Delivering Outstanding SEND
Provision Conference
Changing staff perceptions to ensure inclusion
is a whole-school priority: confidently work
with your SLT and motivate all teaching staff
By
Gareth D Morewood
Director of Curriculum Support, Priestnall School, Stockport
Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester
21st March 2013
Setting the scene…
• A truly comprehensive secondary school
with approx. 1210 students aged 11-16
• Priestnall School – ‘outstanding’ (OFSTED,
2011) including ‘outstanding’ provision for
young people with SEND (OFSTED, 2004,
2008, 2011)
• Working with a range of students, trainees
and UoM in developing provision
Next Steps…
• Training and Development
• Single School Category
• Single Assessment – EHCP
• Widening access to provision
• Local Offer – LA but schools as well?
• Parents/Carers – giving greater control
– controversial?
• Personal Budgets
• School Funding reform
• Preparation for adulthood – independence
• SEN Pathfinders
Training and ITT…
• ITT is changing
• Lamb materials & SALT materials
• Teaching Agency Expert Reference Group
• Review of ITT SEND questionnaires
• Placements in Special Provision
• Impairment specific training
• Training Schools – up to 100 placements each year!
• National Scholarship Scheme
• Open market sources of CPD at a variety of levels (e.g.
Autism Education Trust CPD programme)
• Continuation of SENCo training (+ teachers in PRUs) BUT
with a new ‘DfE-mediated’ ‘first-come, first served’ application
process and a reduction in the number of funded places (1000)
• Whole school approaches to achieving access, participation
and achievement (nasen and Schools Network – involving lead
SENCos; Achievement for All)
What is going to happen?
• Consider the use of Support Staff – in light
of recent research
• Highlight some of the new ways of
working to meet the needs of 21st Century
children with SEND
• Offer some ideas on you can evolve your
provision to meet changes in policy and be
ready for September 2014
Does Every Child still Matter?
• Being Healthy
• Staying Safe
• Enjoying and Achieving
• Making a Positive Contribution
• Economic Wellbeing
The Context ...
• The New Ofsted Inspection Framework – raising
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standards, improving lives
Ofsted SEN Review: A Statement is not enough
Education Bill
SEND Green Paper
Pupil Premium
Changing education climate
New Teachers’ Standards
Increasing number of students with complex needs
Key Judgements ...
• In judging the quality of the school, inspectors
will make four key judgements:
– achievement
– the quality of teaching
– behaviour and safety
– leadership and management
A Different Perspective ...
• There is a greater focus on:
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narrowing gaps in performance
quality of teaching and its impact on learning
reading and literacy
behaviour and safety
21st Century Children
• The young people in our schools are very
different now, than 15 years ago ...
• Neo-natal survival rates mean more
children are surviving with complex needs
and are now in our classes ...
• Learning & Teaching is different now; it
has to be ... so we have to evolve too …
A Whole-School Approach ...
• Our success has been built upon a truly
whole-school approach
• Training ALL staff is an essential part of
improving provision and outcomes
• A corporate responsibility essential in
improving provision for all students
Great time to ‘sell’ in school ...
• With the new inspection framework (Jan
2012) and new Teacher Standards (Sept
2012) it is a great time to ‘sell’ the need for
greater training and awareness as part of a
whole-school approach to Headteachers and
SLT...
• Coupled with Green Paper & Next Steps
implications; teachers need to increase their
skill-sets ... And we can help!
Materials and recourses – a
National Project
A Whole School Approach to
Improving Access, Participation
and Achievement
www.nasentraining.org.uk
FREE training and materials ....
Also remember ...
‘The education of the
peer group is an
essential part of moving
towards a truly inclusive
community’
Gareth D Morewood, 2011
Firstly let us consider support
staff…
• Teaching Assistants…
• Other non-teaching roles…
• How is your school ‘set-up’?
• Do teaching and non-teaching staff work
effectively together?
• Is your staffing ‘inclusive’?
Teachers’ Standards - 2012
Two key strands of wider professional
responsibilities:
• Develop effective professional relationships
with colleagues, knowing how and when to
draw on advice and specialist support
• Deploy support staff effectively
‘One of the major barriers to achievement
for pupils with SEND is being rendered
dependent on adults to help them learn.
Many pupils with cognitive and learning
difficulties lack self-confidence. This results
in an over-reliance on an adult to support
them with their work.’
