House of Commons Select Committee Inquiry into Special Educational Needs 3 October 2005
SUMMARY
NASUWT's vision for Special Educational Needs (SEN) is that:
· schools are enabled to create an inclusive environment to meet the needs of all pupils, including pupils with SEN; · every child has access to high-quality appropriate education, including specialist provision; · specialist teachers play a key role in supporting pupils with SEN and the range of provision available includes special schools; · SEN provision is adequately funded so that pupils with SEN receive the support that best meets their needs; · there is a consistent and coherent approach to SEN across all national education policy; · local flexibility, which operates within the context of local democratic accountability and within a nationally agreed framework, results in high-quality SEN provision that takes account of local context; · workforce remodelling is used as an opportunity to raise standards for all pupils by creating a workforce that meets the needs of pupils with SEN; · new staffing structures give high value to SEN and include a senior member of staff with up-to-date pedagogical knowledge relating to SEN; and · new staffing structures recognise the role played by support staff in supporting SEN, and include support staff who will undertake the specialist, administrative and clerical functions of SEN work.
Social Partnership and the National Agreement
The National Agreement 'Raising Standards and Tackling Workload' provides opportunities to remodel provision for SEN, which could lead to the delivery of more appropriate and effective SEN provision in schools.
Competition versus co-operation
National education policies which encourage competition between schools militate against co-operation and partnership and the delivery of effective SEN provision. In particular, performance tables create a climate of competition. They also fail to recognise the effectiveness of a school's support for pupils with SEN.
Variation in quality of provision
There is wide variation between local authorities in terms of their approach to inclusion and the quality of support that they provide. Local authorities may claim to provide a good range of high-quality provision. However, there is significant difference between theory and practice.
Behaviour and SEN
The relationship between behaviour and SEN is extremely important. There is a growing tendency to merge provision for behaviour with provision for pupils with SEN.
SEN training and Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
SEN-related CPD is generally inadequate and often focuses on training, which is only available as twilight sessions. School leaders often fail to prioritise SEN-related training.
Initial teacher training and NQT induction fail to prepare trainees and teachers for work with pupils with SEN.
Local authorities and equal opportunities
The shift in the role of local authorities from deliverers of education to commissioners of education is extremely significant for the provision of SEN. Local authorities have an important role to play in co-ordinating equal opportunities work, including equality of access in admissions.
The role of the SENCO
The role of the SENCO needs to be clarified. All administrative tasks relating to SEN provision should be undertaken by support staff. The role of SENCO should be undertaken by a senior teacher, who may also have other management responsibilities. The SENCO should lead pedagogical practice in relation to pupils with SEN.
Integrated children's services
Integrated children's services, and the increase in multi-agency working, are placing substantial burdens on schools and on SENCOs in particular.
Funding of SEN provision
There are significant problems relating to the funding of provision for SEN. These problems concern the inadequate level of funding, the lack of transparency in the funding process and the failure to monitor how the funding is spent.
The National Curriculum and SEN
The National Curriculum, variable resources, the emphasis on performance tables, and the size of classes in some mainstream schools make it very difficult to meet the needs of some pupils with SEN. This increases the risk of those pupils becoming disaffected.
Transition between schools
Transition between schools presents particular problems for many pupils with SEN.
House of Commons Select Committee Inquiry into Special Educational Needs 3 October 2005
BACKGROUND
1. NASUWT welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Education and Skills Select Committee Inquiry into Special Educational Needs (SEN).
2. NASUWT is the largest union representing teachers and headteachers throughout the UK.
3. NASUWT has an active SEN Advisory Committee, which is made up of serving teachers working in the field of SEN. Members of the Advisory Committee are active in identifying issues and concerns affecting SEN specialists and mainstream teachers providing support to pupils with SEN. Issues, concerns and good practice raised by members of the SEN Advisory Committee and the Union's wider membership have informed this evidence.
BACKGROUND AND NASUWT'S KEY CONCERNS
4. NASUWT believes that schools are most likely to provide appropriate support to pupils with SEN if they are enabled to create an inclusive environment to meet the needs of pupils, and where action is taken to remove the barriers that could prevent pupils from participating. However, this does not mean that every school is expected to cater for every child or that there should be an expectation that all children should be, or can be, educated in mainstream schools. NASUWT believes that every child should have access to high-quality, appropriate education. For some pupils, specialist provision will be the most appropriate way of ensuring that they receive this. The level of knowledge and expertise available within the school, or through support that can be directly accessed by the school, will ultimately determine the extent to which a school is able to meet the needs of a particular child.
