Some Stockport SENCOs have been talking about the idea of offering virtual coffee mornings for parents of children with SEND, to give people an ear and to help share some of their feelings. Recently, Julianna, SENCO at The Kingsway School did just that and alongside a Higher Level Teaching Assistant, offered online coffee afternoons throughout the week for the SEND parent cohort in individual year groups. Look at just some the amazing feedback they received:

'I was relieved to be invited to the SEN coffee afternoon after feeling a bit lost and isolated through the lockdown. I finally had the opportunity to listen to other parents and be given a platform to raise my concerns. The group was a safe space to voice our worries and represent our children so their needs won't be forgotten during this pandemic.'

'... It was so important to have the meeting and that we are being listened to. It made me realise how important it is to network with other parents ......'

 '.... It was helpful to share and listen to how other parents were working home schooling. Also, lovely to see faces of teachers and parents and have a general social conversation. I had a sense that we were able to be open about any concerns.....' 

 'It was good to know we all were going through the same with our children. It's nice to see other mums too as I don't know any of my son's school friends' mums.' 

 'It was good to catch up because you as a school understand the situation that parents with children with learning difficulties are in and it's reassuring to have that constant support for when my child returns to school' 

' it was good to .... have a forum, with other parents, to express any concerns or issues relating to our children we might have.....It certainly makes you not feel so alone.'

New SEN Support Plans

According to our latest survey monkey results, 87% of Stockport SENCOs are using (or intend to use) the new SEN support plan which will be a great way to improve consistency across our settings. The SENCO at Etchells Primary School describes her thoughts on the new format: 

'At Etchells we started to roll out the new SEND Support Plans during the Autumn term. Although still in the early stages, feedback from staff and parents is very positive. We are finding that the process of completing them allows us to be more holistic and person centred; using aspirations and outcomes as the drivers for provision. The greater emphasis on preparation for adulthood encourages us all to consider the bigger picture for our pupils more. Staff much prefer them to before - I think because they appreciate their value more. The task of completing the plan in itself helps teachers really explore and think about what's important for the child. Although working with parents has been virtual, the plans have a better feel of being devised together. Our next steps are to involve the children more in the planning provision and obtaining their views on their support and progress.'

This case study shows how the headteacher and SENCO at St Bernadette's are working with the LSS teacher, using the Entitlement Framework to embed inclusive practice.

St. Bernadette's Primary decided to use their Learning Support (LSS) Teacher in a different way this term. During a planning meeting they explored how the LSS teacher could support the school in a more strategic way by supporting Quality First Teaching so that all teachers felt more confident as teachers of SEN.

The Stockport Entitlement Framework became very useful as a structure from which to base advice from the LSS teacher, who joined  literacy lessons in Years 3 and 4 once a week for a term.

The LSS teacher said "The teachers in Year 3 and 4 were amazing! They acknowledged the Entitlement Framework was there to support and enhance what was already good SEN practice in their school. The staff all had very open attitudes and were willing to take suggestions, use alternative resources and try different strategies."

The LSS teacher began by asking for unit planning and SEN support plans in order to check that teachers were linking their SEN support plans with whole class planning and considering individual needs. Using the Entitlement Framework, the LSS teacher worked through specific sections with the teachers, such as the classroom environment or visual resources. In many instances, much of the Entitlement Framework good practice was already in place, and so after each lesson only small adjustments regarding resources and strategies were required.

St Bernadette's has an effective curriculum monitoring programme in place whereby subjects are regularly focussed on, discussed, improved, observed and resourced. As part of this, SEN provision in classrooms is regularly monitored by the SENCo. The SENCo was pleased to see through her recent classroom observations that teachers had welcomed the Entitlement Framework and many of the suggested strategies were embedded into classroom practice.

The SENCo reported 'The Entitlement Framework has helped me as a new SENCo. It has given me clear direction of best practice for our teachers'.

The longer term aim is that all teachers will have had a level of exposure to elements of the Framework through the LSS classroom visits. In the coming term, the Head and SENCo will focus squarely on the Entitlement Framework document to ensure any gaps in provision and practice are addressed.

The LSS teacher said:  "The Entitlement Framework has certainly helped me to support schools to further develop inclusive practice within the classroom."

The head teacher at St Bernadette's said: 'In our efforts to ensure that our teachers are all teachers of SEND, we have used the Entitlement Framework to guide changes in practice and adopt new strategies to ensure ALL children in our care receive the high quality inclusive education they deserve.  This year we changed the way we work with some of our outside agencies. Working with LSS has ensured all teachers and support staff have the skill set to develop further and embed practice in all classrooms '