terminating it, or all of the above).

It has been shown that most statutory documents lack this level of detail, thus becoming mere policy documents, which are not workable. The ICF provides a menu

BIO DR SUS AN A C AS T R O - KE M P Susana is a Reader in Education at Roehampton University.

She specialises in inclusion and developmental disabilities and has published extensively on education policy, early childhood intervention and mental health and wellbeing in young children.

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of everyday life aspects that support practitioners in the individualisation process, from the individual to the environment, supporting the development of a unique ‘picture’ of each child, with consideration for all areas of life.

It follows that a contemporary approach to PCP in SEND could and should promote familiarisation with the ICF system, across education, health and social care sectors.

The development of resources to support practitioners in England to adopt the ICF in their daily practice is under way (https://bit.ly/2OtkJz4). Workshops for teams and professionals, as well as the inclusion of the ICF in the syllabus of special education courses, have received extremely positive feedback and can be scaled-up (https://bit.ly/3anO8DD).

Guidance is being developed on how to use the ICF with children and families to accomplish descriptions of children’s needs and aspirations that truly reflect their own perceptions (https://bit.ly/3qjOpgf).

This work is ongoing and is continuously being adapted to the needs of children, parents and services.

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SPOTLIGHT

Championing Susan Barnes, Head of Apprenticeships at Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust, examines the importance of championing the talents and skills of apprentices with SEND, and of showing the value that young people with SEND bring to businesses. ocated across London, Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire, Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust is a family of specialist education providers for pupils and students from nursery to further education.

With six college centres and 15 special schools, the Trust supports students with a wide range of learning abilities and additional needs including complex autism, speech, language and communication

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difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs and physical disabilities including multi-sensory impairment and complex health needs.

The Trust’s strong community and stakeholder networks mean students benefit from access to a greater range of opportunities. Part of our mission is to support, enable and champion the talents, skills and rights of the most complex and vulnerable people in our society in order to help them realise their potential, promote well-being and transform lives; apprenticeships is one of our areas of focus.

Apprenticeships were given prominence at the Trust back in 2016 when our first group of apprentices were welcomed. In 2017, following a successful pilot delivering customer service to apprentices with SEND, Orchard Hill College became an approved provider on the ESFA Register

of Apprenticeship Training Providers.

Apprenticeships are now offered at level 2 and beyond in healthcare, teaching and learning, and customer service. Over the next three years, we hope to ensure that every college centre and academy within the Trust, employs at least one apprentice.

ENTERING THE WORLD OF WORK Young people who have special education needs, learning difficulties or disabilities are less likely to become apprentices than their peers. As part of the journey to transform this, it’s important to celebrate the achievements of apprentices with SEND and to spotlight the impact on students; there are many inspiring tales.

Through participation in work-based learning, our apprentices develop social and practical skills, such as financial

BIO SUSAN BARNE S Susan Barnes is Head of Apprenticeships at Orchard Hill College. Initially trained as a primary school teacher, she began working with NEET learners 15 years ago, going on to assist with ‘Train to Gain’ and ‘Skills For Life’ projects with the Department of Transport and the NHS.

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FEATURE ➜

SPOTLIGHT

independence, as well as improving their physical and social well-being.

Matt is an apprentice with SEND at Orchard Hill College’s Digital School.

After completing his course, Matt volunteered with the Digital School, before advancing his career through taking on an apprenticeship position full time.

Matt said: “Part of my role is being a learning support assistant at some of the academies in the Trust, where I get to share my digital knowledge. The biggest highlight of my job is helping students and members of my local community to enjoy technology.”

Similarly, SEND apprentice Claire began on a Level 2 customer service apprenticeship and progressed to Level 3 teaching assistant apprenticeship. Head of Learning Centre, Kerry Macey said: “Claire’s apprenticeship has provided her with a good balance of theory and practical work, positively influencing her abilities to support our learners in an inclusive way whilst ensuring they are meeting their outcomes. In addition to this, Claire’s skill set has grown; she is able to adapt her teaching style, bringing lots of enthusiasm to enrich student lives. Claire is a dedicated staff member and a shining example of apprenticeship success at Orchard Hill College.”