5. NASUWT's vision for SEN is that: · schools are enabled to create an inclusive environment to meet the needs of all pupils, including pupils with SEN; · every child has access to high-quality appropriate education, including specialist provision; · specialist teachers play a key role in supporting pupils with SEN and the range of provision available includes special schools; · SEN provision is adequately funded so that pupils with SEN receive the support that best meets their needs; · there is a consistent and coherent approach to SEN across all national education policy; · local flexibility, which operates within the context of local democratic accountability and within a nationally agreed framework, results in high-quality SEN provision that takes account of local context; · workforce remodelling is used as an opportunity to raise standards for all pupils by creating a workforce that is tailored to implement teaching and learning strategies that meet the needs of pupils with SEN; · new staffing structures in schools give high value to SEN and include a senior member of staff with up-to-date pedagogical knowledge relating to SEN who advises and supports teachers in ensuring that they meet the needs of pupils with SEN; and · new staffing structures in schools recognise the role played by support staff in supporting SEN, and include support staff who will undertake the specialist, administrative and clerical functions of SEN work.
6. An education system that is effective and appropriate for all pupils requires a consistent and coherent approach to SEN across all areas of national education policy. However, NASUWT believes that a number of national education policies, especially those that encourage competition between schools, undermine the delivery of effective SEN provision. Further, variation between local authorities, in terms of their interpretation of inclusion, and the quality of SEN support and provision, is particularly problematic.
SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP AND THE NATIONAL AGREEMENT
7. Social partnership underpins NASUWT's relationship with Government. NASUWT is committed to establishing a co-operative relationship, identifying issues and seeking joint pragmatic solutions to concerns about national education policy and practice. This relationship is exemplified through the partnership arrangements for implementing the National Agreement 'Raising Standards and Tackling Workload'. The Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group (WAMG), comprising the DfES, school workforce unions and the national employers, plays a pivotal role in monitoring implementation of the National Agreement. This includes monitoring its implementation in schools and monitoring the extent to which new education policies and strategies are consistent with the requirements of the National Agreement and workforce remodelling.
8. All policies and strategies that impact on schools should comply both with the spirit and letter of the National Agreement, and be consistent with the remodelling agenda that is linked to the Agreement. It is critical, therefore, that the review of SEN is conducted in the context of the National Agreement and the wider remodelling agenda and that the principles that underpin workforce reform are embedded in future SEN policy.
9. The National Agreement is intended to raise standards for all pupils by freeing teachers and headteachers to focus on their core roles of teaching, and leading and managing teaching and learning. It provides opportunities for schools to develop and use more highly trained support staff in enhanced roles to meet the needs of every child, including those with SEN. It also provides schools with opportunities to develop the roles of specialist staff in supporting teaching colleagues. In the context of SEN, NASUWT believes that a qualified teacher should lead teaching and learning on SEN within the school. Specifically, the lead teacher should be responsible for the development of teaching and learning strategies for pupils with SEN. In addition, appropriately trained, supported and remunerated support staff should undertake the specialist roles, for example physiotherapy, and the administrative aspects of SEN work.
COMPETITION VERSUS CO-OPERATION
10. NASUWT is concerned that whilst, on the one hand, many national education policies encourage schools to adopt a co-operative and partnership approach to working, other policies seem to foster competition between individual schools. Most notably, the publication of performance tables creates a climate of comparison and competition. NASUWT believes that this issue is particularly significant in relation to provision for SEN. Performance tables fail to acknowledge the quality of provision and support that schools provide to pupils with SEN.
11. The high stakes environment created by performance tables means that schools are under considerable pressure to be seen to do well. A school's position in the performance tables may be affected by the proportion of pupils that have SEN. Combined with inadequate funding and resources, performance tables affect the way in which schools are able to respond to and support pupils with SEN. NASUWT believes that the publication of performance tables militates against the development and delivery of effective provision for pupils with SEN and that the practice should, therefore, be abolished.
VARIATION IN QUALITY OF PROVISION
12. Local authorities[1] are able to determine their approach to inclusion and the type of provision and support for pupils with SEN in schools. NASUWT recognises the value of flexibility, within the context of local democratic accountability, since this means that services can be tailored to take account of the local context. However, in the absence of a robust and nationally agreed framework, this flexibility has led to unacceptable variations in provision between local authorities. There is no basic generic offer of provision for SEN.
