SEND Toolkit for Governors 2023 (Large Font)

SEND Toolkit For Governors

Issue Date: October 2022

Edition 2: Reviewed May 2023

Updates (May 2023)

Page 15-16

• Training offers removed.

• Links to previous training materials and testimonials from Governors added

• Links to Effective Inclusive Practice Guide 2023 added

Page 62-63

• Further example questions that Ofsted may ask have been added

Page 65-68

• Case Study of good practice has been added

Page 72-74

• Glossary of terms has been updated

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.

*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

Communication and Interaction

• 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 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

Social Emotional and Mental Health

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.

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

Sensory and/or physical

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

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.

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.

What is the Local Offer?

What is the SEND Information Hub (KCC’s Local Offer?

(Sharon McLaughlin - SEND Engagement, Operations and Assurance Manager, KCC)

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, KCC)

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

The Education People hope to be able to offer further SEND Training for both SEND and Non-SEND Governors working in mainstream schools during the 2023/24 academic year. The current year’s training offer is being evaluated and, if future funding can be secured, the 2023/24 offer will, be published during the summer term.

Within this academic year, nearly 300 school governors (both SEND and non-SEND) have attended training with The Education People, which has been well received.

• Thank you for this training course. Both sessions, so far have been very useful. I love how you provide practical resources, go through them and in addition, give us time to reflect in small groups. Very informative evening yet again. Massive thanks to all involved.

• Really useful session and extremely beneficial for send governors. Love the linking to the toolkit and I have sent the toolkit link to all our governors to look through. Such a fabulous resource - thank you for putting together!

• The whole session has been very useful in clarifying and informing my understanding of the role of the SEND Governor. In particular, it has alerted me to the fact that all governors should be monitoring inclusion in the school. Talking to other governors in the breakout room was also very useful.

• This was an excellent training session. Lots of information to take in so all the resources and links are highly appreciated. Wellstructured and designed session with question breaks and breakout room.’

The Mainstream Core Standards is a document that should be 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.

Mainstream Core Standards - 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:

▪ Effective Inclusive Practice Guide 2023

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

All governors are governors of SEND and should consider those children and young people with additional needs in all strategic monitoring discussions & decisions.

SEND Governor

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

Senior Leader Inclusion

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

SENCO

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 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.

Teaching & Learning Lead

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

Learning Support Team

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.

Teaching staff

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.

Multi Agency Team

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 staff from the specialist teaching and learning service who can advise a school directly on the support required for an individual child or need.

Parents, carers, families

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?

(Alison

Is

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.

Chapter 2: Statutory Guidance and Countywide Support

Governance Handbook, Education

6.4.11 Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Governing Boards hold legal duties for SEND under The Children and Families Act 2014 and The Equality Act 2010 . These duties can be delegated to a committee, an individual governor or to the head teacher: although the responsibility is still with the governing body itself to ensure the strategic monitoring of these duties is in place

Boards must also have regard to SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years and the Duties apply across maintained schools, academies and free schools.

Legal responsibilities

Within the SEND Code of Practice, Legal duties are represented by ‘must’, whereas, ‘should’ represents best practice. Where this best practice is not implemented, this should be because alternative arrangements have been pursued leading to positive and secure outcomes for all young people.

The SEND Code of practice states:

3.66

... The school’s governing body must ensure that arrangements are in place in schools to support pupils at school with medical conditions and should ensure that school leaders consult health and social care professionals, pupils and parents to make sure that the needs of children with medical conditions are effectively supported.

6.3

There should be a member of the governing body or a sub-committee with specific oversight of the school’s arrangements for SEN and disability.

6.79

The governing bodies of maintained schools and maintained nursery schools and the proprietors of academy schools must publish information on their websites about the implementation of the governing body’s or the proprietor’s policy for pupils with SEN. The information published should be updated annually and any changes to the information occurring during the year should be updated as soon as possible.

6.97

It is for schools, as part of their normal budget planning, to determine their approach to using their resources to support the progress of pupils with SEN. The SENCO, headteacher and governing body or proprietor should establish a clear picture of the resources that are available to the school.

Additional Duties

In addition, your school has duties to comply with in order to ensure their SEND support is to a high standard, meeting the needs of all. Taken from the SEND Code of Practice, it is important for governors to monitor that your school is:

• co-operating with the local authority in reviewing the provision available locally (Ch 3) and developing the local offer (Ch 4);

• using best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEND receives the appropriate support this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEND (para 6.2);

• ensuring that children and young people with SEND engage in activities of the school alongside pupils who do not have SEND (para 6.2);

• ensuring the school inform parents when they are making special educational provision for a child (para 6.2);

• ensuring arrangements are in place in schools to support pupils at school with medical conditions (para 6.11).

Governing boards must also ensure the school:

• provides access to a broad and balanced curriculum (para 6.12);

• provides independent careers advice to all pupil’s year 8-13 (para 6.13);

• has a clear approach to identifying and responding to SEND (paras 6.64 – 6.51);

• provides an annual report for parents on their child’s progress (paras 6.64 – 6.51);

• records accurately and keep up to date the provision made for pupils with SEND (paras 6.52 – 6.58);

• publishes information on their website about the implementation of the board’s policy for pupils with SEND, the School SEND Information Report (paras 6.59 – 6.83);

• ensures that there is a qualified teacher designated as a SENCO for the school.

Finally, there should be an individual on the board or a committee with specific oversight of the school’s arrangements for SEND. School leaders should review regularly how expertise and resources used to address SEND can be used to build the quality of the whole-school provision as part of their approach to school improvement.

What Should be Published on the School’s Website?

A school’s website should reflect the ethos of the school, and when a school is fully inclusive SEND will run through all aspects of this intrinsically.

In terms of statutory guidance, a school is required to publish their SEND policy and SEND information report.

Both documents allow a school to demonstrate the support in place and SEND systems across the school and how all members of staff support all children. The best practice is when an information report presentation has been considered so that it is accessible for all to read, understand and process.