Examples such as these highlight the impact of apprenticeships for young people with SEND; from improving mental health and enhancing digital skills, to boosting organisational skills and improving maths and English.

ENGAGE EMPLOYERS Part of the challenge for all educational organisations is to show the compelling value that businesses can gain from employing young people with SEND as apprentices. Equally, this means reducing the barriers that employers express concerns over.

The most common concern is resource related, and the amount of extra time and cost required to support SEND apprentices.

However, in instances that require further resource, low-cost options that take minimal input to set up are adequate.

An element of confusion exists over how and what employers do to support apprentices with SEND. To make this process as smooth as possible, we introduced a college mentor to act as an additional link between the employer line manager and the apprentice tutor, providing extra support for students as well as employers.

Our experience was that, once employers recognise the students’ skills and what they can rather than can’t do, their understanding of the benefits increase while their concerns reduce.

SEND apprentices present significant long-term value for employers.

Economically, it is a very cost-effective solution as people with SEND often remain in job roles longer and take fewer sick days than their peers. This means employers benefit from reduced staff turnover and the associated costs, together with a greater level of reliability, loyalty and commitment.

Expansion of the recruitment talent pool in this way adds a whole new dimension to

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If you are an employer and would like to be part of the solution to transform the lives of young people and find out more about the Trust, visit www.ohcat.org or contact Susan Barnes, Head of Apprenticeships on 0345 402 0453.

the workforce, and employers often notice improvements in morale.

Our ability to adapt has really come into play since the outbreak of coronavirus, and at the peak we were juggling the stipulations of different training venues whilst balancing social distancing with off-the-job training, which was changed to virtual training for a period. Displaying a level of flexibility for employers and students is imperative at any time but especially over the past 12 months.

CHANGE ATTITUDES TO SECURE PLACEMENTS We are an ambitious team, and our students are incredibly ambitious too so, with the foundations in place, we hope to further increase the number of young people with SEND in apprenticeships.

As education providers, we all need to be more proactive in approaching employers, to demonstrate that it is a quick, smooth process, and really showcase the value for everyone. Our challenge is to engage, educate and persuade by illustrating the mutual benefits of a work placement. Let’s change attitudes, and perceived ideas, and secure more work placements for young people with SEND.

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FEATURE ➜

SPOTLIGHT

Building partnerships How can we build partnerships between parents and teachers in SEN during adolescent years? With this in mind, Professor John Sharry, CEO of charity ParentPlus, outlines the impact of its programme on service delivery, and examines the findings of Trinity College’s randomised trial. etting parents engaged in school life and involved in their children’s education brings many benefits for families and teachers. Research shows that higher parental engagement in schools improves educational outcomes, reduces absenteeism, boosts parents’ confidence, and leads to improved behaviour at school and in the home.

However, establishing high levels of parental involvement is by no means easy; there are many barriers to overcome. These include family issues such as lack of parent confidence and stress and marginalisation, as well as school issues such as lack of clear policy, time and training.

In addition, though parents of children with learning disabilities often receive school support during the early years, this support often reduces during the adolescent years, when families can experience increased challenges. During adolescence, families may encounter issues with behaviour, communication and sexual problems, as well as difficulties promoting independence for their young person.

Indeed, The National Disability Authority identified that parents need ‘access to interventions and educational programmes’ to overcome the many challenges that can be experienced by the young person and their families during this time.

Schools are usually the most important provider of support to families with children with learning disabilities. Strong collaborative relationships between parents and school staff are crucial in

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ensuring positive outcomes for children and young people.

There are many ways to improve parental involvement and to create good collaboration betw tween w schools and families, such as: Increasing communication to individual parents as well as the whole parent group Involving parents directly in school-b based learning with their children Ensuring parents fully participa ate in educational planning for theirr children Involving parents in whole scchool decision making Supporting parents wiith hom me learning and dealing witth behaviour problems.

