I am unusually excited about this year’s Tes SEND Show. This is partly because, this year, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has been invited to host the SEND Leadership Summit, which will hopefully give me a chance to connect with people across the sector - and perhaps even meet a few readers of this column.
But there is another reason to look forward to this year’s show (which is being held in London on 13 and 14 October - details below).
The landscape of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and inclusion has changed dramatically since the very first show, which was held 31 years ago.
The extent to which schools now champion and prioritise SEND as an essential ingredient to school improvement is great to see. This reflects a seismic shift we are experiencing in the way support for children with SEND is viewed. SEND provision is no longer seen as something “other”.
It’s now a mainstream concern that a significant proportion of the school population has ever “been SEND” or found learning hard - and there’s now a feeling that schools should be structured for these pupils in the first place, rather than trying to adapt to their needs retrospectively.
Put on a pair of ‘equity spectacles’
I was reminded of this by a deputy headteacher in Liverpool last week. As he put it: “SEND training on our Inset day isn’t just a job for our Sendco; it’s my role as teaching and learning lead to recognise and champion the responsive curriculum and teaching needed to achieve the best outcomes for our pupils.”
This deputy head models his collaboration with the Sendco and is explicit about the strategic and pedagogic role that the Sendco plays across the school. It’s a good example of putting on a pair of “equity spectacles” and seeing an opportunity to lead in a way that acknowledges and seeks to address the needs of every child.
This chimes with the findings of a recent study by The Wallace Foundation of two decades of US research into how leaders affect pupils and schools.
It’s no surprise that the study found leadership is important for the success of pupils and the school, second only to classroom teaching among school-related factors.
However, another key finding, which is highly pertinent to the changes we are seeing across England, is that equity really matters to successful leadership. Based on a qualitative review of what works, the authors recommend that leaders develop an “equity lens” to be successful in addressing the needs of growing numbers of marginalised pupils.
That terminology might sound a bit woolly, but adopting an equity lens is actually straightforward. It starts with reimagining the bottom 15 per cent of pupils (in terms of prior attainment) as the top 15 per cent of pupils - and deploying resources accordingly.
So, where we might previously have allocated the most experienced teachers to the top 15 per cent of pupils, for example, those teachers should instead be allocated to the pupils who struggle the most.
By using their data to identify which groups and individuals are not making expected progress, leaders can ensure they have access to the strongest teachers.
Equity-centred leadership
Another report from The Wallace Foundation suggests that school leaders need to make equity-centred leadership an explicit goal, and involve stakeholders, staff, governors and parents in defining what this looks like.
Creating inclusive school environments and culturally responsive leadership across the school can then become a core part of the school improvement agenda.
Taking these steps doesn’t cost the earth. It simply requires leaders to change how they look at things and to manage their school environment and workforce based on what they see.
The Tes SEND Show is held in London, on 13 and 14 October 2023. The SEND Leadership Summit, hosted by ASCL is suitable for anyone with senior responsibilities. Find out more and register here.
Margaret Mulholland is the special educational needs and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders
