Reforms to SEND
We are, as a country, declaring that we’re ill-equipped to identify and support better outcomes for children.
For both families and providers, the special educational needs and disability (SEND) review consultation, ending July 2022, identified significant inconsistency in how the individual needs of children and young people are being met and a fair application of early intervention. This is coupled with spiralling cuts in services, an estimated £3bn funding gap facing local authorities by 2025 for children and young people, and it remains sadly all too true that accessibility to quality experience continues to be influenced by where a child or young person lives or is educated, and not on their holistic needs (Action for Children, 2020). Reporting on the impact of the pandemic, the Nuffield Trust (Feburary 2022) raised concerns involving an unprecedented surge in demand for mental health support and vulnerable children, such as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, stating that it is these children and young people that have been particularly affected. Ofsted findings from 2021 describe the negative experiences of children and families, as including ‘missed and narrowed education, the absence of essential services such as physiotherapy or speech and language support, and long waiting times for assessment and treatment’. As an awarding organisation, NCFE will soon release a report based on the responses from a quantitative Teaching Assistant (TA) survey. One of the key features from the this survey showed that 90% of respondents stated that they were supporting children with SEND, and of these, only 35% identified themselves as very confident in their work. The majority of TAs also expressed a training need to support their skills and understanding in relation to their work with children/young people with SEND. At NCFE, our next steps include working closely as a community of practice with TAs and other professionals to develop resources free at their point of access, to enable TAs to refine and hone the existing specialist skills, as well as:
• Liaising and creating strategic partnerships to maintain the campaign, including key influencers to the TA, which includes professional networks, local authorities, academics and professional bodies
• Creating a community of practice for the sector, providing them with a channel for professional networking on CACHE Alumni
• Continuing to campaign for greater understanding in education of the role of the specialist TA, liaising with academics
• Creating specialised CPD for TAs addressing wider needs of the sector through our CPD Carousel.
We’ll include a link to the report in our summer magazine and in our usual member communications. Check your communication settings in your profile to ensure you don’t miss out on receiving it!
Teaching Assistant responses extracted from the report:
“We have a lot of behavioural issues, emotional issues but not the qualified staff to help these children.”
“More staff trained and competent in the relevant skills to meet the needs of learners with very complex medical and physical needs.”
References;
Government website - State of the Nation
Government website - SEND paper
Nuffield Trust website
Government website - SEND pandemic
NCFE website