Do you have high ambitions for SEN pupils?

Recently, Artis attended the SEN Leader Update Conference in Manchester and we heard a fantastic talk by Jan Martin from Sensitive Education Consultancy about Ofsted inspection of SEN provision. We wanted to share some of her comments here for anyone who may have missed the session.

Jan, an experienced Ofsted Inspector, spoke about the key to good outcomes in SEND reviews:

• Strong teaching & learning
• Accurate assessment & identification
• Close tracking
• Rigorous monitoring of progress with intervention quickly put in place
• A thorough evaluation of the impact of additional provision
• Ambition – high aspirations for pupils with SEND

Although all of the above were deemed highly important, the thing that was highlighted the most important factor of all was ambition. “Good and outstanding schools have high aspirations for all students. They do not make excuses for lower rates of progress*”. According to Charlie Henry HMI, “High aspirations and a focus on enabling children and young people to be as independent as possible led most reliably to the best achievement”.

In Jan’s presentation, she highlighted a particular example of a school that was not entering their students in for GCSEs. In this particular instance, it was realised that aspirations weren’t high enough and GCSEs were then made available. Allowing students to sit these exams not only improved their future prospects, it also strengthened their ability to learn and built confidence and self belief.

But having high aspirations for SEN pupils isn’t quite enough; SEN pupils need to have high aspirations for themselves. This comes in part from each individual child having self-esteem, an ability to express themselves and a supportive, nurturing environment.

At Artis, we believe that involvement with the arts is a fantastic way to build these skills in young people. Using music, drama and dance to explore themes and ideas is wonderfully accessible to all children and young people. Using the arts in this way gives each individual child a time to shine, whilst boosting their confidence, self-esteem and creativity in an enriching and supportive environment.

To finish, Jan gave some tips to ensure schools are fully prepared for their inspection of SEN:

1) Draw up a list of key points about SEND progress and achievement that you want to make before the interview finishes (aim for no more than 10).

2) Remember that the inspector will not have time to read whole folders of evidence. You need to have this evidence to hand, updating it each term so that when you are inspected it will not take long to make final revisions.

3)It is often easier in an interview setting to discuss information on a piece of paper rather than having to find the file electronically.

4)Put post-its in your case studies and label them so you can find them easily when you want to answer a question

For more information about the Sensitive Education Consultancy, please visit: http://www.sensitiveconsultancy.co.uk/.

If you’d like to find out more about Artis and the work we do with SEN children, simply email dingdong@artieducation.com.