PARENTS PLUS SPECIAL NEEDS PROGRAMME One important way to provide support to families and to increase collaboration between teaching staff and parents is to deliver school-based parenting programmes.

The Parents Plus Special Needs Programme (PPSN) was developed to respond to the complex, underserved needs of young people (12-25 years) with a learning difficulty and their families.

This seven-week parenting group can be delivered by teaching staff and multidisciplinary professionals in school settings to o support parents to: Manage behaviour and emotional problems Deal with puberty, sexuality and relationships Reduce their own stress as parents Support their child’s education in school Prepare their child for adulthood and future transitions.

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As one parent who attended the course explains: “It is a constant fight for your child.

This course is truly invaluable. For all services listening, please look into training in this course. There are so many families who need this now.”

EMPOWERING PARENTS AND TEACHERS TOGETHER The PPSN also supports parents to be full participants in their child’s education and supports them to plan for the future. When delivered throug gh schools, the PPSN increases parents’ involvement in the school and builds partnerships betw tween w pareents and d school staff. Once the programmee is finished d, pa arents are encouraged to continuue to meet in an ongoing parent support grroup (possib bly via an existing school body suuch as the parents’ association), which can reach out and d include new parents of children in the school..

Speaking of the impact of running PPSN, Ciara Ní Raghallaigh, Speeech and La anguage Therapist at a Dublin schoo ol for childreen with learning disabilities, explains: “Deliverring the programme in our school has transform med relationships betw tween w pareents and tea achers.

Directly supporting parents, and bringing them together in groups to suppo ort one ano other, has increased their involvement in the school and reduced stress on pareents and fam milies.

Parents also feel more equiipped to deeal with the challenges that theey face raising an adolescent with learning difficulties.”

FIRST INTERNATIONAL EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMME Between 2019 and 2020, in a large randomised controlled trial with Trinity College Dublin Psychology Department, parents attending the PPSN Programme reported significant improvements in: Parenting practices Problem behaviours Parental satisfaction Self-efficacy Goal attainment.

BIO JO HN S HA R RY Co-founder and CEO of the Parents Plus charity and co-developer of the seven evidence-based Parents Plus and Working Things Out programmes, Professor Sharry has 30 years’ experience as a mental health professional and was formerly principal social worker at the Mater CAMHS. He is an adjunct professor at the school of psychology in University College Dublin and has written 14 books, 10 intervention programmes and over 70 research papers and chapters. To learn more about training and mentoring for those who work in community, health, education, and disability services, and to learn more about ParentPlus visit www.parentsplus.ie or contact cherie@parentsplus.ie

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FEATUREE ➜

SPOTLIGHT

Strong collaborative relationships between parents and school staff are crucial in ensuring positive outcomes for children and young people.

Dr Charlotte Wilson, of Trinity tyy College Dublin, who led the RCT, commented: “We knnow internationally there has never been a randomised controlled trial of a progrramme like this. The ParentsPlus Special Needs Programme fills the massive gap in ser vice provision.”

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR PROFESSIONALS TO TRAIN IN THIS NEW PROGRAMME Ecclesiastical Movementt for Good and Parents Plus recently annnounced their grant partnership offering sponsored training places to professionals providing services to adolescents and young adults with learning difficulties, or their families, in the UK. The partnership will see Ecclesiastical, the specialist insurance and financial services company, fund the training of these professionals in PPSN. The fund will enable Parents Plus to recruit, train, mentor and supervise 50 professionals from 25 services to deliver PPSN to

parents. Professio onals such as teache ers, social workers, speech and language therapists, familyy support workers and many more can apply for this sponsorship opportunity ty. y This initiative will reach 1,500 fam milies in the UK, helping parents to manage e complex needs, improve their family’’s well-being and sttrengthen their links with other parents.

