SEND Magazine Autumn 2018

SEND

ISSUE 23 Autumn 2018

Special Educational Needs & Disability

magazine for teachers, parents and carers

fINDING YOUR ELEmENT

creative engagement for children with SEND Heather Stack

ALSO INSIDE

SEND REPORT:

time to review?

Lorraine Petersen OBE

Girls with Autism Transition for girls with autism Professor Barry Carpenter CBE

UNDERSTANDING DYSPRAXIA NEwS fEATURES REvIEwS AND mUch mORE

An ESSENTIAL part of the teaching toolkit

fAN AUTUmTASTIc N OffE R fROm wORD S SEE PA hARK GE 12

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5IF *ODMVTJPO 2VBMJUZ .BSLAT *ODMVTJWF 4DIPPM "XBSE What is the Inclusive School Award?

Building Inclusion can never be a finite undertaking or destination. It is the continuum of growing a central belief system that then inevitably guides and directs practice and action. How many times have schools heard the comments:

l “What a wonderful atmosphere!” you so successful?!”

l “What is it that makes l “You just know… as soon as you come in …”

l “The feeling is tangible!”

IQM constructs a process of accountability and evidence of where these positive, tangible, successful atmospheres come from. In the educational climate of targets, goals and numbers, the autonomy

the IQM process gives schools

of rigorous accountability of their own philosophy and pedagogy. Inclusion hears and listens and gives voice to all members of our school organisations. A community building and

and self-determining

society.

growing together is a strong

An all too frequently heard statement in many of our schools is “I don’t feel valued”.

Valuing is a fundamental need of all of us. Without that, all effort and contribution is negated. This so often can feed into a sense of being irrelevant and of fading into a persona of camouflaged ‘school wallpaper’… the person who disappears and goes unnoticed. Gathering the strengths, energies and enthusiasms of ALL members of our communities, builds the unified ‘I CAN’ that makes difficulties assailable and successes tangible. Schools can then move forward with the strengths of unified action, enrolment and understanding.

The process of IQM gives schools the tools of rigorous self-evaluation that ensures a 360-degree review and analysis. It provides clear set categories and then within each category, there are significant definitions and descriptors. These provide the school with a clear framework from which to work. It is a strategic exponential method that enables schools: l to take an in-depth look at their organisations; l to proactively identify voices and practice needing to be both heard and addressed; l to provide comparative data with other schools; l to build developmental, structured pathways and l gives access to an Inclusion Journey that travels across the country!

What are the costs?

Costs are school size dependent and involve access to strategic documentation; online support during processes; onsite assessments and reviews and provision of evaluations, analyses and feedback.

The Inclusion Journey is one of discovery and offers, with humility, the opportunities for celebration and recognition of practice at its very inclusive best.

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Welcome to SEND Magazine

SMagazine END

Publisher Director Nick Clarke BA (HONS) 07984 306 664 nick@sendmagazine.co.uk

YES, I know, where on earth did that Summer go? Some of you have just returned to school and some have already been back a week or two. With holidays annoyingly staggered across the UK, I’mOK, suresomany are did already ahead to the what’s and in store over the where thatlooking summer break go?October We hadhalf‐term. gloriousSo, weather enough next few months? Well it’s hard to tell, with the ever changing landscape of educa4on, par4cularly vitamin D to see us through the winter and beyond. With the new academic year when in comes to Special Educa4onal Needs and Disability.

now in full swing, and the ever-increasing demands on our time, energy and budget are here, the summer already seems an age ago.

Recently I was fortunate enough to a5end the launch of ‘Going to Church’, at Lambeth Palace in

London. The latest ‘book without words’ published by Books Beyond Words, was co‐authored by SEND Magazine we continue work hard to bring you vital theAtwonderful Ka4e Carpenter, a youngtolady with Down’s syndrome.

Moreinformation informa4on and about this materials for the classroom and at just £40 per year for the printed edition, the book can be read on Page 8.

returns are high. This month we have articles from amazing SEND Magazine supporters, Petersen OBE Barry CBE.you I simply can’t This month, we Lorraine have a packed edi4on withand vitalProfessor informa4on and Carpenter updates to help through the thankmonths. both Lorraine and Barry enough for their continued support andlatest the work coming Leading SEND consultant Lorraine Petersen OBE talks about the SENDthey updates Lorraine will also speaking needed at this years’ Special Needs London in October. put inon toPage their10. articles, giving youbeexpertise for your classroom support.

This Also speaking at the Businessyou Design Centre beto another contributors to SEND issue Lorraine reminds all that it’swill time reviewtwo your SEND report andMagazine, offers thehelp wonderful Professor BarrytoCarpenter CBEwork and the powerful figure former NASEN and advice on how move your forward Page 14.ofProfessor BarryCEO Jane Friswell.

Carpenter CBE writes about transitioning for girls with autism and the challenges within Page 18.

Professor Barry Carpenter CBE this month talks about behavioural management in his ar4cle en4tled ‘Disengaged to Engaged’ on Page 16, and Jane opens a poten4al can of worms as she Heather Stack, MD of the Local Offer writes about art, cultural and creative discusses the points of Moderate Learning Difficul4es and “are they really a thing of the past?” on engagement for children with special educational needs and disability on Page 24.

Page 18.

Heather has run her social enterprise for a number of years and provides valuable support teaching and caring children Local Offer was born On Page 14 for we all publish the winners of thefor 2017 Shine Awith LightSEND. AwardsThe

by Pearson Assessment; this out of a desire to secure the opportunities contained within the SEND Reforms years’ event was hosted by singer and musical theatre performer Gareth Gates. The Shine A Light following on from the SENofGreen and Aspiration – a new approach Awards highlight achievements those Paper: workingSupport with Children and Young People with Special to special educational needs and disability (March 2011) and reinforced through Educa4onal Needs and Disability. Next years’ date is also announced within the ar4cle. the Children and Families Act (March 2014). Visit www.thelocaloffer.co.uk to get a great One Page 22, Smith talksservices about Microso$s’ insight intoArran the excellent provided.innova4on with technology and Dyslexia, and on Page 24 we look at differen4a4on strategies for those with severe learning difficul4es and Downs syndrome.

With news, reviews and our article on Understanding Dyspraxia on Page 27, we hope

you find this issue valuable as we continue to support you in the classroom and all

Heather writesand about the importance social connec4ons young people thoseStack teaching caring for childrenofand young people with withchildren specialand educational with SEND on Page 26 and we finish this edi4on with a list of some of the latest books available to needs and disability. add to your teaching toolkit on Pages 32‐34.

Finally, I just want to draw your a5en4on to the next SEND Conference in May 2018. This years’ event at the Sketchley Grange Hotel was a big success so we will be running another event with informa4on to follow in the November issue of SEND Magazine. If you would like to register interest in a5ending and get an early bird 4cket discount email me on nick@sendmagazine.co.uk Thank you once again for reading and suppor4ng SEND Magazine.

Nick Clarke Publisher

Nick Clarke

SEND Consultant Simon Carnell

Office Manager Helen Clarke info@sendmagazine.co.uk

Accounts accounts@sendmagazine.co.uk

Subscriptions subscriptions@sendmagazine.co.uk

Contributors Professor Barry Carpenter CBE, Lorraine Peterson OBE, Arran Smith, Heather Stack, Jane Friswell. ©SEND Magazine is published by SEND (UK) Ltd Managing Director Nick Clarke

The views and opinions expressed in SEND Magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publisher cannot be held responsible or liable for any incorrect information, opinions of any third parties or omissions.

No part of this publication can be reproduced without prior permission from the publisher.

Postal Address 42 Cumberland Way,Barwell, Leicestershire. LE9 8HX

WEBSITE www.sendmagazine.co.uk

email info@sendmagazine.co.uk

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Download the Zappar app to your smartphone or tablet device from the App Store or Google play. Open the app and view the page through your device wherever you see the icon, poin1ng toward it. Wait a few seconds and see the page come alive!

Watch your issue of SEND Magazine come alive where you see this symbol.

Specialist Occupational Therapy (OT) and Sensory Integration (SI) Centre providing independent assessments, treatment, and training to parents, carers and other professionals.

Through a wealth of experience and post graduate qualification we are able to offer specialist children and young people’s occupational therapy services to children and young people.

Currently working across the community in homes, schools, clinics we now also have the facility to provide group and individual work across a wide range of needs including Ayres Sensory Integration Therapy as well as Sensory Play sessions in the school holidays.

There is no criteria for referral, assessments and interventions are bespoke for individual need, aiming to provide specialist services for all children / young people including: • Sensory Processing Disorders (Sensory Integration) • ASD and other non-pervasive developmental disorders • Developmental Coordination Disorders (including dyspraxia and sensory based motor disorders) • Hemiplegia, and other neurological conditions • Developmental Delay

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CONTENTS P7 NEwS

Projects to improve education for children with additional needs.

