Collaborative

In this second edition of the Mainstream Inclusion Resources newsletter, I'm going to look at the principle "Collaborative". There are 5 principles in the SEND Code of Practice, which I remember by "ACCTUp".

Accessible, Collaborative, Comprehensive, Transparent, and Up to date.

We're working collaboratively in a few interesting ways.

Why collaboration matters for SEND support

One point made often by our specialist inclusion team is that schools sometimes request Education Health and Care Plans before they have good evidence of a child's needs. This highlights a crucial gap - we need to support teachers and SENCOs with practical resources they can use in the classroom right now.

Every council across the country has resources, but these are often in PDFs or Word documents. It makes things hard to find, and very hard to keep up to date.

By using carefully curated resources across one or two cycles of provision, schools can build the evidence needed, while helping children make progress. But to get there, we need strong collaboration between everyone involved in supporting learners.

Building the mainstream inclusion database through teamwork

Collaboration doesn't mean working to the lowest common denominator, removing expert knowledge - it means bringing people together effectively. The project lead is working with Calderdale's SEND team to identify what resources will support high quality teaching. Their specialist knowledge shapes what goes into our resource bank.

They're building a "basic minimum" expectation for schools, with the hope that children will make genuine progress without needing specialist support. And when children are eventually referred for specialist support or an EHC Plan, those cycles of provision give real evidence of a learner's need.

Workshop with SENCOs and the SEND Team

We did some focussed group work around High Quality Provision, Environment and the child, young person and family voice. We discussed what we thought the expectations should be and created some statements. We then focused on what resources settings could use to achieve these expectations. We thought about how these would impact the child, young person and family and how they could show progress."

Notice that there is no jargon. No words like "ordinarily available provision", no "graduated approach", no "cognition and learning".

A breakthrough in thinking

Sometimes the most powerful insights seem obvious in hindsight. During our discussions, we realized we needed to add a "Universal" tag to our Areas of Need categories. This simple change will transform how teachers can find resources for creating inclusive learning environments that benefit everyone.

The collaboration cycle

Here's how different groups work together to build better support:

The SEND audit tool - collaboration in action

A great example of collaboration is our new online SEND audit tool. Instead of creating it in isolation, we're building it with input from everyone who'll use it.

How it works

The tool includes evidence statements with examples of stronger and weaker practice. SENCOs can use these to:

• Resources can be updated easily as practices evolve
• Resources can be updated easily as practices evolve
• Resources can be updated easily as practices evolve
• Resources can be updated easily as practices evolve
• Resources can be updated easily as practices evolve
• Create summaries of school strengths and needs, by focus area.
• Set meaningful goals for improvement
• Track progress over time

This creates a powerful feedback loop. The SEND team can analyze audit results to:

• Identify common challenges across schools
• Plan targeted training programs
• Curate relevant resources
• Support schools more effectively

Looking ahead - expanding collaboration

We're already thinking about future partnerships

And by placing this work within the SEND Local Offer, we're helping realize the vision of the Local Offer as the heart of SEND support.

Living, breathing resources

The collaborative approach means our resources stay relevant

Please share this newsletter with your SEND colleagues and get in touch with your thoughts.