School/Trust Leaders: The SEND Code of Practice - Putting Guidance into Practice

This blog is based on Judicium’s Safeguarding ‘Sofa Session’ from the 6th of June, with our resident expert Rik Chilvers. This session focused on the key steps to ensure you're compliant, how to create a whole-school culture of inclusion, and how to create opportunities that prepare children for adulthood.

Poll 1

SEND Action Plan

It is advisable that you draw up a SEND Action Plan. It’s your opportunity to review the state of the provision in your school or trust - from universal through to specialist - and to think carefully about how you want to move things forward. Your action plan should link closely with the priorities set out in your school or trust’s development plan in order to get buy-in from other leaders, which is crucial in effectively leading SEND.

Key steps to ensure you're compliant

Documents

There are two SEND-related documents that must be available on your website:

1. SEND Information Report
2. Equality Information and Objectives Statement.

Your Information Report must be reviewed annually (or after any substantive changes to your school's SEND provision).

Your Equality Information and Objectives Statement must be updated every four years but should be reviewed annually to ensure it reflects what is currently happening in your school or trust.

With this document in mind, it's worth thinking about whether you are making sufficient reasonable adjustments for children with SEND under the Equality Act. You should meet the needs of all children with SEND, whether they have an EHCP or not.

All schools have duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people. They must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services for disabled children, to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage. These duties are anticipatory – they require thought to be given in advance to what disabled children and young people might require and what adjustments might need to be made to prevent that disadvantage. Schools also have wider duties to prevent discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and to foster good relations.

Consider:

• Is your site accessible? If not, do you have a plan in place for how to make it accessible?
• Are appropriate safeguarding measures put in place for children with SEND?
• Are exam access arrangements in place for all years?
• Are your admissions procedures non-discriminatory to children with SEND?
• Are children with SEND able to access clubs and trips? Have you audited this?
• Does your behaviour policy allow children with SEMH (social, emotional and mental health needs e.g., ADHD) to thrive?

Review the SEND register

In the last term of the academic year, you are likely to be receiving your last data drop of the year. This will be your SENDCO's opportunity to identify whether there are children who's progress this year has not been as expected. If so, you may consider providing them with different or additional support next year. In which case, consider when and how you will inform their parents.

SEND Code of Practice - January 2015 - Schools, page 11

In our experience the best schools are those where there is a fluidity to their SEND register: it reflects the current needs of children. Therefore, at this point in the year you should be considering which children no longer need to be on the SEND register, i.e., they are not receiving provision which is different from or additional to their peers.

You may consider having an 'Additional Needs' register which captures children you are keeping a 'watchful eye' on but who do not need different or additional provision at this time.

EHCPs

Annual Reviews

Your SENDCO is likely wrapping up some final EHCP Annual Reviews in the last half-term of the academic year. Double check this year's Annual Reviews were completed for all children with EHCPs.

SEND Code of Practice - January 2015 - Schools, page 13

N.B. Remember outcomes on EHCPs (i.e., section E) should be SMART and provision (i.e., section F) should be detailed, specific and quantified. If you are welcoming new students to your school next year and are attending their annual reviews this half term, make sure you double check this.

EHCP Funding

Now is also a good opportunity to review the top-up funding you receive. Ask your SENDCO to draw up a costed provision map for your school and double check you are receiving the funding you need to deliver the provision listed in your children's EHCPs. If you aren't, consider challenging the local authority.

Preparing for Adulthood

It's also important schools are thinking about how they prepare children for adulthood (PfA).

SEND Code of Practice - January 2015 - Schools, page 5

From Year 9 onwards, children's EHCPs should include outcomes and associated provision to ensure that:

• they are prepared for higher education or employment,
• they are able to live independently,
• they can maintain good health by continuing to access health services,
• they are able to operate within the community (e.g., through transport/mobility support and confident social skills).

Key to the success of this focus on PfA will be ensuring that sections A (aspirations) and B (SEND) link directly to E (outcomes) and F (provision).

Putting children and their families in touch with local area services who can continue to advocate for and support them once they leave school is crucial.

How to create a whole-school culture of inclusion

Engage your governors

First and foremost, it's important your SENDCO has a good working relationship with your SEND governor/trustee. SEND should be something all governors and trustee are familiar and confident with. However, it's normal for there to be only one governor with responsibility for SEND.

Poll 2

The Code of Practice sets out the expectation your SEND governor should be meeting regularly with your SENDCO "to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010) with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements."

Governors should support you strategically by:

• advocating for you at governing body meetings
• supportively challenging your analysis of data (progress, attendance, behaviour)
• helping you foster strong community relationships
• aiding you in understanding the needs of staff and pupils

Curriculum

Continuing with the theme of utilising the knowledge and expertise of other members of staff, it's important you meet with curriculum leaders and leaders for teaching and learning before the summer so you can align your priorities together.

In Ofsted's Education Inspection Framework and their School Inspection Handbook, it's clear they view the curriculum as the heart of everything that happens in a school. They say that:

• Schools must be aspirational for learners with SEND and this should be driven by the curriculum they offer
• Careful assessment and planning mean it is impactful

Ofsted will want to see that children with SEND have access to the whole curriculum (and that this is worked towards even when they are offsite)

As this year draws to a close, now is the time for your SENDCO to work with heads of department or phase to review their curriculum maps and ensure they are designed so teachers can plan for children with SEND first rather than as an afterthought.

Training

Poll 3

The final tip is to review the CPD calendar for next year as soon as you can. Your SENDCO should have regular opportunities to deliver training to your staff.

It's crucial the training being delivered links to your school or trust's context. For example, if you have a high number of children with SEMH needs, training should focus on this. Similarly, if you have identified curriculum planning is an area of development for your school, your SENDCO should be delivering training jointly with curriculum leaders.

Judicium offer eLearning as part of our SEND service.

Key takeaways

1. Create a SEND Action Plan that links with your school's development plan
2. Ensure your SENDCO is meeting with other leaders to coordinate how the action plan will be delivered
3. Double check that your SENDCO has a meeting booked in with the SEND governor early next year
4. Ensure your SENDCO has plenty of opportunities to deliver training to your teachers
5. Ask your SENDCO to draw up a transition plan considering provision required for incoming students and changes to the SEND register

Additional Info

If you are interested in some more live SEND training why don't you check out what else we have coming up here.

What do Ofsted Look for when Inspecting for SEND Provision and Leadership?

If you require any SEND support in any of these steps or would like to talk to someone surrounding our SEND Support Service for your school, please do not hesitate to call us on 0345 548 7000 or email georgina.decosta@judicium.com

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If you’d like to review all of Judicium’s forthcoming sofa sessions please click here

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