Eleanor Kent, Social Worker with CAMHS, who has trained in, and runs the PPSN, says: “PPSN is without doubt the solution to the crippling problems that many parents of adolescents and young adults with a learning difficulty tyy need.

The programme will change the future for children with learning difficulties, their parents, their families and their communities. It should be compulsory and offered to every family.

It really is that important.”

APPLY FO R SPO NSO RSHIP If you are a professional working with children, adolescents or young adults with a learning difficulty in the UK or are running a parent-led support group for families with a child with a learning difficulty and would like to apply for a sponsored training place on this programme, please email Cherie Tyner at cherie@parentsplus.ie Closing dates for applications for the first phase of sponsorship is Friday 2 April at 5pm.

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ASK THE TEAM

Ask the

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There is always a steady stream of questions arriving at nasen House and, of course, the Education Team answers them as soon as possible. But, while many of them are specific to a particular context, the answers to a number of them could be helpful to the wider nasen membership. ‘Ask the team’, formerly ‘Connect with Us’, provides the space to share these questions and answers.

If you have a question, the answer to which you think would be useful for everyone, please submit it to nasenconnect@nasen.org.uk Of course, you can always give nasen House a call too.

RELATIONSHIPS, SEX AND HEALTH EDUCATION I’m a SENCO in a mainstream secondary school and I have been asked to deliver training on the new RSHE curriculum from the point of view of supporting SEND pupils before it becomes fully statutory in the summer term. Do you have any suitable resources to support this?

SENCO, East Ridings In addition to nasen’s webinars on this topic, the Preparing for Adulthood website (https://bit.ly/3awG9E7) has a number of free resources to support relationships education, and the Sex Education Forum in association with Mencap and Image in Action have a guide for SEND (https://bit.ly/3ayH5bg).

Alternatively, membership of the PHSE Association gives access to a SEND planning framework and training webinars around the new statutory curriculum to support staff CPD (https://bit.ly/3au292v).

HANDWRITING Due to the pandemic and remote learning having a digital bias, a large number of our secondary pupils have regressed in their handwriting quality and speed. Are there any age-appropriate handwriting interventions that can help address this?

English Lead, Northamptonshire This is an interesting side effect of the remote learning during lockdown that Ofsted mentioned in its first review. It is difficult to learn to change your handwriting at an older age, though ‘Handwriting for Heroes’ aimed at veterans who have had to

NEW SENCO I recently completed my NASENCO and gained employment as a SENCO in a large secondary school. I am now the head of department with seven TAs and feeling a little trepidation at the level of need. Is there a way I can connect with other SENCOs in similar settings for support?

SENCO, South East You are not alone! We created the SENCO Support Service to provide access to highquality support for this very reason. Our Whole School SEND service hosts the SENCO Forum which can help you to connect with SENCOs across the country with similar

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relearn to write with a non-dominant hand may be more age-appropriate for KS3 and KS4 pupils.

The ‘Speed Up’ programme by Lois Addy has also been found useful for older pupils. In terms of improving speed, practise makes perfect and raising awareness of this with staff is key.

issues. If you need more personalised support, you can access the network of Regional Whole School SEND teams. Each region has a Regional SEND team to support prioritisation of SEND (https://bit.ly/2Oe3sdL). They may be able to put you in touch with others or signpost networks in your area.

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REVIEWS

Reviews INCLUSIVE TEACHING IN A NUTSHELL: A VISUAL GUIDE FOR BUSY TEACHERS he wide range of needs that children and young people can often present with and the ever-increasing number of resources being produced can combine to create an overwhelming situation for staff looking at the best ways of providing support.

Inclusive Teaching in a Nutshell delivers on its title and more. It provides a thoroughly comprehensive yet easily digestible guide through the fundamentals of inclusive teaching as well as more targeted strategies. The guide itself demonstrates many of the fundamentals

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that it discusses; it is highly visual, has a clear consistent structure, provides points for self-reflection and excellent summative diagrams. The ease with which readers can navigate the book to locate key information, illustrates how inclusive teaching strategies benefit everyone.

