SENCO Bulletin – 24th March 2014
Many of you will be attending the SEN Readiness conferences this week. One of the main aims of the conferences is to ensure that SENCOs and Senior Leadership Teams are aware of all the changes in the legislative framework. The conferences will also provide information on what the local authority has been doing to prepare the ground in readiness for the new systems. A ‘dress rehearsal’ event was held a couple of weeks ago for local authority staff and it was good to see how much has already been achieved. Times of change are always challenging – particularly when moving from well-established system into something completely new.
What is coming out loud and clear is that SENCOs will have a pivotal role in schools and, as always, it is our mission to make sure that you are kept fully informed of what is going on and to provide as much information and training that you need. However, the SENCO needs to be working very closely with the senior management team on the school response to Chapter 6 of the Draft Code of Practice – provision for SEN is seen as an integral part of whole school practice and there is a huge emphasis on the responsibility of class teachers and quality of teaching. It is worth getting really familiar with the content of this chapter and to consider what you are already doing well and what changes you will need to initiate.
One thing that you may already have started working on is your school offer and you may have attended one of the briefing meetings held just before half term. The school offer project was led by Karen Woolhouse (Standards and Excellence Team) and your Standards and Excellence Consultant will be able to advise you on how to move forward in developing your school offer. We have included the document (click here) in this bulletin for ease of reference.
We will make sure you hear about other local authority projects as they are completed – the main ones being ‘The One Plan’, the EHCP and the new provision guidance document. We will pace ourselves and provide information via the SENCO Bulletin in a measured way so that you don’t get thrown into a state of panic!
The TA Conferences (primary and secondary) were very successful. Paula Bosanquet (University of East London) led the morning and took the TAs through the principles of scaffolding and how they can be used to develop learner independence. Our Specialist Teachers were given the task of figuring out ways to make the process of scaffolding accessible to children with SEN and presented their ideas to the TAs. This all contributed to an absolutely fascinating day and the TAs went away with some important messages for their SENCOs. One of the TAs said ‘It’s opened our eyes to lots of new strategies to take back and pass on to other members of staff’ and someone else said ‘There was a lot of information but instead of feeling pressured I feel encouraged and motivated’.
We have continued to work with Peter Blatchford (DISS project) and the team at the Institute of Education in order to find ways to develop the effective deployment of TAs. We have got a pilot project running at the moment that includes 11 Essex schools. This will be completed in the summer and we will be looking carefully at the outcomes and thinking about how we can share the good practice with other schools. Co-incidentally, reports of a House of Commons debate on the value of Teaching Assistants appeared on 18th March. Here is what was reported in the Institute of Education blog …
HoC debate - Value of teaching assistants
Summary
The Government would be publishing best practice guidance for the effective use of teaching assistants, and would not be working against their recruitment, MPs heard today.
Responding to a debate on the subject of teaching assistants, Conservative Education and Childcare Minister Elizabeth Truss said that the Government believed it was down to schools to ensure that they were deployed in the best possible way to support learning and pupil progress.
It would also be publishing best practice evidence including case studies later in the year to show schools how teaching assistants could be used in a manner that would benefit both themselves and students, she explained. She sought practical contributions concerning how teaching assistants could be supported upon the publication of this guidance.
The principles the Government had found significant in the deployment of teaching assistants included employing those with suitable qualifications; offering a “very clear structure and description” for roles they were given; continually reviewing their development against stated objectives; and providing joint preparation and planning times for teaching assistants and teachers.
“It is really essential for teaching assistants to understand the targets for pupils and to be trained in assessing pupil progress”, she added, further citing the importance of quality training and support, mentoring programmes and career development opportunities.
She also cited the use of innovative staffing structures and new roles for support staff by some schools.
The Minister said that the Government wanted to see “more effective use” of teaching assistants to support students with SEN to progress, arguing that outcomes must be considered rather than merely hours of support offered. Teaching assistants should not merely be provided as a substitute for teacher involvement, she insisted.
She highlighted the significance of the new national scholarship fund for support staff, which aimed to allow them to develop expertise and higher-level skills.
Paying tribute to the “important contribution” made by teaching assistants to teaching, management and organisation in schools, Ms Truss highlighted that their number had increased under the Coalition to more than 200,000 in maintained schools and academies in 2012.
