Chapter 1: Understanding the SEND world

Chapter 1: Understanding the SEND world

Welcome to your handbook – a guide for all governors who are new to post, need a refresher or value support across the academic year to develop their practice in schools. It will provide you with statutory guidance, alongside advice & practical strategies to work effectively with all leaders of SEND.

This document will share resources, tools, and food for thought on how you can approach your governor post with confidence. With this support we hope that your role on the governing body is enhanced and allows you to work collaboratively with your governing team, school leaders, SEND staff and families.

A vital message to start with is that all leaders are leaders of SEND,

all teachers are teachers of SEND and all governors are governors

of SEND. Whilst this handbook does contain specific guidance and information for allocated SEND governors, it also supports the work of all members of a governing body within a school. This is so that children and young people with additional needs are considered in every discussion and decision whether it be curriculum, teaching & learning, assessment, safeguarding or any other school topic. The document was devised collaboratively with a range of professionals including those currently in post as a SEND governor, local authority SEND specialists and school staff to ensure that it contains a wealth of information. Information specifically requested by those key members of school staff who are planning, implementing, and evaluating their inclusive environments.

Welcome video (Lisa McDonald - Specialist SEND Lead Adviser)

*Note*

For those governors working in a Multi Academy Trust (MAT)

If you are part of the local governing board within a MAT your delegated powers will be presented in the scheme of delegation. These will be different dependant on the MAT and thus some terminology may change. Be sure to read this to fully understand your responsibilities and decision-making role/powers in conjunction with this toolkit.

Welcome to the World of SEND!

The SEND world is without doubt a challenging and intense one & often practitioners will feel that the wealth of knowledge perceived to be needed to create a fully inclusive school environment is daunting. However, working in the SEND field is one of the most rewarding worlds to be a part of and understanding a young person enough to open their world & their future is a gift.

What is SEND?

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND): A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she: • has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or • has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of the facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions”

(SEND Code of Practice 2015)

SEND Code of Practice

The SEND Code of Practice (CoP) is a statutory document for all schools and organisations supporting children and young people with SEND. It is a set of guidelines written by the Department for Education (DfE) for all local authorities and schools to follow. The Code of Practice relates to section 3 of The Children and Families Act 2014 (Children and Families Act 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)) providing clear statutory guidance on duties, procedural processes, and policies. It also draws guidance from The Equality Act (2010) (Equality Act 2010 (legislation.gov.uk)) which is the law protecting individuals from discrimination.

Chapter 6 within the CoP outlines the processes that schools must and should take to meet these specific duties in assessing and supporting needs. In their practice, ALL schools MUST have regard to the CoP. In chapter 2 you will find more detailed support on statutory guidance & duties.

The Code of Practice focuses on the implementation of high standard provision to ensure that children and young people are supported to achieve their potential, become confident and happy individuals leading a fulfilled life and are prepared to make a successful transition to adulthood with a clear pathway to success. When considering the development of provision, schools need to consider the four SEND categories.

Area of need Considerations

Cognition and learning

This area focuses on the support needed when approaching the thinking skills & learning processes of a young person or child. Within this category needs are on a continuum and can vary across subjects and situations. Regardless of differentiation, peers with learning needs such as those listed below may learn at a slower pace than others in their classroom. There are general and specific learning difficulties which can impact one or more areas of the curriculum. These difficulties may be short term in specific areas or more long term and severe for an individual. There can be a moderate learning difficulty (MLD) or a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) such as dyspraxia, dyslexia, or dyscalculia Areas of learning needs: • reading, writing, and spelling • numeracy • comprehension skills • processing difficulties such as sequencing, inference, coherence, and elaboration • working memory

• short term verbal memory • executive function difficulties Definition from the SEND Code of Practice paragraph 6.30: ‘Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment.’