13. Local authorities vary widely in their interpretation of, and strategies for, inclusion, in the quality of the support that they provide to schools, in the range of provision that is available, and in their effectiveness in co-ordinating provision. Feedback from NASUWT members indicates that the support provided by the local authority often does not match the approach to inclusion that the local authority has adopted. This might arise where a local authority has closed or is phasing out special school/specialist provision, or where there is poor communication across different types of provision.
14. NASUWT believes that a distinction must be made between theory and provision. Specifically, NASUWT members report that some local authorities claim to provide a range of good-quality SEN provision, but that, in practice, pupils with SEN encounter considerable difficulties in accessing it. For example, access to particular types of specialist provision may only be available to pupils attending specific mainstream schools. This creates considerable frustration for teachers, and adds to workload burdens and bureaucracy. It also gives parents a false expectation of the support available for their child.
BEHAVIOUR AND SEN
15. Whilst the focus of the Inquiry is on provision for SEN, NASUWT believes that it is crucial to look at the relationship between behaviour and SEN. Teachers express serious concerns about the conflation of provision for behaviour with provision for SEN. For example, some local authorities do not have specialist provision for pupils with Emotional, Social and Behavioural Difficulties (ESBD). Members report that, as a result, pupils with ESBD who have been excluded from school are sometimes referred to SEN specialist units. The presence of such pupils has a significant and negative impact on the specialist provision, in terms of the ethos of the provision, the relationships between the pupils with ESBD and the pupils with SEN, and the pressures on staff who have to cater for two very different groups of pupils. This practice is totally unacceptable for the pupils and the staff concerned.
16. Teachers stress the need to make a clear distinction between behaviour and SEN, and to understand the complexities within these terms. SEN and ESBD cover a wide range of behaviours and difficulties, and pupils with ESBD and/or SEN must not be seen as belonging to one or two homogenous groups.
17. NASUWT members report that, increasingly, they are encountering pupils with SEN who are disruptive. Some pupils with SEN have become disruptive because the education system does not provide them with appropriate or adequate support. Teachers are concerned that national education policy that relates to behaviour or to SEN is usually developed without giving proper consideration to the relationship between behaviour and SEN.
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
18. NASUWT members report specific concerns about the provision for teachers in mainstream schools of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to support SEN. Training is generally inadequate and is often only available as twilight sessions, out of school hours. Teachers are, therefore, expected to attend the training in their own time. Further, many schools do not prioritise SEN-related training and the devolution of training budgets to schools compounds this problem.
19. Worryingly, teachers report that local authorities are actually losing the specialist expertise. The problem arises because many specialists are retiring and because special school provision is being reduced. NASUWT believes that steps must be taken to ensure that relevant expertise exists at a local level and that mainstream schools access and make use of that expertise.
20. Performance management provides a key means of identifying and managing the skills and expertise of staff within a school as well as enabling the school to identify staff development needs. NASUWT is concerned that most school performance management systems do not give sufficient consideration to the need for development in SEN. Further, where support needs are identified, training is often seen as the solution. NASUWT believes that far greater use should be made of the resources that are available within a school; for example, peer support can be an extremely effective way of enabling teachers to develop and share skills, knowledge and expertise in relation to SEN. The Union also stresses the need to ensure that SEN training and support for teachers focuses on teaching and learning and not on issues that fall outside the role of the teacher.
21. The whole school staffing structure review, currently being undertaken by schools, provides an opportunity to identify SEN as a key issue, to allocate a high value to the work and to recognise the role of the SENCO as the leader of teaching and learning. The staffing structure should also recognise the role of support staff in supporting provision for SEN, including responsibility for particular specialist support and administrative and clerical tasks.
THE ROLE OF THE LOCAL AUTHORITY
22. Local authorities have a critical role to play in overseeing and co-ordinating SEN provision. Whilst OFSTED inspections of schools and local authorities include judgements about provision for SEN, NASUWT is concerned that there is wide variation between inspectors in terms of their level of understanding of SEN. Critically, OFSTED inspectors often focus on very specific issues, such as the steps taken to reduce the number of statements, rather than looking at the overall quality of provision and the ease with which that provision can be accessed. The narrow focus of inspections often undermines the development and delivery of high-quality, accessible SEN provision.
23. NASUWT has serious concerns that the shift in the role of local authorities from providers of education provision to commissioners of provision could have adverse implications for the co-ordination and delivery of SEN provision locally. NASUWT believes that Government needs to clarify how local authorities will fulfil their responsibilities in relation to ensuring high-quality provision for SEN.