NS 2005: Maximising progress: ensuring the attainment of pupils with SEN
Ofsted’s view …
Ofsted 2004 – ‘Support by teaching assistants can be
vital, but the organisation of it can mean that
students have insufficient opportunity to develop
their skill, understanding and independence’
Ofsted 2006 – ‘teaching assistants provided valuable
support and many were taking difficult roles’
...however they recognised that pupils in mainstream
schools, where teaching assistant support was the
main type of SEN support, were less likely to make
good academic progress than those who had access
to specialist teaching.
Ofsted 2010 – Barriers to learning which were
observed by inspectors included lack of careful
preparation and poor deployment of adults to support
children and young people. Where additional adult
support was provided in the classroom for
individuals, this was sometimes a barrier to including
them successfully and enabling them to participate.
In too many examples seen during the review, when
a child or young person was supported closely by an
adult, the adult focused on the completion of the task
rather than on the actual learning. Adults intervened
too quickly, so preventing children and young people
from having time to think or to learn from their
mistakes.
Research …
• Howes (2003) found that teaching assistants’
support in class increased the amount of time
pupils spent on task but did not necessarily result
in an increased rate of learning.
• Blatchford, Bassett et al (2009) – ‘The more
support pupils received, the less progress they
made, even after controlling for other factors that
might be expected to explain the relationship
such as pupils’ prior attainment, SEN status and
income deprivation’.
Secondly let us consider the
Pupil Premium …
• Additional adults to simply ‘answer’ the
deficit in attainment is NOT the key …
• ‘Best Buys’ are what works well for you …
• Support Staff are essential as part of a
whole-school approach; not simply THE
answer on its own …
What is the Pupil Premium
Aims:
• to reduce the attainment gap between the highest
and lowest achieving students nationally
• to increase social mobility
• to enable more students from disadvantaged
backgrounds to get to the top Universities
• to provide additional resource to schools to do this
• to support looked after children and service
families
£600 in 2012-13 for and FSM student eligible in last 6
yrs; rising to £900 in 2013-14 and £1200 in 2014-15?
Understanding resources & learning…
• Above a minimum threshold – there is
no simple link
• More money ≠ more learning
• There is an association but it is weak and
complex
• Conclusion: spending more won’t
guarantee benefit – there is no simple
solution
Consider the ‘Bananarama’ Principle
• It ain’t what you do it’s the way
that you do it…
• So how do you spend £900 per
student to ‘get results’?
• Or, what does the evidence say is
a good investment or a poor
investment for learning?
• It ain’t what you spend but the
way that you spend it…
Consider Smaller Classes?
• Complex evidence – there is no clear link between class
size and achievement
• Experimental trials suggest
 Classes need to be less than about 17 to be effective
 Teachers need to change the way they teach
 Simply adding Teaching Assistants not as effective
• Doing the maths (2012-13):
 £600 x 20 pupils x 3 classes = £27,000
 50%+ on FSM = 1 extra teacher per 3 classes
 Class size reduction from 30 to 23 – not enough
Consider 1-1 Tuition?
• Highly effective
 I hour per day over at least 6 weeks
 With support for class teacher to re-integrate
• Doing the maths…
 6 weeks x 5 days x 1 hour = 30 hours
 4 days teacher time (more effective with an
experienced teacher)
 Approx £800 (affordable next year)
• Expensive but effective: maybe consider using pairs or
small group tuition
Best Buys…
Overview of value for money
Promising
10
May be
worth it
Effect Size (months gain)
Feedback
Meta-cognition
EY intervention
Peer tutoring
Homework
Phonics
Learning Individualised
learning
styles
Arts
Ability grouping
0
£0
1-1 tutoring
Summer
schools
Parental
involvement
Sports
Performance
pay
Cost per pupil
ICT
After
school
Not
worth it
Smaller
classes
Teaching
assistants
£1000
The Toolkit…
http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit/
Issues and limitations – to consider
• Based on meta-analysis – averages of
averages
• Conversion to ‘months progress’ is a rough
estimate
• Intervention research is compared with
‘normal’ practice which is varied
• Not ‘what works’ but what has worked –
i.e. ‘good bets’ to support professional
evaluation and enquiry
Priestnall and the PP… 2011-12
• The actual amount received by Priestnall School was
a grant of £56120. There were 115 learners entitled to
the funding (FSM and CiC).
