All posts tagged: Inclusion

Inclusion tsar would like to see label ‘retired’

Inclusion tsar would like to see label ‘retired’

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More from this theme Recent articles The government’s inclusion tsar has said he would like to see the term SEND “retired” as he spoke of problems with the current “medicalised model” for special educational needs and disabilities. Tom Rees, Ormiston Academies Trust’s CEO and chair of the DfE’s expert advisory group for inclusion, highlighted issues with categorising pupils under the “umbrella term”. He told journalists at the ASCL conference today he would “like to see a world where you can retire the label of SEND, because we’ve become much more precise in our understanding of different needs, and this sort of generic label that we use at the moment would be redundant”. He said it was “hard to see how you might go from where we are today to there”. But he said he would like to reach that point in the next decade, and to have “a more expert school system that had less reliance on that label”. ‘Medicalised model’ of SEND is a ‘problem’ Rees said the word SEND led to certain needs …

Search launched to find best school inclusion solutions

Search launched to find best school inclusion solutions

Published by skeptic

The government will launch a call for evidence tomorrow to unearth the best school inclusion practice to help shape major SEND reforms. The project, called ‘Inclusion in Practice’, aims to “identify and share practical, scalable solutions for inclusion in mainstream schools”. The government said examples will include schools and trusts that have added special education units, offered mainstream classes with support from specialist learning assistants, and provided specialist equipment for sports. Approaches to early identification of need, strategies for building workforce expertise and working with families, and system-level “enablers” such as funding or leadership initiatives are also sought. A website has been launched as a “national resource to share examples of strong practice showcasing what works in inclusive education, helping to build capability across the sector and to better understand what good looks like”. Tom Rees, CEO of Ormiston Academies Trust, was in November appointed chair of the government’s new expert advisory group on inclusion, which will oversee reforms aimed at making mainstream schools more inclusive. The call for evidence will ensure future reforms are “rooted in …

How we’ll help the sector deliver its ambition of inclusion

How we’ll help the sector deliver its ambition of inclusion

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More from this theme Recent articles At Ofsted, we believe that if schools get it right for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children, as well as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), then they’ll get it right for all children. Amid the challenges facing the sector, this principle is more important than ever, and it is at the heart of the proposals we are consulting on. These proposals draw together all the feedback we heard in the Big Listen, our largest ever consultation. It returned a clear message from parents and professionals that the overall effectiveness grade should be removed. However, opinions differed on what should replace it. The proposed report cards aim to bring all of these views together. They will give parents the greater level of detail and nuance they told us they want, alongside clear school evaluations. Encouragingly, a poll conducted by More in Common found that 82 per cent of parents find the proposed system easy to understand and 65 per cent prefer it to the previous model. In …

The experts appointed to SEND inclusion panels

The experts appointed to SEND inclusion panels

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The government has appointed a team of experts to evaluate how to make mainstream schools more inclusive The government has appointed a team of experts to evaluate how to make mainstream schools more inclusive More from this theme Recent articles Sector leaders have been appointed to two new expert panels tasked with advising the government on how to make mainstream schools more inclusive to fix the “broken” SEND system. Tom Rees, CEO of Ormiston Academies Trust, was in November appointed chair of the government’s new expert advisory group on inclusion, which will oversee reforms aimed at making mainstream schools more inclusive. It has now been revealed he will be joined on the panel by: Susan Douglas, CEO Eden Academy Trust Annamarie Hassall, CEO of the National Association for Special Educational Needs Anne Heavey, director of insights for Ambition Institute Andrew O’Neill, headteacher All Saints Catholic College Claire Jackson, principal educational psychologist at Salford City Council Heather Sandy, executive director of children’s services at Lincolnshire County Council The advisory group will meet monthly to “look at …

‘Umbrella’ SEND label ‘misleading’ says inclusion tsar

‘Umbrella’ SEND label ‘misleading’ says inclusion tsar

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More from this theme Recent articles The government’s inclusion tsar will say today that use of the “umbrella” SEND label is “misleading and obscures individual identities of children”, adding “a lot of what we categorise as ‘special’ is normal and predictable”. Tom Rees, CEO of Ormiston Academies Trust and chair of the government’s expert advisory group for inclusion, is due to speak in Newcastle-upon-Tyne today (Thursday) on how to improve inclusion of SEND pupils in mainstream schools. Opening the Schools North East Academies Conference, Rees is expected to lay out problems in using ‘SEND’ as an umbrella term for a hugely diverse cohort. ‘Binary’ SEND term criticised “The term ‘SEND’ implies a binary between children, and suggests children assigned this label are fundamentally different from the norm, and that their struggles are a product of these differences rather than the systems and structures around them,” he will say. While the term “implies a commonality of experience” among children with SEND, this is “misleading”, Rees will say. “Under the umbrella sit those with physical disabilities, those with identified …

