[senco-forum] EPs working with secondary schools (longish)

I have a great relationship with our EP.  We meet at the start of the
year with the Behaviour support tutor and look at what we think are the
likely needs for the coming year. We make a list of pupils for whom we
need advice or possibly intervention and then fix visit dates that suit
us both.

I then draw up a plan for each visit which usually starts with us having
a joint update where I can share concerns and ask what line he thinks we
should take. He will let me know of anyone he has been asked to see by
the local Team around The Child.  His visit usually involves some
observation, some assessment or chatting to the child (yes I know that
is assessment too!) and sometimes a School Action Plus meeting or a
Statement Review meeting.  He will also see pupils for exam access
arrangements.

If I have a concern between visits I can phone him and chat too.  At the
last meeting of the year we look towards any Year 6 coming to us with
statements (14 last year) and chat about their needs.  He is always
ready to talk to individual or groups of teachers and at break times is
around in the staff room.  He would do CPD if I asked him for the whole
teaching staff.

A great service!

Barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of
Mmilesep at aol.com
Sent: 27 February 2008 20:24
To: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Subject: [senco-forum] EPs working with secondary schools (longish)

Dear all, or some of you, especially those of you in the secondary
phase

I would be interested to hear of ways in which you work with your EPs. I
ask 
because of an ongoing and stodgy relationship I have with one of mine.
The  
perception of the key person in this school is very reactionary and 
traditional.  EP put in room, student "sent" for assessment, next
please, leave and write 
 report. Now I know there is a place for individual assessment, on a
pseudo  
clinical basis, but where is the richness?

This email and request results from a recent visit to said school when a

youngster was discussed (not one who was due to be "sent") who has had a
fixed  
term exclusion, who threatened his mother during a meeting with the dep
head,  
who bangs his head against the wall, who cuts himself, who has daubed
the 
toilet  wall with his own excrement writing the word "help", who is said
to have a 
 "friendship" with a public lavatory attendant, who is known to the
police, 
who  is 13 years old.

the discussion led to a request for "an assessment" of what?, I asked
and  
the expectation was of a skills/cognitive assessment.

I suggested that this was not high on the list of things to do with this

pupil and that what might be done was.....

And i presented lots of suggestions. 

I am not looking for comments on this individual case, but for ways  in
which 
you have worked with your EP above and beyond individual case work. I
have 
worked with many secondary schools in a far more creative, preventative,

consultative way, but thought it would be good to hear from you forum
people so  
that I can use this for future discussion with the school as ways of
working at  
this level.

Any thoughts from primary colleagues and others would be welcome.

Or maybe the expectation is that we do work in isolation, carry out an  
assessment, say that spelling is below average and that despite the
smearing at  
least they can spell "help".

Help

Martin - and I think I have used up all of my words til  Easter