P9 NEwS

New relationships and health education in schools.

P11 NEwS

Schools Minister Nick Gibbs announces improvements in primary school reading.

P12 wORDShARK

Great tools and special offers for new users of WORDSHARK..

P14 SEND REPORT

Reviewing your SEND report with Lorraine Petersen OBE.

P18 AUTISm

Professor Barry Carpenter CBE writes about

the issues of transitioning for girls with autism.

P24 ThE LOcAL OffER

Heather Stack writes about art, culture and creative engagement for children with SEND.

P30 UNDERSTANDING Dyspraxia.

P28 LEvEL - ALL IN ThE PAST

Assistant Headteacher at Darrick Wood School Martin Smith is the designer and developer of STEPS. Here he talks about the removal of ‘levels’ in schools and how teachers can now support the skills and understanding of children.

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Autumn 2018

SEND MAGAZINE

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NEWS

Projects to improve education for children with additional needs

Nine projects across the country have been awarded a share of £4million to transform the education and outcomes of children taught in alternative provision.

Children taught in alternative provision are set to benefit from new projects to help them fulfil their potential, including work placements, careers advice and behaviour mentoring.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb today (6 August) announced nine innovative schemes across the country to benefit from a £4million fund to develop new ways of improving alternative provision, to support children educated outside of mainstream or special schools and help them succeed later in life.

Evidence shows children educated in alternative provision are less likely to achieve good GCSE grades and are less likely to be in education, employment or training post-16.

The projects announced today aim to tackle these injustices by supporting children back into mainstream education when it is suitable, encouraging parents and carers to be more involved in their child’s education, helping young people make good academic progress, and moving on to further education or employment.

From September the projects are set to improve outcomes through literacy and maths tutoring, summer holiday activities to support transition to further education, and the introduction of robots to enable children in hospital to participate virtually in lessons.

Other schemes include parent and carer coaching to improve involvement in education and mental health support, helping young people to build positive relationships.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: Every child, no matter the challenges they face in their life, should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential through an excellent education. School standards in this country are rising, but for some children – those who are excluded or cannot attend mainstream or special schools – this quality varies greatly, with low expectations about their outcomes and futures.

There are some excellent examples of alternative provision in the education system, but we need to raise standards across the board if we want to give every young person

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the opportunity to succeed. These new projects, backed by £4 million, will develop new ways of doing this which can be shared around the country, so that we can improve education for every child and make sure they receive support to meet their individual needs.

Dame Christine Lenehan, Director of the Council for Disabled Children, said: The Council for Disabled Children believes that every child, whatever additional needs they have, should be able to access a good education which supports them to get the best outcomes in ad ult life. We welcome the Government’s renewed focus on children whose needs are not met by the current system, and look forward to seeing how innovative approaches can help turn around alternative provision when it is of poor quality.

The nine projects, spanning the East Midlands, West Midlands, London, East of England, Yorkshire and Humber, South West, and the South East will be funded by the £4 million Alternative Provision Innovation Fund which launched in March 2018.

The projects include: • Three projects to help get children back into school, led by Bradford Central Pupil Referral Unit, Francis Barber Pupil Referral Unit in London, and Hospital and Outreach Education in the East Midlands.

• Three projects to help young people into further education or employment, led by Cognus in Sutton, Futures Advice, Skills and

Employment in Nottingham, and Salford City Council.

• Three projects to support parents and carers to be more involved in their child’s education, led by the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families in London, The Tutor Trust and Talk Listen Change in Greater Manchester, and Portsmouth Education Partnerships.

The Innovation Fund was launched alongside the Department for Education’s vision for reforming alternative provision which outlined steps to improve quality– including reviewing unregistered settings, developing a new framework and making the role of schools, alternative providers and councils clearer in delivering alternative provision.

This is also supported by the ongoing review of exclusions, externally-led by Edward Timpson, exploring how schools use exclusions and why some groups of children are disproportionately excluded from school.

Sir Kevan Collins, Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: On far too many measures – whether around education, health or employment – outcomes for these young people are poor. These nine new projects provide a much-needed opportunity to focus time and resources on these vulnerable learners. Evaluating these projects robustly – so that we gain evidence and insights to share across the system and spread what is most effective – will be crucial.

SEND MAGAZINE Autumn 2018

7

NEWS

New relationships and health education in schools

Draft guidance published today to make sure education prepares young people for life in the modern world.

ALL schools will teach children about good physical and mental health, how to stay safe on and offline, and the importance of healthy relationships under bold new plans published today by Education Secretary Damian Hinds.

Under the proposals, all pupils will study compulsory health education as well as new reformed relationships education in primary school and relationships and sex education in secondary school.

The draft guidance – which was last updated in 2000 – will become compulsory in all schools across the country from September 2020, and will put in place the building blocks needed for positive and safe relationships of all kinds.

Schools will be supported as they prepare to teach the new subjects and will be able to begin doing so as soon as the materials are ready and available from September 2019, building on the existing best practice that will be shared by high performing schools.

By making health education compulsory we will ensure pupils are taught about the benefits of a healthier lifestyle, what determines their physical health and how to build mental resilience and wellbeing. It will also make sure children and young people learn how to recognise when they and others are struggling with mental health and how to respond.

The proposals, which follow the publication of the Childhood Obesity Planand the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Green Paper, will ensure that the importance of good physical and mental health are an integral part of the updated subjects.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said: I want to make sure that our children are able to grow up to become happy and well-rounded individuals who know how to deal with the challenges of the modern world. Part of this is making sure they are informed about how to keep themselves safe and healthy and have good relationships with others.

Many of today’s problems did not exist when we last gave schools guidance on how to teach relationships and sex education 18 years ago.

The action we’re taking is important to help support teachers and schools design a

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Autumn 2018 SEND MAGAZINE

curriculum that will enrich their pupils in an age appropriate way.

Good physical and mental health is also at the heart of ensuring young people are ready for the adult world. By making health education compulsory we are giving young people the tools they need to be ready to thrive when they leave school.

Under the updated guidance, teachers will talk to primary school pupils in an age appropriate way about the features of healthy friendships, family relationships and other relationships they are likely to encounter. At secondary school, teachers will build on the foundation of relationships education in primary and, at the appropriate time, extend teaching to include intimate relationships as well.

At both primary and secondary, pupils will learn about staying safe online – complementing the existing computing curriculum – and how to use technology safely, responsibly and respectfully.

Lessons will also cover how to keep personal information private, and help young people navigate the virtual world, challenge harmful content and balance online and offline worlds.

The new guidance has been developed in response to a national call for evidence earlier this year and includes topics like mental wellbeing, consent, keeping safe online, physical health and fitness and LGBT issues. It will now

be subject to a further 12-week consultation on the content and how the subjects are taught.

As well as teaching about the benefits of healthy eating and keeping fit, the new compulsory health education will include content on the prevention of health problems.

It will help support the development of qualities such as confidence, resilience, self-respect and self-control. Good quality education on wider social and economic issues will continue to be taught in schools across the country through PSHE or other subjects, for example teaching about financial issues through maths and citizenship.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Javed Khan said: We welcome the proposed guidance, and its focus on the issues Barnardo’s has campaigned for such as consent, healthy relationships and staying safe online. We are pleased to see emotional, reproductive and mental health included as requested by our young service users.

It’s vital teachers have quality resources and proper training so they can deliver sensitive subjects that are age-appropriate and answer any questions children have confidently. Schools must communicate regularly with parents to help them feel comfortable about what their children are being taught.

Find out more about the relations and sex education and health education consultation.

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Author:

Available to purchase from:

Marilyn Tucknott M.A (Special Educational Needs)

Secondary Resources Key Stage 3 Live Out Loud Small and discrete enough to t in a blazer pocket, this Journal looks like a used notebook. The images are gra ti and scribble-like, as if someone had been doodling. The pages appear thumbed and ink-stained. In fact, it looks subversive which is entirely in keeping with the polarised behaviour and opinions of this age group. Neuroscience tells us that the teenage brain is going through a pruning process, reworking its pathways. This Journal allows the young person to explore those things to which they are ‘at cause’ and to which they are ‘at e ect’, asking them to take a position of empowerment as they move into being a young adult.

A5

The Journal takes the form of a journey from articulating apparently super cial preferences, to exploring sensitive hopes and fears. It sensitively explores body-image and gender issues, thoughts of death and defeat, normality and di erence. It introduces the language of emotional intelligence and the nal page invites the young person to write an instruction manual as to how to understand them- the end of the journey and a new place to start.