A good start to monitoring the effectiveness of your website compliance is to look at the documents published from a leader, inspectors, and parents’ point of view. Think about the content, the presentation and the level of understanding required. This will develop key discussions with SEND leaders.

For true collaboration and co-production to take place, it is important to have parents consulted when any new document is created and published:

• Does it contain the appropriate information?

• Is it accessible?

• Is it fit for purpose?

This can be done through a parent consultation group, forum or virtually and will build parental relationships.

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Report

You must also publish a report on your school’s policy for pupils with SEN. The report must comply with:

section 69(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014, regulation 51, schedule 1 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and

section 6 of the ‘Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years’ …’(SENCO responsibility)

The report should be shared with all the Governors. It is advisable to also have a SEND information report which outlines the school's provision for pupils with SEND and how the school will implement its SEND Policy. The report should also direct readers to the local offer and countywide support.

What should be included?

• Policies for identifying children and young people with SEND and how your school is assessing their needs

• Name and contact details of the SENCO (mainstream schools)

• Arrangements for consulting parents of children with SEND and involving them in their child’s education

• Arrangements for consulting CYP with SEN and involving them in their education

• Arrangements for assessing and reviewing CYPs’ progress towards outcomes.

• Arrangements for supporting CYP in moving between phases of education and in preparing for adulthood.

• The approach to QFT for SEND learners

• How adaptations are made to the curriculum and the learning environment of children and young people with SEND

• FAQ for anyone seeking specific information

• Make it personalised reflecting the ethos of your school

• The accessibility plans your governing body has written in compliance with paragraph 3 of schedule 10 to the Equality Act 2010’.

Countywide Support

There is a wealth of information available to you and your school from Kent County Council and as a governor, it is part of your role to monitor that the SEND leaders are investing in the support on offer across the county.

Within their written statement of action KCC have identified the priorities below.

1. Improve the way we work with parents, carers, children, and young people.

2. Ensure that families have positive experiences at each stage of their journey including a well-planned and smooth transition to adulthood.

3. Identify and assess children and young peoples’ needs earlier and more effectively.

4. Improve education, care and health outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

5. Ensure children and young people with SEND are included in their local community.

These priorities feed into the Countywide approach to education (CATIE) priorities

1. Establish clear expectations about what needs mainstream schools and settings will meet – Mainstream Core Standards and Early Years Standards.

2. Backing these expectations with a clear offer of capacity building support.

3. Engaging ‘system leaders’.

4. Ensure that schools and settings have access to an explicit offer of targeted inclusion support.

5. Ensure that education inclusion support is part of a broader, holistic and joined-up offer of support for young people’s care and health needs.

To support schools collaboratively in improving their inclusion offer and consistently working towards these priorities, KCC have a continuum of support available to all schools (see below). It is important to note that the core inclusive education delivery focuses on the everyday inclusion work in schools and the additional locally shared resource are those elements available to all schools, at no cost.

You will see that on this continuum there is an indication of movement from mainstream to specialist provision and vice versa. The countywide message demonstrates the vast offer of support available to schools, that young people do not need an EHCP to access this support and that schools can be fully inclusive. It also indicates that movement is positive; should a child be able to access a full and successful curriculum within a mainstream setting then they can move from a specialist placement.

Speak to SEND leaders in your school, the headteachers and SENCO and ask about the programs they are involved in, what they are yet to pursue, what the impact has been on the school & the next steps for development.

2022/23 current projects available for free to ALL mainstream schools:

• Countywide SENCO forums

• Whole school Nurture project

• Inclusive leaders of education

• Autism training with the Autism Education Trust

• Kent Supported Employment (Secondary only)

• Mainstream Core Standard courses for Middle leaders and teachers

• Governor SEND training modules

• Effective practice sharing via digital case studies

• Add in parental engagement work

In addition to these projects, there are professionals available to support the SENCO, school leaders and teachers in developing and securing their SEND offer and whole school strategic inclusion plan (see table below)

Use the KELSI website to look further into the range of support available to schools:

https://www.kelsi.org.uk/

You can also find information about the support and services available in a child’s area via the local offer:

https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educationalneeds

The Education People

A one stop shops for bespoke training, SEND reviews, SENCO support and whole school SEND development via a SEND specialist lead adviser (The Education People- Secondary School improvement) The Education people lead the countywide SENCO forums which can be accessed via registration on CPD online Countywide SENCO Forum Search and Book and lead the mainstream core standards training, e learning and governor training.

PEO

Your school will have a provision evaluation officer who monitor and evaluate the provision for individual children and young people with education health and care (EHC) plans and those with high needs funding to ensure that they are making appropriate progress towards meeting their identified outcomes.

STLS

Ensure that the SENCO is aware of who their PEO is and can build a relationship with them.

The Specialist Teaching and Learning Service support schools with specific areas of need and children. They can offer advice, guidance and training to support staff development. Your SENCO will have an STLS link to liaise with. STLS- Who to contact

The local inclusion forum teams are available for referrals from schools when despite full implementation of the mainstream core standards a child / young person is not making progress. A school can refer to the LIFT, discuss the case at a meeting and request further support LIFT on Kelsi

Education Psychology Service

This team specialises in promoting learning, development, emotional wellbeing and positive outcomes for children, young people and their families through consultations, advice, assessments, research, and evaluation.

Educational Psychology

PACT

Parents and Carers Together is a parent forum who support parents/ carers navigating the SEND world. They work with KCC on a range of policy implementation and SEND plans whilst providing families with support, advice, and guidance. Schools

IASK

can direct parents to this service via their website

https://www.kentpact.org.uk/

The Information Advice and Support Kent service give free impartial and confidential advice and support about SEND for practitioners, families, and young people.

https://www.iask.org.uk/

They also run a school SEND roadshow service that is advertised to SENCOS via the Countywide SENCO Forum – schools can invite the roadshow along to events to speak to families and staff about the support on offer across the county.