• Within the group, the profile of the learners was as
follows:
 65 boys and 50 girls
 47 students who had an identified Special
Educational Need (including a Statement of SEND,
School Action and School Action Plus);
 35 students from minority ethnic or mixed race
backgrounds;
 7 EAL (English as and Additional Language)
students
Priestnall and the PP… 2012-13
• With the PP increasing to £623 per student the actual
amount received by Priestnall School was a grant of
£100,200. There were 164 learners entitled to the
funding (FSM and CiC).
• New developments in provision this year include:
 Employment of a Trainee Education Psychologist to address the needs
of identified students who would not otherwise meet the criteria EP
support
 Enhancement of gifted and talented programmes to raise aspirations
for learners, particularly those who would not otherwise consider
Higher Education
 Further development of literacy interventions ; include Accelerated
Reader and ‘trugs’
 Additional programmes and bespoke literacy packages
 Provision of a ‘Supported learning Pathway’ for students in Yr 10 & 11
PP and SEND…
• 30% of SEN students are eligible for the Pupil
Premium
• Approaches that ‘work’, tend to work for all…
• Effective diagnosis is essential
• There is a need to tailoring interventions &
support to fit context and individual need
 Teaching learning skills and strategies
 Collaborative learning
 One-to-one & small group
 Peer tutoring (with SEND students as the
tutor)
Key messages – in summary…
• Some things that are popular or widely
thought to be effective are probably not as
effective as previously thought…
 Ability grouping (setting); After-school
clubs; Teaching Assistants; Smaller classes;
Performance pay
• Some things that look ‘promising’
 Effective feedback; Meta-cognition and
self regulation strategies; Peer tutoring;
Homework (for secondary students)
Is it more effective to deploy Teaching
Assistants subject-specific or student
need-specific?
• Consider your settings – what have you
done/tried?
• What are the pros & cons?
• Think back to research by Lorenz (1998)...
Lorenz, S. (1998) Effective in-class support: management of support
staff in mainstream and special schools, David Fulton Publishers
Old-Fashioned TA styles?
Do they still have a place?
• How many different ‘types’ of TA support
can you think of?
• Are they all ‘good practice’?
• If not what do they still occur?
• Think about training and managing
performance – then you can match TA
skills to different support models ...
Record keeping – not enough Teaching Assistants
record keep – should they?
• Your thoughts?
• What do you do in your schools?
• Why are records important?
• Joint planning and record keeping always
generates debate ....
• So here is what we do ... [and why]
How do you know how TAs impact on student
progress and analyse whether strategies are
effective?
• This is very important but often ‘overlooked’ ...
• A rigorous system of professional development
•
and impact analysis must be part of whole
school systems
It is simply not good enough ‘not to know’;
how can you know and what evidence do you
need?
• We have established a ‘Development Record’
for our staff
• This allows for a focus on their skills and
aspirations, but also highlights areas of
development and training
• Providing high quality training supports each
member of staff in their personal skill
development
• When you identify an area for development
you need to offer something in support
Positive messages – postcards...
• Simple, yet so effective
• Either send with student's knowledge or
without
• Write the comment and leave for address
to be added later
• Lots available a increasingly cheap rates
from – www.vistaprint.co.uk
Positive messages – letters...
• Don’t forget the impact of a positive letter
or even e-mail
• How do you feel when you receive a letter
in the post?
• Not to mention a positive one
• Don’t forget the obvious...
Positive messages – texts...
www.teachers2parents.co.uk
Used purely for positive messages
about progress and/or achievement,
the trial has seen extremely positive
feedback from all involved.
Our trial was for a specific purpose,
providing positive messages home for
vulnerable learners, all messages were
individual and personalised.
For example:
‘George did an amazing piece of work on Escher in
Art today, ask him about it when he gets home.
Well done George, Mr Morewood.’
Anything positive is helpful...
• Any positive contact is immensely
powerful
• Often schools get into negative spirals
• Establish one or two positive mechanisms
[some at relatively low cost] and see what
the impact is
• Never forget how you feel when you are
praised
How can support be most effective?
• Each school/setting is different, but one
thing is for certain we are all accountable
to balance resources against outcomes
• Evidence is important, as discussed, but
also provision
• See Morewood (2011) Restructuring in
light of budget restraints article & new
revised versions
Consider some of the points – can you
restructure and be more effective?
• Brace yourself for a rapid summary ....
• Schools need to develop 21st Century
models of support
• We MUST consider the ‘modern child’; old
fashioned systems do not meet current need
• Provision cannot be made when required,
with lengthy systems and ‘out-of-date’
process
What is ‘effective support’?
• Let us consider our respective schools …
• What does ‘effective support’ look like?
• Consider developing these ideas within
your own teams/faculties/departments …
Partnerships are key...
• Vulnerable young people cannot be
included in isolation
• Partnerships between home and school, in
addition to specialist advice/interventions
secures a stronger, triangulated approach
• Joined up thinking, and advocating for
strong partnerships are key elements of
the 21st Century skill-set
Using technology – essential!
• Text-to-speech software; reducing the
reliance on TA support for access
arrangements
• Text-home systems for positive
reinforcement
• Further screening software developments
and testing
Read&Write GOLD
http://www.texthelp.com/videotours/rw10marketing/intro/intro_stream_uk.html
Video clip - http://www.gdmorewood.com/page-ebook-%26-film-3.html
Literacy & reading – new focus ...
Assessment of Specific Learning
and Literacy needs (SpLD)
• We have developed the use of LUCID’s
LASS 11-15 software to assess whole year
groups...8 adaptive assessments in one
sitting:
Visual Memory
Auditory-verbal memory
Sentence Reading
Phonological processing ability
Reasoning
Spelling
Phonic reading skills
Single word reading
What the data shows ...
Adaptive tests for 8 areas:
• Visual Memory
• Auditory-verbal memory
• Phonic reading skills
• Phonological processing ability
• Single word reading
• Sentence Reading
• Spelling
• Reasoning
1 – 1 sessions
Group sessions
Interventions
Whole-School
Develop a Nurture Group?
• Supporting vulnerable young people
develop skills before going to mainstream
lessons
• Creating a therapeutic milieu –
support, structure, repetition
and consistent expectations
Understanding themselves ...
• Peer support and ‘Notions of Self’
• This makes good inclusive sense: it
reduces the need for Teaching Assistants
in ‘outdated roles’, allows for more
creative working arrangements and also
educates peers and others in the
community
Reducing dependency …
• Differentiate the learning objectives, if appropriate
• Brief the Teaching Assistant on what students are to learn, as
•
•
•
•
well as the task they have to complete
Modify/adjust aspects of the lesson to promote independence
rather than using support from the teaching assistant
Find opportunities for students to work with other adults or
peers
Ask the Teaching Assistant to model a task, answer students’
questions, then move away to allow them to work
independently
Model ways of encouraging students to be more independent
‘Parenthood is the passing of a baton,
followed by a lifelong disagreement as
to who dropped it.’
Robert Brault
When we are in loco parentis at school,
ensuring you monitor and benchmark Teaching
Assistants’ impact on progression will reduce the
risks associated with you being blamed for
‘dropping the baton’ ... Good luck!
Consider 3 things ‘to do’ …
• Write down three things you are going to
do or explore further …
• Try and do something tomorrow … then
another next week …
• How will you measure impact and report
back to colleagues?
Additional information & Further reading:
• MOREWOOD, G. D. (2012) Effective strategies to optimise the
quality of your SEND provision, part 2. Optimus Publishing: SENCo
UPDATE, 140: 10-11
• MOREWOOD, G. D. (2012) Effective strategies to optimise the
quality of your SEND provision, part 1. Optimus Publishing: SENCo
UPDATE, 139: 10-11
• MOREWOOD, G. D. (2011) The Developing role of the SENCo During
Times of Great Change. A Personal Perspective. Assessment and
Development Matters, published by the BPS Psychological Testing
Centre, Vol. 3, No 4, Winter 2011
• MOREWOOD, G. D. (2011) Restructuring in light of budget
restraints: optimise Teaching Assistants to maximise
resources. Assessment and Development Matters, published by the
BPS Psychological Testing Centre, Vol. 3, No 1, Spring 2011
In summary…
• Lots of training and CPD opportunities
throughout the year – empower staff
• Increased analytical approach to assessing
and addressing specific learning needs
• Have impact measures for everything
• Consider how best to support the 21st
Century child in your school
Learning isn’t always the same ...
Thanks for listening...
Gareth D Morewood
Director of Curriculum Support, Priestnall School
& Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester
www.gdmorewood.com