Improving outcomes forspecial educational needs

INCLUSIONINACTION

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This year sees three major NationalStrategies programmes for improvingoutcomes for the lowest-performing pupilswith or without special educational needs(SEN) brought together for the first time.

Achievement for All, launched this autumn,fuses initiatives for attaining academictargets, engaging with parents and achievingwider outcomes. The National Strategies hasaccessed data on progression for childrenfrom P1 to GCSE. This has been used todevelop guidance for schools, local authoritiesand school improvement partners (SIPs) tohelp them set appropriate targets.

Schools, SIPs and local authority staff cannow also use a new e-learning professionaldevelopment resource, recently launchedon the National Strategies web area at www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies. TheProgression Guidance professionaldevelopment course is designed to help usersmake effective use of data when working withchildren identified with SEN.

The National Strategies and the AuditCommission have developed a Value forMoney resource pack for schools. It willenable users to examine SEN funding,evaluate impact and plan provision usingvalue for money judgments.

New this year to the Inclusion DevelopmentProgramme is work looking at behavioural,emotional and social needs, which is buildingon the existing programmes and leading tonext year’s final, unification phase.

Mainstreaming agendaseen as integral torise in SEN pupil results

A greater number of children with SEN arereaching expected levels of achievementdespite an increase in the number of childrenidentified with learning difficulties, accordingto the latest National Strategies data.

Thirty-four per cent of children identifiedwith SEN reached expected levels ofachievement at KS2 with English and mathscombined in 2008, compared with 28 per centin 2006. During that time, the percentage ofprimary school children classified with SENrose from 18.9 per cent to 19.5 per cent.

At secondary level, results show in 200811.8 per cent of pupils identified with SENachieve at least five A*-C GCSEs includingEnglish and maths compared with 8.6 percent in 2006, against a rise from 17.5 per centto 19.8 per cent of children identified with SEN.

André Imich, a senior director, SEN, for theNational Strategies, says the mainstreamingagenda of “ensuring more of our teachingforce have got the skills and knowledge toapply in the classroom for all children ratherthan treating special needs as a separate skill

What’snew forspecialneeds

Hands up ifyou’re feelingsupported?

TES editor: Gerard KellySupplement editor: Fiona Salvage

Produced by TSL Education Limitedto a brief agreed with the National Strategies.Paid for by the National Strategies.All editorial content commissionedby TSL Education Limited.To give us your feedback or to suggest ideas,contact fiona.salvage@tsleducation.comFor sponsorship or advertising opportunities,contact keith.dalton@tsleducation.com

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New Achievement for All programmeuses a three-strand approach to targetpupils with SEN and disabilities

Radical schemeis cause for greatexpectations

Achievement for All is a new project that aimsto improve outcomes for pupils identified withspecial educational needs. Launched inSeptember, it has been commissioned by theDCSF and is being led by the NationalStrategies with the National College forLeadership of Schools and Children’s Servicesand the University of Manchester. It is splitinto three strands.

The first strand aims to raise teachers’aspirations for pupils and is an inclusiveapproach improving outcomes through goodassessment, tracking and appropriateintervention.

The second strand focuses on increasingparents’ engagement with their child’s schoolthrough better communication to share theraising of aspirations and achievement of allpupils. Achievement for All is providingtraining in active listening skills for teachersto support them with this.

Finally, the third strand focuses onimproving children’s wider outcomes throughspecific school-designed activities aroundbullying, improving attendance and behaviour,forming positive relationships andinvolvement in extended school activities.

Achievement for All is a £31 million project,taking place in 460 schools across 10 local

authorities. National Strategies is workingwith these local authorities through the two-year project, including delivering training.

Local authority project leaders will ensurethe training is extended across their area,while leading teachers for Achievement for Allwill work with schools to help them developinclusive practice that will support theprogramme. In addition, the NCSL is runningconferences for headteachers on thecharacteristics of an inclusive headteacher.

