Education,health and care plans: What do we know so far?

The Children and Families Act, 2014 and the new Special Educational Needs and Disability SEND Code of Practice (DfE and DoH, 2014) has led to reforms in how children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities are supported in England. Now, five years on, research has begun to emerge exploring the implementation of the new statutory assessment process, the Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and the outcomes of the process in England. This article seeks to review current research about the introduction of EHC needs assessment process and plans. It highlights three key themes: experiences of the process, reflections on the EHC plans and the outcomes of the process. Whilst parental involvement has improved, and there is some evidence of multiagency work, the views of children and young people continue to be marginalised, and EHC Plans are highly variable in quality, indicating that person-centred approaches are not yet fully implemented. This indicates a need for further research on how to effectively involve CYP with SEND in statutory processes and support.     

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities reforms 2014: SENCos’ perspectives of the first six months

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reforms have been reported as the most significant reforms of their kind for over 30 years. Through the Children and Families Act 2014 the Government is seeking to effect cultural change regarding SEND. The SENCo is responsible for the operational and strategic aspects related to SEND provision within the school and as such could be considered a key implementer of the reforms. This article forms part of a PhD research project which is developing research within the area of SEND policy reform, through exploring and analysing the in‐depth experience of the SENCo as a policy implementer during the first academic year post‐reform. This article discusses the emerging themes from one of the wider data sets which sought to gather the views of SENCos six months after the introduction of SEND reforms and the SEND Code of Practice.     

An evaluation of key working for families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities

Key working is a way of supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families, and is highly regarded by families and practitioners. However, there is a lack of up‐to‐date research exploring key working in the current context of policy reforms in England. This article reports an evaluation of key working in four sites in England, with a particular focus on the SEND policy reforms. Key working resulted in a number of positive outcomes for children and young people, families and services, including helping services to meet the requirements of the SEND reforms. Challenging aspects included managing transitions and the relationship between key working practitioner and family, but successful strategies were identified. Key working supports the implementation of specific aspects of the English SEND reforms along with more general cultural change in services to align with families' needs and well‐established aspects of good practice.     

Implementing the 2014 SEND reforms in England: perspectives from SENCOs

This article is based on research conducted within two years of the 2014 SEND (special educational needs and disability) reforms being in force and reports on the experiences of five SENCOs (special educational needs coordinators) on implementing the reforms in London schools. The research was conducted primarily to inform professional practice and improve delivery of the principles underpinning the reforms. The research deployed an adapted version of SWOT analysis as a tool for seeking the views of SENCOs on the perceived benefits and challenges of the SEND reforms. The findings demonstrate that SENCOs broadly support the principles of the reforms. However, SENCOs find some of the procedures in the 2015 SEND Code of Practice as proving problematic. There still remains a significant focus on managing administrative processes, rather than bringing about a fundamental change to school culture and educational provision. The article concludes by making several recommendations on ways to reduce bureaucracy for SENCOs and increase their focus on classroom practice.     

Professionals’ views on the new policy for special educational needs in England: ideology versus implementation

In 2014 a new policy for special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision was introduced in England. As it has been the case in countries where SEND reforms were introduced, these changes raised challenges and opportunities for the professionals supporting children with SEND. However, to date, little systematic and large-scale evidence has been made available on how professionals perceive these changes. In this study, the views of 349 professionals were ascertained using a semi-structured online survey. The results revealed that although many professionals agreed in principle with some of the key changes introduced, several constraints were reported including tight timelines, budget cuts, and difficulties in the collaboration between education, health and care, suggesting a rather fragmented implementation of the new policy. No significant differences were found between groups of professionals for most items, however educational psychologists and special needs co-ordinators disagree on the extension of the provision age range, on how well the children’s needs are described in the education, health and care plans, and on the professional requirements of this process. The findings are discussed in light of their implications for meeting children’s needs and in comparison with other policy changes worldwide.     