Communication and Interaction

Communication and interaction needs are identified when a young person has difficulties with either producing or responding to expressive or receptive language. Individuals may experience difficulties in understanding speech and communication from other people also. Definition from the SEND Code of Practice paragraph 6.29: ‘Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them, or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.’ Those diagnosed with Autism are likely to experience interaction in a different way than neurotypical individuals. Their ability to relate to others can be impacted due to difficulties with language and communication. These needs can present themselves in a variety of ways: through difficulties with peer interaction, non-verbal cues,

turn taking, speech sounds and expressive use of language, amongst others.

Social Emotional and Mental Health

Children and young people with factors that cause some social, emotional, or mental health distress often struggle to regulate their emotional responses in some way and may have difficulty with managing day to day challenges. Definition from the SEND Code of Practice paragraph 6.32 & 6.33: ‘Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive, or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.’ ‘Schools and colleges should have clear processes to support children and young people, including how they will manage the effect of any disruptive behaviour, so it does not adversely affect other pupils.’ A young person’s response to interactions, scenarios and situations can be due to a wide range of factors and these need to be considered when planning for support and provision. Factors could include amongst others: anxiety, attachment difficulties, trauma, grief, depression, history of abuse, undisclosed difficulties, or sensory overload

Sensory and/or physical

Some individuals will need support and provision planned for them when they have a disability which hinders or prevents them from accessing the day-to-day challenges within the school environment Definition from SEND Code of practice Paragraph 6.34: ‘Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability

which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support. Children and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties. Information on how to provide services for deafblind children and young people is available through the Social Care for Deafblind Children and Adults guidance published by the Department of Health.’

It is important to note that individuals can often fall into more than one of the needs categories and curriculum support must take this into account when planning and delivering high quality teaching, reasonable adjustments, or any additional interventions.

Who’s Who in SEND?

Local Authority

It is always of great benefit to have a clear understanding of who the SEND team are both in your school and at a local authority level. This will allow you to develop a greater understanding of who is responsible for SEND in your provision and who may be available to answer any questions that may arise from your strategic monitoring. The document via the link below is an excellent resource presenting all members of the KCC team and those invested in the development of SEND & inclusion across the county:

Who's who in KCC SEND- January 2022

What is the Local Offer?

What is the Local Offer? (Sharon McLaughlin - SEND Engagement, Operations and Assurance Manager, Kent County Council)

A local offer is a requirement in every county, and it is a platform where children, young people and their families can seek information regarding what is on offer within their area. It is to ensure that all CYP and families can access the right support, when it is needed, in their local community.

• Kent County Council (KCC) Local offer • In Kent there is also the KELSI website which is an online resource for educational professionals in the area. It holds a wealth of up to date and specific information regarding all areas of

SEND from news updates and events as well as SEND information, advice, and guidance. • KELSI: On KELSI you will find The Mainstream Core Standards; a document essential to securing consistent, effective, and meaningful inclusive practice in all schools. Everyone in a school community should have knowledge and understanding of how

these are implemented holistically to secure positive outcomes for all children and young people.

What are the Mainstream Core Standards?

What are the Mainstream Core Standards? (Siobhan Price - Education Officer- Mainstream Inclusion, Kent County Council)

The mainstream core standards document produced by KCC is a framework for all schools who support learners with SEND and the document reflects the countywide approach to inclusive education (CATIE).

The CATIE details the SEND strategy plan to ensure a consistent and robust inclusion offer for all SEND learners across Kent.

The Mainstream Core Standards publication is a document for schools setting out the provision that the Local Area has agreed should be ordinarily available for CYP (children and young people) with SEND. It provides guidance and advice to schools to meet the needs of learners, to work with the children and families at the centre of their inclusive practice and to meet all statutory requirements.

Part one of the mainstream core standards sets out these statutory duties and explains the importance of quality first teaching & what provision should be in place in schools to ensure progress for all.

Part two is an excellent resource for school staff; breaking down support and resources into the four SEND areas and explaining what approaches could help in the classroom. It also explains the additional support available to young people beyond the classroom.

