Academy trust boss Tom Rees will lead a new expert panel to oversee reforms to make mainstream schools more inclusive as part of the government’s plan to fix the broken system for pupils with special needs. Dame Christine Lenehan, the former director of the Council for Disabled Children, has also been appointed the government’s “strategic advisor” on SEND. She will advise ministers on the next steps for the future of SEND playing “a key role in engaging the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families”, the Department for Education said. Rees’ expert advisory group will advise ministers on improving mainstream education experiences for youngsters with SEND “so that all children feel like they belong”. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said while she “wants the best trusts to grow”, she “knows the current system incentivised some to adopt a competitive, rather than a collaborative model, and others to avoid more challenging communities”. “But that chase for a narrow shadow of excellence, the kind that only succeeds by pushing problems onto others, that ends now.” ‘Schools avoiding challenging kids ends now’ Speaking at the Confederation of School Trusts’ conference, Phillipson said: “With the support of trust leaders and CST we will move to an approach rooted in partnership, finding what works, ending what doesn鈥檛. “We want to create certainty for all children, parents and teachers in a core offer of education. I expect all schools regardless of type to support each other to drive a self-improving system.” Phillipson also revealed she鈥檚 bringing together 鈥渓eading neurodiversity experts, including those with lived experience鈥� to work in the Department for Education 鈥渢o understand how to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream鈥�. This would 鈥渉elp us to understand how to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream in a way that works for neurodivergent children and young people and will work closely with the NHS ADHD taskforce.鈥� The “neurodivergence task and finish group” will provide “an expert scientific view on identifying neurodivergent traits in children and young people” and make recommendations on the best way to support them in education, the DfE said. Membership of this panel and the expert advisory group will be announced “in due course”. Phillipson added: “We have to get this right. A comprehensive system of support from birth to age 25. The key to delivering all of this achieving and thriving for all our children is collaboration.” Concern 拢1bn SEND cash won’t reach kids Leora Cruddas, CST’s chief executive, said while they welcomed the extra 拢1 billion in high needs funding announced at the budget, “we are a bit worried the money won’t reach children and have lasting impact”. She said they are in discussions with DfE officials on the issue. In response, Phillipson said they are “determined to make sure that money goes out the door in terms of provision for children and families”. Government budget documents published last week stated councils will have 鈥渄iscretion鈥� on how they will spend the additional cash, but the Treasury predicts 鈥渋t is very likely that they will use the funding to reduce their in-year deficit鈥�. Pushed on when the sector might find out more detail on DfE’s SEND plans, Phillipson said it is a “really complex area”, adding: “I wouldn鈥檛 want to put a precise timeline around that because I think what matters most is that we get it right. “I understand the sense of impatience and the urgency and the need for change. But equally what I hear from families in particular is that the last thing they would want is… for any reform to not work in the long-term interests of their children.” Phillipson also confirmed that their pledge of 6,500 new teachers would be spread over the five years of parliament, as first revealed by Schools Week.
Dr Nicola Preston 10 November 2024 A framework that supports safe environments where the incentive is to build healthy partnerships to collectively identify the real issues, address the root causes and come to shared understanding is what has always been important. Whether it be education systems or criminal justice systems, the processes, often incentivised by funding, are the problem. In education this has led to more and more children and young people not fitting into the system and staff, parents/carers and support agencies frustrated by feeding the system rather than meeting the needs of children and young people. The evidence based version of the restorative practices framework does this but has also been diluted often through poor quality implementation in search of a 鈥榪uick fix鈥� .
JulesLt 14 November 2024 The problem with everything Bridget Philipson says is – like many politicians – she has decided the solution before the consultation. There is a refusal to accept there is no amount of staff training that can turn a 1500 capacity mainstream secondary into an environment that can also support autistic children who need a smaller, calmer environment. There is a refusal to accept that many subject specialist secondary staff really have no interest in supporting SEN children (I鈥檝e known a few complain about how inclusion equals disruption). I don鈥檛 blame them for this. There is also a refusal to ask why some independent SEN schools are achieving far better outcomes, because the answers are politically uncomfortable. (Small class sizes, subject specialist teaching, proper therapeutic provision rather than throwing TAs at children for both subject support and to run interventions) I don鈥檛 detect any real appetite to get things right – it鈥檚 clear that the real driver is the unsustainable cost of a failing system – get the kids enrolled in mainstream on paper, keep them out of the mainstream classrooms to avoid disruption, let them fall out at 16 with minimal qualifications. Job done
Zamanganga Mbatha 22 November 2024 I work in a school in East London that was one of the first mainstream schools that piloted inclusion in the whole country. We have a specialist Resourced Provision within a mainstream school that caters for pupils with complex learning needs. The work that we have done as a school, have been recognized by the DfE in a variety of ways, this includes one of the pioneering teachers to be honored with an MBE. I would very much appreciate an opportunity to be part of the team that will contribute to the SEND curriculum review.