24. The development of federations and clusters provide an opportunity for groups of schools to share skills, expertise and resources in relation to pupils with SEN. However, the existence of clusters and federations should not obviate the vital role of local authorities in the planning of SEN provision and in filling the gaps in provision.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND EQUALITY OF ACCESS
25. Whilst this submission is concerned with provision for SEN, NASUWT believes that the local authority also has a key role to play in ensuring equal opportunities and equality of access. For example, pupils with SEN, along with other groups of children, such as children from refugee and asylum-seeker families and Traveller backgrounds, often encounter particular difficulties in gaining admission to schools. Further, there is a close relationship between SEN and other areas of equality. For example, pupils from some ethnic backgrounds are more likely to be identified as having SEN. NASUWT believes that local authorities should have responsibility for ensuring equality of access in relation to admissions, and should have responsibility for co-ordinating aspects of equal opportunities work across schools, including work to comply with equalities legislation such as the duty to promote race equality and the forthcoming duty to promote disability equality. This would help schools to comply with the legislation and should help to minimise burdens and bureaucracy in schools.
INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING (ITT) AND NEWLY QUALIFIED TEACHER (NQT) INDUCTION
26. NASUWT believes that initial teacher training fails to prepare trainees for working with pupils with SEN. The Training and Development Agency for Schools' (TDA) surveys of NQTs confirm that in 2004, 14% of NQTs said that they thought initial teacher training was poor in preparing them for work with pupils with SEN, and 41% of NQTs described the training only as adequate. NASUWT's NQT induction sessions confirm this experience.
27. Many new teachers express concerns about the adequacy of NQT induction in preparing them for work with pupils with SEN. Too many NQTs have limited opportunities to develop their skills to effectively teach and support pupils with SEN.
28. The TDA standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and Induction for NQTs include specific standards that relate to SEN. However, NASUWT believes that the problem is about engaging ITT providers, schools and others involved in induction to comply with the expectations set out in the standards and provide effective and good quality training and support for SEN. Whilst there are examples of effective practice, there is considerable variation between ITT providers in terms of the extent and quality of coverage of SEN issues. In the worst instances, NQTs are not provided with opportunities to meet the SEN-related induction standards, although the school may actually state that the NQT has successfully completed them. Clearly this undermines the purpose of the induction and means the NQT does not receive the support to which they are entitled. It also has serious implications for pupils with SEN. The Union believes that this issue should be examined as part of a national review of SEN provision.
THE ROLE OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS CO-ORDINATOR (SENCO)
29. SENCOs have a critical role to play in ensuring that schools meet the needs of pupils with SEN. NASUWT believes that the SENCO should be a senior member of staff who has specific responsibility for leading teaching and learning in respect of pupils with SEN.
30. The SENCO must be able to provide teachers with advice and support on the use of appropriate pedagogies for teaching pupils with SEN. The Union is concerned that many schools, particularly primary schools, do not recognise this role.
31. NASUWT is concerned that a focus on the administrative rather than pedagogical aspects of SEN work has led some schools to deploy teaching assistants in the role of SENCO. The separation of pedagogy and administration is critical to the effective coordination of SEN work in schools and in ensuring that the learning needs of pupils with SEN are properly met.
32. NASUWT is concerned that SENCOs are often expected to undertake administrative tasks related to the co-ordination of provision for SEN. Such tasks are outside the provisions of the teachers' contract and the remodelling agenda. They should, therefore, be undertaken by support staff and not by teachers. It is vital, therefore, that the school staffing structure identifies support staff who will undertake all the administrative and clerical aspects of provision for SEN.
33. Developments in integrated children's services mean that, increasingly, schools are expected to engage with a wide range of other services, including services for pupils with SEN. Integrated children's services are likely to have a significant impact on the role of the SENCO and SEN support staff. For example, NASUWT members report that SENCOs are being asked to attend increasing numbers of multi-agency meetings including meetings held out of school hours, and that the bureaucracy of multi-agency working is already spiralling out of control. The cost of multi-agency working, including the potential implications for school resources, should be examined.
FUNDING
34. NASUWT has serious concerns about the amount of funding that is provided for SEN, how funding is allocated at a local level, the monitoring of the use of funds for SEN provision, and the lack of transparency within the funding process. NASUWT is concerned that in many instances the driver for inclusion appears to have been about reducing costs by reducing special school provision, to the detriment of pupils.