Previous governor training slides for an introduction to the Mainstream Core Standards are available via:

Presentation- An Introduction to the Mainstream Core Standards for Governors

Subsequent training for 2022/23 will be available across this academic year, linked to this toolkit to ensure all governors feel confident in understanding the Mainstream Core Standards and how these can be interpreted by individual schools with their very best endeavours. Please register for these training sessions either using the link below or by emailing Rory Abbott at rory.abbott@theeducationpeople.org:

Every Governor is a Governor of SEND - for Established SEND Governors (3 sessions) GV22/127

Thursday 6 October 2022 Wednesday 1 March 2023 Tuesday 9 May 2023 https://app.governorhub.com/s/theeducationpeople/training?courseId=6 2cc17b135b98c48987548e7&from=2022-10-06

Every Governor is a Governor of SEND - for New SEND Governors (3 sessions) GV22/120

Wednesday 2 November 2022 Wednesday 1 March 2023

Tuesday 9 May 2023 https://app.governorhub.com/s/theeducationpeople/training?courseId=6 2cc0e1435b98c48987254f5&from=2022-11-02

Every Governor is a Governor of SEND - for New SEND Governors (3 sessions) GV23/031

Thursday 9 February 2023 Wednesday 1 March 2023 Tuesday 9 May 2023 https://app.governorhub.com/s/theeducationpeople/training?courseId=6 2cc1269217f21b158b31aff&from=2023-02-09

Every Governor is a Governor of SEND: Non SEND Governors GV22/119

Thursday 6 October 2022 https://app.governorhub.com/s/theeducationpeople/training?courseId=6 2cc0712fd15df6f690a2daa&from=2022-10-06

The mainstream core standards should be a document shared with all staff in a school and be an essential key to inclusion planning, provision mapping and staff CPD. There is also a parent friendly version available, which you may wish to make mention of on your school’s website and/or to use with parents in forums when discussing support.

MCS Guide for Parents

New for the academic year 22/23 is the ‘Effective Inclusive Practice Guide’. It is a digital platform for all schools to look at case studies of excellent practice in line with the mainstream core standards across Kent. Please encourage your school to explore the up to date case studies within the Guide and get involved with sharing your own examples of excellent work in the future:

The Effective Inclusive Practice Guide will go live early in October 2022 and a link to the guide will be added shortly.

And for your Early Years provision!

When a school has an early year setting it is also advisable to use the best practice guidance for early years. This document provides an overview of the knowledge and understanding needed to meet the needs of all learners at the early years stage and is a great resource to share with nursery/reception teaching staff as a progression to the mainstream core standards document.

The document has two purposes: • The opportunity to evaluate inclusive practice in general • The identification of specific strategies that can be used to support individual children or groups of children

Early Years- Best Practice Guidance

Your School SEND Team

Governing Body

SEND Governor

Senior Leader Inclusion

SENCO

All governors are governors of SEND and should consider those children and young people with additional needs in all strategic monitoring discussions & decisions. On each governing body there will be a governor allocated as the ‘SEND governor’ who is responsible for the specific strategic monitoring of SEND within a school, working with SEND leaders and staff to support a consistent inclusive community ethos. Dependent on the structure of the leadership in your school, the senior lead may not be the SENCO and there may be an allocated leader who monitors the operational SEND procedures, decisions and planning in your school. This is the Special Educational Needs Coordinator; they must have, or be working towards, the National

