I'm a SENCo....AMA

[SurvivingSenco]

With the news and social media being full of SEND news, I thought it might be insightful to do one of these.

How much training have you had on SEND law, over and above anything the local authority does?

If you have entered an application for an EHC needs assessment and it is refused, do you help parents to appeal and/or refer them to SENDIASS, IPSEA or SOS SEN for help with an appeal?

What percentage of the children at your school have SEND roughly and has it increased a lot in recent years?

Do you have any children with selective mutism?

This sounds really good - we can access profiles on our SEND students but we don't get this personal/hobby stuff and it's so important to building a relationship.

I'm afraid I make a "What I did on my holidays" PPT for my AuDHD child who has an EHCP and send it to anybody I think will use it appropriately (child is now teen and would.be mega mortified if she knew - but she can be hard to bond with initially).

I was going to ask the same thing as mum of 4 , my sons is autistic my other children are not . I see all their struggles in school.

While I agree that play based learning, outdoor time etc may suit some children but it would be a disaster for my child, who has an ECHP. He really really struggled with that, he is physically disabled, play based learning never worked and it made primary school a battle every day, he was left out of many things despite best efforts, but children don’t know how to include a wheelchair user. Which leads to my question do you have any training in less common conditions, and do you feel they get lost in the gaps. Also do you find it easier when the child has an immediately obvious disability, my son uses a wheelchair and I often thought well no-one is going to tell him to get up and walk, when they might tell a ND child to do things they equally cannot do.

Former SENCO & DSL here, now C&I and SEMH advisor. So no questions, just solidarity.

What percentage of kids in your school are ehcp or on the sen register?
Is it secondary or primary?

Does your school have a service model?

Very, very often
Mostly of frustration that I feel I can't do enough because of red tape
A few because I've spent time advocating and navigating v complex safeguarding situations and kept my mask on for the day as I've sat with a child who is being put in care or been the appropriate adult in a police interview.

More than 3 times the national average for ehcps, and in line with national average for sen support

I'm still reflecting a lot to understand the true impact of rumours.

Bottom line, there's not going to be any more money for ehcps to be sustained as they are. Something does need to change. There's a lot of fear amongst parents which is understandable. Its not helpful that nothing has been clarified or confirmed and rumours are left to snowball.

First off, the child needs a safe space they can go to when overwhelmed. Sorry, I’m not the op!

A fair bit, I've identified my knowledge gaps and sought it off my own back.

Yes as standard practice. Parents have a right to appeal even if I disagree that the child needs one. I see a snapshot of their presentation. I signpost to sendiass and ipsea. If parents are unable to access that information I'll aim to meet with them to talk it through.

Not broadly, I think it needs to be child focused. If they aren't making progress in line with potential there is an issue. If hlp also comes hand in hand with other needs that builds a picture. It's the child I'm looking at, not the diagnosis.

This is a great question.
This is basically the challenge of the job in a nutshell. They rarely align and I never make everyone happy. I went into the job because I care but it was a sharp learning curve knowing I can't "fix" everything for everyone all the time

I think the training sounds, on paper, great.
However
It equates to about 8k per school, about £400 per teacher.
There's no clarity on when staff are meant to do the training and no certainty that it'll be face to face with time for it to be embedded, reflected on and reviewed.
I want my teachers to have time to reflect on practice, review it, improve it with coaching and to have specialist support for the first year of this new model of teachers being more specialist. I'd want them to have accountability and to read, research and reflect.

It needs a culture shift, a PowerPoint that teachers watch to tick a box is not going to change culture.

Sorry, I'm not sure what this is. Different LAs have different language but it's not a term I've come across before

How do you deal with attendance issues for SEN children who mask at school and melt down at home? I am currently considering requesting a reduced timetable/flexi schooling for my 8 yo DS. He is at the gifted end of the spectrum but burns out very quickly and needs days off every now and then to recharge. Is it worth having a conversation with the attendance officer?

Edited to add he is on the waiting list for Autism
assessment and is also likely AdHD. I (mum) am NHS diagnosed AuDHD and his dad is awaiting adult ADHD assessment and we have other diagnosed immediate family members.

Yes, and the senco. I'd wonder about timetabled rest breaks from learning such as a sensory room or break out room as an internal reduced timetable first. Although a reduced timetable probably would work how would it increase from there? I'd be wondering about what aspects are causing burnout and how skills can be taught to support a long term plan.

Why is dyspraxia the Cinderella of SEN with so little research into the way it impacts cognitive function (eg a dyspraxic child may well be a ble to do a science experiment but then won't be able to tell you what they did as they were focussing on the mechanics).

Are you actually trained and knowledgeable in sen needs or is it more about managing the school budgets?

Probably because other areas of need have had more research or what is "seen" is more obvious. I suspect this will change and there will be greater understanding of things such as dyspraxia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia.

Research depends on funding, if there isn't the appetite or funding to research it won't get done. I do think the tide may turn on this though in years to come.