A tool to record and support the early development of children including those with special educational needs or disabilities

Early intervention is key for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and therefore early assessment is crucial. Information from parents about children's current ability and their developmental history can make valid and useful contributions to developmental assessments. Parental input is also important in early education for children with and without SEND. In England, recent changes to statutory guidance for early education highlight partnership working with parents, progress checks and continuous observation. The Early Years Developmental Journal (EYDJ), an Early Support tool primarily aimed at families, aims to support early identification and assessment for children with SEND and early education for all children. The article describes Early Support to provide a backdrop and then outlines the purpose, structure and rigorous development process of the EYDJ. Use of the EYDJ to support parents, early years education practitioners, health visitors, developmental assessments and the forthcoming English special educational needs (SEN) reforms is also described.     

Validation of the Wider Outcomes Survey for Teachers (WOST): a measure for assessing the behaviour,relationships and exposure to bullying of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

The Wider Outcomes Survey for Teachers (WOST) is a teacher informant‐report questionnaire developed to aid the assessment of behaviour difficulties, quality of relationships and exposure to bullying among students identified with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This study examines the psychometric properties of the WOST in a validation sample representing 6164 students with SEND (mean age 12 years) drawn from 481 primary and secondary schools across England. Results showed favourable internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha and acceptable model fit using confirmatory factor analysis, both of which were invariant to broad categorisations of SEND. Practical utility and construct validity were also established by testing two theoretically derived hypotheses. The measure is therefore tentatively supported as a useful tool for assessing the wider outcomes of students with SEND.     

Change management and the SENCo role: developing key performance indicators in the strategic development of inclusivity

This article follows an earlier publication highlighting the changing role of special educational needs co‐ordinators (SENCos) in England. SENCos are now required to manage change strategically and deliver inclusive school cultures. School‐based action research undertaken by a teacher studying for the postgraduate National Award for SEN Co‐ordination (NASENCO) is featured in the article; a strategic review of resource allocation increased the availability and quality of interventions for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The commentary which frames the study acknowledges that many SENCos are not yet members of a senior school management team (SMT) despite their mandated strategic whole‐school remit. Featuring the process through which one SENCo has strived to enhance SEND provision and develop context‐specific key performance indicators brings official guidance on the SENCo's role in strategic change management into sharp focus, raising questions that should concern both SMTs and non‐SMT SENCos.     

A review of parent–professional partnerships and some new obligations and concerns arising from the introduction of the SEND Code of Practice 2015

This article contributes a current thematic review of literature about the challenges of productive parent–professional partnership working relating to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It also reports on an empirical project which explored early experiences of professionals working under the newly statutory SEND Code of Practice 2015 and asks what new challenges have emerged for SEND parent‐partnerships. Particular consideration is given to the language of choice and preference in the Code, the new focus on outcomes in the place of specified provision, and the problematic construction of compliant partners.     

Diversity,specialisation and equity in education

School diversity in the UK is not a new phenomenon. However, recent reforms to ‘modernise’ the secondary school system towards greater diversity of provision, primarily in England, needs to be explored in more detail. The article begins by proposing three phases in the development of state‐funded school diversity and provision between 1944 and 1997. It then goes on to consider such reforms with the introduction of a Labour government in 1997. We argue that school diversity under New Labour represents a distinct fourth phase within this broad policy agenda. While there is some continuity in the expansion of school diversity this most recent phase is characterised by greater governmental intervention and a stronger commitment to provide greater resources for schools in disadvantaged communities. However, the paper then critically analyses the relationship between recent programmes of education diversity and equity. In particular, we go on to discuss the extent to which critics’ fears about the emergence of a two‐tier system are justified. We conclude that while the fourth phase in the UK school diversity agenda may aim to be more equitable, complementary and collaborative it perhaps fails to recognise that the education system today is more competitive and consumer‐led.     

