The responsibility for students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) lies with everyone in a school. While a culture of joyous ownership is necessary, it can be undermined by unrealistic demands and a focus on accountability rather than support. Positive collaboration, inclusion, and celebrating successes are essential for fostering this ownership.
Tag Archives: parent partnership
Schools and families – do we want the same thing for our children with SEND?
Parents and teachers universally seek the best for children, yet dissatisfaction persists in schools, particularly regarding support for students with special educational needs. Surveys indicate rising complaints from parents, revealing divergent priorities between them and school staff. A collaborative approach is essential to ensure children’s diverse needs are met effectively.
School Transition for pupils with SEND – How Parents Can Support
A supportive partnership between home and school is essential for children with SEND, especially during school transitions. Schools face challenges managing transitions due to different settings and exam pressures. Parents can help by asking relevant questions and trusting the transition processes. The guide offers valuable advice and reassurance for navigating these unique challenges.
SEND provision and parents: Communicating the ‘Why’ that drives our ‘What’
The author reflects on the importance of informing and involving parents regarding SEND provisions in schools, emphasizing the need to communicate the rationale behind teaching practices. By sharing the “why” of educational methods, schools can foster understanding and collaboration with parents, ultimately enhancing support for students with special educational needs.
SEND strategies: live by them, or death by them?
Communication of pupil-level strategies is a fundamental part of the SENDCO role and is an essential part of a whole-school approach. So what is the way forward, in terms of individualised strategies, so that all children can thrive?
SENDCOs and SLT – is it really that simple?
It’s a popular refrain that SENDCOs should be on SLT. So, in order to ensure effective leadership of SEND, should schools be placing their SENDCO on SLT? I wonder if that’s not only over-simplistic as a solution – it may even be that we’re asking the wrong question in the first place.
The flex: reasonable adjustment in the classroom for pupils with SEND
When it comes to getting classroom teaching right for pupils with SEND, it isn’t always about funding. It isn’t always about having years and years of specialist SEND training. It’s about the flex.
SEND provision: Intelligent trial and error?
The SENDCO role in a mainstream school is invaluable, especially when supporting pupils with complex needs. External specialists can be equally as invaluable.
Are there times though when the presence of a specialist – the SENDCO, an Educational Psychologist – can delay teachers and TAs from making good decisions for pupils? In relation to the use of specialists within SEND, care must be taken to ensure colleagues are supported but not disempowered.
A signpost for SENDCOs
I’m about to publish my tenth SEND and SENDCO-related blog on another website, which I hope people here might find useful. I’ve therefore created one blogpost here, with links to the first 9.
SENDCOs: 12 questions you’ll want to think about before OFSTED arrive
Try out your answers to some of these with your line manager or a supportive colleague, so you can be as prepared as possible for the OFSTED call.
SEND Matters 