July/August 2012 Issue 127

Curriculum managers have a vital role to play in combating bullying in their school by the way in which they ensure teaching and learning (T&L) on key topics is embedded across their curriculum.

This was just one of the key findings of a recent Ofsted report on bullying in schools. The best schools planned and delivered their curriculum in such a way as to build pupils’ empathy, teaching them about moral and social issues, including developing their understanding about bullying, as well as giving them strategies they could use to protect themselves from bullying. They focused on different aspects of bullying, including homophobia and racism, and cyberbullying, and also used the curriculum to teach pupils about diversity.

Commenting on the inspectors’ findings, NUT General Secretary Christine Blower reiterated the important role the curriculum has to play: ‘There needs to be the time

devoted in the curriculum to preventing bullying through challenging negative attitudes,’ she said.

Protecting most vulnerableCertain groups of pupils are more likely to be bullied, including those with special edu­ca tional needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and those who are, or are perceived to be, homosexual, so the second part of the report uses case studies to show how schools have tackled this. Clear steps were taken to man­age the process – see the box middle left on page 2. One­quarter of the pupils interviewed said that their experience of being bullied was related to their appearance.

Tackling unacceptable languageInspectors found that staff often did not know how to deal with or challenge unaccept­able language, and were in urgent need of more training on this. The

‘Curriculum should be used to stamp out bullying’

Ofqual wants to overhaul A-levels to make them more challenging, and a better preparation for those going on to university.

Only one resit should be allowed in future, believes the qualifications watchdog, as too many are devaluing individual exams. Director General of the Russell Group of top universities Wendy Piatt has commented that the existing culture of resits is fuelling grade inflation. Ofqual also wants the current modular element of A­levels to be reduced so eventually there is just an end­of­year exam in the summer to allow more emphasis

on the learning than on assessment. Some universities hope that this might then mean students are less likely to arrive into higher education expecting to be spoonfed.

There are also changes planned to AS­levels, with Ofqual putting forward three options for consultation: scrapping them altogether, leaving them as they are, or turning them into a standalone qualification that does not contribute to the A­level.To have your say on the consultation, which closes on 11 September, see: www.ofqual.gov.uk

A-level overhaul out for consultation

Chief inspector promises to tackle achievement gap

CONTENTS1–2 News

●● ‘Curriculum should be used to stamp out bullying’

●● A-level overhaul out for consultation●● Chief inspector promises to tackle

achievement gap

●● ‘Schools suffer from rushed-through Ofsted framework’Your subscription is changing – turn to page 3 to find out more4–11 Case in point

●● Managing SEND in times of change Alison Ekins, Course Director:

National Award for SEN Coordination8 Case Study

●● Enhancing SEND in times of economic difficulty Rachael Wardle, Director of T&L Support/SENCO, The Fallibroome Academy, Macclesfield, Cheshire12 Resources

Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has promised to review access and achievement in education to help ensure pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve their potential.

He is to set up a review panel of leading heads and academic experts to explore such issues as why some students are more affected by socio-economic and educational disadvantage than others. The panel will also look at identifying and sharing good practice.

Making the announcement at the National College annual conference, Mr Wilshaw said that the 27-point gap in achievement at GCSE level between those pupils on free school meals (FSM) and those who are not was still far too wide. ‘I promise you that this commission and inquiry will come up with radical recommendations to Government on what needs to be done to address these deep-seated problems,’ he said.

ASCL General Secretary Brian Lightman said they were pleased Ofsted was involving practitioners in the inquiry, adding that Mr Wilshaw’s speech felt much more ‘constructive’ and ‘completely different’ to his previous approaches.

‘To counteract such disadvantage, schools need to have the funding and resources to ensure that all their pupils succeed,’ said NUT General Secretary Christine Blower. ‘It is time that Govern-ment and Ofsted accepted this fact.’See: www.ofsted.gov.uk

continued on p2

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NEWS

2 July/August 2012

New figures from Ofsted on the results of recent inspections have spotlighted the damaging effects that rushing in the new framework has had on schools, the NAHT has claimed.

The union said the figures show that in the first month of the new framework, 14% of schools were failed, dropping to just 4% in the third month. ‘This suggests either an attempt by Ofsted to manage the impact, or an inspec tion workforce which is only now becoming competent at applying the frame­work correctly,’ said General Secre t ary Rus­sell Hobby. ‘Every change introduces new mis takes as inadequately trained and ill­prepared inspectors make hasty judge­ments,’ he added. The union has called on Ofsted to reveal what action it will take to avoid a repeat of such fluctuations in future.

The ASCL said that because under the new framework it is more difficult to achieve a good or outstanding grade then it is not possible to use the Ofsted data to make year­on­year comparisons.

Just 7% of the nearly 2,000 schools ins­pected in the first three months of the new framework were awarded an outstanding grade compared with 11% last year; 9% were judged to be inadequate and either given a notice to improve or put in special measures, compared with 6% last year. General Secretary Brian Lightman said the figures raised concerns about September when the new ‘requires improvement’ category comes in. ‘With [these] changes only a few months away, Ofsted must make sure all inspectors are properly trained and understand what is required,’ he added.

Promises, promisesSpeaking at the National College conference, Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wil shaw said Ofsted would work with any school that required improvement ‘for as long as it takes to get them to a good category’.

He also said that inspectors would not turn up with preconceived ideas about what makes for a good lesson, and would not be expecting lessons to be planned in an over­complicated way. ‘A crowded lesson plan is as bad as a crowded curriculum,’ he said. ‘We don’t want to see a wide variety of teach­ing strategies unless they have coher ence or purpose.’ What inspectors will want to see is evidence that pupils are making progress, but they will not be prescriptive about how this should be achieved, he added.See: www.ofsted.gov.uk

‘Schools suffer from rushed-through Ofsted framework’

term ‘gay’ was often used as an insult. Pupils frequently mentioned homophobic language being used, whereas the staff said they did not hear this that often. Few schools had a clear stance on the use of language, or on the boundaries between banter and threatening or hurtful behaviour, found inspectors.

Policy mattersIn the 19 secondary schools that the inspectors surveyed, the focus in their behaviour policy was on rules, compared with the primary schools where the focus was more on values. The strongest policies combined behaviour and bullying into one document. They outlined sanctions for all types of inappropriate behaviour, including

bullying, and in some cases outlined the way in which staff should correct any inappro­priate behaviour. In relation to transition, some schools included details of their stance on bullying in the pupil’s planner so they made it clear from the outset that bullying would not be tolerated in their school.

Another key message was the lack of training – one in three staff said they needed more training to feel confident in tackling issues around bullying.

Recording incidentsSome schools need to be doing more in relation to recording behaviour and bullying incidents and then analysing this data to identify hotspots and to plan action to minimise any such incidents in future. The best schools recorded incidents carefully and then looked for patterns and trends so they could plan next steps. They also ensured pupils knew that if they were ever bullied they could feel confident that prompt action would be taken to stop it. One school had such a comprehensive approach to logging bullying that they were able to group incidents into a range of categories, such as

name­calling, teasing, ridicule and so on. Another ensured all information was also recorded in pupils’ individual files so that anyone member of staff working with them would have the full picture.

Good practiceThe research reveals key areas of action schools should take to help prevent bullying – examples are given in the box below.Inspectors also spotlight areas of good practice seen in schools that were most effec tive in combating bullying.

Bullying can have severe consequences, and its effects can last a lifetime, said NASUWT General Secretary Chris Keates. ‘To be tackled effectively, bullying has to be recognised, understood and taken seriously,’ she said. ‘Regrettably, it is still too often dismissed as teasing or joking or just part of growing up.’ She added that this Govern­ment’s cuts to guidance on bullying were leaving pupils more vulnerable, and putting extra burdens on schools to try and provide these resources themselves to plug the gap.Access No room for bullying via www.ofsted.gov.uk

Tackling homophobia●● Acknowledge the problem●● Secure a commitment from senior

leaders to tackle the problem●● Provide training for all staff●● Update your policies and procedures to

include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgen-der (LGBT) pupils and, importantly, adults

●● Ensure that any incidents of homophobic and transphobic language are tackled strongly

●● Develop your curriculum to meet the needs of LGBT pupils

●● Create a safe environment where pupils fee able to be themselves

●● Develop policies and practice among staff that builds a culture of mutual respect

●● Have a clear set of inclusive values understood by all

●● Ensure your behaviour policy is explicit about how pupils should treat each other

●● Help pupils understand the difference between banter and hurtful comments

●● Ensure staff consistently and firmly

challenge inappropriate interactions, including prejudice-based language

●● Evaluate any action taken after a bullying event to assess its effectiveness

●● Ensure your curriculum has a clear focus on developing an understanding and acceptance of diversity

●● Set parameters for what should be recorded to ensure consistent data

No place for bullying: action to take

‘Curriculum should be used to stamp out bullying’continued from p1

3 July/August 2012

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Service

May 2012 Issue 125

Opening academies and free schools in areas where there is already a surplus of places is a ‘shameful waste of taxpayers’ money’, and is damaging for neighbouring schools, particularly at a time when so many other services are being cut, said the ASCL.

‘Unfair cost advantage’The union has called on Government to pub lish spending figures for the next three years for each new free school. Some of these are promising teachers 60% contact free iPads for all pupils, class sizes of less than 20, which raises ques tions about what funding they get, as these lux uries are unaff­or dable for maintained schools, said ASCL Deputy General Secretary Malcolm Trobe. General Secretary Brian Light man said other secondary schools can not be expected to compete, many of whom are ‘thrown into a

downward spiral because of falling pupil numbers and lack of investment’.

NUT research has focused on the dispro­por tionate resource free schools and acad­emies receive from the Department for Edu ca tion (DfE), with the Government, the union claims, finding £337m for them.

A report from the Schools Network, ‘unsur prisingly’ according to the NUT, has revealed the main reason schools convert to being an academy is for the extra money. Most of the ‘innovative’ practices revealed in the report are already available to all schools, said General Secretary Christine Blower. As these schools compete for pupils and finance, and as the local authority role is undermined, the chance of collaboration between schools that the report promotes is made less likely.See: www.ascl.org.uk, www.nut.org.uk, www.newschoolsnetwork.org

Academies and free schools: ‘shameful waste of money’

Numbers of school leaders losing their job because of the ‘football manager syndrome’ have trebled in the last four years, according to a survey of ASCL members.

Particularly prevalent are leaders serving academy chains who are moved on if they are not to the sponsor’s liking, said ASCL General Secretary Brian Lightman. When in Ofsted inspections ‘sat isfactory’ turns to ‘requires improvement’, the union expects even higher numbers to leave their job before they get pushed. In a separate survey it carried out with the TES, 60% of leaders said gov ern ment policies were having a det­ri mental affect on standards in schools, and

as a result more than half were now thinking of leaving the profession. Another recent survey, this time by YouGov, showed that greater consultation with schools before implementing new policy initiatives was for two out of three teachers the change most likely to help them do their job.

NAHT General Secretary Russell Hobby pointed to a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Coop era tion and Development (OECD), saying that all the evidence shows it is when leaders focus most on teaching that they make the biggest difference.See: www.tes.co.uk, www.yougov.co.uk, www.oecd.org

More school leaders pushed out or quitting

CONTENTS1 News

●● Academies and free schools: ‘shameful waste of money’

●● More school leaders pushed out or quitting

●● In brief

2 Resources●● Book review●● Website review

4–11 Case in point●● Thinking for creativity: T&L tools to

trigger innovation Anne de A’Echevarria, Education Consultant

8 Case study●● Putting creativity at heart of

all learning Judith Woodfield, Deputy Head, Chenderit School, Banbury, Oxon12 Calendar and checklist corner: transition

Concerns over careers provision●● Quality work experience and vocational

education are helping young people to succeed in apprenticeships, says a new report from Ofsted, which has called for stronger careers guidance post 16. This is ironic, said the NASUWT, given the Coali­tion has axed work experi ence, denigrated vocational courses, as well as decimated the careers service, and all at a time of record youth unemployment. Following the launch of the new National Careers Service, offering just tele phone and web­site advice, the ASCL has said schools are not being given the resources needed to fulfil the minimum careers provision required of them. See: www.ofsted.gov.uk

‘No’ to unis shaping A-levels●● Education Secretary Michael Gove has

told Ofqual he wants universities to have a greater say in the content and marking of A­level exams. ‘Preparing students for uni­v ersity is only one aspect of A­levels,’ said ASCL General Secretary Brian Light man. ‘Many use them as a springboard for app­re nticeships, employment­based training or entering the workforce.’ Mr Gove’s plan is based on ‘unrealistic expec ta tions of what an examination can accom plish’, he added. See: www.education.gov.uk

Truancy penalties set to rise●● To reduce unauthorised pupil absence,

the Government wants to increase fines to parents whose child misses school without good reason. Because about 40% of fines are unpaid, the money in future could be taken from the parent’s child benefit. See: www.education.gov.uk

In brief

Now part of the Teaching, Learning & Pastoral Support Service www.optimus-education.com

Editor: Angela Dewsbury angela.dewsbury@optimus-education.com

Curriculum Management Update is published by Optimus Education, a division of Optimus Professional Publishing Limited. Registered office: 33-41 Dallington Street, London EC1V 0BB. Reg. no: 05791519. © 2012 Optimus Professional Publishing Limited ISSN 1759-9474

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the material contained in this newsletter is correct, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that may occur.

CASE IN POINT

4 July/August 2012

We are in a time of significant change within the world of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), due to the change in government, and the associated changes that political drivers are placing on the future direction of thinking, conceptualising and enacting SEN provision and practice.