35. Issues about the cost of SEN provision are particularly significant in rural areas. Distances mean that access to specialist provision, including specialist units, may be very limited. Local mainstream schools may need to cater for a wide range of pupils with SEN and this obviously has cost implications. NASUWT believes that funding for SEN provision needs to take account of barriers to accessibility.
36. NASUWT believes there needs to be transparency at local authority level about the funding of SEN.
THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM
37. The National Curriculum, variable resource provision, the emphasis on performance tables, and the size of classes in mainstream schools, makes it very difficult to meet the needs of some pupils with SEN. NASUWT has particular concerns about the appropriateness of placing some pupils with SEN in large mainstream schools. Teachers report that some pupils, especially pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and moderate learning difficulties, encounter particular difficulties in large secondary schools.
38. The Union has serious concerns about the use of work-based learning for pupils with SEN. Whilst this may be appropriate for some pupils, placements are not suitable for all pupils. NASUWT is also concerned that an emphasis on vocational training pathways for pupils with SEN could serve to limit their access to core curriculum subjects such as English and maths.
39. Transition between schools presents particular problems for many pupils with SEN. Mainstream schools often do not have the resources or expertise to support pupils with SEN through transition.
PROVISION FOR SEN PUPILS IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS
40. NASUWT believes that specialist provision is the most appropriate form of provision for some pupils with SEN. The Union believes that a range of provision should be available, including special schools, specialist units and co-located provision. This is essential if parents are to be given a real choice about the provision that they want for their child; it is also crucial in ensuring that pupils get support that is tailored to their needs.
41. NASUWT believes that a major benefit of special schools is that it means there are specialists on site who can offer help and advice to teachers, parents and pupils on specific issues. Co-location and specialist units within mainstream schools also mean that mainstream staff can benefit from help and advice from specialists. NASUWT believes that the policy of closing special schools should cease. Special schools, along with other forms of specialist provision, should be amongst the options available to pupils with SEN.
42. Teachers working in specialist provision report that they are seeing increasing numbers of pupils with behavioural difficulties and that this is having a significant impact on the way in which the units are managed. The presence of pupils with ESBD can have a negative impact on other pupils, who are often very vulnerable. Steps need to be taken to ensure that pupils with behaviour problems, rather than SEN, are not placed in provision that is designed for pupils with SEN.
RAISING STANDARDS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR PUPILS WITH SEN
43. NASUWT has considerable concerns about the way in which the achievements of pupils with SEN are recognised. Specifically, the Union believes that league tables, which drive teachers to teach to tests, mean that the achievements of some pupils with SEN, for example achievements in literacy and numeracy 'life skills' and in practical or vocational subjects, are not recognised. This serves to undermine their motivation and increases the risk of disaffection.
THE SYSTEM OF STATEMENTS OF NEED FOR PUPILS WITH SEN
44. NASUWT believes that whilst statements provide a means of assuring provision, the process of securing a statement is often very time-consuming for all concerned, including parents. There are significant workload implications for schools, and unnecessary bureaucratic mechanisms associated with the process.
THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR SEN PROVISION AND THE EFFECTS OF THE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT (DDA)
45. NASUWT is concerned that the national policy to reduce reliance on statements has been interpreted by local authorities as an opportunity to cut costs, rather than about ensuring that pupils with SEN are provided with the most appropriate support. For example, in one authority the removal of statements for pupils identified as 'Band 5 statements' has been accompanied by a funding package, which combines SEN funding with funding from a social deprivation budget, and leads to a progressive reduction in funding support to schools over a three-year period, so that after four years, schools will be expected to meet the full costs of provision for those pupils.
46. NASUWT is concerned that Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunals (SENDISTs) do not always take account of how their judgements impact on schools and on teacher workload in particular. For example, one SENDIST judgement required the school to provide all of its staff with training on a specific disability. The judgement required this training to be delivered within a specific timeframe which meant that teachers were required to undertake the training in their own time, during the school holiday period. This clearly creates resentment and frustration amongst staff, which has the potential to undermine the benefits of any training. NASUWT strongly advises that SENDISTs are required to take account of practicalities such as the timing of training, and the impact on teacher workload.
Chris Keates General Secretary
For further information on the Union's response contact Sonja Hall (Principal Officer, Education)
NASUWT Hillscourt Education Centre Rose Hill Rednal Birmingham B45 8RS
0121 453 6150
[1] 'Local authorities' is used to cover local authority education services and local authority children's services. |