Kent special schools threaten council over inclusion plans

Kent special schools threaten council over inclusion plans

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More from this theme Recent articles Special schools have threatened England’s largest council with legal action unless a proposed new inclusion strategy that they say will “harm” pupil outcomes and “dismantle” successful provision is ditched. Kent County Council plans to implement widespread reforms to provision for pupils with special needs following damning Ofsted inspections. Mainstream schools are to be more inclusive and high-needs spending brought under control. Senior councillors last week “endorsed” one part of the plan to change admission guidance and the designated needs that some special schools cater for. This is to ensure pupils with “severe and complex” needs get allocated a special school place from September 2026. Christine McInnes, Kent’s director of education, previously told Schools Week that a third of special schools “reflect our selective system in secondary schools” as they have “very, very restrictive admissions criteria”. Plan to change seven schools’ designations Seven schools’ designations would change under the plans. Most would change from catering for pupils with “communication and interaction” issues to those with “neurodivergent and learning difficulties”. A …

Use SEND cash to boost mainstream inclusion, councils told

Use SEND cash to boost mainstream inclusion, councils told

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Move follows budget’s £1 billion boost in high needs funding Move follows budget’s £1 billion boost in high needs funding More from this theme Recent articles Local authorities should use their extra SEND cash to boost inclusion in mainstream schools, the government has said. All councils will receive a minimum increase of 7 per cent in high needs funding in 2025-26, up from 3 per cent last year. It follows an additional £1 billion being announced at the autumn budget for SEND, taking the total budget to £11.9 billion.  The Department for Education’s guidance on how to spend the money in 2025-26, published Thursday, states government has “made it clear that the general direction of SEND reform” is towards more inclusive mainstream provision. That includes the use of SEN units and resources provision, with a “range of reforms that will facilitate that shift” being worked on. Regulations for 2025-26 will also allow councils to target funding to encourage pupils with SEND being educated in mainstream, the guidance states. ‘Collaboration’ This includes spending cash on “collaboration …

Ormiston trust boss Tom Rees to lead inclusion expert panel

Ormiston trust boss Tom Rees to lead inclusion expert panel

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Academy trust boss Tom Rees will lead a new expert panel to oversee reforms to make mainstream schools more inclusive as part of the government’s plan to fix the broken system for pupils with special needs. Dame Christine Lenehan, the former director of the Council for Disabled Children, has also been appointed the government’s “strategic advisor” on SEND. She will advise ministers on the next steps for the future of SEND playing “a key role in engaging the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families”, the Department for Education said. Rees’ expert advisory group will advise ministers on improving mainstream education experiences for youngsters with SEND “so that all children feel like they belong”. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said while she “wants the best trusts to grow”, she “knows the current system incentivised some to adopt a competitive, rather than a collaborative model, and others to avoid more challenging communities”. “But that chase for a narrow shadow of excellence, the kind that only succeeds by pushing problems onto others, that ends now.” ‘Schools avoiding challenging …

Backlash, legal threats as inclusion push turns sour

Backlash, legal threats as inclusion push turns sour

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More from this theme Recent articles Schools are setting aside cash for potential legal action, being asked to “make the case” to secure SEND cash and signing up to inclusion charters as cash-strapped councils try to boost inclusion. The government’s key plan to fix the broken SEND system is to make mainstream schools more inclusive. Buckling under huge deficits on their high-needs funding, some councils are already attempting to get their mainstream schools to educate more pupils with complex needs. But plans in some areas have led to huge backlash from heads, with threats of legal action and fears over more cuts by the back door – providing a stark warning sign for future reforms. Schools Week investigates… Special schools ‘turn away most complex’ kids Kent council – the country’s largest – plans a raft of changes to get its spending on pupils with additional needs under control. It was criticised by Ofsted previously for failing to tackle “a lack of willingness” among some schools to “accommodate” children with SEND. One of the more controversial …

Ofsted reveals how research will help it inspect inclusion

Ofsted reveals how research will help it inspect inclusion

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Watchdog has so far provided little detail on what metrics will be used to judge inclusion for incoming school report cards Watchdog has so far provided little detail on what metrics will be used to judge inclusion for incoming school report cards More from this theme Recent articles Ofsted has provided further details on how it will draw up plans to assess whether schools are inclusive in new inspections. The inspectorate has pledged to introduce a new “criterion” for inclusion in the inspection report cards set to be rolled out for schools from September next year. The tricky issue of how inclusivity will be measured is due to be consulted on, but Ofsted last month awarded the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) charity a £90,000 seven-month contract to help it “conceptualise vulnerability and inclusion”. This research will aim to answer how Ofsted can “better understand vulnerability and its complexity” so it can assess inclusive practice, terms of reference published today state. Research in Practice, part of the NCB, will also look into how vulnerability is currently understood in …