B5

Key Stage 4 It’s all in the Mind Subtitled ‘don’t sweat the small stu ’ the Journal’s starting point is that there is much to be angry about- from personal issues to worldwide concerns. It explains that this high state of arousal has an impact upon the body and upon the clarity of the mind. Aimed at 14-15 year olds, it addresses the young person who is feeling overwhelmed, thinking about things that could go wrong and who has a roller-coaster emotions.

The Journal assumes that the young person has done ‘a lot of living’ which has informed his or her attitudes and expectations. The reader is invited to review the usefulness of their current thinking, to engage in a reality-check and to consider a more meaningful future. And to keep the inner-critic quiet!

Each theme begins with a quote that is in itself a challenge. Prompt questions then invite the young adult to frame their viewpoint and to back it up with life experiences or to discard pre-existing expectations.

©Koa Ltd. www.marilyntucknott.com

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NEWS

More children on track to be fluent readers in primary school Official figures show 163,000 more six-year-olds are on track to become fluent readers than in 2012 thanks to our focus on phonics world of literature and knowledge to young people.

163,000 more 6-year-olds are on track to become fluent readers since the introduction of the phonics screening check in 2012, official figures reveal today (27 September 2018).

The results of this year’s phonics screening check and KS1 assessments also show: • The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in phonics was 82% in year 1, an increase of 1 percentage point on last year and up 25 percentage points since 2012 • Free schools performed particularly well with 88% of pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics; • London is the best performing region with Wandsworth, Bromley, Newham and Hammersmith and Fulham the best performing local authorities in the country • 1,268 schools had at least 95% of pupils achieving the phonics standard in year 1 in 2018, up from 1,076 in 2017; and • At Key Stage 1 the statistics show 70% of children reaching the expected standard in writing, 75% of pupils reaching the standard in reading, and 76% of pupils reaching the standard in maths

The focus on phonics – where children learn to read by sounding out and blending letters – has played a significant part in the improvement in primary school standards.

England has risen from 19th place in 2006 to joint 8th in the world reading league table (PIRLS).

Since the introduction of the phonics screening check in 2012, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics has risen from 58% to 82%.

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Autumn 2018 SEND MAGAZINE

Our continued focus on raising standards means six-year-olds are reading better than ever before – and we are setting an international benchmark, with Australia looking to follow our lead on phonics.

Phonics provides pupils with the building blocks they need to read fluently and confidently, as well as aiding future learning and giving them the tools they need to express themselves. Other countries are looking to emulate the success of this approach, with policy makers in Australia currently piloting this screening check.

Thanks to the hard work of teachers and the introduction of a more rigorous national primary curriculum, standards are rising with the attainment gap between disadvantaged primary pupils and their more affluent peers shrinking by 10.5% since 2011.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: Reading and writing are the foundations of education and once grasped can open up a

This is a huge achievement, improving the lives and education of hundreds of thousands of children but we remain determined to make sure that not just most children, but every single child is able to meet his or her potential.

The government has invested in programmes to help raise standards in our primary schools, including continuing to fund the successful Phonics Roadshows into 2018-19 and £41 million to follow the same approach to teaching maths as world leading countries through the Shanghai Mastery for Maths programme. This is on top of wider changes to the primary assessment system which will reduce unnecessary workload for teachers so they can focus on what really matters in the classroom.

Today’s figures build on the record 1.9 million children now in good or outstanding schools than in 2010 – an increase from 66% of pupils to 86%. The government is continuing to ensure all parents have a good school place on their doorstep, with the recent announcement of £680million to create 40,000 more good school places in primary and secondary schools. Since 2010, 825,000 new school places have been created, with recent analysis showing 91% of those in 2016-17 were in good or outstanding schools.

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NEW BOOK LAUNCHED ‘Going to Church’ ORDER NOW www.booksbeyondwords.co.uk

Our books all tell a story, but they also let the reader tell their own story – the one they see in the pictures. This can tell you a lot about a person’s inner world and their understanding of situations. There is plenty to talk about and each story explores feelings and relationships as well as giving information.

Visit our website to see our full range of books for children and young people with SEND

“Developed by a commi5ed and dedicated team, Books Beyond Words publish books without words, engaging in the reader and provide a valuable resource for children and young adults with special educa4onal needs & disability (SEND).”

Nick Clarke, Publisher SEND Magazine

To order or for further information call

020 7492 2559

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Autumn 2018 SEND MAGAZINE

concentrate on material that is not fun!

Wordshark has enabled him to learn whilst being entertained, and this has helped him progress immensely.”

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‘Overlearning’ and adding words

Overlearning, whilst maintaining a sense of ‘fun’ can work wonders for SEN pupils, as well as benefiting all the other students in school. Specific words can be added to Wordshark, to provide the overlearning needed and spelling lists are no longer forgotten just 1 or 2 weeks after a test!

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"Wordshark is in a user-friendly format useful list of spelling patterns sorted by intervention program (e.g. National Curriculum spellings/Alpha to Omega etc.) I can teach specific patterns and relevant words and then use Wordshark to consolidate and revise these.”

5

Fiona Phillips, SENCO, Ripplevale School, Deal

Independent learning, ageneutral graphics, incentivising reward games

These are just a few examples of what motivates students, age 5 to 14 to learn using Wordshark, and at the same time gain confidence. After logging in, they can work at their own level and at their own pace. The games graphics are quirky and not too ‘young’, making them accessible to Primary students and lower Secondary SEN students.

“Children learn to work independently on the computer and this enables them to progress without extra teaching assistant support.”

Gemma McDowell, Teacher, Stroud

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SEND MAGAZINE Autumn 2018

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SEND report... time to review

It’s that time of year again! Reviewing and updating your SEN Information Report. Lorraine Petersen OBE advises.

FOUR years have passed since the publication of the Children and Families Act 2014 which brought about radical changes for SEND across education, health and social care.

One of the key changes for schools and colleges was the introduction of the SEN Information Report, a statutory document that every school must prepare and publish.

Section 6.79 of the SEND Code of Practice clearly sets out the duties and responsibilities of governing bodies of maintained schools and settings and for proprietors of academy schools in relation to the publication of the SEN Information Report, which should outline the implementation of the policy for pupils with SEN. It states that the information published in that report should be updated annually and any changes of information which occur during the school year should be updated as soon as possible.

Schools are expected to have this information on their website in an accessible format for young people and their parents.

At the same time local authorities were asked to produce a Local Offer, outlining all the services and provision

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they offer to support children and young people with SEND.

Many local authorities used this as an opportunity to get schools to complete a School’s Local Offer. Schools were sent a proforma to complete about what the school offers to support pupils with SEND. Schools then believed that this was adequate as their SEN Information Report

Autumn 2018 SEND MAGAZINE

unfortunately, this did not always include all the relevant information as listed in 6.79 of the SEND Code of Practice.

In September 2015 the revised Ofsted Inspection Handbook outlined a number of documents an inspector would expect to see on a school website including the SEN Information Report which would be used to inform

inspectors about school practice prior to their visit. This is an opportunity to celebrate the inclusive nature of a school and gives you an opportunity to celebrate the provision and support that is taking place on a daily basis.

This has since been reinforced in the documents What maintained schools must publish online and www.sendmagazine.co.uk

What academies, free schools and colleges should publish online which were updated by DfE in May 2018.

Special educational needs (SEN) information report You must publish a report on how the governing body implements the policy for pupils or students with SEN and how they put the policy into effect.

They should update this information annually, or as soon as possible if there are changes during the year.

The report must comply with: • section 69 of the Children and Families Act 2014, including: • the arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils

• the steps you have taken to prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably than other pupils

• the facilities you provide to help disabled pupils to access the school • the plan prepared by the owner under paragraph 3 of

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schedule 10 to the Equality Act 2010 (accessibility plan) for: - increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school’s curriculum - improving the physical environment of the school for the purpose of increasing the extent to which disabled pupils are able to take advantage of education and benefits, facilities and services provided or offered by the school - improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled

• regulation 51 and schedule 1 to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, where appropriate • section 6 of the Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years Over the last four years most schools have updated their report to ensure that it contains all of the relevant information but many remain lengthy documents that are not always easy to access or read.

Maybe now is the time to rethink how you prepare your SEN Information Report. Although the law states it is the governing body or proprietor’s statutory responsibility to publish the report, in practise it will be the SENCO who has the job of compiling all the information and producing the draft report for the governing body to ratify.

Reviewing the SEN Information Report You may want to start by asking a few questions: • When did we last undertake a comprehensive review of our SEN Information Report?

• Were parents/carers, pupils, staff, governors and the wider community involved in the review?

• Is it an accessible document?

• Have you considered looking at other school’s SEN Information Reports?

• Is it easy to find on your website? Is it dated appropriately?

• Is there evidence in governing body minutes that it was ratified at a meeting?

