SEND | Schools Week

Ofsted annual report: School ratings rise, but progress stalls for SEN pupils

The number of primary and secondary schools rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted has risen again this year – although nearly two thirds of special educational (SEN) needs pupils in some regions are not “progressing well”. Ofsted’s 2015-16 annual report, published this morning, found that nine in ten primary schools are rated good or outstanding, up […]

Let’s have a PGCE Plus with a SEND pathway, delegates told

A PGCE top-up training course for SEND – similar to a Pass Plus driving course, but for teaching – will help to fill vacancy rates in special schools, the forum heard. Adam Boddison, chief executive of the National Association for Special Educational Needs (Nasen), told the Westminster forum that a specialist training pathway would improve […]

Ofsted will give 5 days’ notice of SEND inspections

Schools involved in new inspections designed to uncover whether local special educational needs are being met will be given a five-day notification period. Delegates at a Westminster Education Forum, held last week in central London, pressed Joanna Hall (pictured below), deputy director of schools at Ofsted, on the rules for joint inspections of local area […]

Councils cut support for SEND provision – while boosting reserves

Schools are struggling to fund their pupils with special needs while some local authorities are building up reserves rather than distributing resources, according to a new report by an MP. A review published last week by former Conservative MP and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) adviser, Lee Scott, said limits on funding were “being […]

Jarlath O’Brien, headteacher, Carwarden House community school

Ofsted is not something Jarlath O’Brien talks about to his staff, he tells me, as we sip tea in his office, foliage framing our conversation. He goes a little further: “I don’t give a shit about Ofsted, really. They’re nice people and they’ve got a job to do, but they can come to our school […]

Greening’s first education questions: Green paper ‘will help’ SEN pupils, and four other things we learned

The government’s new(ish) education team faced its first proper grilling in Parliament this afternoon during the first education questions since Justine Greening’s appointment. Buoyed by the new additions to its own team, Labour went on the attack over grammar schools and funding, while Greening and her ministerial colleagues were forced to defend some of their reforms against criticism from […]

Reforms blamed for ‘record backlog’ in special educational needs tribunals

The government is facing a huge “backlog” in special education tribunals after a sharp rise in appeals, which campaigners blame on the government’s “landmark” reforms. Figures published on Friday by the Department for Education (DfE) reveal that the number of special educational needs and disability (SEND) appeals registered from April to June this year were […]

Special needs funding plan shown to be ‘unreliable’

The government’s proposed new way of funding early education for children with special educational needs will fail to distribute resources adequately and result in some being “turned away”, an expert claims. A Department for Education (DfE) consultation on changes to how free childcare and early education for three and four-year-olds is funded, including a new […]

Exams deregulation good news for SEND pupils

Proposals by Ofqual to deregulate entry-level qualifications have been welcomed as an opportunity for exam boards to be “innovative” with their offer to pupils with special education needs – meaning their schools can provide a more “personalised curriculum”. The qualifications watchdog launched a consultation earlier this month over plans to reduce its regulatory burden on entry-level qualifications, which fall […]