‘I will be “fighting” even more for pupils with SEN’: SENCOs' role predictions in the changing English policy context

The Coalition Government's ‘Green Paper’ (DfE 2011) proposes a systemic overhaul of services for pupils with special educational needs in England, with increased parental choice of provision and ‘sharper accountability’ (p. 67) in schools. Deadlines for various stages of this reform have not been met, and its final nature remains uncertain. This paper reveals SENCOs' insights into their changing role in this turbulent policy context. This is achieved through the thematic analysis of 227 responses to an ‘open‐ended’ question in the national Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) Survey 2012. Findings from this sample indicate that SENCOs predict that schools in England will become more inclusive, with greater shared responsibility for achievement for all, and SENCOs' increased involvement in staff training and other whole school capacity‐building activities. Respondents predict a greater partnership with parents, for whom they will provide advice and links to other services. They foresee their reduced involvement in direct teaching and an intensification of their work in other ways, especially in terms of paperwork associated with pupil tracking and other accountability measures. These changes are anticipated against a backdrop of resource cuts, requiring SENCOs to show increasing self‐reliance and imagination.     

The relationship between school culture and IEPs

IEPs (Individual Education Plans) are now established practice in most schools although they have remained problematic in some, particularly secondary, schools. Sue Pearson, a lecturer at Leeds University, suggests that the influence of the existing school culture on this innovative practice has received insufficient attention and that the changes in a school may be a demonstration of compliance to external pressures rather than the development of good practice. She describes the way in which the staff of one secondary school capitalised on existing strengths through collaborative working and highlights the implications for both individual students and for the school itself.     

'I'd Like to Read Fluorescently'— Year 7 Pupils' Developing Views of Reading and Their Progress

Previous research has suggested that children making transitions from one setting into another have to adjust to new sets of expectations and different cultural contexts for teaching and learning. In particular, they have to redefine for themselves 'what counts as literacy'. In this article, Sue Pearson, a past President of NASEN, an experienced teacher and currently a lecturer at Leeds University, reports on her investigations into whether similar adjustments may be required of some pupils as they start secondary school.
The recommendations at the end of this article are based on interviews with 24 11 to 12 year-olds and are of direct relevance to practitioners in primary and secondary schools and to parents and family members. Sue Pearson uses pupils' perceptions to raise important issues about the nature of the support that pupils experiencing difficulties in literacy require as they make the transfer from Year 6 to Year 7.