• Does it need re-modelling to make it up-to-date, relevant and accessible?

Schools need to decide who is going to review their current documentation: • Involve all parents/carers through a questionnaire

• Involve only parents/carers of SEND pupils through a questionnaire or face-to face conversation

• Involve all staff through a meeting and/or questionnaire

• Organise a small working group to include SEN Governor, parents, members of school and wider community

Whichever way you choose to review you must ensure that everyone has access to the current SEN Information Report and is given time to read through it and develop their own questions and comments.

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They will also need to have information of what is required as set out in the SEND Regulations 2014: • the kinds of special educational needs that are provided for • policies for identifying children and young people with SEN and assessing their needs, including the name and contact details of the SENCO (mainstream schools) • arrangements for consulting parents of children with SEN and involving them in their child’s education • arrangements for consulting young people with SEN and involving them in their education

• arrangements for assessing and reviewing children and young people’s progress towards outcomes, including the opportunities available to work with parents and young people as part of this assessment and review • arrangements for supporting children and young people in

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moving between phases of education and in preparing for adulthood. As young people prepare for adulthood outcomes should reflect their ambitions, which could include higher education, employment, independent living and participation in society • the approach to teaching children and young people with SEN • how adaptations are made to the curriculum and the learning environment of children and young people with SEN

• the expertise and training of staff to support children and young people with SEN, including how specialist expertise will be secured • evaluating the effectiveness of the provision made for children and young people with SEN

• how children and young people with SEN are enabled to engage in activities available with children and young people in the school who do not have SEN

Autumn 2018 SEND MAGAZINE

• support for improving emotional and social development. This should include extra pastoral support arrangements for listening to the views of children and young people with SEN and measures to prevent bullying

• how the school involves other bodies, including health and social care bodies, local authority support services and voluntary sector organisations, in meeting children and young people’s SEN and supporting their families • arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with SEN about the provision made at the school

The SEN Information Report must also contain information on: • The arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils • The steps you have taken to prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably than other pupils

• The facilities you provide to help disabled pupils access your school • How to find your school’s accessibility plan.

It should also include arrangements for supporting children and young people who are looked after by the LA and have SEN. Schools should also ensure that the information is easily accessible by young people and parents and is set out in clear, straightforward language.

It should include information on the school’s SEN policy and named contacts within the school for situations where young people or parents have concerns.

It should also give details of the school’s contribution to the Local offer and must include information on where the local authority’s Local Offer is published.

In setting out details of the broad and balanced curriculum provided in each year, schools www.sendmagazine.co.uk

should include details of how the curriculum is adapted or made accessible for pupils with SEN An excellent article, Reviewing your SEN Information Report, was published in nasen’s magazine Special – September 2015.

Updating the SEN Information Report Once the school has reviewed their current documentation they need to consider what needs to be removed, what needs to be added, what needs to be amended and how will it be presented. As I stated earlier many have become very wordy documents that rely solely on text. Innovative schools have

developed more accessible formats in which to embed their information.

• The use of video to explain some of the ways in which the school supports pupils

• The use of power-point to offer each aspect on a different slide with pictures and illustrations • The use of a framework of text and photographs/visuals to break up large quantities of text

• Use of questions (written from the parent point of you) with drop-down answers - How will school let me know if they have concerns that my child may not be progressing at school?

Further information

• Produced as a brochure or pamphlet that can also be given out to parents

Sharing the SEN Information Report Once the SEN Information Report is completed it needs to be ratified by governors or trustees.

This will ensure that there is a record of when the report was updated. The report can then be placed on the school website, it needs to be easily accessible and clearly identified.

The school should write to parents/carers and explain that the SEN Information Report has been updated with a link to where it can be found, you may

wish to add a link to the Local Offer at the same time.

School staff should also be made aware of the SEN Information Report so that everyone is clear about how SEND is supported within school.

Your SEN Information Report should tell the story of your dayto-day practice and provision to ensure that all children and young people with SEND have their needs met within the inclusive environment that you have created in your school. It is a way to celebrate and re-affirm the high quality provision that the staff offer for all pupils, especially those with additional needs.

DfE – The SEND Code of Practice 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25 DfE - What maintained schools must publish online and What academies, free schools and colleges should publish online https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-maintained-schools-must-publish-online https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-academies-free-schools-and-colleges-should-publish-online Nasen – Reviewing your SEN Information Report https://www.nelincs.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/SEN-Information-Report-Review-Nasen.pdf Special Educational Needs Information Report Sample/Proforma http://www.snip-newsletter.co.uk/pdfs/downloads/SEND_Information_Report_proforma.pdf

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A major hurdle; transition for girls with Autism

Professor Barry Carpenter OBE, is a former teacher, govenment advisor and leading consultant in mental health and SEND. LEAVING school is a major hurdle for any child. The transition from that school environment with all of its familiar people, routines, structures, rules and memories – good and bad – is a time of worry and concern for any young person, even if it is tinged with the excitement of a ‘new adventure.’

For the girl with Autism the perspective on leaving school may be very different. Feelings of abandonment may be evoked; the loss of that Teacher who always showed kindness by letting you enter the classroom once everyone else was settled in their place; that Teaching Assistant who would spend time with you explaining the incomprehensible emotional aspects of English Literature; the Learning Mentor who, every Thursday, would host a Lunch Club for “girls like you”, where you could talk excitedly about your latest special interest.

Feelings of loss ... your friends were few, often younger than you, but friends they were and you spent time together playing the games you wanted to play, or politely looking at the thousand photographs of horses on your mobile phone. Why do they get to stay at school with all of its familiar smells and textures and colours that you have learnt to manage over the years? Just because you have reached the age of 18 it seems so unfair that you are ejected into that busy world with routines you do not understand, with noises that are

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frightening, with people you do not know, who talk quickly and make facial expressions that you cannot comprehend , and everyone and everything moves so fast.

SEND MAGAZINE

Indeed, some young women with Autism would challenge the assumption that 16 or 18 is the right time to leave school. Claire Sainsbury (2000), in her well known book ‘Martian in the

Playground’, describes it as ‘ludicrous’ to make that assumption. For her the postschool option was university but even that brought an ‘incredulous reaction’ (p.122) in

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some quarters; (she went on to gain a First Class degree from New College, Oxford). She states that, like other high-functioning adults with Autism, university was the first chance ... ‘to experience formal education as enjoyable and to discover themselves as competent,’ with routines and flexibility that accommodated unique and creative learning styles.

In a similar vein the worldfamous Temple Grandin writes, ‘the really big challenge for me was making the transition from high school to college. ... In order to deal with such a major change ... I needed a way to rehearse it, acting out each phase in my life by walking through an actual door, window or gate.’ (p.34).

“Scripting “ ( Carpenter et al , 2015, ) is a valuable technique in educating young people with Autism , as a means of practising and rehearsing future scenarios which may create crippling anxiety , or melt downs in www.sendmagazine.co.uk

incomprehensible social situations .

Adulthood, and the transition to it, is an emergent status realised through the gradual acquisition of certain rights, privileges and responsibilities (May, 2000). For young people with Autism such a natural progression cannot be taken for granted: adulthood is not automatically conferred and the process of acquisition is fraught with challenge and complexity.

‘Acquisition’ is a major dynamic within the process of Transition.

There are so many new skills to acquire that it can be daunting and overwhelming for the girl with Autism; as Donna Williams (1996) says ‘endless questions that I did not understand,’ (p.249). Anxiety, that ‘wild-savage beast that prowls beside me taking me hostage‘ (Limpsfield Grange School, 2015), is an ever present companion, causing chaos and inflicting terror, as the

secure structures of the adolescent years are removed, and replaced by the unknown, the unfamiliar, that abyss of the next phase of life - adulthood.

The voices of girls with Autism that we have heard so far in this article are those who are more able, at the higher end of the Autistic Spectrum, some with a diagnosis formerly known as Asperger’s syndrome. Originally it was thought, based on Kanner’s 1943 study of ‘a new syndrome of autism’, that all of these children were fundamentally intelligent. Wing & Gould (1979) in their Camberwell study, were the first to prove this assumption wrong by recognising and demonstrating that autism and severe learning difficulties (SLD) could occur together. Such children would now meet the criteria for Complex Learning Difficulties & Disabilities (CLDD) identified in the research of Carpenter et al (2011). Carpenter, Egerton et al (2015) speak of the

‘new autisms’ (p.13) which give a different lens with which to view the child’s needs profile, and this would certainly be true of girls with autism and learning difficulties.

A CASE STUDy

Nasreen, Jasmine and Amanda were all year 13 students in a school for children with moderate learning difficulties (MLD). Autism was a part of their diagnosis, giving rise to overlapping and compounding learning difficulties (Carpenter et al 2015).

