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, was developed with and for colleges. Any college is able to use the guide in order to self-evaluate the effectiveness of its provision for learners with special educational needs and disabilities. An editable version of the College Send Review Guide is available on the Whole School Send website, you will need to register for a free account. Contact an ETF Centre for Excellence in SEND to discuss further how they can help, including the potential of arranging a peer review.
Transforming the lives of learners wouldn’t be possible without the staff who work tirelessly within the further education (FE) sector. The reality is, our entire education system relies on you all being physically and mentally well enough to carry out your roles. This, Leading Through Crisis guide suggest proactive steps you can take while leading through crisis, with real-life examples and look at the importance of creating trauma-informed FE settings.
In 2022 FE and specialist colleges join forces to support each other, to benefit learners and they continue to do so! General and specialist colleges working in partnership: a nice idea or an approach that could bring lasting improvements to post 16 provision for learners with SEND showcases how joint approaches maximise resources and more importantly, serve our learners well. The General and Specialist Colleges working in partnership report also provides ideas and recommendations for the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan. The report builds on the previous interim report, Putting Learners with SEND at the centre of FE provision: A partnership approach.
The Local Government Association [LGA], the Association of Colleges [AoC] and Natspec undertook a review of arrangements for planning, commissioning, funding, and supporting provision for post-16 High Needs students to understand how local authorities [LAs] and providers within the post-16 high needs system – general further education colleges [GFECs] and special post-16 institutions [SPIs] – can work together to manage an increased demand for support for High Needs students, and what more can be done to make best use of resources. Here’s what they found out together with recommendations based on practice in one or more of ten English local authorities.
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.
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.
Take a look at the guides that accompany the SEND Managers’ programme by clicking on the images.
Commissioned by The ETF, The National Development Team for Inclusion (NTDi) have produced two case study videos showcasing how local authorities and FE providers work together to support learners with SEND achieve their aspirations inclusing progressing into employment.
The first case study video shows how Greenbank College in Liverpool and its local authority worked in partnership to promote independent living and the second case study video shows how several learning providers in Nottinghamshire and the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire local authorities worked successfully together so that learners with SEND gained employment.
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:
Learning support assistants (LSAs) are the most commonly used form of support in the FE sector – and the most expensive. We have put together this Making great use of Learning Support Assistants 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.
Making the most of learning support to deliver positive outcomes for our learners. In this webinar, ity College Norwich shared how they recruit, induct, develop and support teachers to make the most of learning support to deliver positive outcomes for learners.
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.