To summarise, there is a vast offer across the county to support schools in not only meeting the statutory compliance for SEND but to also fully enhance their offer for SEND learners. When working together as the governing body, with schools’ leaders and SENCOS whether in formal meetings, monitoring visits or via the annual reports always consider the level to which your school is accessing the support on offer:

• Are you involved with the current KCC projects?

• Are you working in collaboration with external professionals?

• What support are you accessing outside of school to develop our SEND provision?

• If not, why not?

• If yes, how do you know it is having an impact?

Chapter 3: Collaborative Practice

It is a requirement that all schools should have either a member of the governing board, or a committee, with specific oversight of the school's arrangements for special educational needs and disability (SEND).

This is set out in the statutory SEND Code of Practice (92).

It is important to note that all leaders in school are leaders of SEND, as is true that all teachers are teachers of SEND. Everyone on your governing body is responsible for SEND with the allocated SEND governor having a more in-depth knowledge & understanding of the statutory guidance and inclusive practice.

As a SEND governor you should be supported to understand the statutory guidance and compliance but, just as important is fully understanding your school environment.

A vital part of developing your practice, if you are a specific SEND governor, is to build strong and effective relationships with the SENCO or SEND leader.

Governors have a legal obligation to ensure that a school has a qualified SENCO in post and: where they have not previously been in their current post as SENCO before 1st September 2009, they must achieve a National Award in Special Educational Needs Co-ordination within three years of appointment. This must be a postgraduate course accredited by a recognised higher education (HE) provider.

A SEND governor will ensure that:

• the key responsibilities of SENCO are drawn up and monitor the effectiveness of the way the responsibilities are carried out against

a list of illustrative activities, as described in SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (para 6.84 – 6.94);

• the SENCO has sufficient time and resources to carry out their role effectively.

Monitor that your SENCO is outward thinking and liaising with other SENCOS, leaders and professionals. One way to do this is to attend the Countywide SENCO Forums (SENCOs can register by clicking on this link Schools CPD Online- The Education People and searching for ‘Countywide SENCO Forum) and the local inclusion forums.

Understanding Your School, Your Role and the SENCO

It is often interesting to pause and think about whether you can answer this first question honestly and fully: is your school a genuinely inclusive environment? The answer is often ‘yes’, however the more specific question is How do you know that your school is a genuinely inclusive environment?

In any conversation whether it be with other governors, school leaders or the SENCO it is important to strategically challenge with the question ‘how do you know this is the case?’ The answer to this question will not only provide the answers needed during the monitoring processes but ensure that all parties invested in the progress of inclusion across the school can really explain their intent, implementation and above all the impact of what has been done. When thinking about inclusion in your school ask yourself:

• What is the intent of SEND support in your school?

• How is inclusive practice implemented consistently across your school and how are staff supported to do this?

• How has the curriculum been adapted for SEND learners and how is it ambitious for all?

• How is the impact of inclusion measured and demonstrated by all stakeholders?

Why is a SEND Governor Needed?

The governing body is essential, and, on the board, the allocated SEND governor is a vital role to ensure that SEND stays on the agenda in all discussions so that key links can be addressed to teaching and learning, curriculum, schools process and safeguarding. The SEND governor also provides a significant and important link between the governing team and the inclusion team within a school.

The SEND governor will champion the inclusion team and have strategic oversight of the schools’ arrangements when planning for and meeting the needs of SEND learners.

What Skills and Experience are Required and/or Helpful?

The role of a school governor can be at times challenging and overwhelming, but it is also a great role in that you can really develop your knowledge of different areas to make a great impact. Some important considerations would be:

• an interest in all aspects of school life and in particular SEND when the allocated governor

• confident communication skills to be able to feedback to the governing body both verbally and in written reports

• good time commitment to invest in school life, understand processes, systems and the staff within them

• an energetic and enthusiastic approach

• an interest in supporting the ongoing development of specific key areas in a strategic capacity.

What is the Key Purpose of the Role?

There are a range of legal duties a governor has when acting as the SEND allocated member of the board. Alongside the governing body and the leadership team, and in particular with the headteacher, you will monitor the school’s policies and approaches to meeting the needs of SEND learners. You are in a key position to strategically oversee how systems are working, how they are being implemented and what the impact is.

More specifically, a governing body has a legal duty to monitor:

• all appropriate access arrangements that are in place

• the effectiveness of the SEND leaders so that assessment monitoring and evaluation processes are robust for all children

• that all teaching staff are aware of SEND needs and carry out their teaching & learning to a high standard

• that all SEND learners have access to a wide range of extracurricular activities and are fully involved in the school community

• that involvement from families is genuine demonstrating strong co production and collaboration

• that the SEND code of practice is followed robustly

• the implementation of the SEND policy is secure and to ensure the annual report reflects the impact of resources on SEND learners.

For you as a SEND allocated governor to fulfil these duties, you will need to invest in developing and keeping abreast of your awareness of the SEND provision in your school. You need to:

• Be aware of how the SEND provision is led and who holds responsibility for its operational management

• Keep on top of your own knowledge of the national and countywide SEND picture

• Have a plan to meet the school SEND leader / SENCO on a regular basis with meetings that are clearly planned and specific

• Discuss SEND across all agenda with the governing body to create a clear link running through all school decisions

• Liaise with the families as much as possible to create a relatable and approachable link (use the activity planner in the next section)

The SENCO as a School Leader

Each school has a different structure to their leadership model and in some school’s a SENCO may sit on the middle leadership team, whilst in others their role is combined with additional duties as a senior leader.

The SEND Code of Practice

6.87 states that:

“The SENCo has an important role to play… in determining the strategic development of the SEN policy and provision in the school. They will be most effective in that role if they are part of the school leadership team.”

In your school, your SEND leader has a range of responsibilities such as identifying, assessing, tracking, monitoring, and improving learner’s outcome. This is on a whole school level and a SENCO will support all staff to meet the high level of standards required to secure outstanding inclusive provision.

