The Perfect SENCO

Natalie Packer, Jackie Beere

• Publisher: Independent Thinking Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781781351048
• eBook ISBN: 9781781351208
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Inclusive Education

The essential SENCO's guide for doing the job perfectly. Real education isn't about a race to the top of the class or the league table. It isn't about being better than anyone else or accumulating as many qualifications as you possibly can. It's about being helped to be the best you can possibly be by professionals who are skilled enough to know how to do it and compassionate enough to take the time to do it well. Nowhere is this philosophy more important than when it comes to supporting children with special educational needs and this book, commissioned for our Perfect Series by a SEN consultant with many years' experience, will help you achieve just that.

Chapter 1

The SENCO: centre stage for school improvement

‘We want to put in place a radically different system to support better life outcomes for young people; give parents confidence by giving them more control; and transfer power to professionals on the front line and to local communities.’1

How many new policies, ideas and initiatives have you experienced since you became a teacher or leader? Probably quite a few! No doubt a number of you will currently be witnessing the most significant national change in SEN since you became a SENCO (more on this below). Keeping up to date with the latest legislation and guidance is now more important than ever to ensure you can respond to the changes and make a successful transition from one system to another. In 2011, the government launched their SEN Green Paper, Support and Aspiration: A New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disability. A Consultation. The paper outlined their vision for improving the SEN system so that it works better for young people with special educational needs and their families. The aim is to achieve this through a focus on involving children, parents and young people in decision making more and providing greater choice and control for young people and parents over their support.

In 2012, the government published its response to the consultation on the Green Paper in Progress and Next Steps.2 The Children and Families Act3 followed in March 2014 to take forward the legislative proposals. Here is a brief summary of the key points relating to the relevant aspects of the legislation (Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014) and its associated regulations:

Local authorities to have regard to the views and wishes of children and young people and their families when making decisions about special educational needs, and involve them in the decision-making process.

Local authorites, health and social care to jointly commission services for children and young people with SEN and their families.

Local authorities to produce a ‘local offer’ of services available for supporting children with SEN and their families.

Statements replaced with a combined Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan which will run from birth to 25 years and focus on long-term outcomes.

Parents directly involved in the EHC plan assessment process and given the choice of more control of funding for support of their child’s needs through a personal budget.

School Action and School Action Plus replaced with a single, school-based category known as ‘SEN support’. Improved teacher training and professional development to include more focus on supporting pupils with SEN.

Provision of improved access to quality post-16 vocational and work-related learning options for young people with SEN.

A statutory duty placed on schools and other relevant organisations to publish SEN information on their website as a requirement of the new SEN and disability regulations.

A new Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice introduced (see below).

Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 Years

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 Years4 came into force in September 2014. The Code provides statutory guidance and advice on how to carry out statutory duties to identify, assess and make provision for children and young people’s SEN as set out in Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (and associated regulations). The Code also sets out how legislation and regulations concerning children and young people with disabilities works alongside this. Schools (including academies and free schools), further education (FE) colleges, sixth form colleges and early years providers must all have regard to the Code, as must a number of other organisations, including local authorities and NHS trusts (a full list is available in the Code of Practice). This means that, whenever relevant organisations are taking decisions regarding children and young people wi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Praise
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Foreword
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1: The SENCO: centre stage for school improvement
• 2: Leading the way: providing strategic direction and development
• 3: High quality SEN provision – all day, every day
• 4: Tracking and monitoring to raise achievement
• 5: Every teacher’s responsibility: developing your colleagues
• 6: Working in harmony: effective partnerships
• 7: Bringing it all together: self-evaluation and Ofsted
• Conclusion
• The perfect SENCO: quick checklist of key actions
• References and further reading
• Copyright