Primary school SEND and inclusion partnership visits

Madhu Bhachu, ELP Quality and Partnership Lead for SEND and inclusion will facilitate the focused SEND and inclusion visits to primary schools. Where appropriate colleagues from wider service teams will participate.

We will ask each school to complete a school SEND summary report (see attached) before the initial conversation. The total time commitment for the visit programme is one and a half days, with the face-to-face visit is for a day.

Areas of focus for the visit may include:

• Exploring how the school is developing the workforce and provision to meet a wider range of needs.
• How leaders are adapting the curriculum and provision to meet a wider range of learning and additional needs.
• Leadership approaches to understanding disproportionality and adapting policies/practices (reasonable adjustments).
• Arrangements for pupils with EBSA and those on part-time/reduced timetables.
• Exclusions/suspensions.
• Governance oversight of SEND and Inclusion.
• Partnership working with parents.
• The impact of therapeutic thinking in adopter schools.
• Schools' experience of and access to local support services, and suggestions by school leaders on how to improve the system

Each visit will involve:

• An online session with the school SENCo and Samantha Campbell Jones, consultation line lead, to discuss the school’s systems and processes. Areas of focus for this conversation are attached.
• A pre-visit conversation with the headteacher to agree on the areas of focus for the face-to-face day visit, this may involve, meeting Governors, conversations with staff, learning walks and pupil voice activities.
• A written summary of notable best practice and recommendations
• Signposting further support if appropriate and next steps
• Agreeing key messages to report back to LA services

The goal is for every primary school to receive a SEND and inclusion visit within the next two years. To test this approach and process, we are inviting schools to nominate themselves for the first round of visits.

If you would like to have your SEND and inclusion visit this term, please complete the attached School SEND Summary Report and send it to Madhu Bhachu at bhachum@ealing.gov.uk to express your interest by 4 October 2024.

National and local context

There has been an increase in the number of children and young people with wide ranging additional needs both nationally and locally, with Ealing seeing a 10.3% rise in EHCPs over the last year.

If prevalence of need continues to increase as expected, it is projected that there will be 5005 children (currently 3912) and young people with EHCPs in Ealing by 2030.

Nationally, in response, the DfE published the SEND and AP Improvement plan in March 2023, stating that ‘Improved mainstream provision will enable more of the children and young people with SEND in early years, schools and further education to fully participate within mainstream settings and receive the additional support they need through ordinarily available provision.’

Locally, Ealing launched the SEND local area strategy in April 2023:

Priority 1: To provide guidance, early identification of need and support for children young people and their families, so that schools and settings are supported to welcome every child and young person and set the highest expectations for them.

Priority 2: Every child and young person are prepared for the transition to a purposeful adulthood with opportunities for training and meaningful employment.

Priority 3: Ensure parents, young people and professionals work together to assess, review, meet needs and improve the quality and timeliness of education health and care plans through co- production.

Priority 4: Ensure sufficiency and quality of provision in settings, schools, and services so that children and young people can have their health, social care and educational needs met and feel part of the wider local community.

A key component of national and local strategy is to equip frontline professionals with the skills and expertise to make best use of provision and to identify pupils’ needs early, accurately, and consistently.

The new SEND local area inspection framework also places more emphasis on how well local authorities understand how schools are using alternative provision