Therefore, in discussions, if not in place already, a SEND leader should be considered to be on the leadership team and sitting within this team will develop not only their strategic leadership skills but allow them to contribute to the wider school outcomes; linking with leaders of all areas and ensuring that SEND interweaves through every element. A SENCO

on leadership or as an associate leader will also in turn develop the understanding of the whole team in the strive for every leader to be a leader of SEND whilst being the strategic lead for every teacher becoming a knowledgeable and confident leader of SEND.

Building Positive Relationships

Building a positive working relationship with the SENCO and school leaders is a great start in your role as SEND governor. This will ensure that communication is regular and effective, and that impact can be made. To keep up to date with the fast-paced inclusion world, it is recommended to meet with the SENCO at least once per term to monitor how the SEND plans, policy and provision are being implemented.

Your Role is Strategic and Not Operational

You are there to challenge school leaders to demonstrate what is happening in your school and how the SEND policy is being implemented whilst having an impact on the children and young people.

There are a range of different topics you may wish to discuss with the SENCO and/or school leaders during your discussions such as:

• Identification, assessment and tracking of children with additional needs

• Progress against SEND policy and development plan and statutory duties

• Staff training, arrangements and use of resources

• Adapting the curriculum yet ensuring challenge for all

• Preparation for adulthood

• Liaison with all stakeholders: external agencies, parents, Specialist services

In the next chapter you will find templates to support you in our role across the academic year when meeting with school leaders and ensuring you make the most of your time with the SEND team.

Chapter 4: Targeted Monitoring

Planning for the best use of your time is key to a strategic approach which in turn will have an impact upon the school you’re supporting.

The first step in your monitoring plan is to think about a rolling programme for across the academic year. What will you do in each term, what might the focus be and how will you do this? Below is an example of a 2-year rolling programme for the monitoring, review, and evaluation of SEND with a link to a downloadable version which can be adapted.

Term 1 & 2

Mainstream core standard focus in monitoring meetings: statutory compliance, families, staff, teaching & learning, transition

Reconfirm visits for the year and complete governor event calendar

Annual update of the SEND policy, accessibility policy and equality plan.

Term 3 & 4

Mainstream core standard focus in monitoring meetings: Assessment, Teaching & learning, resources Review the IDSR and ASP date re SEND (attainment, progress and SEND) with the SENCO Discuss effectiveness of established interventions

Term 5 & 6

Mainstream core standard focus in monitoring meetings: Pastoral, Transition, staff

Discuss the school SEND profile: high needs funding, number of EHCP and SEND on roll. Number of statutory assessments in progress. Discuss movement on and from the SEND register

Agenda on governing body: Reflect on progress towards SEND information report: successes and next steps

Reflect on School

SEND profile: numbers of EHCP, K code SEND support and learners across categories i.e., SEND and PP

Consider SENCO workload: ensure link with teaching and learning & capacity to strategically lead SEND – statutory, working with families, staff support, CPD etc…

Consider parent satisfaction evidence and work with families

Visit classrooms to develop understanding of how needs of SEND learners are met

Note staff training has taken place and what needs to be planned

Discuss a selection of provision plans and SEND case studies (anonymous) including working with families & other stakeholders

Be aware of the allocation of funds across the academic year and how it will be used for most impact (high needs funding)

Discuss any local authority reports (from allocated

Secondary: confirm Y8-Y13 are in receipt of independent careers advice and that the SENCO is liaising with careers lead & inviting to EHCP meetings

Discuss SEND profile on the school improvement plan –discuss any concerns i.e., resources, budget, staffing, time. Discuss transition plans in process (see new framework for transitions): how the school is managing the post 16 transitions and planning for new year 7 cohort

Discuss any local authority reports (from allocated SEND adviser previously PEO)

Identify what KCC project the school has signed up to (free funded via the local offer)

Agenda for meeting: written of verbal SEND report to governors

SEND adviser previously PEO)

Discuss SEND annual report and arrange as an agenda item at governor meeting

Agenda for meeting: written of verbal SEND report to governors

Identify possible registration for KCC SEND projects for the next academic year (free funded via the local offer)

Agenda for meeting: written of verbal SEND report to governors

SEND Governor: Rolling Programme of Monitoring (Example) –Download PDF

Once you have a clear vision for the academic year; you can then think about planning for your monitoring meetings with the SENCO and leaders.

During your time in school, you will meet the SENCO many times and the best meetings are had when each individual feels valued, knowledgeable and well informed on what will happen. Think carefully about how to plan for these meetings so that they are productive, valuable, and targeted whilst retaining a positive working relationship with all involved.

Some key considerations in organising the SEND monitoring meetings:

• At the beginning of an academic year, in collaboration with the SENCO, allocate diary times well in advance for every term. This way you will both be well prepared in advance and have key slots to aim for when preparing for the effective use of time.

• Try where possible to stick to these meeting times and have a clear agreement on how long they will last

• To focus the meetings and avoid digression, have a brief set agenda for each of the meetings which can be followed up with a key focus or key questions you wish to discuss. This will allow the SENCO to prepare and have everything to hand to share with you

• Keep to this allocated agenda but make a note of other topic areas that arise and plan to address this outside of the meeting informally or add to the next agenda if needed.

• Record what is said in the meetings, what outcomes have arisen, what actions are needed and who will be doing these / when / how. You will see an example of this in the sections below to help you

• Always have a point to the meeting – follow up any discussions with an email or create a platform for discussion/ action i.e., an agenda item on a governors meeting.

Every SEND department will have an action or development plan and during the monitoring meetings it may also be a good idea to have a standing agenda item to catch up on where things are:

Action- Do you have an action plan (or similar)? What have you put in place for each target and how do you know they're working?

Template for Taking Targeted Notes in Meetings

Targeted Notes Template – Download

School Header

Meeting Date

Staff Agenda Link to agenda

School Event Calendar

There will be some key events across the academic year that benefit from your attendance as a governor, and as a SEND lead governor. It is always best for you to be aware of these in advance so that you can plan your diary but also feel prepared for any involvement you may have.