Steven Pugh, programme director ofAchievement for All, says: “Headteachersfrom each of the local authorities have spokenpassionately about why they wanted to takepart in Achievement for All and the differencethey feel it will make, not only for their targetpupils but for all pupils in their school.”

The first year of the two-year programme istargeting pupils identified with specialeducational needs in four year groups: Year 1for their first school experience; Year 5 for theend of a key stage; Year 7 for the transition tosecondary school; and Year 10 for theintroduction of GCSEs. The University ofManchester will be independently evaluatingthe programme’s performance.www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies/sup1/afa

and a separate group” played an integral part.“The Government’s SEN strategy, launched

in 2004 (Removing Barriers to Achievement),recognised that ‘helping children with SENto achieve is fundamental to sustainingimprovements in schools’ performance’ andpledged to do more to ensure they makeprogress,” says Mr Imich. “We are now seeingimprovements in outcomes and are committedto narrowing the gap between the attainmentsof those with and without SEN. We expectoutcomes to continue to improve as a numberof national measures embed themselves.”

The Every Child a Reader programme isin the second year of a three-year nationalroll-out. Results in 2008/09 showed schoolsthat had an experienced Reading Recoveryteacher made more progress at the end ofKS1 assessments, in reading and writing atLevel 2B and above. It has also seen 1,806trained Reading Recovery teachers reachmore than 20,000 children through theprogramme’s intensive support element,Reading Recovery or another intervention.

Most of these children are the most hard toteach and achieve in the lowest 5 per cent ofchildren nationally. Previous results indicatethat, after Reading Recovery, 81 per cent willread at a level that matches their age.

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Three into one does go

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A survey of more than 1,000 staff who haveworked through the Inclusion DevelopmentProgramme (IDP) has revealed that they nowfeel much more confident about meeting therequirements of pupils with special needs.

Previously, 37 per cent had placedthemselves at a basic “focusing” level, butafter IDP training on dyslexia and/or speech,language and communication difficulties thisfigure shrank to 6 per cent. The percentagewho felt they were operating at an“enhanced” level rose from 6 to 27 per cent.

The statistics emerged from self-evaluations completed by teachers andteaching assistants before and after IDPtraining. Stephen Norwood, deputy headof Chennestone Primary School in Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex, thinks the self-evaluation is valuable because it encouragesstaff to analyse their skills and abilities.

“It didn’t matter too much whether theirself-assessment was completely accurate atthe beginning,” he says. “Some staff initiallyrated themselves higher or lower than Iexpected, but by the end of the course theyknew enough to make a more realisticassessment of what they needed to learn.”

Mr Norwood found that one of the mainbenefits for his school was the more rapidand accurate identification of children whowere displaying signs of dyslexia or speech,language and communication difficulties.

“The training modules on identifyingpupils with dyslexia and with speech,language and communication difficultieswere key in raising staff awareness of theissues for pupils,” he explains. “Teachersfelt enthused that they were able to identifypupils’ difficulties for themselves.”

Once children’s specific needs were

recognised, the school’s own inclusionchecklist provided effective strategies forteachers, though staff also found the IDP’slinks to other resources and websites useful.

One valuable spin-off for staff has beenthe desire to deepen their understanding ofpupils’ difficulties. Mr Norwood and one ofhis colleagues are now enrolled on a speechand language course at Kingston University.

Thanks to the IDP, staff at PenkridgeMiddle School in Staffordshire are feelingincreasingly positive about offering adyslexia-friendly environment.

“Theyaremoreconfidentbecausetheyhavemoreknowledge,”says DiHinton,theschool’sspecialeducationalneedsco-ordinator(Senco).“Theynowhavetheinformationtheyneedtochangetheirstyleofteaching.”

New practices include better planning anddifferentiation for pupils with dyslexia.

“The needs of these pupils are taken intoaccount at the planning stage as well as byresponding to situations which might ariseduring the lesson,” says one science teacher.

