key: cord-0047654-nk7s5cg7
authors: Wedell, K.
title: Points from the SENCo‐Forum: Special educational needs in the coronavirus lockdown
date: 2020-06-30
journal: nan
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8578.12316
sha: a302ca0995ea225ea98483d385a8977b4eaabfcd
doc_id: 47654
cord_uid: nk7s5cg7

nan

At the time of writing this column (mid-April 2020), it is uncertain how much longer this lockdown of schools will continue. The remaining pupils are being cared for at home, with whatever education their schools can organise by way of support for both them and for their parents. Headteachers are left to organise the education of the remaining pupils attending, with whatever staff have not taken sick leave as the result of infection. Correspondingly SENCos are left with responsibility for maintaining the systems of special educational 'offers' they have developed for their schools. So some of the early messages to the SENCo-Forum dealt with questions about keeping up the procedures specified in the 'Code' as part of their EHCPs, such as the regular reviews of pupils' progress, as well as the preparation of EHCPs planned for individual pupils. At the secondary level, SENCos were involved in the organisation of access to public examinations for pupils, but this was then set aside after the Government's decision to discontinue these examinations for all relevant pupils in the current year.

The most immediate task for schools was to organise the education of those cohorts of pupils who were continuing to attend. Because local authorities were aware that these cohorts differed considerably in size, some of them made arrangements to pool provision in certain schools in order to achieve economies of scale, and so support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SENDs) was similarly organised. This of course impacted on the continuity of support for individual pupils, quite apart from the arrangement of transport where relevant. The wider task for schools concerned support for all the children and young people who needed to continue their education at home, and to support their parents and carers in enabling this. Schools differed greatly in the extent to which they were already incorporating this kind of outreach, and this obviously varied according to the phase of children's and young people's learning. The over-riding methods of provision involve digital technology, and depend on access to this, both at schools and in pupils' homes. SENCos' messages on the Forum showed that schools' home support varies across a range of objectives, most focusing on aspects of the 'academic' curriculum at school, with teachers providing feedback in a variety of forms. Some schools also include approaches that focus on activities fostering interaction among pupils, including group activities, as a way to replace the social interactions from which pupils benefit at school. Schools also provide help for parents in supporting their children in these activities. This support may encourage parents to incorporate children in opportunities to learn about participation in day-to-day life at home, in order to extend their knowledge and pass the time in a motivated way. As mentioned on the Forum, recent research has indicated that these kinds of digital communication vary widely in relation to socio-economic differences -both in schools and in pupils' home circumstances (Montecute, 2020) . The research showed, for example, that 34% of parents reported that their children did not have access to their own equipment such as computers or tablets. Furthermore, it is also well-known that the poorest households may not have facilities that allow children to concentrate on digital study. Similarly, the research showed that schools with high proportions of pupils who are eligible for free school meals may also have staff who are less accustomed to incorporating equipment involving digital technology into their teaching. Attempts to respond to the present crisis may thus be augmenting the differences in the way that digital technology actually mediates support. There is certainly concern about the impact on pupils with SENDs, both those with EHCPs and those without. Indeed, a House of Commons Education Select Committee 2019 Report on special educational needs and disability made the point that pupils who are 'just below' those accepted as eligible for EHCPs by their local authorities nonetheless may require additional support from their class teachers.

All these modifications in the way education is presently provided have stimulated discussion about the implications for the future. There has long been an awareness of the demand for a reconsideration of the role of teachers in the digital age, and the need for a more effective relationship between social care for 'vulnerable' children and young people and their education. It has also been recognised that planning for improvements should distinguish between 'patching up' deficiencies in the systems of care and education, and ways in which the systems themselves should be changed so that they do not necessitate this. It would certainly be strategic to take advantage of the opportunity to consider these issues in the light of the current experience of 'lockdown'.

To join the SENCo-Forum please see: http://these ncofo rum.org.uk or email: thesendforums@nasen.org.uk

Social Mobility and COVID-19; implications of the Covid-19 crisis for educational inequality