Following on from widespread concern and dissatisfaction with the existing SEN system (House of Commons, 2006; Lamb Inquiry, 2009) where it was seen to be ‘out­dated’ and ‘not fit for purpose’, issues have been raised about the development of new approaches to SEN – see the box below.

With the election of the Coalition Government in 2011, we saw the publication of both a White Paper on education (DfE, 2010) and then the Green Paper on SEN and Disability (DfE, 2011). The Green Paper acknowledges the problems that have been identified as inherent within the existing SEN system and claims to provide a ‘radical new approach to special educational needs’. But the difficulty for schools, teachers and SEN coordinators (SENCOs) at this time is that while proposing changes to SEN provi­

sion and practice, the Green Paper remains, for now, a consultation document, and no clear White Paper has as yet been forth­coming. Part of the delay has been that the Coalition has promised that new approaches and systems will be trialled by SEN path­finder teams across the country in order to check their validity, relevance and appro­priateness. It is not expected that the SEN pathfinder teams will formally have evalu­ated the impact of the new systems until later this year. Until this time, schools, teachers and SENCOs are left in a state of flux, still having to pay ‘due regard’ to the requirements and practices espoused within the SEN Code of Practice (DfES, 2001) while also starting to consider ways to develop practice in relation to the new proposals.

Impact on schoolsSo, what are the new proposals and what impact will they have on schools?

The Green Paper (DfE, 2011) proposes a number of significant changes to SEN prac­tice. Through it, the Coalition states that:

We want to put in place a radically different system to support better life outcomes for young people; give parents more confidence by giving them more control; and transfer power to professionals on the front line and to local communities. (DfE, 2011, p4)

On the face of it, these key principles cannot be argued with, although, on closer examina­tion, we could question how ‘radical’ they really are. Key proposals to emerge from the Green Paper include those in the box right.

While some of these proposals may cause, and are causing, alarm in relation to ensuring equity of SEN provision, remember that at this point they do still remain proposals. So for now what is needed within schools is a measured and reflective approach to under­standing the proposed direction of change, reconsidering existing practices and planning for ways to support all – staff,

pupils and parents – to embrace any changes that may occur. This will happen most effectively via a strategic approach to the leadership of SEN across the school.

The focus for curriculum managers now should be on improving their underpinning SEND systems within the school context so they are strong and robust enough to absorb the new changes once they are finalised.

Strategic leadership of SEN To support the process of change, you need to secure effective leadership of SEN. This is not just about one person, but should be a distributed and participatory leadership model. All members of staff – from the senior leadership team (SLT) and SENCO to all subject teachers and support staff – must be engaged with and committed to key whole­school principles and practices for effectively meeting the needs of your SEND pupils. This needs to be led by the SENCO. With the new statutory National Award for SEN Coordination (see: www.education.gov.uk), many SENCOs will have accessed, or will be accessing, quality postgraduate

Managing SEND in times of changeAt a time when many schools and local authorities have been hit by budget cuts, it is even more critical that curriculum managers evaluate how they manage their SEND provision to ensure the best possible outcomes for all pupils. Dr Alison Ekins shows how

With the SEN Green Paper proposals still to be passed into law, and budget cuts to deal with, curric ulum managers have a balancing act to perform to ensure their provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is inclusive and provides value for money. This month’s Case in Point looks at how to achieve this, and prepare for the changing SEN landscape that the Coalition is proposing. The case study school then shares how with the increased range and numbers of SEND pupils in their classrooms, they are managing to continue to deliver quality inclusive provision in a period of financial austerity.

Key reforms planned●● Introduce a new single school-based

category of SEN to replace existing school action, school action plus and statement

●● Introduce a new developmental assessment at the age of two to two-and-a-half to identify SEN and to be undertaken by health visitors

●● Replace the statementing process with an education, health and care plan, with a single point of assessment, drawing together all professionals

●● Increase use of voluntary and indepen-dent services to support or lead the assess-ment of pupils with SEN

●● Provide a significant focus on raising parental choice, and their power within the processes to include the allocation of personal budgets to parents of children with an education, health and care plan

Concerns that SEN reforms need to address

●● Focus on the inconsistent and incoher-ent conceptualisation, under standing and usage of the term ‘SEN’ within current educational discussions and practices leading to the overidentification of pupils with SEN in some schools and local authorities (LAs) (Ofsted, 2010)

●● Adversarial nature of existing SEN system, where parents felt they had to ‘battle’ to protect the rights of their children

●● Need for wider training about SEN across all staff working within schools

●● Inequitable statementing system, which highlights the ‘postcode lottery’ of SEN practices where LAs are responsible both for the assessment of need and the provision of support to meet that need

5

CASE IN POINT

July/August 2012

training to support them in developing both understanding of their role and responsi­bilities as a strategic whole­school leader, and ways to build staff capacity, skills and awareness of how best to meet the diverse needs of pupils with SEN.

The SLT needs to support the SENCO, and be committed to a whole­school inclusive approach to meeting all pupils’ needs, rather than to a marginalised and separate system. In such a way, you can then foster a culture of practice in which all staff take responsibility for understanding and meeting complex needs. You should identify regular opportuni­ties to contextualise SEN practices within the wider whole­school systems, arti c u lating these changes and developments so all staff understand and take ownership of them.

Developing effective provisionTo ensure the effectiveness of the developing approach, consider the key prin ciples out­lined in the box right. You can then incorp­orate the reflective questions outlined in the box below into an annual cycle of key activi­ties to ensure the continued under standing of and commitment to the processes being developed. This will also help you to take into account factors such as staff turnover,

and initiative overload. Keep this fresh by embedding it within day­to­day whole­school procedures and annually reviewing it so the vision is maintained, and not diluted or shifted via individual interpretation.

Making best use of resourcesAll too often schools find themselves embedded to a particular model of practice just because this is ‘how we have always done it’ rather than because there is any evidence base to show it is effective in terms of improving outcomes for pupils, and offering value for money.

A key example of this, is in the widespread assumption of the value of the teaching assistant (TA) or learning support assistant (LSA) for working with pupils with SEN. It has, over recent years, become accepted practice that where schools are working with large numbers of pupils with SEN, there is then a need to increase the numbers of support staff employed by the school. Often when a new pupil with complex needs transfers to a school, there will be an immed­iate conversation about whether that pupil brings any money into the school, and how that will be spent on increased support staff time to meet their needs.

Core principles: achieving effective provision

●● Focus on a whole-school approach, with an emphasis on the responsibility of all staff to understand and respond appropriately to the needs of all pupils with SEN

●● The above can only be achieved where a clear vision and values have been articulated and agreed across the staff group, and then supported by practical training opportunities to ensure all staff have shared understanding of basic concepts of SEN: how to identify pupils with SEN; the key categories of need, as well as the implications of those for effective teaching and learning (T&L) strategies that will help all pupils, including those with SEN.