According to a teaching assistant, somestaff have improved differentiation by usinga variety of worksheets, changing homeworkand recording work in different ways. Theyalso found simple techniques such as usingdifferent colours on the whiteboard anddisplaying an aide-mémoire of instructionsat the start of lessons benefited all pupils,not just those with dyslexia.

“I like the way the teachers use differentcoloured pens on the boards,” says oneYear 6 pupil. “It helps everyone in the class.”

Another important development is thatstaff expectations of dyslexic pupils havebeen raised.

“We know that these pupils have to work

New survey shows that teachers’ belief in their abilityto satisfy special needs is on the up as the InclusionDevelopment Programme boosts self-assessment scores

Margaret Cornes, assistant head at St PaschalBaylon Catholic Primary in Liverpool, wasdetermined to implement the IDP afterhearing about it at a Sencos’ meeting. Theobjectives – making schools more inclusiveand removing learning barriers – impressedher, although she felt daunted at first.

“When I looked at how big a job it was goingto be, it would be fair to say that my heartsank. But the inclusion development officer(IDO) supported me from start to finish.”

After a staff self-evaluation, the schooldrew up an action plan and a timetable. Staff

worked through the IDP disc in pairs, usingtwilight sessions and a half-day-off timetable.

At this point, normal school life – Sats,illness, the school play, an Ofsted inspection –started to get in the way, and the project lostmomentum until the IDO helped Mrs Cornespush it forward. After a second self-evaluation,she noticed teachers were using their new-found knowledge to meet pupils’ needs, andreceived an email from the parent of a pupilwith dyslexia, praising their expertise.

“This has without doubt improved the waywe do things for children,” she concludes.

‘It has improved the way we do things’A lesson in inclusion

New programme is a ‘can do’ approach to SEN

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l 84 per cent of children with SENstatements are in the lowest-achieving20 per cent of pupils.l The SEN gap is growing wider at keystage 4; less than 12 per cent of pupils withSEN achieved five or more GCSEs in 2008,compared with 57 per cent of their peers.l The Inclusion Development Programme ispart of the Government’s strategy for SEN,outlined in 2004’s Removing Barriers toAchievement. By increasing the confidenceand skills of teachers, it hopes for earlieridentification and more effective support.l E-learning materials online or on DVD.l Phase 1 focuses on dyslexia and speech,language and communication difficulties.l Phase 2 focuses on the autism spectrum.l In 2010, phase 3 will deal with behavioural,emotional and social difficulties.

www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies/inclusion/sup1

Programmed to progress

harder to reach their potential, but we knowthat they can do it,” says Mrs Hinton. “Someneed an amanuensis, but they may still becapable of achieving science Sats level 5.”

Crucially, staff now believe they knowwhen to seek extra support for pupils.

“I am of the opinion that every teacheris a teacher of SEN,” says a key stageco-ordinator. “I am not an expert, but I doknow when I need help and when I needto refer. I know who to ask when trying tosupport parents. I have even bought a bookon dyslexia to read on the beach.”

But teachers are swift to stress that themost effective way to use the IDP materialsis in conjunction with expert support.

To back up the IDP, Di Hinton has beenable to draw on her expertise in dyslexia –she holds a certificate in specific learningdifficulties – and on Senco updates andworkshops provided by the local authority.These provided a simplified staff evaluationand a Staffordshire IDP Toolkit, whichidentified tiny URLs to enable quick locationof topics in the e-learning programme. Thenavigation problems with phase one of theprogramme will be simplified in theconsolidation phase next year.

Meanwhile, in Surrey, Chennestone Schoolhas benefited from involvement in the localauthority’s IDP focus group and a localschools’ confederation. Both schools arenow looking forward to using the latest IDPmaterials, which focus on autism.Susannah Kirkman

’ approach to SEN

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The National Strategies’ ‘Progression Guidance 2009-10’has given teachers the power to set targets andraise expectations for children with learning difficulties

National benchmarks have been used foryears to set targets for pupil achievement.By 2020 it is expected that 90 per centof pupils at key stage 2 will be attaining alevel 4 or above, and that a similarproportion of key stage 4 students will begaining five or more A*-C grades at GCSE,including English and maths by age 19.

