These resources will be useful to senior leaders and managers who have overall responsibility for ensuring the inclusivity of their organisation and to managers of SEND provision.
The College SEND Review Guide, developed with and for colleges will help you to self-evaluate the effectiveness of your provision for learners with special educational needs and disabilities.
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Leadership module: leading when you're not in charge. The module will give you tools and techniques for working in complex situations, but will also be grounded in practice, so that you have an opportunity to try out Systems Leadership approaches for yourself and reflect on how you can apply these to real-time issues you're facing. |
Take a look at the guides that accompany the SEND Managers' programme by clicking on the images below. . |
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Knowledge module: maximising potential: The module is a designed to support you to develop essential SEND knowledge and skills. These will enable you to meet the statutory duties and provide a personalised learning experience. Would you like to find out more? Watch our free Key things every SEND manager should know webinar. |
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Book an in-house course using our online booking system.
FE and specialist colleges working together to enhance the learner offer
When FE and specialist colleges join forces to support each other, this really benefits learners. This report, Putting Learners with SEND at the centre of FE provision: A partnership approach, provides examples of where this has happened and also examples of how colleges are exploring with local authorities how to make the SEND system work for learners. Lots of food for thought and ideas that you might want to explore in your college.
Resources from Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University has written a series of papers providing advice and guidance to senior managers in their journey towards or in sustaining inclusive provision when working with learners with SEND. A number of the papers highlight the need for effective partnership working: Organisational Structures to Support Inclusion and Organisational Arrangements for Working with a Local Authority For details about all nine papers, see the Background to the Resources paper.
The Building partnership guide 
produced by AoC in partnership with the Department for Education and the Local Government Association to help build relationships between colleges and local authorities when working with students with EHC plans who require high needs funding.
Mainstream Plus is an approach where education providers extend their offer so that more children and young people can access high quality education in mainstream provision. Where this is done well, everybody wins! Children and young people can stay close to home; local authorities as commissioners acknowledge that there are cost savings to be had and just as importantly, educators and learners extend their understanding of working and learning alongside people with more diverse experience of the world, leading to more inclusive communities.
The Mainstream Plus report and infographic highlights the characteristics of FE providers and schools that have taken this approach together with the previously mentioned benefits.
The Everything you need to know about SEND funding for FE learners course was run over two session by webinar. The recordings are now available to watch on YouTube:
- The high needs funding system, including top tips relating to contracting, relationships with LAs, and budgeting.
- How other funding, e.g. disadvantage blocks or AEB, can be used to support SEND learners, including those with EHCPs.
- Current developments and directions of travel in relation to High Needs funding and contracting.
- Non-high needs funding for learners with SEND.
How well is your organisation meeting the SEND Reforms?
Use the Foundation's self-assessment tool to evaluate your organisation's practice in relation to the expectations of the SEND Code of Practice. The tool will enable you to undertake an in-depth evaluation, to start planning improvements and to generate key statements for your annual self-assessment report (SAR) or position statements. The Self-assessment tool is available on Foundation Online Learning; register to gain access.
In this webinar Dr Paul Phillips shares how Weston College's people themed approach has led to an outstanding SEND provision. Weston College is one of three Centres for Excellence in SEND (CfE). Weston College's CfE focuses on people. Take a look at the Centres for Excellence in SEND page to find out more about the hubs (Community, Curriculum and People) and take the opportunity to connect with them to access the free support on offer FE and Skills providers.
The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on providers to co-operate with partners to meet the needs of young people with special educational needs. At the same time, services for those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) are changing fast. Our free online Systems thinking for special needs course is designed to help you to rethink the way you work. To approach work from a systems perspective so that you can lead beyond your organisation through insightful collaborative working. To access the course you must register on Foundation Online Learning.
You will find more resources to support quality improvement of SEND provision below.
Work Experience
The Department for Education has published a new report, Work experience and vocational/technical provision for young people on SEN support: A rapid evidence assessment. The aim of the rapid evidence assessment was to identify evidence of the benefits (or otherwise) of work experience for these young people as they prepare to enter paid employment. The report highlights several principles of good practice for post-16 providers in finding work experience/placements for young people with less complex SEND.
Developing profound and multiple learning disability provision in the FE and Skills sector resource has been developed for the Education and Training Foundation by Natspec to support providers who are currently – or who plan to be – working with learners with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).
The guide is aimed at all providers who are striving to develop provision where young people with PMLD can make progress towards good life outcomes, achieve their potential and be prepared for adult life.
Learning support assistants (LSAs) are the most commonly used form of support in the FE sector – and the most expensive. That makes it especially important for providers to deploy LSAs efficiently and effectively, so that they have a positive impact on learner progress and independence.
We have put together an in-house development activity to help you consider how to make the most of the LSAs in your setting. The activity has been designed to be facilitated by managers with SEND responsibilities and undertaken by teams of tutors and LSAs working together. In the pack you will find facilitator notes, a presentation and a hand-out. Managers are advised to read through the facilitator notes for guidance on using these materials to set up and run an interactive CPD session for their team.
The Leadership hub, funded by the Foundation, aims to create opportunities for current and aspiring leaders, working in the education and training sector, to develop professional relationships through which to share their expertise and experiences of leadership in education and training. Find out more by visiting the Leadership hub website.
Our News and Events page highlight events and courses relevant to the sector. Take a look at our new SEND brochure for more information and don't forget the Foundation's mainstream offer. Take a look on the Foundation's website for a range of courses to support teachers, leaders and managers across the FE and Skills sector.
Visit the Society for Education and Training (SET) website to find out how our professional membership body can support you in your role. You'll find a range of development opportunities including webinars releated to implementing the SEND reforms and inclusivity.
Are you looking for specific training in relation to SEND for your staff? As part of a mapping exercise of SEND CPD training and qualifications available from the Education and Training Foundation and a wide range of other organisations we have produced a SEND CPD Framework. The information is provided to raise awareness to the SEND workforce of the variety CPD opportunities available.
This Access to Work new process presentation, created by City College Norwich, Centre for Excellence in SEND (community) explains the processes required when claiming Access to Work funding, as at the time of creation October 2020.