●● In addition to the above, it is then important to ensure that key members of staff across each department or year group are also supported to further develop their expertise, skills and understandings of the needs of SEN pupils – you should analyse key school-based trends in relation to emerging patterns of need types and use the findings to identify the right training required to meet those needs.

●● Have you drawn up a clear whole-school structure for meeting the needs of pupils with SEN and shared this with all staff?

●● If yes, how is this achieved?●● How effective is it?●● If no, how could this be started as a key whole-school activity? ●● How is responsibility for different aspects of SEN provision and practice shared and delegated throughout the whole school?

●● Have you communicated a clear vision as to how the school as a whole responds to and meets the needs of pupils with SEN?

●● If yes, how does this vision relate to changing proposals coming from the Green Paper?

●● Does anything have to be developed?●● How do you ensure everyone (including new staff) is aware of this vision, and that there is shared commitment to that vision?

●● How do you respond to challenges to that vision?●● If no, who can you involve and how can you achieve commitment to developing a shared vision and shared values towards meeting the needs of SEN pupils collaboratively with staff across the whole school?

●● Do you complete a clear analysis of pupil need types each year?●● How is this used to inform the development of interventions, appropriate teaching approaches and also plan effective training for key members of staff?

●● How are the needs of pupils with SEN met? Do you have an embedded notion of the importance of withdrawn, specialist SEN provision and intervention, or are the needs of pupils with SEN flexibly met through quality whole-class teaching and learning approaches?

●● What are the implications, the benefits and the limitations, of both approaches?

●● How can these be addressed and/or balanced?

Improving provision: practical activity

CASE IN POINT

6 July/August 2012

While there are many dedicated and expert support staff working in our schools, the widespread assumption that the only way the needs of pupils with highly complex needs can be met is via increased time with the unqualified support staff in our schools does needs to be challenged. Other assump­tions inherent within this accepted practice that need to be challenged include the:

●● notion that some pupils (often our ‘state mented’ pupils) have to have ‘one­to­one’ support staff ‘velcroed’ to them throughout the school day, and the implications of this for the development of any independent skills

●● assumption that more staff within a classroom immediately equates with improved outcomes

●● idea that where pupils are struggling with a concept, being taken out for withdrawn input, and then being placed back in the teaching context having missed the introduction and explanation of the learning task will help their improve skills.

Recent evidence (Lamb, 2009; Ofsted, 2006 and 2010) has shown that while there are benefits in having dedicated, specialist, trained support staff, at a time when budgets are cut, schools have to be clear about the impact and value that support staff are bringing to raising outcomes for pupils. This will involve key discussions about how support staff are being delegated, and should be directly linked to evaluations and analyses of the impact this is having on SEN pupils.

Linked to this, you also need to consider how the needs of SEN pupils are being met within the whole­class teaching situation. The most effective tool for improving out comes for pupils with SEN is through devel oping the expertise and the skills of all teachers to understand and meet a range of different needs. You also require simple systems that identify needs within different cohorts (see ‘profiles of need’ section below). This then allows the teacher (particularly in a busy secondary school context, where they will regularly be teaching different class groups through the day and week) to see at a glance the range of needs that must be proactively planned for and supported within each class.

The box below left offers an activity you can complete to reflect on how to improve your use of staff with the delivery of SEN teaching and learning.

Evaluating interventionsWhile inclusive whole­class teaching strat­egies are vital, there will also be times when individual pupils, or groups of pupils with SEN may need specific interventions or support programmes.

You need to ensure that everything you implement is based on evidence that there is a clear need for a separate intervention group, and that in­class systems of support have already been trialled and evaluated. You should then evaluate the nature of the intervention offered to check it meets the needs of the individual or the group, rather than just being implemented because ‘this is what we have always done’.

Throughout the intervention, simple pro­cesses and checks need to be in place to ensure it is right for the pupil(s) and that progress is being made. You should

Cost analysis of interventionTo achieve a simple cost analysis of the intervention calculate the amount of staff time (for example, 30-minutes support-staff time per week, over a 10-week period = 5 hours) times a rough estimate of the hourly rate for the member of staff (for example, 5 hours x £15 per hour = £75) and then divide the total cost of the intervention between the number of pupils that accessed the intervention within that particular group (in this case, £75 divided by 3 pupils = £25 per pupil). Compare this final sum against the rate of progress in terms of national curriculum sub-levels – so staff can then demonstrate that the interven tion cost is £25 per pupil, and that the pupil made a gain of two sub-levels as a result, which would indicate an effective intervention.

●● Carefully identify and analyse the needs of the pupil(s) requiring the intervention

●● Is there an intervention already used that would meet those needs?

●● If not, then take time either to develop something ‘inhouse’ or to look around at evidence bases for other interventions

●● Talk to other professionals such as speech and language therapists, educa-tion al psychologists, as well as staff from other schools that may be implementing the programme to check how effective it is

●● Ensure that clear aims/outcomes are identified at the outset of the intervention, and that these are clearly communicated to the pupil and all staff involved

●● Ensure that the person delivering the intervention is fully trained, and understands how the intervention will address the pupil(s)’ needs and how it

will fit into their wider learning●● Ensure that the intervention targets are

also transferred into whole-class T&L activities as much as possible

●● Set up simple progress-tracking forms for the intervention, so that movement towards end outcomes can be monitored after each session

●● Regularly review those tracking forms to check that progress is appropriate: has the pupil achieved the targets already? – in which case the intervention was too easy; is the pupil not making enough progress towards the end targets? – in which case the intervention was too difficult

●● At the end of the intervention complete a simple costing analysis to look at the ‘cost’ of the intervention compared to the impact in terms of pupil progress achieved (see the box right).

Steps to ensure effective interventions

●● How are support staff currently deployed?●● How effective is the support that they provide?●● How do you know this?●● How could you develop systems to more fully capture

evidence about the impact of support staff on SEN pupils?●● What is currently working well?●● Where are the gaps? What may need to be further

developed?●● How are teachers currently meeting the needs of pupils

with SEN?●● What information is provided to teachers to enable them

to understand the diverse needs of the different groups that they may teach throughout the day and week?

●● How do you plan to develop the range of quality inclusive T&L strategies that all teachers use?

●● How is this monitored?●● What is currently working well?●● Where are the gaps? What may need to be further

developed?

Reflective activity: improving use of staff

7

CASE IN POINT

July/August 2012

complete indepth evaluations at the end of the inter ven tion to analyse its impact on pupil pro gress, and its value­for­money rating. Recently, the Sutton Trust (2011) analysed typical interventions in terms of the value for money and impact on progress, to help schools make intelligent and evidence­based decisions about how to spend the new pupil premium to impact positively on pupils progress (see: www.suttontrust.com/research/toolkit­of­strategies­to­improve­learning). Their findings may prompt you to reconsider the use of traditional or particular intervention approaches.