For some pupils, though, such levels ofachievement are difficult, if not impossible,and the absence of national data on theirattainment has made it hard for schools togauge their progress.

In July, the National Strategies publishedits Progression Guidance 2009-10, adocument detailing how schools can raise

expectations of pupils who are workingwithin what are known as P levels, whohave special needs, learning difficulties anddisabilities. The system will help them totrack their progress and set targets, just asthey would for any other child.

The spur for the publication came fromthe Children’s Plan 2007, which stated acommitment to improve data on behalf ofchildren who were performing below age-related expectations. It said: “We willprovide better data for schools on how wellchildren with special educational needs areprogressing.”

Pauline Pitman, a National Strategiessenior regional adviser for special needs,says work on the guidance had been takingplace over the past year.

It will provide national data for schools thatcan be used to draw comparisons with thework they are already doing in tracking pupilprogress. She said there would be no formulaset by the National Strategies by whichschools should set targets, but they shoulduse their existing assessment procedures,such as Assessment for Learning.

The aim is for children to be supportedand guided towards narrowing theachievement gap between pupils who do nothave special needs and those who do.

Ms Pitman says: “The Children’s Planmade clear there was insufficient data tosupport schools in setting targets andevaluating the educational outcomes.Existing national curriculum data was oflittle value to children who struggle to reachage-related expectations.

“The Progression Guidance aims tosupport schools and local authorities onaspects such as assessment, target-setting,tracking and whole-school improvement, sothey are not making a distinction for SENpupils, but ensuring all children are beingtaught effectively and are making progress.”

She says the policy was based aroundthree key principles. The first was to havehigh expectations of all pupils regardless of

their academic ability, social background orlearning problems.

“They also need to have good assessmentprocesses in place to ensure that they knowexactly where each child is in terms of theirlearning, and so that appropriate teachingand interventions can be implemented toenable progress to take place.

“Schools should also take into accountthe child’s age and prior attainment as astarting point when considering whatprogress the pupil needs to make.”

The statistics gathered by the NationalStrategies to enable schools to makecomparisons have come from a number ofsources, although they will not be completefor another four years when a completecohort passes through the key stages.

At Hurworth School Maths & ComputingCollege in Darlington, about 10 per centof pupils perform below age-relatedexpectations. But teachers use the samesystem to assess every child, regardlessof their ability.

Staff in each subject meet monthlyto discuss every pupil’s performance,including their work, any test results, theirbehaviour and effort, and set each childlevels to which they should be working. Theprojected grades give a picture of whereeach child is and where they are heading.

Every pupil is also assigned a mentor –a member of staff who talks to them abouttheir targets and keeps them on track.

“The status of our pupils is veryimportant to them – they feel it definesthem,” says Eamonn Farrar, chief executiveof Hurworth School. “Our assessmentsystem does not take it away from thembecause they can see that every pupil inthe school is treated in the same way.”

‘Every pupil is treatedin the same way’

Status symbol

Data enables arevolutionaryapproach

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However, currently it includes data fromteacher assessments, which has allowedsome plotting of progress of pupils workingat level 1 at key stage 2 to achievement atkey stage 3, as well as some national P levelfigures collected over the past two years.

The information comes from localauthorities and commercial organisationsthat monitor pupil attainment, and will allowschools to see how their pupils are faringwhen compared with children elsewhere.

This means schools can work withschool improvement partners on theirattainment levels and look at guidance datato support some of the discussions theyhave about individual pupils and what theyneed to help them to progress.Dorothy Lepkowska

Staff at the Holbrook Centre of Autism inDerby (above) have been working withtheir own version of Progression Guidancefor the past five years.