It is great to see governors involved with parent events by having a presence at forums and SEND consultation sessions; this really supports a school’s inclusive vision and communicates a key message to stake holders: that this school really cares about the development of our inclusive practice and caring for our young people

Example Event Planner

SEND Governor Event Calendar (Template): Download

Spring Summer

Now for the most important and hopefully helpful part of this section: what should I ask?

Initially, there seem to be a minefield of questions but it is about targeting these carefully and thinking about what information you will need, the when’s and how’s.

The most important question through all of your meetings needs to be, as previously mentioned, ‘how do you know this is the case?’

Questions in Line with the MCS

When thinking about asking the right questions to seek useful information, reflect on the mainstream core standards where possible so that you have a clear idea as to what extent the school is meeting the different areas. This allows a leadership and SEND team to be reflective on current processes and enables them to focus on the improvements that need to be implemented to fully support the whole child, holistically, on a consistent basis.

Monitoring Meeting Template

Monitoring Meeting (Template) – Download PDF

Key Question: How do you know?

Core Standard Question Notes / Actions

Assessment

What does the progress and attainment of pupils with SEND compared to that of their peers?

How many pupils are on the SEND register? How is this monitored?

What are the identification and assessments processes and are these having an impact?

What support do you need from the Governing Body to help pupils with SEND make better progress? How support and intervention strategies are being monitored and evaluated and what the evidence suggests?

Teaching and Learning

How are you liaising with the teaching & leading lead to support QFT for all? (link with curriculum)

What is the quality of teaching like for pupils with SEN across the school? (link with curriculum)

How are the needs of pupils with SEND communicated to teachers?

Environment

(physical & virtual)

Are these needs met within the classroom?

Does feedback from SEND learning walks feed into targeted Teaching and learning CPD?

How do you know the mainstream core standards are being implemented in the classroom?

How well are reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils being made?

How inclusive is your school? How do you know? What information has been published on the school website? Is it accurate? Does it reflect the school’s ethos?

Is the school’s SEND information report engaging and reflective of in school support?

Resources

Are resources in the department effective in meeting the needs of learners? If not, what further resource do you require and why?

What links have been made with external

Staff

agencies? Are these effective?

What funding does the school receive for SEN? Have High needs funding applications been completed where necessary?

Kent council have a variety of free projects on offer to improve inclusion; what are you involved in?

Do you know the SENCO? What training have staff had on SEND?

To the SENCO: Is there training you need to help you fulfil your role? Is there enough time to manage the role?

How are teaching assistants deployed and with what impact?

Is there a process for staff to be able to seek support easily when working with SEND pupils?

Transition

What transition arrangements are in place for pupils with SEN?

What links have been made with primary / Secondary for transition?

Families

Is there a strong link between the SEND team and careers for post 16 transition?

Reflect on the new SEND transition charter - is the school meeting deadlines and do they have a robust system in place?

Kent Transition Charter

How are children, young people and parents/carers of pupils with SEND involved in the processes?

What parent/carer feedback do you have regarding SEND provision in the school?

What do SEND learners say about their experiences in school?

How effectively parents/carers are being engaged and communicated with? Is there a forum for families?

Have parents/carers been considered when designing documents such as the information report? Reader friendly, accessible, consultations?

Pastoral

How do the attendance rates for pupils with SEND compare to their peers? What are the exclusion rates for pupils with and without SEN?

Are young people with SEND fully involved with the school community?

Do pupils with SEND access a wide range of extra-curricular activities?

Do pupils with SEND feel safe in the school environment? (Link for safeguarding)

Top Tips for Visiting Lessons

As part of your role, in terms 3 & 4, you will visit lessons to look at the inclusivity of the classroom environment and teaching approach.

• Think about the environment.

• OFSTED will focus on the lowest 20% - look at books, think about adaptations being made and speak to the learners.

• Ask key questions: What are you learning? What did you do before? How do you know you are making progress?

Chapter 5: Effective Reporting

As you will have gathered moving through this handbook, one of the most important roles for any governor is to hold leaders to account across the school year so they are securing positive outcomes for all learners including those with SEND. Through regular communication, personal professional development, key monitoring meetings across the year and collaboration with all stakeholders including families and young people, you should feel confident in being able to provide regular updates to the governing body.

There is also the annual report to governors to consider and through your monitoring across the year and holding to account the SENCO, they should feel able to present a clear and purposeful report detailing the impact of the school’s SEND policy on the outcomes of children, holistically, across all areas. This annual report can be presented in different ways but there are many excellent templates available to support the SENCO:

https://nasen.org.uk/resources/send-report-governors-template https://schoolgovernors.thekeysupport.com/curriculum-andpupils/pastoral-care/send-provision/reporting-to-governors-on-senprovision/

What Should You Expect to See in a SEND Annual Report?

An annual report is a great way to celebrate the strengths & achievement of the school whilst presenting the evidence and impact. It should also provide a platform to formalise the areas for development and the opportunities that are available to combat these concerns. An ideal time for the annual report is in the summer term. At this point the SENCO and school leaders will be in a great position to pull together outcomes from monitoring meetings, teaching & learning and progress across the year whilst discussing key priorities ready for the next

academic year. These key priorities can then form the basis for the new monitoring process cycle.

SEND Annual Report Reflection Sheet (Download PDF)

Suggested Contents

An overview of the quality of provision across the year

Include a succinct overview of the year and include key details to highlight & share:

• The quality of the curriculum for SEND learners and impact of Quality First Teaching for all

• The implementation and monitoring of the mainstream core standards

• Pastoral outcome for SEND pupils

• Holistic development: personal, social, and moral for SEND pupils

• Evaluation of the leadership of SEND & every leader a leader of SEND / every teacher a teacher of SEND.

• Implementation of mainstream core standards

Further detail can then be added in other sections

SEND register status

Include a brief overview of the SEND landscape within the school e.g., % of EHCP/K/SEND register with year-on-year trends. It is also a great idea to show the % of overlap with SEND from EAL/LAC/PP etc Think about local and national comparisons to demonstrate the levels of need in school and then break down the four areas of need to indicate key areas for consideration:

• communication and interaction

Progress & Attainment

• cognition and learning

• social emotional and mental health

• sensory and physical.

When developing this area think about data holistically for all learners with SEND and demonstrate improvement / areas for development across all areas. There could also be a couple of anonymised case studies to demonstrate the impact of your provision on the individual progress and attainment of key individuals

The data can be both quantitative and qualitative and could include:

• Subject progress data

• Attendance data

• Behaviour monitoring

• Participation data

• Family engagement data

• Feedback from parents, teachers, learners

• Local authority feedback

Identification & Assessment

Include the schools’ processes for identification and assessment with brief reference to number of assessments, resources used and impact. The SENCO could also briefly include the improvement in teacher engagement with identifying need and how this is followed up and pursued by the SEND team.

Accessibility update

A section to detail any amendments to the school’s accessibility arrangements with any updates necessary.

Reference could be made to the date annual update of policy was completed.

Funding update

An update on funding details how the school has used the notional budget to its best endeavours and where needed, how high needs funding applications has provided additional support for those young people needing more than what is normally provided. It could include:

• Details of SEND funding and high needs applications – value for money

• The variation in funding year on year

• How funding had impacted upon the development of inclusion for the school

• What the impact of any additional funding had been

• Funding plans for the next academic year and any funding concerns

Staff development

Describe the CPD plans for all staff (leaders, teachers, TAS, support staff), who has received what training and how and what the impact has been for the school. Think about:

• Mentoring and coaching

• Internal CPD

• External webinars, training and visits

• KCC countywide projects

• Academy / across school peer reviews

• Mainstream core standards development

• External professional support

Team around the children

This section would reflect the opportunities taken to ensure key collaboration and communication with all stakeholders, including families, external agencies, and local authority support. It clearly allows a SENCO to express:

• How the school’s partnership and collaboration with parents has impacted upon the outcomes for SEND learners

• How the level of support from external professionals has had an impact upon provision

SWOT

From the SEND development plan and through regular monitoring meetings a SENCO should be able to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Articulating these clearly within the report including:

• Key celebrations and outcomes

• Specific areas for development over the next academic year

• Strategic planning on how to implement these developments and actions to be taken

What Should I Expect to See in the Headteachers Report to Governors?

This is a strategic report and will include all the key information that everyone on the governing body requires. It will focus on the priorities of your school and contain information you, as a board, have requested.

The governance handbooks states https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook:

“a board will need to see information relating to the priorities it has identified for improvement.”

This might include data on:

• pupil learning and progress

• pupil literacy and numeracy

• pupil applications, admissions, attendance, and exclusions

• staff deployment, absence, recruitment, retention, morale and performance

• quality of teaching.

Whilst there is no set list of topics or statutory layout for the head teacher report, the best practice when focusing on a fully inclusive school is to be sure that SEND is woven into all sections of the report.

You want to see the learning progress of ALL pupils and the attendance of ALL for example. This really demonstrates that all learners in the care of the school are fully included across all platforms.

Preparing for OFSTED

Responsibilities of the SEND Governor and Ofsted (Siobhan Price - Education Officer- Mainstream Inclusion, KCC)

It is important to note that OFSTED do not give separate grades for SEND provision in schools however, the evidence they gather on SEND will inform judgements in other areas. Therefore, it is vital that you challenge your school on being fully inclusive across all areas whether that be the quality of education, leadership, or behaviours & attitudes.

Inspectors will focus on gathering the information you have been monitoring and challenging across the year and could ask any of the following questions.

Are ambitious and aspirational curriculums set for all learners?

• How are SEND needs identified, assessed, and monitored?

• How is the curriculum adapted to support SEND learners whilst continuing to be fully ambitious?

• How are families involved in supporting their child through co-production and collaboration?

• Are SEND children included in the whole school community?

• Is the appropriateness of provision assessed on the learning and development of SEND pupils?

• Are young people prepared for life after school, adulthood, and successful post 16 transitions?

Evidence will be gathered via a range of methods; looking at provision maps, visiting classes, looking at books and identifying points in key SEND documents. Inspectors focus on triangulating evidence with all members of staff, leaders, teachers, and support staff. It is always good practice to have key case studies to share with inspectors, as with the governor annual report and below you will see some questions that ANY governor could be asked about SEND pupils. The key is to be prepared: ensure all governors on the board understand the current processes and as a SEND link governor that you take the responsibility of putting SEND onto all agendas. Create a fully inclusive and prepared school by remembering ‘all governors are governors of SEND’

Example questions Ofsted Inspectors may ask:

• Identification - Outline how you identify pupils with SEND (how does this relate to national figures - above / below…?  Could you be over / under identifying?  What is your rationale?)

• Adulthood - How do you make sure that pupils with SEN and/or disabilities are prepared for the next stage of education, training or employment?

• Curriculum - How do you make sure that children with SEN and/or disabilities have a broad and balanced curriculum?

• Safeguarding - How do pupils with SEN and/or disabilities access this part of your curriculum which relates to safeguarding (mental health, CE, extremism etc? [SEND pupils often more vulnerable]

• Role of SENCo - What involvement has the SENCO had with implementing the curriculum for pupils with SEN and/or disabilities. What are your next steps?

• Interventions - How successful are your intervention groups inReading, Writing, Maths. And what impact are these having?

• Graduated approaches - Understanding of Graduated Approach to adapt curriculum with ambition and how embedded it is across the school.

• Training - What SEN training/support do your teachers/TA’s receive? How do you know that they are acting on the training they’ve received?

• Attendance and exclusions - What are the attendance and persistent absence figures for pupils with SEN and/or disabilities? How do you monitor this and what do you do with this information? What impact has this had on improving the attendance/punctuality of any particular pupils or groups you’ve had concerns about? What are the suspension and exclusion figures for pupils with SEN and/or disabilities? How do you monitor this and what do you do with this information?

• Co-production - Explore co-production in connection to the drawing up and review of EHCs.

