Embedding parent voice in target setting for pupils with SEND

Background and context

A school wanted parents to feel more involved and part of the process in identifying their child's needs and setting targets through the SEN offer of small step plans and for staff to see the benefit of working in collaboration with home and the impact this has on pupil progress and parent relationships.

What did they do

• Took a whole school approach to implementing this change making it a priority on their school development plan.
• CPD was delivered to all teaching staff on the importance of setting targets in collaboration with parents, how this would impact relationships with parents and modelling and writing a good small steps plan including SMART targets.
• Teachers were given strict deadlines on termly meetings with parents to discuss pupils' small step plans and added parental views to small steps plans to evidence their meetings and target setting.

Through weekly team minutes, teachers communicated to SLT, which parents did not engage in small step plan meetings so that year leads, senior leaders and admin could follow up and try to increase parental engagement for harder to reach parents. This was hugely successful. In the summer term 99% of parents attended their small step plan meeting.

Teachers also engaged the pupils in their own targets. Those in EYFS and KS1 captured pupil voice through appropriately pitched questions that were decided in collaboration with the SENCo. In KS2, the pupils were made aware of their targets and contributed to them before teachers met with parents. This was a huge success and parents liked that their child had a voice.

After each cycle of small step plans, the senior team moderated them to quality assure the targets and provision being set. This was part of the assessment and moderation timetable. This allowed them to evaluate their effectiveness and give feedback for the next round of assessments.

What was the impact? What changed?

They believe that the change was fully achieved. With a large student body and 260 pupils on the SEN register they offered over 780 small step plan meetings over the year equating to over 195 hours of meeting with SEND parents. They have seen a positive change in parental engagement and the implementation of the SSP as teachers are being held to account by themselves, the SENCo and parents on if the targets have been achieved.

Staff are more confident in writing targets which are more tailored to the children as they are co-written with the parent. Staff also see the value in adding both pupil and parent voice and are more invested in the process, this has impacted the way staff view and use small step plans.

Teachers report less email traffic due to the frequency and proactiveness of the termly meetings. Parent requests for meetings with the SENCo and also with the school, and with both as a ‘team around the child’ meeting – show a real partnership approach which is exciting to see and appreciated by both school and home.

Teachers have been given directed time to complete the small step plans and have termly meetings with parents. This has resulted in staff becoming more invested in wanting to make it a collaborative process.

Parents baseline data

I receive regular reports on my child’s progress towards set targets increased from 40% to 84%

I can engage in regular conversations about my child’s targets and progress increased from 51% to 81%