Including Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability in National Assessment: Comparison of Three Country Case Studies through an Inclusive Assessment Framework

The assessment of educational progress and outcomes of pupils is important to all concerned with education. This includes testing which is undertaken for accountability and award bearing purposes. This article examines how students with special educational needs and disability (SEND) are included in assessment. An “inclusive assessment” framework is outlined based around three core features: (1) all students are included and benefit from assessment; (2) assessments are accessible and appropriate for the diverse range of children in the education system; and (3) the full breadth of the curriculum is assessed (including curriculum areas of particular relevance to students with SEND). Assessment policies and practice in three countries (England, Ireland and the US) are drawn upon to demonstrate how the framework usefully enables between-country comparisons and within-country analysis. This analysis shows that in comparison to Ireland, the US and England have highly developed system-based approaches to assessment which seek to “include all” (feature 1) and be “accessible and appropriate” (feature 2). However, the analysis highlights that a consequence of such assessment approaches is the narrowing of the curriculum around topics that are assessed (most notably literacy and mathematics). Such approaches therefore may be at the expense of wider curriculum areas that have value for all students, but often of particular value for those with SEND (feature 3). It is argued that within such systems there may be a danger of neglecting the third feature of the inclusive assessment framework, i.e. ensuring that the full breadth of the curriculum is assessed. A consequence of such an omission could be a failure to assess and celebrate progress in relation to educational outcomes that are relevant to a diverse range of students.     

Special educational needs,disability and school accountability: an international perspective

Standards-based accountability approaches in education are increasingly being adopted in many industrialised countries. This tends to involve the scrutiny of student performance in national academic tests and then holding schools accountable for subsequent progress. International assessments such as Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) are not accountability measures in themselves, but are often utilised in a similar way and national policies are judged against performance in these tests. Drawing upon the examples of PISA and national assessments in the USA, this paper explores how students with special educational needs and disability (SEND) are included in, and served by, these assessment policies. The analysis suggests that while these approaches are inclusive in their intent (most obviously through efforts to include students with SEND in testing) they may poorly represent the progress of these students. It is argued that more equitable inclusion of students with SEND must find a balance between accountability measures which measure performance in traditional attainment-focused tests and other relevant assessments which are meaningful to the given student and/or SEND sub-group.     

Assessing the learning of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream school physical education

In the UK, one consequence of neoliberalism has been the development of test cultures in schools and standardised assessment strategies used to judge all pupils against within and across curriculum subjects. Few studies to date have explored the influence of this on assessing the learning of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and none have centred physical education (PE). This study used the concept of ableism and semi-structured interviews to explore mainstream secondary school PE teachers’ views and experiences of assessing the learning of pupils with SEND. Based on the findings, we discuss the importance of schools disrupting hegemonic, ableist modes of thinking that cast pupils with SEND as being of inferior ability when compared with their peers and thus being disadvantaged by standardised, normative assessment practices. Specifically, we identify a need for senior leaders and teachers in schools to recognise the needs and capabilities of pupils with SEND, through more holistic assessment approaches that focus on social, affective, cognitive and physical learning and development. We end by discussing the significance of initial teacher education and teacher networks to support this endeavour and advocating for the amplification of the voices of pupils with SEND, given that they have expert knowledge about the perceived inclusivity of assessment in PE because they can draw upon their lived and embodied experiences.     

Making education reform work for the poor: accountability and decentralization in Latin America

We build upon and examine critically the framework for analysing accountability set forth in the World Bank’s World Development Report 2004 (WDR04) through a review of selected literature studying accountability‐focused reforms in three Latin American countries – Brazil, Colombia and Chile. We examine the successes and pitfalls of the three accountability‐related reforms (which also involve some type of decentralization) in fostering institutional environments in which the key actors involved in provision are held responsible for fulfilling their roles in providing education services. We apply the WDR04 framework in our analysis of the process of implementation and impact of different types of accountability‐focused reforms in the three countries. The framework was conceptualized by analysing case studies such as ours for a broad range of sectors, and now has widening influence in the policy‐making community, thus justifying a critical assessment. We discuss common challenges impeding implementation of the reforms, most notably political and technical challenges and discuss how well the framework and report capture and emphasize such challenges. In studying the impact of the reforms, we find that their effects are generally more positive in less poor communities and discuss the need for a strong central state to monitor and address such issues.     