Teaching & Learning Lead

Learning Support Team

Teaching staff

Multi Agency Team

qualification for SEND and they are responsible for the day-to-day coordination of SEND within your school. This role will include statutory tasks, transition planning, curriculum support, staff training and parent liaison amongst other things. They effectively lead the inclusive community within a school and support all staff, children, parents and carers to have an invested interest in the progress of SEND learners. It is great to see joined up thinking in schools, where the SENCO and Teaching & Learning (T&L) Lead work collaboratively so that SEND is intertwined through all teaching & learning CPD, tracking and monitoring. This allows the T&L lead to really understand the needs of SEND learners but to also ensure that the staff body feels well supported in adapting their approach to meet the needs of all learners through specific quality first teaching for every young person The Learning Support Team and their titles will vary in each school, but this team is the core to ensuring your SEND support is consistent, managed well and has great impact. There may be higher level teaching assistants, learning support assistants or TAs, counselling staff, therapy staff and administration support within the department. Never underestimate the difference a well guided, appreciated, and knowledgeable team can have on the progress of all learners in a school environment. All Teachers are teachers of SEND and it is important that the SENCO & other leaders in your school are supporting departments, teams, and individual teachers to be confident and knowledgeable. Quality first teaching is the core offer for all schools and that is quality for all learners, regardless of need or disability. CPD should be targeted specifically at supporting staff to embed an excellent standard of adapted teaching for all. Supporting the school, SENCO and all children with SEND will be a multi-agency team – the size of these teams can differ dependent on the needs of the young person. They may include a provision evaluation officer (PRO) from the local authority, a mental health (CAMHS) worker, a speech therapist, an educational psychologist, or a member of

Parents, carers, families

staff from the specialist teaching and learning service who can advise a school directly on the support required for an individual child or need. Families are a vital part of the SEND team and should not be ignored or underestimated. It is important that their views are gathered, appreciated, shared, and responded to in a timely manner. This genuine co production and collaboration with families is a game changer for embedding a fully inclusive community. Their involvement can be enhanced in a variety of ways; parent/carer forums, questionnaires, email updates/newsletters, meeting preparation, easy read documents etc. The KCC local offer currently provides a ‘roadshow’ service that can be booked for any parent event. This is an excellent opportunity for your school to have key members of staff supporting parents and their understanding of the support available to them on their journey. For more information about these roadshows please encourage your colleagues to email Sharon.mclaughlin@kent.gov.uk.

What is the SEND register?

The SEND register is the schools record of all learners who have an additional need and require further support with their learning. Those learners on the SEND register will be allocated a code; either E for an EHCP or K for SEND support provision. The register should be monitored carefully by the SENCO and updated regularly. They should also be sharing this information with all staff across the school to ensure that the quality first teaching in each classroom is supporting all children & young people. Ask your SEND leaders about the register and any other coding that is used in house to establish the level of support a learner is receiving.

What is a K code?

When a child or young person without an EHCP is on the SEND register within a school, they will be allocated a K code. This code identifies to all stakeholders the individual has an additional need that may require support, guidance, and graduated approach to support their progress and learning in school. When a child has a K code and receives significant SEND support, they will usually have an individual education plan (IEP) or similar, to set timely targets, plan for provision and evaluate the impact of SEND support. These will be reviewed frequently across the academic year and involve families & external agencies as a team around the child. As part of your role, it is advisable to reflect and discuss an anonymous sample of these during the academic year to monitor the effectiveness of SEND provision in your school.

What is an EHCP?

EHCP is the term for an Education, Health and Care plan and is a legal document which formalises the needs of a young person, the support they will need to access the world and the intended outcomes required.

The plan is issued for young people up to the age of 25 when their needs go beyond what is available through Quality First teaching and interventions within schools. Many learners will have their needs met through the inclusive provision available at your school and will only need to apply for an EHCP should the support not be having an impact, even when a robust graduated approach is in place.

If a learner has an EHCP, then the SENCO will monitor the targets and outcomes across the year at specific review meetings and hold an annual review once a year with a team around the child.

EHCP in the SEND Code of Practice

“SEN support should be adapted or replaced depending on how effective it has been in achieving the agreed outcomes. Where, despite the school having taken relevant and purposeful action to identify, assess and meet the SEN of the child or young person, the child or young person has not made expected progress, the school or parents should consider requesting an Education, Health and Care needs assessment … To inform its decision the local authority will expect to see evidence of the action taken by the school as part of SEN support.”