As a part of their Transition Programme they were considering work options. They had received talks from various employers, for example from Day Nurseries, Cafés, Garden Centres, etc. Each had left them with an easy-to-read leaflet. The three students had some basic reading skills, but their comprehension was patchy. In situations where there were uncertain outcomes

SEND MAGAZINE

Autumn 2018

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their anxiety would often prevent logical thought and response, and an inability to respond to words they read.

To overcome these diďŹƒculties Nasreen, Jasmine and Amanda were introduced to a ‘wordless’ book (Hollins et al 2017) from the Books Beyond Words series (www.booksbeyondwords.co.uk), ‘Choosing my First Job’ (Banks, Carpenter & Ramalingham).

With no words to block their understanding each of the girls were able to describe the jobs illustrated in the book, talk about the characters and relate the work activities to their own aspirations. Through detailed observations it was noted that

References

levels of engagement increased; the girls were ‘curious’ about the job roles, responsive to questions and discussion, persistent in the handling of the book and interpretation of the story.

Anxiety levels had decreased and participation increased.

Innovative interventions such as the example given here are crucial if we are to unlock the interests and potential of girls of all abilities across the Autistic spectrum. As NHS England ( 2018) has recently stated in their new Guidance on Transition for Young People with Special Needs , “It is important that we work with young people to develop a transition pathway to strengthen and support them, whatever

Banks, R., Carpenter, B., Ramalingham, D. (2018), Choosing My First Job. London: Books Beyond Words Carpenter, B., Egerton, J., Cockbill, B., Bloom, T., Fotheringham, J., Rawson, H., Thistlethwaite, J., (2015), Engaging Learners with Complex Learning DiďŹƒculties & Disabilities, London: Routledge.

Grandin, T. (1995), Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism, New york: Random House.

Hollins, S., Carpenter, B., Bradley, E., Egerton, J., (2017), ‘Using Wordless Books to support Clinical Consultations’, The Journal of Mental Health, Training Education & Practice, 12, (4) p.260-271 Kanner, L. (1943), Autistic disturbance of

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their needs may be. “

For girls with Autism this is vital , as these words reect‌.

‘As a woman I function dierently.

As a woman I think, see and feel.

As a woman I value all that is me.

My Autism is part of that deal.’

from ASD: My Gender Wendy Lawson (2006) AS Poetry. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

This article is an extract from a forthcoming book ,â€? Girls and Autism: Educational, Family and Personal Perspectivesâ€?, edited by Barry Carpenter, Francesca Happe,Ě . and Jo Egerton, . It will

aective contact Nervous Child, 2, p.217-250 Lawson, W.(2006), AS Poetry. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

May, D., (2001), Transition and Change in the Lives of People with Intellectual Disabilities, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

NHS England ( 2018) Commissioning for Transition to Adult Services for young People with Special Needs and Disabilities . London; NHS England.

The Students of LimpsďŹ eld Grange School & Vicky Martin (2015), M is for Autism, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Sainsbury, C., (2000), Martian in the Playground: understanding the school child with Asperger’s syndrome, London: The Book

be published by Routledge in 2019 , and launched at a conference of this title in London , organized by the NAHT – www.naht.org.uk.

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Factory.

Wing, L., Gould, J., (1979), Severe impairment of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: Epidemiology and classiďŹ cation, Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 911-29

USEFUL WEBSITES

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Finding Your Element

Art, Creativity and Cultural Engagement for Children & Young People with SEND. Heather Stack writes.

Sir Ken Robinson argues, in his book, The Element, that we can all find our element and have the potential for much higher achievement and fulfilment. Too much emphasis is placed on a wrong assumption that there is a single definition of intelligence that prioritises academic attainment above all else.

I have seen many young people who have found their element through the arts and creativity, absorbed in their task with a singular passion and surprising ability. All of these children have special educational needs, in keeping with the nature of my involvement as an external SEND consultant. Often this perfect intersection between aptitude and passion is all too fleeting in a young person’s school day or month or year, but once identified, we must guard ferociously those contexts where the child can flourish and build on these strong foundations if we truly wish to make a difference.

These children, with a range of learning difficulties, autism, social, emotional and mental health needs, had found their passion, their element, by chance, almost as a response to the pressures and challenges they faced on a daily basis. Chloe loved to draw, to create fantasy images resplendent with butterflies and flowers and sunshine, engaging with a vibrant world with joy, much as her own world was fraught with anxiety disorders, friendship issues and learning difficulties.

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Autumn 2018

Ben was an inventive and natural story teller, regaling his class and teachers with tales of life on the farm, with the most magical sense of timing, just as day to day life in the classroom threw up challenge after challenge. Isabel was keen to share her deeply moving poetry, emerging from some well of unhappiness, yet bringing moments of joy and displaying a precocious talent.

There are many services I encounter as Founder of The Local Offer who specialise in the arts and creativity, but choice and opportunity remain, for the most part, in short supply. Cultural engagement and access to the arts for children with SEND and their families is inconsistent across the country, with paucity of opportunity the recurring theme.

SEND MAGAZINE

As a preliminary to writing this article, I carried out an internet search, using key words, to locate cultural activities and events specific to children with SEND across 15 cities, changing only the city name for each search.

The results were dispiriting.

Of my chosen cities, only three came up with more than five examples of organisations, museums or settings that provided specific activities for children with SEND – Bath, Norfolk and Shrewsbury. Two cities presented no opportunities at all – Slough and Hull, which was a starting insight. The remaining cities have a mixed array of national organisations not necessarily specific to a location or date, or to children with SEND.

Given the vast economic growth forecast by Hull’s designated City of Culture status, with a footfall of 5 million visitors, £220 million investment and over 800 new jobs created in 2017, my search revealed no activities, workshops or events for children with SEND in the city. That is not to say they do not exist, but the task for parents, carers and schools to locate these opportunities is that much harder if they cannot easily be found on the internet.

I am mindful of Darren Henley’s proclamation that Hull, since its award as City of Culture, is a city of ‘optimism, creativity, excitement and economic growth.’ Perhaps the prosperity lies elsewhere, and the opportunities similarly placed, but the starting point to locate

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regular or even ad hoc cultural events for children with SEND is dismally low.

The good work that is being done around the country is frequently by those third or private sector organisations who place a high value on the arts and cultural engagement and who are advocates for its significance in the lives of all children.

I am smitten with the passion of Head2Head Theatre who create innovative, inclusive performances for children with a range of special educational needs.

Anni Rhodes-Steere, Administrator for Head2Head Theatre, explains that their performances are exclusively for

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the benefit of children and young people with a wide range and varied levels of disability. With Makaton signing and Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCAs) rhyme, rhythm, repetition and multi-sensory props, they provide professional, interactive shows, pantomimes and immersive experiences for special schools throughout South London and SE England.

Their organisation shares knowledge and develops new ways to make theatre accessible to all. It includes opportunities for self-development and learning through role play, together with choice and teambuilding as part of each performance. Its collaborative work expands each schools’ capacity to provide a rich and

fulfilling cultural curriculum.

I have been fortunate to attend some of the excellent London SEND Network of Museums & Galleries meetings chaired by Caroline Smith, Programmer for Schools and Teachers at The National Gallery. All those professionals who engage in this network and explore each other’s cultural spaces, are eager to reach out to wider audiences and to reflect on what works best for children with SEND, schools and families.

Through autism friendly opening hours, Quiet Days, sensory storytelling and other features of inclusive practice, the collaboration and ideas sharing of the London SEND Network supports a goal of greater access

for all in the arts and cultural sector.

I would like to see this model of networking and collaboration permeate all our large cities, so that there is a big picture focus on what cultural opportunities exist that enrich lives and help realise individual potential.

I would like to see this partnership working and collaboration include education, health and social care leads, Heads of SEND services, council leaders and more in this big picture plan for every city. These are the services and professionals who are in touch daily with those children and adults most vulnerable to cultural exclusion and social isolation.

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Lemos and Crane (2015) share a similar view in their report, ‘Reimagine: Improving access to the arts, galleries and museums for people with learning disabilities.’

Lemos and Crane argue that much more can be done by arts organisations, museums, galleries and by children’s and adults social care services, to support engagement with the arts as part of person-centred planning, support planning or care.

In their survey of around 100 arts-based organisations across the UK, of 81 respondents, 34 had no relevant projects to share, or were not engaged in activity for children or adults with SEND. Of the museums and galleries that responded, only half had some form of current or ongoing activity.

In their recommendations, Lemos and Crane argue for greater partnerships across education, health and social care, seeing it as the responsibility of all stakeholders to achieve cultural engagement.

By building a network of mainstream and specialist arts, adult social care and supported housing organisations, it may be possible to increase opportunities for children and adults to engage with the arts.