The book provides ideas and strategies that will work across a range of age groups and the eight themes provide a useful overview of where you can make the most impact through small changes; the classroom environment section is a particularly helpful section and an area that typically does not receive as much

Publisher: Routledge Author: Rachel Cosgrove ISBN: 978-0-367-36325-3 Reviewed by: Jamie Galpin, Education Officer (CPDL), nasen

attention as it could. The format allows staff to ‘grab and go’ with specific ideas as well as opportunities for longer reflection of some of the jargon-free detailing of theory. Suitable for teachers and SENCOs alike, Cosgrove has cracked a tricky nut in producing such a useful and accessible guide.

ESSENTIAL GUIDES FOR EARLY CAREER TEACHERS: SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITY

Publisher: Critical Publishing Author: Anita Devi (Series editor, Emma Hollis) ISBN: 978-1-913-06329-0 Reviewed by: Michael Surr, Head of Education (interim), nasen

As the title suggests, this book is one in a series of publications from NASBTT, aimed at early career teachers. Its structure is such that readers could dip in and out when looking for specific information, or work their way through the book if they wish to undertake a self-led programme of CPD. The book begins with the fundamentals of SEND, by looking at topics such as the essential role of high-quality teaching, the graduated approach and the key principles contained within the SEND code of practice. The book then takes each of the four broad areas of need in turn. The structure of each of these sections provides an explanation of each need, what the implications of a need in each area might be, before moving on to consider practical ways to adapt teaching in order to support learners.

The book draws upon and refers to relevant research throughout, and at the

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end of each chapter, there are helpful suggestions for further reading. As well as providing information for readers, the book also includes reflective tasks to encourage them to consider their own practice and attitudes to SEND. Careful use is made of case studies to exemplify points being made. In order to help embed learning, readers are given practical tasks which are designed to be carried out over time.

The appendices include an informative ‘at-a-glance’ summary of the legislative developments around SEND from the 1940s to the present day and the Acronym Buster will help practitioners decipher the many abbreviations used in this field.

This book would make a useful resource not only for those that are newly qualified, but also for those more experienced teachers who wish to learn more about SEND.

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EVENTS

Events

Diary Whole School SEND: Being a research-engaged SENCO: primary focus Online, 22 March More details: https://bit.ly/3uOXmRl

nasen webinars For the full programme and for details of the Webinar Pass, please visit https://bit.ly/2N6cHMf

nasen: Understanding Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs Online, 18 March, 1pm – 2.30pm More details: https://bit.ly/3psZquh

Whole School SEND: Whole Class Reading – Access for All Online, 18 March, 4pm – 6pm More details: https://bit.ly/3pE22G4

More details: https://bit.ly/3vcZhPO

More details: https://bit.ly/3lzOtWI

British Dyslexia Association, International Conference 2021 Online 20 – 21 May 2021

nasen: Understanding autism Online, 29 March, 1pm-2.30pm More details: https://bit.ly/3esEzFG

More details: https://bit.ly/2EgS0c2

More details: https://bit.ly/3sL6X9X

More details: https://bit.ly/3auxwd5

nasen: Social, Emotional Mental Health Needs in specialist settings Online, 25 March, 1pm-2.30pm

SEND Conference 2021, All in this together: Making SEND Everybody’s Business Online, 10 June, 9am-3.45pm

Schools and Academies Show Online, 27-30 April

World Education Summit 2021 Online, 22-25 March

nasen: Understanding school refusal and SEND Online, 1 April 2021, 1pm-2.30pm

nasen: Working with minimally verbal autistic pupils Online, 31 March, 1pm-2.30pm

nasen: Universal support: strategies for all Online, 30 March, 1pm-2.30pm

More details: https://bit.ly/3prRedS

More details: https://bit.ly/3s0kz0w

More details: https://bit.ly/3s5xWg1

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