[senco-forum] New Senco

Hi Kev

Welcome to the forum - you'll find lots of help and advice from allsorts of
sources - and you'll no doubt have things that you can help us all with.

Like Amanda I too am a secondary senco, but inner city - Birmingham.  As
Brendan suggested the CRISP is worth a look at but needs some practice to be
quick to use.  Go to http://www.bgfl.org/services/crisp/framework.htm

Richard
-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk]On Behalf Of
kngbrndn at aol.com
Sent: 06 April 2007 12:55
To: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Subject: Fwd: [senco-forum] New Senco

Subject: Re: [senco-forum] New Senco

Hi Kev -- I'm probably stating the obvious.

1) Have a copy of the SEN Code of Pratice 2001 always at hand and check out
what it has to say concerning your current prioroities -- on behaviour,
inclusion, learning diffs, and of course, Action / Action plus and
statementing (graduated provision) approaches, and parent partnership. If
school management or LA advise you to abide by over-restrictive policies
(e.g., limiting numbers of children at Action plus based on a funding
formulae rather than relying solely on presented needs) it is helpful to be
able to dscreetly refer in terms of the CoP as it has seniority over local
policies.

2) Send a Headteacher approved letter to all of the SEN chidrens' parents
introducing yourself and inviting them to let you know what their concerns
are and invite them to a get to know you meeting with tea and bics at the
school one evening -- with the Head and SEN staff present if poss.

3) When poss., carry out an SEN needs and provision audit of your SEN pupils
(Brum have a pro-forma checklist for this (called CRiSP) and someone from
Brum could send you a copy or advise how to download from the Brum Web.This
is a local Brum doc and carries no national or statutory status but is a
useful informal checklist of needs and likely required level of provision on
the graduated CoP provision model.

4) From the needs and provision audit, you may ascertain whether all
children's needs are being sufficiently provided for. And you could produce
a map of current provision. It could help if you wish to make a case for
enhanced equipment, materials and SEN designated staffing provision, at the
appropriate time.

5) Take a look at what your school's SEN policy states -- and whether it is
currently in line with legislative developments -- particularly on inclusion
and the DDA  -- and do a draft re-write for the Head to peruse and put to
the Governors if neccessary. Check that existing policy is being enacted.

6) Take a look at the training and current expertise of SEN staff, and staff
in school as a whole, (much depends upon whether your's is a primary or
secondary phase school). If training of staff is a need, check out staff
views and put case for funding of such training to Head and/or LA as
appropriate.

7) Look for initiatives that may attract funding from LA or Central Gov.
such as Dyslexia Freindly in service courses / ASD / Inclusion/disablity
awareness training, etc.

8) When you've accurately assessed, over a reasonable time, the needs and
direction your school needs to take (having consulted parents and colleagues
and gained their confidence, and done your homework on provision needs) you
may be able to put a case to your colleagues, at a special staff meeting /
training session, for progressive changes you would ask them to support. If
there is a perceived imbalance in SEN funding as devolved by LA, and as
actually allocated to your SEN chiildren -- and if this is having a
significant detrimental affect -- put this case in a document to the
management team at the appropriate time. You will become part of that team
under forthcoming legislation (if not already).

9) On a more mundane note, check what support individual colleagues need to
better differentiate learning materials appropriately, and lend advice for
particular children they are having difficulty in teaching and/or managing.
And check out IEPs (if they exist) and see if they conform in quantity and
quality with the CoP guidance and format advice from TeacherNet and similar
sources -- update and improve asap. Ignore any advice that IEPs are a waste
of paper and time. They are, quite simply, a single sheet indicating an
individual child's additional needs, provision requirements and measured
progress over time. 2 or 3 only per pupil, per year, are required to be
issued and reviewed according to the CoP. A record of individual provision
and progress is essential for a variety of purposes and is an essential
accountability insurance for yourself and your school.

10) After all of this 'auditing' and paper-trail checking, and having
screened/assessed your SEN chidren's current levels of functioning and
achievement (checking where the school is at in terms of its
responsibilities)  you should know for certain (if you haven't been made
aware already) of the children at most risk of learning failure -- either
through behaviour of learning difficulties or both. And the acton that needs
to be taken, in consultation with parents and management. Are there any that
need a highly structured behaviour plan and additional support? Are there
any that need to be upped (or downed) on the graduated CoP provision scale,
e.g., placed on Action plus. referred for  a statutory assessment /
reassessment / new statement, to enable increased / different provision?

11) And, finally, audit the use of your own time, as required to carry out
all of the jobs I've suggested above and to teach children and manage staff
/ complete paperwork, attend meetings. etc., in accordance with your job
description. Are you recieving sufficient non-contact time and do you
require (are you getting sufficient) admin support? If you've been doing all
of the above and more for several months you may be sympathetically heard if
asking for more time and support to do your job effectively as per job
description.

Take it steady -- careful, measured, and well evidenced/supported changes
are better than wholesale  -- precipitate demands foe radical ovehaul --
unless this is the reason for you were appointed. And even then you have to
carry all staff with you -- as well as parents and pupils. Regard and
respect for them, and listening carefuly to their views, and taking these
views into full account when progressive change is sought -- is vital.

Best of luck with your future career. Brendan King

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