The box top left on page 6 outlines key steps you can follow to achieve effective interventions.

Systems for planningCentral to reviewing and evaluating your SEND provision, will be effective provision­mapping systems, pupil­tracking systems and profiles of need. When combined, these will allow you to:

●● clearly identify and record individual, group and cohort needs

●● show how those needs are being strategically addressed and resourced through staff time, interventions and the development of specific T&L resources

●● assess the outcome in terms of effectiveness and value for money.

These systems have the most significant impact and greater value when they are joined to form one cohesive whole­school

model of practice, embedded into rather than separate from the day­to­day T&L activities that are an expectation of all staff and pupils (Ekins and Grimes, 2009).

We will now look at key principles for each system type. For more detail about how to develop each of these systems see Ekins and Grimes (2009) and Ekins (2012).

Pupil tracking dataWhile it is accepted practice in most schools to regularly collate pupil­progress data, you need to ensure the right questions are being asked of the data – see the box above left for examples.

Profiles of needProfiles­of­need systems are a simple way to collate essential information about the range of needs that individual pupils, and then cohorts of pupils may have. This information is essential for teachers to differentiate their T&L styles appropriately and change how they teach their subject to ensure they address the particular needs of the pupils within their group.

When developing your profiles of need, it is important to build on systems your school already has in place. For example, they may be best set up individually for each subject­teaching group, or across a year group with filters so that teachers can then see the needs group in their set or teaching group. See what would work best for your school and develop the system so that it makes sense to all staff, and is owned by them.

Once you have established the way to develop your system, start to collate key information about the needs of all pupils within the different teaching groups. Keep the names of all of the pupils within the teaching group, as this helps you to identify which have higher levels of need than others – and to plan strategically for how the school is addressing this. So next to each pupil, indicate the range of needs they may have, including those set out in the box above. Add any other vulnerable

Profiles of need: key groups to include

●● SEN – school action; school action plus or statemented; as well as their primary area of need, such as cognition and learning; behaviour, emotional and social difficulties; communication and interaction or physical and sensory

●● G&T●● LAC●● Social Services involvement●● EAL●● Gypsy, Roma and traveller pupils

●● What happens to the data once it is collated? (it should be used to identify gaps in provision and progress and to actively plan interventions and resources to fill the gaps)

●● Who analyses the pupil progress data? (for maximum impact the subject teacher should be at least involved in reflective discussions about what the data shows)

●● How are pupils informed of appropriate ‘next steps’ so that they are an active part of the data tracking process?

●● Where are the gaps? Are these subject or cohort specific, or are there any whole-school trends emerging? What are the implications of this for the development of whole-school practice, and possible whole-staff training opportunities?

●● Are there particular groups of pupils who are not making sufficient progress such as those with SEN, looked after children (LAC), with English as an additional language (EAL), of middle ability; gifted and talented (G&T)? What does this tell you about provision and practice?

Developing pupil-tracking system: questions to ask

●● Is there clear information about what provisions are offered, to which pupils, baseline starting data, expected outcomes, staff involved and amount of time allocated to the intervention?

●● How is this information analysed? Are there processes to check the range of provisions to ensure that they are meaningful, and respond to actual needs? Are there any gaps? Who is delivering the interventions, and how is information shared with subject teachers?

●● Are the provision maps owned and used by subject teachers?

●● Are they working documents, or have they become static pieces of paper?

●● How can practice be further developed?

Meaningful provision maps: questions to ask

continued on p11

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CASE IN POINT

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Case StudyEnhancing SEND in times of economic difficulty

Rachael Wardle, Director of Teaching and Learning Support/SENCO and Specialist Leader of SEN, The Fallibroome Academy, Macclesfield, Cheshire

I was appointed as SENCO at the Fallibroome Academy in 2006 and since that time there have been significant national, school and attitudinal changes towards inclusion and special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). While Fallibroome was already a designated school for young people with wheelchairs and physical difficulties, at that time, we did not have a broad range of SEND and ability. Since then with national and local changes, this profile has changed signifi-cantly. Fallibroome is now truly inclusive, having a full range of SEND covering all four major categories: cognition and learning; behavioural, social and emotional difficulties; communication and interaction difficulties; sensory and physical difficulties.

In response to this, my role as the SENCO has also evolved to include the aspects outlined in the box below right.

To achieve this, I work closely alongside the senior leadership team (SLT), helping direct the academy so as to maintain its high expectations and standards for all and realise our vision of being inclusive.

Managing changeWith increased range and numbers of SEND pupils, particularly in a period of financial austerity, it is essential to ensure value for money but not at the expense of quality of provision – this is the key challenge I face as a SENCO; balancing provision and the need to ensure inclusion rather than just aiming for integration.

Key to managing the change was estab lishing a line-management system within the learning support department (LSD) that would meet the needs of the increased SEND numbers and consequen-tial rise in teaching assistant (TA) recruit-ment, while ensuring flexibility in my role. To do this, we used an assistant director of teaching and learning (ADTL) to support

my role in leading the depart ment, a lead TA coordinator – a higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) – with resp on sibility for day-to-day line-management of TAs, and then four experienced TAs, who as well as having responsibility for core areas, such as access arrange ments, and the inclusion resource centre, would each line-manage five or six TAs supported by an effective appraisal system.

This system ensured my role could be as flexible and responsive as possible to any situation that may arise and permit me to respond to whole-school and transition issues more creatively. It also ensured there was a wider range of skilled staff to support myself and other staff across the school. With increased SEND numbers and a wider range of difficulties and disabilities year on year, it would have been wonder-ful to have a budget that continued to reflect this change. However, with the current economic situation this was not possible. But, through creativity, planning and collaboration we have still been able to meet the students’ needs fully.

Releasing SENCO hours and sharing informationHaving completed and analysed a whole-school SEN audit early in my appoint ment, I found that the individual educa tion plans (IEPs) that previous SENCOs and I had spent many hours writing and sending to parents/carers and to staff, were rarely used or were seen as largely irrelevant within the mainstream setting.

I sought to implement a new system where strategies and information specific to the pupils were conveyed in an access i-bility plan but more importantly one that would release me from the bureaucracy so

I could be more useful across the school. The accessibility plans give staff

individual and personalised advice on how to prepare for the lesson, what behaviour management techniques to use (positive and consequential) what exam arrange-ments were approved (or likely to be needed in the case of Key Stage 3) and other key information such as the objectives on the pupil’s statement of educational need.

The plans are maintained electronically and updated by the relevant TA at the end of the academic year, or if the students’ needs/difficulties change in any way.