Every child is assessed on entry to theschool on their attainment in English,maths, science, PSHE and IT. They arealso assessed against the school’s ownautism-specific curriculum, which includesindependence and ability to manageemotions, behaviour and stress levels.

Caroline Bell, deputy head at Holbrook,says: “We look at the whole child – their

academic performance and the areasthat can place barriers in the way ofachievement. We identify where they needto improve and give each one an individualeducation plan.

“Our pupils tend to be better at readingand writing than speaking or listening, andbetter at number work than applying maths.We want to overcome those barriers and haveexpectations as high as any other teacher’s.”

Teachers review progress on the autismcore curriculum three times a year, while theP scales are reviewed once in May or June.

‘We have expectations as high as any other teacher’s’The good child guide

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Trust in the system

Chailey School, East SussexEven before Chailey School put in placeits disability equality scheme (DES), it hadbeen recognised by Ofsted for being “veryinclusive” in supporting its 200 pupils withsome form of SEN.

The school began developing its DES in2006 with a working party that includedchildren with SEN and their parents.

It came up with severalrecommendations that resulted in somechanges to the curriculum and physicalenvironment: the painting of steps forvisually impaired children, for example.

It also set up a student body throughwhich pupils could have their say.

The Lamb Inquiry reinforces theDisability Equality Duty to increaseinclusivity and parental confidence

Shining lights

Alfred Salter Primary School,southeast LondonAlfred Salter has an excellent reputation forinclusion. About a quarter of its 400 pupils

Every parent wants the best for their childat school, but for parents of children witha disability or SEN, getting what’s besthasn’t always been easy.

Brian Lamb, chair of the SpecialEducational Consortium and the mantasked with finding ways to improveparental confidence in the SEN assessmentprocess, summed up the situation in a letterto Ed Balls, Schools Secretary, in August:“Throughout the inquiry we have met someof the happiest parents in the land – andsome of the angriest.”

At the time of going to press, Lamb’s finalreport hadn’t been published, but he hasalready made several Government-endorsedrecommendations to raise confidenceincluding a right of appeal for parents ifa local authority decides not to amend astatement after a review, and a requirementthat Ofsted reports on the quality of educationprovided for children with a disability.

Parents’ confidence should be furtherincreased by the knowledge that schoolshave a duty to promote equality for childrenwith a disability or SEN under the DisabilityEquality Duty (DED), which came into forcein December 2006. Among other things,this requires schools to publish a disabilityequality scheme and involve disabled people(pupils or parents) in its development.

André Imich, a senior director for SEN atthe National Strategies, admits he wasn’tsure what difference these schemeswould make at first.

“That was until I visited schools like

Chailey School in East Sussex, which haveembraced not only the law, but also the spiritof it,” he says. “They have a positive, vibrantculture where people go the extra mile totake account of everyone’s needs.”

The National Strategies visited one schoolin each local authority last term to ensurethey are complying with the DisabilityEquality Duty and to identify good practices.A self-evaluation resource for schools will bepublished this month. “If a school has a good

scheme, parents will be more confident inthe school as a whole,” says Mr Imich.Victoria Furness

l National Strategies: www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies/inclusion/specialeducationalneeds/sup1l DCSF Guidance – Promoting DisabilityEquality in Schools: www.teachernet.gov.ukl What Works Well: www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/whatworkswell

have some form of SEN, but are included inschool life – the classroom, extracurricularactivities and school trips – as much aspossible. “We celebrate diversity here,” saysAnna Foxwell, the school’s inclusion manager.

The school was quick to put in place aDES but, says Ms Foxwell, “Our practicewas already in place – it was more a case ofmaking a few adaptations and documentingwhat we already did.”

Parents and pupils were involved in thescheme’s development. The school likes tobe welcoming to parents, even in simplethings, such as letting them pick their childup from the classroom, rather than waitingoutside the school gates.

Recently, two deaf parents were lookingaround the school for their child (whodoesn’t have a hearing impairment) and theschool provided a teacher who could usesign language to help with communication.

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