(6.63 SEND Code of Practice) 9.1. The majority of children and young people with SEN or disabilities will have their needs met within local mainstream early years settings, schools, or colleges …Some children and young people may require an EHC needs assessment for the local authority to decide whether it is necessary for it to make provision in accordance with an EHC plan.

9.2. The purpose of an EHC plan is to make special educational provision to meet the special educational needs of the child or young person, to secure the best possible outcomes for them across education, health, and social care and, as they get older, prepare them for adulthood.

The EHCP is a statutory document. CYP with an EHCP have a statutory entitlement to the provision set out in their plans.

It is important to note that there is a wealth of support available to schools for young people without the need for an EHCP (detailed in chapter 2 of this guide). Of course, there are times when an EHCP is necessary to support future outcomes for a young person, but this is not always the case. A mainstream school has access to information, advice, guidance, and support alongside a variety of packages offered

by KCC which can be accessed in order to enhance their inclusive support As a governor when discussing if ‘the needs of a child can be met’ it is necessary to really hold your school to account as to whether it is truly an inclusive environment that has done all that it can to develop their provision. When discussions surrounding appropriateness of placement arise, it is a great time to ask some key questions to ensure you are on the right track:

• Why can’t needs be met in this school? • What do you need to be able to support further? • What have you already accessed to help? (Specialist teaching and learning service (STLS), Kent inclusion programmes, adviser support, local inclusion forum team (LIFT) • Have you taken part in any of the programs available from Kent

County Council? • Have you reflected on the effectiveness of your provision map and the interventions drawn from it?

Is an EHCP always needed? (Alison Farmer - Assistant Director and Principal Educational Psychologist, KCC)

What is the ‘Graduated Approach’?

When children and young people require further support in addition to the school’s quality first teaching, this is known as a SEND support plan. This plan can take different forms and will be personalised to the specific targets & desired outcomes for every individual.

The support takes shape as a four-part cycle; the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process. As a child or young person progresses on this cycle, the support is refined and targeted specifically to ensure progress from all starting points. As the understanding of what a child needs increases through the vital assessment and reviewing stages, the support becomes more targeted and leads to better outcomes. This is known as the ‘graduated approach’.

SEND Support in Schools- The Graduated Approach The Graduated Approach Flowchart

The type of support, assessment processes, intervention and inclusion offer will be published within the SEND policy & school information report (please find information on these documents in chapter 6). These documents ensure that your school’s implementation of the graduated approach is clear and is having an impact on a child’s learning & progress. Support within a school’s graduated approach can vary and a school’s provision map will be designed to meet the learner’s needs so that the children and young people in a school’s care can receive the right support, at the right time and in their own community.

What Does Outstanding SEND Inclusive Support Look Like?

It is important to note that all schools will be unique in their approach to inclusion; they may use the same processes, adhere to the essential statutory guidance, and buy in to the same intervention or programmes but it is wonderful to see the variation in how these are adapted and embedded to meet the specific needs of a community.

SEND support is often about trial and error, about getting it right for your school and really understanding the young people, families, and staff in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. If you as a governor can see that SEND learners are getting a good offer with what is being delivered and that all needs, of all children are being holistically met then that is success. A truly outstanding provision can be realised when: - all staff in a school not only believe in inclusion but are empowered to act upon this belief. - all are on board and are excited to take part in the journey and

Quality First Teaching (QFT) - all interventions work in unison to support long term progress - children and their families are fully participating in each step.

It really is about seeing the great impact of quality first teaching via knowledgeable and experienced staff and allowing all staff; leaders, teachers and support staff to be auditors of their own practice.

When a relevant curriculum is implemented that can be easily adapted to allow for all CYP to learn whilst also enabling the staff who deliver it to understand the needs of the CYP in their classroom then you’ve really hit the nail on the head.