The time this has freed up I now use to offer support and advice in class, to observe students and suggest points of development and to complete pupil assess ments. Being able to understand the students’ background needs more fully reduced staff anxiety and, in terms of cost, was a much more effective use of SENCO time. It created deeper understanding and a culture of acceptance, evidenced in

School contextThe Fallibroome Academy was one of the first converted academies in 2010. It remains a truly comprehensive, mixed-ability school for 1,554 students aged 11–18, including 340 future leaders in the sixth form. It is situated on the edge of Macclesfield, Cheshire, in easy reach of the Peak District National Park, with good access to Manchester. The pupil cohort is from a varied socio-economic background. Just 4% of students are on free school meals (FSM). There are four secondary schools serving Macclesfield and the surrounding area. We are now a teaching school, building on our successes as a national support school, and specialisms in training, performing arts and leading edge. Our successful collaboration with our six partner primary schools has created the Fallibroome Learning Community to provide a ‘genuine 3–19 educational experience’. On entry, most pupils’ attainment is in line with the national average. A total of 16% of pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Over the past six years there has been a significant increase of 158% in SEND students, most notably an increase of 182% in the enrolment of statemented pupils (67 statements and enhanced school-action-plus students). In 2006, Fallibroome was awarded outstanding in all areas by Ofsted, subsequent themed and a further inspections in 2010, reaffirmed our outstanding status.

New focus for SENCO role●● A more strategic overview of whole-

school provision of SEND●● Identifying and monitoring pupils

with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to ensure inclusion, provision, support and achievement

●● Line-managing the learning support department, which has more than 40 TAs and teachers

●● Providing training and strategies for all staff to instil confidence

●● Linking agencies, parents/carers, pupils and teachers, all within the current statutory framework of the Code of Practice (DfES, 2001)

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CASE IN POINT

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reports that showed greater under-standing of the individual pupil.

Inclusive approachHaving built a strong structure to underpin the department, at minimal cost increase, I was able then to focus on whole-school issues, ensuring there was an inclusive approach. The message I sought to drive across to staff was that all teachers are teachers of pupils with SEND. By devolving both pupil and SEND information and funding to all departments, they were encouraged to take a proactive response to situations that may arise within their own classrooms and curriculum areas. This enabled LSD staff to focus on:

●● developing effective, targeted intervention programmes

●● supporting staff to develop knowledge and good practice

●● skilling up students so that they can achieve comparative independence, while striving to close the achievement gap.

Training and staff developmentKey to all the changes within the school was developing staff knowledge and under standing. Being a teaching school with previous training specialisms afforded me significant opportunities to deliver whole-school training.

To maintain minimal costs we sought to maximise experience and expertise that was already available to us, for example, any externally organised course that a TA or teacher attended came with the proviso that the staff attending would feed back their training at department meetings or twilight training sessions.

Our most effective training has been those events delivered by members of the learning support department, drawing on their expertise and knowledge. More often than not we have been able to build this into the whole-school training agenda enabling us to reach even the most reticent of staff.

We also used the training on the national strategies website – programmes developed by the Department for Education (DfE) with specialist agencies, such as the National Autistic Society and Dyslexia Action, that our staff could freely access to work on at their own pace.

Top tips for accessing effective no-cost training are given in the box right.

For my own training needs, I regularly seek development via free work shops. For example, the NASEN/DfE training package

A whole-school approach to improving access, participation and achievement includes a free SENCO toolkit, that you can download from: www.nasentraining.org.uk to deliver quality training within your own context. Having attended the course, I have used the templates on offer to adopt sophisticated tracking and monitoring systems that complement our existing structures. This provides a wealth of information for external verification from the likes of Ofsted. Most appealing to me was the flexibility this toolkit offered, as it can be tailored to your context and shared freely among staff.

By being creative and analysing the needs of our pupils and staff, we have effectively disseminated experience and expertise to the ‘chalkface’ and increased confidence and understanding for the benefit of all students. This has been ext-er nally verified by pupil progress observed in Ofsted inspections and RaiseOnline data (see: www.raiseonline.org).

Flexibility within curriculum arrangementsPrevious SEN practice was to secure TA time based solely on the hours stated within the statement of educational need. This was then supplemented with addi-tional hours in order to deliver the inter-vention programmes. But this was not cost-effective. By adopting a provision-mapping system we were able to increase

entitlement, providing excess TA support across the curriculum and maximising its positive effect. By costing this fully we have regularly exceeded the support within the pupil’s statement.

Intervention is bespoke and we seek to ensure that it is cost-effective, promotes and develops progress and achievement. We have capitalised on the skills of our support staff, by using our grade 6 spec-ialist skills TAs to minimise expensive teaching costs, focusing their experiences and skills on the small-group intervention.

We target intervention at Key Stage 3, under the belief that the earlier the identi-fication and intervention the more effec-tive the results. Students at Key Stage 4 benefit from an extended alternative cur-ric ulum, ranging from BTECs in workskills and creative media, to NVQs delivered via our partnership with Macclesfield College. By extending provision, we are able to meet a variety of SEND, at various ability levels, fully catering for all students. As these programmes are not ringfenced and are open to pupils at school action up to statemented level, they remain financially viable in terms of pupil numbers. Learning support remains a constant but is targeted at students who continue to need basic skills reinforcement.

Effective use of support staffWe have used training to re-examine and ensure consistency of use of our TAs to

No-cost training●● Access free whole-school SEND training and resources, including the inclusion

development programmes on autism and dyslexia – previously hosted by the national strategies website (see: www.education.gov.uk), and the DfE and National Association for SEN (NASEN) toolkit A whole-school approach to improving access, participation and achievement available via: www.nasentraining.org.uk

●● Contact national and local organisations specialising in specific areas of SEND who may be able to provide training and/or resources directly to the school or indirectly via the web. Many such as Dyslexia Action are delivering quality training via webinars and podcasts. These are available via YouTube or by subscribing to: www.training.dyslexiaaction.org.uk

●● Gain training and advice on assistive technology and free accessibility ICT tools from companies such as JISC TechDis – see: www.jisctechdis.ac.uk

●● Speak to your contacts at external agencies such as child and adult mental health services (CAMHS) or sensory services. Empowering staff through external training provision can reduce demand on their services, so this is mutually beneficial.

●● Contact your local teaching school or NCSL – email: sle@nationalcollege.org.uk – to access advice and support from specialist leaders of education (SLEs). SLEs can specialise in various areas including SEN and can provide bespoke coaching and support, tailored to your context (there may be a minimal cost for this but there are some funding streams available and negotiations can be made via teaching schools).

●● Join the SENCO Forum. This free facility, provided by the DfE, does not offer training, but enables SENCOs to share problems and strategies, seeking advice from others who may have had similar experiences and can offer advice – see: http://lists.education.gov.uk/mailman/listinfo/senco-forum

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July/August 2012

get value for money from this invaluable resource. We committed time from our Inset schedule to run compulsory whole-school training sessions on effective deployment of support staff. By targeting both TAs and teachers, we were able to establish effectiveness and consistency in expectation and use, clarify roles and empower teachers to maximise their use of the TA. It was also useful to gain feedback on the issues that the class teachers, and separately, the TAs had in delivering and utilising support. It helped ensure our TAs continue to feel valued and invested in by the school.

