Balancing pressures for SENCos as managers, leaders and advocates in the emerging context of the Covid‐19 pandemic

Clarke, Amy L.; Done, Elizabeth J.

doi:10.1111/1467-8578.12353

Cited by 16 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(90 reference statements)

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“…With the school closures, Headteachers had to swiftly reorganise staffing and ensure that educational communities still provided a sense of belonging and social inclusion to everyone. Clarke and Done (2021) outline how schools' risk assessments, plans to make reasonable adjustments and providing access to technology were put into place to support inclusive practice. Teachers found themselves in a position of trying to maintain socially inclusive relationships with learners who were physically present in school, as well as those young people who were at a distance and learning at home (NEU, 2020).…”

Section: Theore Ti C Al Backg Roundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decommissioning normal: COVID‐19 as a disruptor of school norms for young people with learning disabilities

Beaton

Codina

Wharton

2021

Brit J Learn Disabil

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Accessible summary The COVID‐19 pandemic has forced everyone to live at a social distance from other people. This has changed the way people live and are included socially. This paper focuses on the unexpected ways schools have altered and deepened social inclusion for children with learning disabilities during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We interviewed six people: two people who work for a Local Authority, one Headteacher of a special school, one Special Educational Needs and Disability Consultant, one young person with a learning disability and her mother. The findings and conclusions show the “new normal” caused by COVID‐19 can help to deepen social inclusion for children with learning disabilities. For example, it can help children communicate in alternative ways with their teachers and friends. It can help families to understand more about their son/daughter's educational abilities; this means they can advocate better for them. It can help professionals to meet the needs of children with learning disabilities more quickly. We do not enjoy living at a social distance from everyone else, but we do want to make sure that lessons can be learnt from this moment in time. Abstract Background To slow the spread of COVID‐19, on 20 March 2020, nurseries, schools and colleges across England were closed to all learners, apart from those who were children of key workers or were considered “vulnerable.” As young people with learning disabilities, families, professionals and schools become acquainted with the Erfahrung of the new horizon brought about by COVID‐19, the negativity of altered social inclusion is becoming the “new normal.” Capturing this transitory moment in time, this paper reflexively analyses the curiously productive variables of altered ecological pathways to social inclusion for people with learning disabilities. Methods Taking a hermeneutic stance, this paper draws on Gadamer's construction of the nature of new experiences. Focussed on the experience of social inclusion during the COVID‐19 pandemic, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with six key stakeholders. As the phenomenon in question was new, an inductive approach to thematic analysis was applied. Findings The critical tenet of this paper is that the Erfahrung of COVID‐19 has created the conditions for a “new normal” which have afforded children with learning disabilities altered opportunities for social inclusion, whether that be through increased power/agency for them and their families and/or new modes of connectedness leading to enhanced relationships. Conclusion Whilst the impact of COVID‐19 has been a negative one for many aspects of society, application of Simplican and Gadamer's theories on social inclusion and the nature of new experiences has permitted the surfacing of new possibilities for the soci...

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Section: Theore Ti C Al Backg Roundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decommissioning normal: COVID‐19 as a disruptor of school norms for young people with learning disabilities