Improving information sharing about arts events, particularly through Independent Support, Personal Care or other forms of social care, will make a significant difference in participation levels.

Street Style Surgery, based in Manchester, was founded by Sissy Rooney with just such a sense of social responsibility in mind. From its starting point of humble origins and limited resources, offering creative workshops to schools, it now partners with schools, youth clubs, housing associations, football clubs and big businesses to deliver innovative, inspiring workshops, thanks to the drive and tenacity of Sissy Rooney.

“The Street Style Surgery is on a mission to inspire as many young people as possible across the UK through our creative entrepreneurial and highly educational (in a cool way) workshops. Its goal is to help the next generation discover their special hidden talent.”

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models or collages were littered with kisses and hearts as a sign of the affection the riders’ felt for the horses and ponies in their lives. The art and craft work of RDA participants is a wonderful example of the power of art and creativity to transform lives.

If we wish to address the cultural exclusion of many young people with SEND, it is the responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure opportunities exist in every village, every town and city. Not all organisations have the capacity or skills base to commit fully to making all their experiences and activities inclusive, but together, in partnership, it may be possible to provide something more cohesive than exists at present.

What is brilliant about the concept of Street Style Surgery is not just its focus on the needs of its participants, but also the big picture focus and partnership working on wider communitybased issues, such as the need for creative and cultural engagement, opportunity, employment, a sense of identity and independence.

Musical Keys, based in Norwich, has been providing music and arts activities for people with disabilities and additional needs in Norfolk for almost thirty years.

They are driven by a belief in equal access to creative activity and deliver stimulating and accessible opportunities for children and adults to engage in creativity, working in partnership with individuals, community organisations, statutory bodies and education settings.

Oliver Payne, Programme Manager of Musical Keys, states, “Self-expression is not only a basic right but also a tool for enabling significant cognitive and physical development for disabled people. Our aim is to be creative facilitators, unlocking individuals’ ability to make a meaningful contribution to creative activities.”

“Our work has a widespread and significant impact, whether that is aiding speech development in young children or creating a sense of worth and belonging for isolated older people living with dementia.”

Autumn 2018 SEND MAGAZINE

Musical Keys deliver a Creative Connections project (a Short Breaks holiday scheme) working with young people with a range of complex needs and abilities to support them in exploring their own creative journeys using music, film, animation, movement and song-writing.

“Participants produce wildly imaginative results and go home very happy.”

In my travels and contractual work, I have been struck by how often disability or educationbased specialist services have, running quietly alongside their primary focus, incidental but no less significant opportunities for children to revel in their creative side.

What can your organisation or setting do to provide more opportunities for children with SEND? How can you influence greater opportunity for cultural engagement in your home town?

What value do you place on creative activities, the arts and culture?

“Art is something that makes you breathe with a different kind of happiness.”

Anni Albers (German artist and printmaker, 1899 – 1994)

At a Riding for the Disabled Association Championship event in Gloucestershire, I was delighted with the brilliantly creative entries for the RDA’s Arts and Crafts competition, run alongside its competitive events.

Some young riders’ drawings, Heather Stack is Founder and Director of The Local Offer, a social enterprise and membership platform for specialist and targeted education, health and social care services. She is also a SEND consultant available for contractual work on heather@thelocaloffer.co.uk Heather is a passionate advocate for cultural engagement for children and young people facing adversity, disadvantage, SEN or disability.

The organisations referenced in this article can be found at: www.head2headtheatre.co.uk www.streetstylesurgery.co.uk www.musicalkeys.co.uk www.rda.org.uk www.sendmagazine.co.uk

Understanding Dyspraxia

Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties / Dyspraxia Meet Joe: He is a good talker. He enjoys music and can be creative.

But he can‘t always write things down well or participate as well

FACTS

Currently, there is no known cause for developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD). The difficulties are defined on the basis of a failure to gain skills in both gross and fine motor movements and which cannot be explained by a medical condition or by an impaired general learning difficulty. DCD can have a considerable impact on the children‘s lives as they struggle to master and participate in the routine everyday living and learning skills that those of a similar age manage with relatively little effort. DCD predominantly affects around 6% of children aged 5-11 years. The condition is more commonly seen in boys and frequently overlaps with other conditions such as Dyslexia.

Children do not grow out of DCD. What to look for Difficulties with: • Balance and co-ordination in PE • Ball skills in games • Pencil control for writing and drawing • Posture when working at the desk or in standing • Tires more easily than peers • Frequent falls or bumping into object in and around the

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school • Tool control such as scissors in art and DT • Fine motor control for picking up, placing and manipulating objects • Organising and sequencing work and self • Play skills at break-time such as running games, skipping (difficulty with bike skills) • Personal care – dressing, feeding and toileting • Friendships or social interaction • Attention and concentration • Number and or language work What to do • Observe the child across a range of activities and settings • Differentiate work/activities by task, support and outcome • Involve the child.

Some strategies are: • Provide alternative means of recording such as ‗cloze type‘ worksheets.

• Develop ICT skills

• Consider alternative types of pens/ pencils or use pencil grips • Use structural indicators to assist with the sequence and flow of the lesson • Consider the location and environment – seating, grouping, your position when teaching • Say things more than once. Allow time for the child to process information and to respond.

• Use colour and imagery to highlight key points or important details.

• Encourage other children to give assistance.

• Use ‗Talk‘ to demonstrate knowledge/ideas such as ‗listening triangles‘ and ‗mini presentations‘ • Choosing teams so that child is not picked last by peers in sport • Work through strengths, find what child is good at and use this to build self esteem

WHERE TO FIND HELP

The School SENCo Educational Psychology Service School Health Nurse Useful Websites The Dyspraxia

Foundationwww.dyspraxiafoundati on.org.uk The Dyscovery Centrewww.dyscovery.co.uk www.canchild.ca

Useful Books Including Children with DCD/Dyspraxia in the Foundation Phase – Sharon Drew Featherstone Education Developing School Provision for Children with Dyspraxia – Nichola Jones (Ed) Paul Chapman Publishers Making Inclusion Work for Children with Dyspraxia – Gill Dixon & Lois Addy Routledgefalmer

USEFUL SUPPLIERS OR SPECIALIST RESOURCES

www.specialdirect.com Smart Moves Motor Skills Programme

SEND MAGAZINE

Autumn 2018

27

Levels - all in Life after levels the what past next?

Assistant Headteacher at Darrick Wood School Martin Smith is the Assistant Headteacher at Darrick Wood School Martin designer and developer of STEPS. Here he talks about the removal Smith designer andteachers developer STEPS. Here talks of ‘levels’isinthe schools and how canof now support the he skills about the removal ‘levels’ in schools and how teachers and understanding of of children.

can now support the skills and understanding of children.

T

HE end of well-established Key Stage 3 Attainment Levels in September 2014 was greeted with huge reticence from schools and created a real sense of panic amongst teachers who were left feeling extremely insecure about being told to go away and develop their own assessment methods without guidance.

The reality is that ‘life after levels’ has been a good thing because of what was fundamentally wrong with levels in the first place. They were not designed to be an assessment system.

They were equipped to respond to government on ‘whole levels’ - a description of attainment at the end of each programme of study - but were too broad and wide for application within schools, even with the later introduction of sub-levels.

The system itself was not fit for purpose. When levels were the norm they were viewed as thresholds and teaching became focused on the next threshold, instead of ensuring pupils were secure in their subject knowledge, skills and understanding. The worstcase scenario was that the depth and breadth of understanding was forsaken as levels were used as the ‘best fit’ model. This meant that a student could have serious gaps in their knowledge and understanding, but still be placed within a given level. Teachers, pupils and their parents were not always clear where the strengths lay and where the gaps were. As a result, measuring how much progress was being made in Key Stage 3 and predicting outcomes in GCSEs became somewhat patchy and erratic.

So, in effect, schools were left with three options on the table: stick with levels for as long as possible, prepare to purchase an ‘off the shelf’ system that was being built by a third party, or devise an entirely new system from scratch.

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Autumn 2018

SEND MAGAZINE

Initially, the government launched a competition encouraging schools to develop and share innovative new assessment methods for other schools to use. Eight winners were chosen by an independent panel on behalf of the DfE in May 2014. However, there was little information and evidence coming out at a time when most schools were seeking answers to develop their own plans.

By this time, in any case, we were already well on the way to creating our own system at Darrick Wood School.

Driven by our forward-thinking local authority in Bromley we formed an initial working party with other schools in the area to exchange ideas and come up with a workable solution. From our side, that solution went on to take the form of STEPS - Strategic Targets for Educational Progress and Success.

STEPS is an assessment and progress monitoring, tracking and reporting programme for secondary schools. It uses the frameworks and assessment focuses already created by subject leaders since the introduction of Assessing Pupils’ Progress and the National Strategies, adopting positive elements from a range of systems to create a comprehensive,

proven solution to life after levels.

Crucially it is compatible with SIMS and uses FFT Aspire and Cognitive Abilities Tests/MidYIS data to help triangulate baseline data for each student.

This level of detail means pupils can make fine levels of progress and teachers can create incremental, personalised targets based on assessment throughout Key Stage 3. It also provides crucial baseline assessment tests; purposeful, valid data; clear targets for pupils, and consistent reporting.

There is definitely still work to be done as a sector. It varies greatly how effective secondary schools are, right now, in benchmarking new pupils in Year 7 and measuring progress in Years 7-9.

Some had an idea on what they want to do and have developed their systems but, in my view, many have not thought enough about the progression side.

Teachers, being teachers, are trying to make it work. There isn’t a week goes by when I don’t get calls about assessment without levels - there are lots of good ideas out there, but nothing proven, and arguably nothing tried and tested like we have with STEPS.

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STEPS IN PRACTICE - DARRICK WOOD SCHOOL Darrick Wood School in Orpington, Kent is the ‘birthplace’ of what is now STEPS (Strategic Targets for Educational Progress and Success in Key Stage 3), published by Scholastic. Darrick Wood sought to develop its own new assessment and progress monitoring, tracking and reporting programme for Years 7-9 following the end of levels in September 2014.

The project was led by Assistant Headteacher Martin Smith, in conjunction with a team of specialists at Darrick Wood, which holds both Teaching School status and the World Class School Quality Mark. “When we started this work there was a mixture of excitement and concern amongst those of us involved,” Martin admits.

“Excitement because it presented a genuine opportunity to devise an entirely new system from scratch, one that fulfil the objectives and ethos of our school, but concern because we were going into the unknown in terms of creating additional workload on top of everything else we do as teachers.

Then the excitement really took over and now I believe we have a system that works not just for our school but is flexible enough to be adapted to all schools.”

The cornerstone of STEPS is a simple grid for each subject and a progressive set of attainment targets that present challenge at all levels of ability throughout Key Stage 3. The grids are broken down into a template of nine ‘steps’ across four, five or six different subject strands. This level of detail means pupils can make fine

levels of progress and teachers can create incremental, personalised targets based on assessment in Key Stage 3.

‘Expected’ progress is the equivalent to movement of one whole step in each year of Key Stage 3.

Martin explains: “At the beginning of the first term in Year 7, all pupils undertake initial baseline testing in the form of a written test or practical assessment, depending on the subject in question. This subject-specific testing gives every pupil an entry point into each strand. Through ongoing formative assessment the pupils’ progression can then be measured over the course of Key Stage 3. Constant exposure to the ‘big picture’ is achieved by promoting the use of STEPS in class and more widely to parents.”

An initial pilot began in September 2015 for Year 7 pupils and, at a presentation to parents in January, Martin says the positive feedback was overwhelming: “STEPS provides a very simple overview of where a pupil is at and what they need to do to improve.

Parents have loved the simplicity of a quick check via the ‘Step Point’ score but also the level of detail that is there if they want to see it. They have realised the potential of having several readymade targets and have appreciated the level of detail in each ‘Step Grid’ that the breakdown of a whole key stage provides them.”

Teachers, too, have seen significant benefits already. “Colleagues are really relishing the advantages that such a focused approach can bring and, as they have learnt the system, have really

come to value its structure,” Martin reveals. “Many have commented on the new-found focus to parental meetings and the guidance and support it gives them during the report writing process.

Subject leaders have started to analyse the results from each data collection window to identify strands of their subject which the pupils are finding more difficult and/or which teachers are finding more difficult to deliver.”

It has also increased support for pupils, Martin says: “The level of detail has helped to raise an early warning to individual pupils, as well as teaching groups who are seemingly making unusual rates of progress. It has allowed them to put in place support for pupils and/or groups and in some cases additional training for teachers.”

Now, with backing from Scholastic, other schools are able to purchase STEPS themselves. “What schools are looking for is confidence that any new system will not disappear overnight,” Martin says. “As teachers, we don’t want to be changing systems again in five years’ time - we are looking for security, and STEPS provides that. We have shown that our system is effective - it measures progress and assessment simultaneously, and creates easily understandable data and a structure for teaching. It also ultimately saves time. There is initial work to be done in getting to grips with the system, that is normal, but once that time investment has been made the return is huge. Finally, it is completely flexible and adaptable, so schools can adapt STEPS for their own purposes.”

Find out more about STEPS at www.scholastic.co.uk/steps www.sendmagazine.co.uk www.sendmagazine.co.uk

SEND MAGAZINE January Autumn2018 2018

25 29

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Bookshop Bookshop

Understanding Maths Learning Difficulties: Dyscalculia, Dyslexia or Dyspraxia?

Judy Hornigold

· Why do some pupils experience maths learning difficulties? · How can you determine whether there is a specific learning difficulty such as dyscalculia, dyspraxia or dyslexia? · What teaching strategies can help overcome maths anxiety and specific maths learning difficulties?

potential causes of maths learning difficulties and particularly the specific difficulties that learners with dyscalculia, dyslexia and/or dyspraxia experience. It considers how general maths anxiety impedes mathematical development and then examines whether this, or a more fundamental and specific difficulty with maths such as dyscalculia, is the real root of difficulties.

The book then looks in detail at a wide range of strategies to help overcome general maths anxiety and more specific learning difficulties. It addresses four distinct

Without doubt maths is one of the most important subjects taught in schools and yet it is the one subject that can strike fear and dread in children from the very start of their education.

In this book Judy Hornigold explores

areas - core number, reasoning, memory and visual spatial awareness - as the main areas of difficulty for learners with dyscalculia (core number and reasoning), dyslexia (memory) and dyspraxia (visual spatial awareness).

Published by: Open University Press, 2017

Understanding Special Educational Needs and Disability in the Early years Janice Wearmouth, Abigail Gosling, Julie Beams and Stephanie Davydaitis.

Key text provides essential tools for understanding legislation, policy, provision and practice for children in the early years, particularly young children with special educational needs and disability (SEND). Based on extensive research and the four areas of need as defined in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to

25 Years (DfE, 2015), the book charts the development of young children and their growing constructions of learning, communication, language, motor movement and emotion. Providing material that translates into practice in a straightforward and practical way, this text is packed full of personal accounts and case

studies, enabling readers to appreciate what the experience of SEND in the early years means for families and professionals, and also to learn more about how they might understand and respond appropriately to a child’s needs.

Published by: Routledge, 2017

Starving the Exam Stress Gremlin: A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook on Managing Exam Stress for young People Kate Collins-Donnelly

When exam time comes around, the exam stress gremlin is in his element, feeding off your exam fears and anxieties.

This workbook teaches you how to starve your gremlin by learning to cope with exam stress. Full of fun

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activities based on cognitive behavioural therapy, it is the ideal resource for supporting young people aged 10+.

Published by: Jessica Kingsley, 2017

Summer 2018 SEND MAGAZINE

www.sendmagazine.co.uk

Bookshop The Asperger Teen’s Toolkit Francis Musgrave

With minimal text and fun, comic book style graphics, this is a treasure trove of information for young people with Asperger Syndrome and their carers.

Exploring the science of how the human mind works, it gives handy tips on how to cope with all elements of the adult world, including responsibilities, health, sex and relationships.

Published by: Jessica Kingsley, 2017

It’s Raining and I’m Okay: A Calming Story to Help Children Relax When They Go Out and About Adele Devine Children with special needs often feel overwhelmed while out and about, but this simple rhyming story can help them to reduce feelings of anxiety. Ideal for kids aged 3-7, this bright and reassuring picture book offers calming strategies, useful symbols for pre-readers, and downloadable notes to support kids who feel anxious out of the home.

Published by: Jessica Kingsley, 2017

Illustrated Guide to Dyslexia and its Amazing People

Dyslexia is my Superpower (Most of the time).

An engaging visual explanation of dyslexia, what it means, and how to embrace it. Vibrant images and simple text depict what dyslexia is, along with helpful tools for learning and examples of skills and professions best-suited for people with dyslexia. Includes tips for success, additional games and learning resources.

Published by: Jessica Kingsley, 2017

Containing over 100 in-depth interviews with school children and young adults living with dyslexia, this powerful first-hand collection depicts the significance of confidence and self-esteem in propelling children with dyslexia to achieve personal success. The children supply their own illustrations; a handy hints guide; and their own advice to educators.