For top tips on how to make better use of your TAs, see the box above.

ResourcesAs a department, we make significant investment in resources to ensure progress. As these can be costly, we need to guarantee their effect. A starting point for us is the downloaded document What works for children with literacy difficulties? The effectiveness of intervention schemes (DfE, 2002). Having identified schemes that suited our purposes, we contacted the publishers’ representatives who would often be willing to come in to school to show us the benefits of their programme. During this conversa tion, I would also ask about discounts and began to discover that many companies are willing to offer ambassador rates if I then shared my experiences with anyone who expressed an interest. I was more than willing to do this and so secured significant discounts on whole schemes, with ease.

We have also been financially sound by purchasing schemes that were one-off

manuals. Programmes such as social use of language programmes by Wendy Rinadli (see: www.wendyrinaldi.com), social stories by Carol Gray (see: www.thegraycenter.org/social-stories) or Motorskills United by Special Direct (see: www.specialdirect.com) have all cost us less than £100, but have been our most successful schemes, enabling the specific needs of students with autism, communication or coordination difficulties to be met effectively at minimal cost.

By gaining detailed understanding of what the external agencies can offer, we have regularly been able to secure loans of books and equipment, usually free of charge. The sensory services department at our local authority, Cheshire East, has been extremely supportive, providing students with laptops, magnifiers and so on as part of their responsibility to continue to provide us, as an academy, with additional funding and resources for students with additional needs. Equally, the Cheshire Autism Support and Development Team (CASADT) ran a library and for a small annual membership fee school was able to loan us a number of books and training material. We also worked closely alongside the speech and language service. To help reduce their oversubscribed waiting lists, we were able to offer TA hours to deliver schemes of work provided by the service, enabling us to secure support for more students.

Top tips on how to cut resources costs are given in the box below right.

Challenges aheadThe creative approaches we have taken to ensure effective provision and support will stand us in good stead for the national changes implemented as a response to the Green Paper: support and aspiration: a new approach to special educational needs and disabilities – see the article on pages 4–11.

We will be keeping abreast of the pathfinder trials as they run across the country and reviewing local-authority services and support, seeking advice and insight from as many sources as possible.

We will be maximising the support avail able via SLEs in teaching schools, particularly as we are finding LA education services cutting back on the support and facilities available.

I will be keeping a close eye on the imp-l i cations all the changes and the cur rent economic climate will have on retaining

my support staff. Having worked to dev-elop the expertise and knowledge of this valuable workforce I have concerns about what effect the new education, health and social plans will have on them as the number of pupils with statements drop.

Challenges will be big, but ultimately the aim of providing effective support enabling achievement for all is a worthwhile endeavour.

Future plansAs to the future, first on the agenda will be looking at a more cost-effective way of supporting access arrangements within the exam hall. Pupils requiring amanuensis and readers, and so on, are significantly rising, and are far in advance of the availa-bility of TAs. Assistive technology, such as voice-activated software, laptops and optical character readers (OCRs) could be significantly more cost-effective and will ensure the TA remains in the classroom.

This will no doubt overlap with our new project of fully utilising AT. I hope to receive the go-ahead soon for a new project, aimed at supporting sixth-form students through ICT, promoting indepen-d ence through a worthwhile investment and new assistive technology.

This in itself will pose challenges, in particular, encoura ging pupil use in the classroom and devel oping both student and staff confidence in its abilities. But it is a project that will support achievement and inclusion while providing these students with life skills and a toolkit that will help them achieve in higher education and employment.

At The Fallibroome Academy, while the Green Paper goes through the necessary processes, we will continue to put the

Minimising resource costs●● Reduce paperwork costs by scanning

material and creating PDF and electronic files and disseminating to staff via email

●● Ask publishers for ambassador discounts, particularly for resources that are regularly purchased

●● Access free equipment, aids and resources through external agency loans

●● Apply to charities and disability groups for grants/funds to purchase specialist aids and equipment

●● Maximise the free and low-cost facilities on assistive technology (AT)

●● Procure schemes that are one-off purchases or search for DfE schemes available electronically

Empower your TAs●● Share TA knowledge and expertise

through regular department meetings●● Devolve responsibility for paperwork●● Invest in support-staff training,

developing their confidence and abilities to deliver highly structured programmes of intervention

●● Maintain flexibility in contracts to retain staff and maximise deployment

●● Enable TAs to deliver structured intervention, reducing teaching costs

●● Be creative in your deployment of TA hours during breaks and lunches – utilise this to extend supervision and extracurricular provision

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CASE IN POINT

July/August 2012

individual first, responding to their specific needs accordingly.

So have we got it right? By remaining flexible and responding to the individual pupil needs has allowed us to provide effective, quality support that satisfies parents and pupils. The box right lists my top tips for achieving this cost-effectively.

Students continue to make above-average progress, and because of our outstanding reputation and maintenance of high SEND figures we are able to retain support staff well. Yet no system is infallible and with the changes in education and SEND I am certain our model will continue to evolve.

Rachael Wardle, Director of T&L Support/SENCO and Specialist Leader of SEN, The Fallibroome Academy, Macclesfield, Cheshire

You can email Rachael at: war@fallibroome.org.uk From September Rachael will be Assistant Head: Strategic Director of SEN at Lymm High School, Lymm, Cheshire

Top tips for cost-effective SEND provision●● Ask and you shall receive – training, resources and discounts are available but you

will have to seek these out●● Make SEND a whole-school issue, not just one for your learning support department

– this can also be extended to the students, involving sixth-formers for example as peer tutors, creating an environment of acceptance and tolerance, breaking down barriers

●● Know your school’s SEN budget and keep track of prospective pupil numbers by building strong relationships with your business manager and with your partner primaries

●● Ensure effective communication systems are in place to support students and staff and utilise ICT to reduce bureaucracy

●● Invest time and energy in developing staff knowledge and understanding of assistive technology as a cost-effective tool that promotes pupil independence and inclusion

●● Invest in your support staff so they have the skills and confidence to support a range of students, enabling flexible deployment and provision

●● Seek to get the most from the resources you have within your own setting – this can include TAs, parents and external agencies

●● Access free resources offering advice and support●● Look for funding streams from alternative sources – for example, many charities may

fund equipment such as physio beds; this will become more and more significant next academic year when changes to the Equalities Act will make auxiliary equipment, aids and resources the responsibility of schools

●● Keep ahead of the game by keeping an eye on current trends and progress with the Green Paper, through such journals as SENCO Update (Optimus Education) – don’t become solely reliant on your local authority

groups that are significant to your own school context.