An exploration of arts teachers' beliefs and judgements concerning students with SEND

There is little research addressing teachers' beliefs and judgements concerning students with identified Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND), a group which is regularly cited as experiencing disadvantages in their schooling compared to peers. This paper draws on research which examined the beliefs and judgements of a set of arts teachers in an English secondary school regarding their students with SEND. Data were collected using observation, semi-structured and stimulated recall interviews. Phenomenological analysis uncovered patterns of tension in these beliefs and judgements. Teachers were able to consider some of the interactions between their students' individual characteristics and the classroom environment, and the ways these might give rise to certain educational needs; they also believed their subjects were singularly inclusive in providing for diverse needs. Nonetheless, traditional systems of educational assessment significantly affected what is judged ‘successful’ learning, which teachers tended to negatively associate with SEND. We conclude that deficit thinking about the educational capacities of students with SEND underlies teachers' judgements. Nevertheless, teachers do believe there are many ways for students to participate meaningfully, articulate and demonstrate understanding in arts subjects, which have the potential to challenge traditional notions of ‘success’.     

‘I'm ready for a new chapter’: The voices of young people with autism spectrum disorder in transition to post-16 education and employment

This study explores the views and experiences of 12 young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in transition to post-16 education and employment, in light of the changes introduced by the new special educational needs and disability (SEND) legislation in England. The extension of provision until the age of 25, and the introduction of person-centred education, health and care (EHC) plans, have given a significant place to the views of young people with SEND and their families. The views, wishes and aspirations of young people must be captured in the newly developed plans, reflecting the statutory requirement for local authorities to systematically record these in a biopsychosocial way, focusing on participation and well-being. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people with ASD attending specialist settings or receiving specialist support under the new EHC plans. These were analysed inductively, through thematic analysis. The findings suggest that at the time of transition, young people with ASD want to become increasingly more independent, present ambivalent feelings about their future and acknowledge the relevance of support systems in their lives. Implications for practice and future research are discussed, in light of the new English policy context.     

‘There is Still a Long Way to Go to be Solidly Marvellous’: Professional Identities,Performativity and Responsibilisation Arising From the Send Code of Practice 2015

Special educational needs and disability (SEND) professionalism can be seen as a microcosm of the wider policy arena where traditional policy frameworks of professionalism and bureaucracy are challenged by frameworks of managerialism, consumerism and individual rights and where the neoliberal policy technologies of performativity and responsibilisation challenge and change collaborative working practices and professional identities. The recent introduction of the statutory SEND Code of Practice 2015 in England brings this transformation into relief. An exploratory qualitative interview study highlights how individual professionals respond to, are changed by and sometimes resist these demands.     

Parental perceptions of the 2014 SEND legislation

The study researched parent’s experiences of The Children and Families Act 2014 in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire. A sample of parents using KIDS Services in the area were surveyed by questionnaire, both before and after the legislation came into force. Nearly half of the parents were aware of a change in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) legislation; and a third noticed a change in support for their child. Professionals are now more involved in SEND early identification, and most SEND needs were identified at or before the early year stage. The majority of parents thought that the support for their child was either always or sometimes well coordinated. Parents generally felt more involved in the process since the Act, and perceived improvements in educational support. Professional support for parents at diagnosis had increased over the studies, and educational, health and social care needs were generally being met. However, some parents thought that Information, communication and school support needed to improve, and that the voluntary sector was highly regarded. Implications in relation to practice were also made.     

Bachelor‐master programmes in the netherlands and Germany

Abstract

This article compares the results of the implementation of the new bachelor‐master system in the Netherlands and Germany. The Bologna Process presents the common European context for this reform process. However, the respective national contexts differ, and so do the actual implementation processes and the emerging outcomes. For each of the two countries, a limited number of aspects of the reforms that emerged as most relevant are highlighted. In the final section, some commonalities and differences are discussed. The former mainly concern the characteristics of the binary system in both countries and the introduction of accreditation in relation to the bachelor‐master system. With respect to the latter, the implementation strategy and the funding conditions are most strikingly different, related to the fact that in Germany the new system is implemented in parallel with the existing system, whereas in the Netherlands the new system will replace the existing one.