Published by: Jessica Kingsley, 2017

Kate Power & Kathy Iwanczak Forsyth

Margaret Rooke

Teachers notes

SEND Abbrevia ons AAC ACE ACfE ACPC ACCAC ADD ADDiS ADHD AEN AENCo AET AfA AfL AGT ALD ALS AoL AQA ARB ARM ASD ASDAN ASN ASL AST AUT AWPU BATOD BDA BDD BECTA BESD BEST BILD BIP BME BSF BSL BSP BST BSU C&FS CA CAF CAFCASS CAMHS CAT CBAC CCEA

Alterna ve and Augmenta ve Communica on Advisory Centre for Educa on A Curriculum for Excellence Area Child Protec on Commi ee Quali ca ons Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales A en on Defect Disorder A en on De cit Disorder Informa on and Support Service A en on De cit Hyperac vity Disorder Addi onal Educa onal Needs A ddi onal Educa onal Needs Co-ordinator Au sm Educa on Trust Achievement for All Assessment for Learning Able, Gi ed and Talented Adults with Learning Di cul es Addi onal Learning Support Assessment of Learning Assessment and Quali ca ons Alliance Area/Au s c Resource Base Annual Review Mee ng Au s c Spectrum Disorder A ward Scheme Development and Accredita on Network Addi onal Support Need Addi onal Support for Learning Advanced Skills Teacher Au sm Age Weighted Pupil Unit Bri sh Associa on of Teachers of the Deaf Bri sh Dyslexia Associa on Body Dysmorphic Disorder Bri sh Educa onal Communica ons and Technology Agency Behaviour, Emo onal and Social Di cul es B ehaviour and Educa on Support Teams Bri sh Ins tute of Learning Di cul es Behaviour Improvement Programme Black and Minority Ethnic Building Schools for the Future Bri sh Sign Language Behaviour Support Plan Behaviour Support Team Behaviour Support Unit Child and Family Service Classroom Assistant Common Assessment Framework Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service Cogni ve Ability Test Welsh Joint Educa on Commi ee Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum,

CD CDC CF CFS CHEN CLD CP CRE CSCI CSP CoP CRE DAMP DCD DDA DED DEE DELLS DENI DfES DLA DRC DS DSD DSP DVD DYSC DYSL DYSP EAL EAT EBD ECM ELBs EOTAS EP EPi ERA ESA Estyn ESL EWO EYA EYAP EYDCP FLS FLT FRX FSP G & T GLD GTC GTCS

Examina ons and Assessment Conduct Disorders Council for Disabled Children Cys c Fibrosis Chronic Fa gue Syndrome Children with Mental Health and Educa onal Needs Complex Learning Needs Cerebral Palsy Commission for Racial Equality Commission for Social Care Inspec ons Coordinated Support Plan Code of Prac ce Commission for Racial Equality De cits in A en on, Motor Control and Perceptual Abili es Development Co-ordina on Di cul es (Dyspraxia) Disability Discrimina on Act Disability Equality Duty Disability Equality in Educa on Department for Educa on, Learning and Lifelong Skills Department of Educa on for Northern Ireland Department for Educa on and Skills Disability Living Allowance Disability Rights Commission Downs Syndrome Developmental Coordina on Disorder Dedicated Specialist Provision Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia Dyscaculia Dyslexia Dyspraxia English as an Addi onal Language Ea ng Disorders Emo onal and Behavioural Di cul es Every Child Ma ers Educa on and Library Board Educa on Other than at School Educa onal Psychologist Epilepsy Educa on Reform Act Educa onal Support Assistant O ce of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector and Training in Wales English as a Second Language Educa on Welfare O cer Early Years Ac on Early Years Ac on Plus Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership Further Literacy Support Founda on Learning Tier Fragile X Syndrome Founda on Stage Pro le Gi ed and Talented Generic Learning Di cul es General Teaching Council General Teaching Council for Scotland

HI HMCI

Hearing Impairment Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (of schools) HMI Her Majesty’s Inspectorate HMIE Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Educa on in Scotland Higher Level Teaching HLTA Assistant HSA Home School Agreement IBP Individual Behaviour Plan Individual Educa on Plan IEP Individual Learning Plan ILP INCO Inclusion Co-ordinator IPSEA Independent Panel for Special Educa on Advice IQM Inclusion Quality Mark ISP Individual Support Plan KS Key stage Local Authority LA LAC Looked A er Children LDD Learning Di cul es and Disabili es Learning Mentor LM LSA Learning Support Assistant LSC Learning and Skills Council LSP Learning Support Prac oner LSU Learning Support Unit LTS Learning & Teaching Scotland Mul -Disciplinary Team MDT MLD Moderate Learning Di cul es MD Muscular Dystrophy ME Myalgic Encephalomeli s MND Motor Neurone Disease MSI Mul -Sensory Impairment NAS Na onal Au s c Society NBCS Na onal Blind Children’s Society NDCS Na onal Deaf Children’s Society NEYTCO Na onal Early Years Trainers and Consultants NMSS Non-Maintained Special School NRWS New Rela onship with Schools NSF Na onal Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services NSSEN Non-Statemented Special Educa onal Needs NWRSENP North West Regional Special Educa onal Needs Partnership Ofqual O ce of the Quali ca ons and Examina ons Regulator Ofsted O ce for Standards in Educa on PATOSS Professional Associa on for Teachers Of Students with Speci c Learning Disabili es PCTs Primary Care Trusts PD Physical Di cul es/ Disabili es PDD Pervasive Development Disorder PMLD Profound and Mul ple Di cul es PSP Personal Support Plan OCD Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ODD Opposi onal De ance Disorder OT Occupa onal Therapist PDA Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome

PDD PECs PMD PMLD PNI PRU PPS PSI PT QCA RAD RAISE RAP RoA RoN RNIB S & L SA SA+ SaLT SCD SEAL SEBD SEF SENAG SENATS SENCO SEND SENDA SENDIST SENJIT SLCN SLD SMA SIP SPD SpLCN SpLD SQA SSEN TA TDA TLR TS VI WJEC

Pervasive Development Disorder Picture Exchange Communica on System Physical and Medical Di cul es Profound and Mul ple Learning Di cul es Physical and neurological impairment Pupil Referral Unit Parent Partnership Service Physical and Sensory Impairment Physiotherapist Quali ca ons and Curriculum Authority Rapid A achment Disorder Repor ng and Analysis for Improvement through School Self Evalua on Reasonable Adjustment Project Record of Achievement Record of Need Royal Na onal Ins tute of Blind People Speech and Language School Ac on School Ac on Plus Speech and Language Therapist Speech and Communica on Di cul es Social and Emo onal Aspects of Learning Social, Emo onal and Behaviour Di cul es Self Evalua on Form Special Educa onal Needs Advisory Group SEN Advisory and Teaching Service Special Educa onal Needs Co-ordinator Special Educa onal Needs & Disability Special Educa onal Needs and Disability Act Special Educa onal Needs and Disability Tribunal Special Educa onal Needs Joint Ini a ve for Training S peech, language and Communica on Needs Severe Learning Di cul es Spinal Muscular Atrophy School Improvement Partner Seman c Pragma c Disorder Speci c Language and Communica on Di cul es Speci c Learning Di cul es Sco sh Quali ca ons Authority S tatement of Special Educa onal Needs Teaching Assistant Training and Development Agency Teaching and Learning Responsibility Toure es Syndrome Visual Impairment Welsh Joint Educa on Commi ee

and e m Co us at see SEN TES OW SH 229 d stan

Helping children of all abilities enjoy learning to read and spell

Wordshark is being re-vamped and will soon be fully online, accessible on most devices including tablets, throughout school and at home!!

There’s no doubt that educational technology can make a big difference in the classroom and in the home. But the facts show that the key to closing the achievement gap is not providing more technology to students, but rather putting the right educational technology into the hands of teachers.

It is well documented and recent research shows that a better way to improve outcomes and close the achievement gap is to give teachers effective digital tools that are purposefully designed to improve instruction and empower teachers to better focus their time and resources.

Wordshark online remains a teacher tool first and foremost, retaining the structure and integrity of previous versions. In addition, Wordshark online offers active progression – an adaptive assessment followed by a selfpacing structured program, allowing students to progress on their own individual learning program.

The best news – Wordshark online is available to trial in the autumn term. We are actively seeking Ambassador (Shark) Schools to complete a final round of testing before a full launch early 2019.

Exciting additions include:

•Access Wordshark from most devices with internet access •New improved progress reporting •Automatic Progression mode to keep students on task •Adaptive assessment – places students at

the appropriate starting level •New and neutral graphics – suitable for top primary and secondary school students •Automatic teacher emails if students are struggling •Ability to set homework

Take the next step – Email online@wordshark.co.uk to apply to become an

Ambassador (Shark) School or simply if you would like to receive more information on Wordshark Online.

Shark Schools will be an exclusive group with benefits for your school including: school certificate in recognition of your literacy support, direct involvement with improvements, preferential pricing and more.