Chapter 6: School Case Studies

A key question is often ‘so, what makes good SEND provision?’ The answer is to have a solution focused approach when thinking about your intention for your SEND provision, how this will be implemented and how you will monitor the impact.

Get to know your community and your families & young people and ensure that provision is targeted in a specific way so that every child and young person has access to the best support, at the right time.

The best SEND support embodies the following areas:

1. Clear referral, assessment, and monitoring systems

2. Coordinated provision with collaboration from a knowledgeable team both internally and externally

3. Forward thinking and outward thinking school team

4. Timely and effective interventions that are evidence based

5. Continuous development of expertise – investing in the SEND development of teachers and teaching assistants

6. Creative use of resources and funding for maximum impact

7. A range of monitoring systems that are robust and consistent

8. Always asking ‘how do I know this is having an impact?’

9. Genuine co production and collaboration with families

10. Working with teams to develop strong quality first teaching for all

11. SEND leadership as a priority for whole school development

12. Honesty and transparency to be able to celebrate successes and seek support when needed

We will be collecting several case studies below as an insight into how leaders, SENCos and governors are working together in the best interests of the young people they support to provide robust, comprehensive and effective provision for all children. Though our case

studies do not appear in this version of the SEND Toolkit for Governors, they will be uploaded to the online version very soon so watch this space. We will send out an email when the updated version of the toolkit is published.

Case Study: Governor Involvement in SEND Strategic Planning

School Name: Valley Invicta Academies Trust (this case study will draw on the relationships and processes that have been developed by the VIAT. However, the themes that run through the case study are universal and not specific to what can be achieved only by an Academy Trust).

Phase: Secondary and primary

Key Area of Need: Across the nine schools within VIAT, four of the primary schools include Specialist Resource Provisions (SRPs) for pupils with EHCPs and a primary need of autistic spectrum condition (ASC). Across the Trust, the key areas of SEN identified in the SEN Registers for each school are Communication and Interaction (ASC and Speech Language and Communication Needs), Social Emotional and Mental Health difficulties and moderate learning difficulties.

Mainstream Core Standard Focus of Case Study

Embedding governor involvement in strategic planning to develop cohesion, confidence and consistency.

How Was the Concern Identified?

SEND is a key area of focus for the Valley Invicta Academy Trust and is one the three Trust-wide priorities to ensure a close focus on this in all of the schools. To develop this further, what was needed was a way in which they could develop their governing body to support and challenge the inclusion agenda within their schools. VIAT have used their ‘School Standards and Improvements Committee’ meetings, made up of Governors and Senior Leaders to develop ways to share Case Studies and information relating to the key priority areas across the Trust, and

this has included individual Case Studies relating to areas of practice and need types within the schools.

How Did You Implement the Provision to Support the Concern Identified?

As mentioned, the ‘School Standards and Improvements Committee’ was created to enable the sharing of case studies and learning across the Trust. Governors are given time to learn from one another and share their own experiences. Templates were created to allow for case studies to be created in a consistent manner and good practice shared. If your school isn’t part of an Academy Trust, this type of case study gathering and sharing could happen within your governing body. For example, the SEND Link Governor, could work with the SENCO to create a case study outlining how marking and feedback is moderated for children on the SEND Register.

To support the learning from these case studies, VIAT governors are also taking part in a CPD Pathway which has been designed to empower and build confidence. Asking the right questions and challenging in a supportive manner are two massively important skills that are developed as governors move along this pathway. Confidence often comes with knowledge of a subject and this is also central to the school’s CPD pathway for governors, providing National, Countywide, Trust-wide and school-wide context.

Following focused review and sharing of SEN Case Studies in the SSIC Meetings, schools organise focused Local School Board governor visit days in their own schools to help their governors to engage more directly with the information shared across the Trust and apply it to find out more about practices and ask challenging questions about the context and focus for SEN in their school. The Governor Visit days include opportunities for learning walks, observations and pupil voice interactions as well as presentations and discussion/ questions with the SENCO and SEN teams.

The Link SEN Governor will also meet with the school SENCO twice a year and use the Trust Local School Board toolkit feedback forms to help focus questions. Their reports are then shared at Local School Board meetings.

Impact - How Do You Know What You Did Worked?

The Trust have created governor feedback surveys and evaluate the training they deliver. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive thus far. Feedback from governors regarding their visits suggest that they are also getting more out of their direct interactions and observations, the information- data and reports that are shared with them in meetings is now more meaningful as they have a deeper understanding of the context and practices around SEN. The use of SEND and inclusion specific language within meetings and moderation sessions also evidences that the training that has been provided is being taken on board and providing governors with the confidence they need to use such language.

What Is Your School Doing to Support All Staff to Embed Your Good Practice and the Mainstream Core Standards? How

Has This Support Impacted Whole School Inclusion?

By upskilling governors of all schools across the Trust, learning and messaging is becoming more consistent. If feedback is delivered in a consistent manner then skills gaps or knowledge gaps can also be identified consistently, allowing for a whole school, or in this case Trust, approach to delivering CPD. Strengths are also identified in a consistent manner meaning that learning can be shared from one environment to another. Consistency as a theme is not just something that fits into this Trust model but can also fit within other models too. By sharing good practice and creating an approach that supports all children’s learning, as a governing body, governors can make a strategic difference to their school.

What Are Your Plans For Future Development?

VIAT have started by providing CPD for all governors but are now looking at how their SEND specific governors can work together to support and challenge their schools. As such, the SEND governors will shortly be coming together to take part in action research projects to enable them to work together to deepen their understanding and share information about challenges that the schools across the Trust are currently focusing on, eg the recruitment of effective support staff into specialist support roles. This proactive approach to governance is built on the CPD that has already taken place and, again, can be remodelled to fit any size of governing body.

VIAT have also spoken about how they will look to incorporate the new SEND Governor Toolkit into the work they are doing. Though the Trust has a similar document in place, they will be looking at how the local authority funded document can back up the work they are doing.

Chapter 7: Frequently Asked Questions

“How do I know that the mainstream core standards are being fully implemented?”