Beaton

Codina

Wharton

2021

Brit J Learn Disabil

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“…This underlines the need for routine crisis planning as integral to the SENCo role and for the re‐organisation of additional managerial and administrative tasks so that SENCos have time to ensure that inclusive policy and practice is implemented at a whole‐school and individual level (Curran, 2019 ). The risk otherwise, as Daniels et al ( 2020 ) have suggested and the NME ( 2021 ) report appears to confirm, is that exclusionary practices are likely to increase (Clarke & Done, 2021 ), with students with SEND becoming increasingly marginalised in school communities (Graham et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The statutory expectation that the SENCo role is primarily strategic is contradicted when its execution in practice is explored (Clarke & Done, 2021 ). Factors such as lack of time and resources are significant pressures for SENCos (Dobson & Douglas, 2020 ; Esposito & Carroll, 2019 ), and these pressures will undoubtedly inhibit possibilities for the ‘advocacy leadership’ that is now required if students with SEND are not to become an increasingly marginalised group (Clarke & Done, 2021 ). Further implications of this study for SENCos are that greater awareness is required of what constitutes illegal exclusionary school practice and of their own role in minimising both legal and illegal exclusionary practices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was hypothesised that marginalised groups would be at particular risk of ‘off‐rolling’ (illegal removal from a school roll) during this period since encouraging or pressurising parents to home school, for example, constitutes an illegal exclusionary practice (Daniels & Cole, 2010 ; Gill et al, 2017 ; Ofsted, 2019 ). The expectation was that the home schooling mandated for the majority of school students during the national lockdown would create conditions that might be exploited by schools inclined to engage in such practices (Clarke & Done, 2021 ). Illegal exclusion in English schools has been reported since 2011 (Children's Commissioner, 2011 , 2020 ) and the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA, 2017 ) identified ‘coerced home education’ as a concern in some areas of England.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It can be argued that both the sustained over‐representation of students with SEND in exclusion data and now the Covid‐19 crisis underline the need for ‘advocacy’ leadership (Anderson & Cohen, 2015 ; Clarke & Done, 2021 ). The study aimed to determine levels of SENCo involvement in SLT decision‐making and planning for offsite and onsite provision for ‘vulnerable’ children during lockdown conditions, and whether working to prevent exclusion or ‘off‐rolling’ was a SENCo priority.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exclusion and the strategic leadership role of SENCos in England: planning for Covid‐19 and future crises

Done¹,

Knowler²

2021

British J Special Edu

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A small‐scale study investigated the role of SENCos in England immediately prior to, during and following the first closure of schools nationally in March 2020 due to the Covid‐19 pandemic. A mixed‐methods research strategy comprising semi‐structured interviews and a national online survey generated data related to SENCos' involvement in strategic planning for crisis conditions, focusing specifically on students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and concerns about exclusionary practices. Findings suggest that pandemic conditions have exacerbated familiar issues related to the SENCo role and SEND provision in English schools, such as engagement in reactive firefighting, onerous workloads, uneven SENCo involvement in strategic planning, and schools' failure to prioritise students with SEND. Minimal evidence of ‘advocacy leadership’ or of SENCos challenging exclusionary practices was found. As in earlier research, evidence was also found for disparities between anecdotal and published data relating to illegal exclusion.

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“It was tough making sure it happened”: SENCo experience of the reality and risk of education and health care plan implementation

Richards

2022

Educational Review

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In England, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice (2015) was heralded as a significant reformation of provision for children and young people with additional and complex learning needs. Effective implementation of the Code requires the key implementers, Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCos), to develop and negotiate provision in their settings, to interface with colleagues, families and expert professionals, and to apply for and implement Education and Health Care (EHC) plans for the children and young people with the most complex needs. However, whilst this added to SENCo workload and responsibilities, systemic, resource and dominant discourse challenges remained the same. EHC plans have been described as a microcosm of the wider arena of policy and practice. Studies exploring SENCo perceptions of the enablers and challenges, which has import for commissioners and practitioners, are limited. This article presents part of a mixedmethods study which examined SENCo perceptions of the salient external and internal influences on EHC plan implementation. Integration of the analysed data sets uncovered themes related to purpose, support, communities of learning, and relationships. Key recommendations, whose enactment would support and develop SENCos, so they in turn can best promote the learning, development, wellbeing and inclusion of children and young people with SEND, and their families, are made. This article closes by proposing that the need for a professional information hub and support mechanisms for SENCos has never been greater

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Balancing pressures for SENCos as managers, leaders and advocates in the emerging context of the Covid‐19 pandemic

Cited by 16 publications

References 33 publications

Decommissioning normal: COVID‐19 as a disruptor of school norms for young people with learning disabilities

Decommissioning normal: COVID‐19 as a disruptor of school norms for young people with learning disabilities

Exclusion and the strategic leadership role of SENCos in England: planning for Covid‐19 and future crises

“It was tough making sure it happened”: SENCo experience of the reality and risk of education and health care plan implementation

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