She confirmed that no action would be taken to discourage the recruitment of teaching assistants in future, and called for a holistic view of school teams. “All of us want a highly trained, highly skilled work force of teachers and teaching assistants”, she said.
Noting the changing role of teaching assistants, she acknowledged that evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation had shown their positive impact on children with SEN and other forms of specific need. Their presence also aided teacher morale, she added.
However, teaching assistants’ impact on attainment was “varied”, and more could be done to help school leaders “get the best” from them, the Minister argued.
She highlighted a 2013 Department for Education (DfE) assessment of efficiency in the school system, which had suggested that this could be achieved through support to specific students in small groups or via structured interventions.
However, the Government “[believed] in a school-led system”, she declared, highlighting recent testimony from OECD representative Andreas Schleicher to the Education Committee, during which he had argued for a combination of autonomy and accountability.
Heads ought also to consider that teaching assistants who were “properly remunerated” and benefited from a clear training structure achieved more, she added.
Pressed about accountability, Ms Truss cited the role of Ofsted judgements, arguing that the new Progress 8 measure would further improve matters. In particular, she stressed the role of effective management.
Responding for the Opposition, Shadow Schools Minister Kevin Brennan paid tribute to support staff, who he said were “part of the fabric of school life”.
Accusing the Government of “sending out mixed messages about teaching assistants”, he called for increased clarity on its vision for their future. He highlighted what he said was an attempt by the Education Secretary to “dismantle completely” the 2003 workforce agreement, and also noted the previous abolition of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.
He also noted press speculation to the effect that the Government was considering abolishing classroom assistants, which he said had constituted a “straightforward two fingers up” to these professions.
Mr Brennan attacked the Government’s belief that teachers did not necessarily need to be qualified, and said that taken together, these messages were creating a “real sense of uncertainty”. He sought answers about the future of teaching assistants and support staff.
Teaching assistants must not be given primary responsibility for pupils most in need, and must use an “improved teaching method” that could support independent learning, he argued, adding that time must be offered for teacher liaison, and serious investment made in professional development for teaching assistants.
Opening the debate, Labour MP Alex Cunningham said that the House should recognise the positive role of teaching assistants in developing children’s futures, as many in the profession feared cuts would lead to job losses.
He argued that the Government focused too much on taxpayer value in terms of tangible measures, and not enough on “actual educational outcomes and opportunities provided”.
He called for “sensible investment” in teaching assistants, including effective professional development and appropriate deployment, and asked if Ministers would consider reintroducing a national pay body.
So, what do you make of all that? You can read more of the debate via this link:
There is mention of a ‘good practice’ guide but it is a little unclear on what evidence base has been used in the design although it looks like some indirect references have been made to the DISS project. It is a shame that the good practice guide issued in 2000 (and signed off by Estelle Morris) did not have more influence on the deployment of TAs – we have always referred to the principles in this document and they continue to make perfect sense to us. However, we are pretty sure that Essex is way ahead of the game because of all the work we have done on the effective deployment of TAs. We have been lucky to have been able to hear from the leading researchers in the field - Peter Blatchford has been one of our key speakers over the last couple of years at SENCO and Specialist Teacher conferences and Paula Bosanquet’s work has already had an influence on how we are perceiving the practice of TAs and how we can develop their pedagogical role. A couple of Essex primary schools have worked closely with Paula and their data shows a positive impact on pupil progress.
We have developed a half day package of training for schools based on Paula’s work and our own specialist knowledge of what works for pupils with SEN. The deal is that we provide training for the teaching staff and the TAs on the same day. One model that seems to have worked well is a practical two hour workshop for the TA team in which we look at scaffolding and how it can be used to develop the practice of TAs. Then we do an hour or so for the teachers on the principles of scaffolding, how they link with learning theory and how the TAs can be deployed effectively in their classrooms – this can be done at an after school staff meeting. If you would like to know more – e mail
That’s it for now – some things to think about, a bit of reading and a school offer to work on – that’s enough!
We hope you have a restful Easter break.
Best wishes, The INSET Development Team.
PS Don’t forget our new course ‘Let’s get supporting behaviour positively’ running on 1stApril click here to see more details