There is no countywide document to monitor the implementation and impact of the mainstream core standards although training over the next academic year will further support this. When monitoring the impact of standards consider:

• Data: attendance, pastoral, outcomes, and exclusion for SEND

• The school’s understanding of the KCC context and continuum of support

• Families feedback on SEND provision

• Feedback from the Teaching and learning lead with regards to quality first teaching for all

• Curriculum adaptations: aspirational and ambitious for all

• Identification, assessment and monitoring processes

“What is Quality First Teaching?”

This is when teaching and learning focuses on high quality, inclusive teaching for all learners in the classroom. It is about engaging all learners in an ambitious curriculum, scaffolding tasks, and having clear successful outcomes.

It is a term that is widely used to describe high quality teaching. Below is a link to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), a predecessor to the Department for Education (DfE), guide to personalised learning. The term QFT came out of this publication and, although this document is now archived, it sets out clearly the key characteristics of QFT as:

• Highly focused lesson design with sharp objectives

• High demands of pupil involvement and engagement with their learning

• High levels of interaction for all pupils

• Appropriate use of questioning, modelling and explaining on the part of the teacher.

• An emphasis on learning through dialogue, with regular opportunities for pupils to talk both individually and in groups.

• An expectation that pupils will accept responsibility for their own learning and work independently.

• Regular use of encouragement and authentic praise to engage and motivate pupils

“Are printed copies of the Mainstream Core Standards document available? Would be helpful for day-to-day reference for teachers and TA’s?”

The mainstream core standards are available as a printable PDF however, schools generally distribute these on their shared drives alongside any supportive CPD for easy access to specific parts of the standards

“Is there anywhere we can go that helps to understand where the directives are coming from and what the difficulties are?”

The Written Statement of Action was developed following the Local Area OFSTED/ CQC inspection in 2019. Information relating to this can be found by clicking here. In response to the Written Statement of Action, the local area has developed a SEND Improvement Programme with a significant Inclusion workstream. Information relating to this workstream, and the work ongoing can be found on KELSI by clicking here.

“I see that the Mainstream Core Standards are branded as KCC, are they also used in Medway?”

The Mainstream Core Standards (MCS) were developed for Kent mainstream schools, those within the jurisdiction of Kent County Council. Medway Council is a unitary council and therefore directives to schools and education settings are separate.

“When does a school need to apply for top up funding? Can they apply and get the top up later in the year or does it have to be applied for at the start of the year only?”

Schools can apply for High Needs Funding at any time in the academic year when the cost of special educational provision for an individual CYP exceeds £6000. The link to guidance on High Needs Funding on Kelsi is below: High Needs Funding link.

Chapter 8: Glossary of Terms

The National Governance Association has produced a glossary to help governors to navigate the world of education and the large number of abbreviations used. You can find it by click on the link below.

https://www.nga.org.uk/Glossary.aspx

For a quick reference Kent specific glossary of terms, the table below should help you with your understanding of the SEND abbreviations used often in many discussions, official documents, and training.

ANNUAL

REVIEW

Yearly review of an EHCP focusing on outcome, progress and suitability of provision

CAMHS Children and Adults Mental Health Service

CATIE Countywide Approach to Inclusive Education

Children and Families Act

2014

An act that brings together lots of different areas of law that affect children, especially vulnerable children, and codifies how they are protected in law.

CLA/LAC Child looked after / Looked After Child

CoP Code of Practice

Early Help Taking action to support a child or young person as soon as a concern emerges

EHCNA Education Health Care Needs Assessment

EHCP Education Health & Care Plan

EHE Elective Home Education

EOTAS Education Other Than At School

HNF High Needs Funding

IASK Information Advice and Support Kent

IEP Individual Education Plan

K Learners are allocated a ‘K’ code on the SEND register indicating SEND support is required

KELSI Kent Education Learning and Skills Information –a website containing all educational support services across the county

LIFT Local Inclusion Forum Teams

Local offer A platform to give families and young people information regarding service available in their area

MCS Mainstream Core Standards

Must What schools must do - compliance

PACT Parent and Carers Together (link to website)

Portage A home visiting educational service for pre school children

Reasonable adjustments A change that must be made to remove or reduce a disadvantage an individual with SEND may have

SALT Speech and Language Therapy

SENCO/INCO Special Educational Needs Coordinator / Inclusion Coordinator

SEND Special Educational needs and Disabilities

SEND Information report

A report that outlines the school’s provision for SEND and how they will implement any SEND policy

SENIA Special Educational Needs Inclusion Adviser (formerly Placement Education Officer, PEO) Should Recommendations for best practice in schools

SRP Specialist Resource Provision

Statutory Guidance

Sets out what schools and local authorities must do to comply with the law

STLS Specialist Teacher and Learning Service

The Graduated approach

The Assess, Plan, Do, review process for supporting young people with SEND in schools

Transition Planning for the movement of a young person either through key stages or across significant points in school

Tribunal A hearing when parents / carers and/or young people to not agree with decisions made by the local authority

Chapter 9: Closing Message and Useful Links

We hope you feel that this guide is a supportive resource in developing your understanding of SEND as you fulfil your role as a school governor. Training offered across this academic year will work in conjunction with this resource and further support your understanding of the role whilst giving you the opportunity to discuss any key point or raise concerns.

We value your input into ensuring this resource meets requirements and fully supports your role and so please do email the Project Lead on Rory.Abbott@theeducationpeople.org if you feel any additional content would be of benefit.

Thank you for choosing to support your school and for taking an invested interest in the progress of SEND in Kent. We hope that you thoroughly enjoy the role and feel able to move forward confidently as you strategically monitor ongoing developments.

The Education People hope to be able to offer further SEND Training for both SEND and Non-SEND Governors working in mainstream schools during the 2023/24 academic year. The current year’s training offer is being evaluated and, if future funding can be secured, the 2023/24 offer will be published during the summer term.

Check Governor Hub for further updates or email Rory.Abbott@theeducatonpeople.org