Once completed, the profiles of need will give all staff an at­a­glance resource that will help them to more fully understand and meet the needs of pupils within each of their teaching groups. They will be able to see which groups have more pupils with lear­ning difficulties, who may need basic con­cept consolidation, and which groups have more pupils with language needs – such as communication and inter action needs or EAL – and may benefit from language broken down during whole­class input and pre­teaching of new subject vocabulary.

You will need to revisit and update your profiles of need two to three times a year. This will help you to ensure all staff remain engaged in the process and have deeper understanding of the pupils they teach.

Provision mapsEnsure provision maps are used, not as a standalone activity, but instead as a valuable resource to draw together the other two key aspects of gathering information about

pupil needs and progress. They should be the vehicle for actively planning how to use that information to move forward.

Check that your provision maps are strategic and meaningful documents by considering the questions set out in the box at the bottom of page 7.

State of fluxThe world of SEND provision and practice is in a state of flux. To manage the change pro­cesses that will, and already are, emerging in relation to expectations for quality SEND prac tice, you need to have clear strategic leadership for SEN across the whole school. This is not in the form of one ‘super­SENCO’ but via a more distributed model of leadership where all members of staff are committed to and own processes relating to development of SEND across the school.

Dr Alison Ekins, Course Director: National Award for SEN Coordination, and Senior Lecturer, Centre for Enabling Learning, Canterbury Christ Church University

Alison has extensive experience working as a SENCO and SEN consultant. Her publi c ations include The changing face of SEN: impact and

implications for SENCOs and their schools (Routledge, 2011), designed to help practitioners manage the implic-ations of the changing policy context for SEN practice within their school.

References●● DfE (2011) Green Paper: support and

aspiration – a new approach to special educational needs, SfE

●● DfE (2010) White Paper: the importance of teaching, DfE

●● DfES (2001) SEN Code of Practice, DfES●● Ekins, A. (2012) The changing face of

SEN: impact and implications for SENCOs and their schools, Routledge

●● Ekins, A. and Grimes, P. (2009) Inclusion: developing an effective whole-school approach, Open University Press

●● House of Commons Select Committee (2006) Special educational needs: third report of session 2005–2006, TSO

●● Lamb, B. (2009) SEN and parental confidence, DCSF

●● Ofsted (2010) The SEN and disability review: a statement is not enough, Ofsted

●● Ofsted (2006) Inclusion: does it matter where pupils are taught?, Ofsted

●● Sutton Trust (2011) Toolkit of strategies to improve learning, Sutton Trust

Managing SEND in times of changecontinued from p7

RESOURCES

12 July/August 2012

Book reviews

How successful schools work – the impact of innovative school leadership

Successful schools have inspiring leaders at all levels, working in innovative ways to bring about improvements to whole-school performance and achievement. So what attracts people to take on these leadership roles and how can they use this power to inspire those around them to play their part in moving the school forwards to greater success? This book explores these issues, looking at how the role of school leaders has changed, identifying the challenges ahead, and showing how the power of innovative leadership

can make a big difference to whole-school practice.

The authors focus on what makes for an innovative leader, examining the different characteristics of success and how they manifest and make a difference in practice. These include having an appe-tite for challenge, a desire for improving the wellbeing of all involved in developing the school, and an ability to flex their style of leadership to handle differing situa-tions. They use case studies throughout to share strategies and approaches that inspirational school leaders are applying in their school context to make a difference for students and staff.

The book looks into the different types and levels of leadership role within a school, and how to make a difference in each. This includes exploring the different routes taken to headship.

It explores how to manage in times of

change, including a change in school status, for example becoming an academy or setting up as a free school.

Each chapter begins with a summary of the key issues it will explore. Different topic sections often then end with questions for reflection to help the reader examine their own practice, aspirations, leadership style, ambitions, and areas for development and so on. The chapter then concludes with suggestions for further reading for those who want to explore some of the issues discussed further.

The aim of the book is to uncover what innovative leadership looks like in action, to show how good practice at all levels of leadership can combine to make your school work more successfully than ever.Authors: Rona Tutt and Paul Williams. Sage Publications. £20.99. ISBN: 9781446207703. Orders: 0207 3248500

Poor numeracy is a huge and neglected problem, believe the people who have set up the charity National Numeracy to help boost achievement in young people with low levels of these core skills.

Set up earlier this year, their aim is to promote ways to improve numer acy, to overcome prevailing attitudes about numeracy, raise awareness of the importance of these key skills to life, and influence public policy on how they are developed in schools, as well as beyond.

The website begins with a section exploring what numeracy is all about, defining what it means and how it links with the discipline of mathematics. They outline the core abilities that being numerate will provide, and spell out why numeracy is important.

Each section ends with links to further resources that you may be interested in accessing next, in this case ‘numeracy in schools’. Here the charity states its intention to ensure that the revised national curriculum ‘expresses an entitlement for all learners to achieve high standards in mathematics and numeracy’.

The next main section is entitled ‘What is the issue?’ and looks at why problems with numeracy should not be ignored, the impact of attitudes such as ‘I can’t do maths’ and how to address these, as well as a look at why poor numeracy is

often overshadowed and demoted by attention given to low literacy levels, identifying ways to correct this imbalance in future. A subsection ‘numeracy in the real world vs classroom maths’ is one that curriculum managers might find particularly useful, as it looks to overcome attitudes that maths in schools is not that relevant to real-life. The following subsection then looks at ‘what’s strange and unique about maths’.

The key focus is on how to help everyone reach a level of functional numeracy, and to support learners on their ‘mathematical journey’ to the point of reaching at least a C grade at GCSE level. The section on ‘the mathematical journey’ is the area that potentially is of most use to curriculum managers looking to update their own school’s whole-school numeracy policy. This is presented as four ‘learning pathways’, the first of these being understanding numbers, and how the number system works. The next focuses on how numbers can then be combined or used via operations and calculations. Then there is the pathway on information-handling and the importance of being able to probe data via the use of such tools as charts and graphs and so on. The final pathway on using and applying knowledge and skills stresses the importance to numeracy

of being able to then use all the number, calculation, and datahandling techniques to solve problems and make decisions in various contexts. For those curriculum managers in particular who feel maths and numeracy is not one of their strong points, then these sections on the ‘essentials of numeracy’ could help improve your own understanding of the key areas of numeracy to be developed, why and how.

There is then a separate section on resources, which you can access via audience. There is also a whole page for teachers/tutors, which the charity says it will be developing over time to provide practical help and insights into the key elements of effective numeracy teaching and learning (T&L), At this stage, this is just presented as a brief overview, but the charity invites visitors to start sharing some of their own approaches that have worked, to suggest ways they think the charity can best help with future developments, and so on.

This is a new organisation, and so this is a fledgling website. But even at this stage there is plenty of information that curriculum managers will find handy when developing their own whole-school approach to ensuring numeracy is developed at all levels in all subjects and in a way that makes maths and numeracy relevant and crucial to their students’ lives.

www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk National Numeracy