SEN Services

Best Practice Network’s Special Educational Needs Service offers support, challenge and expertise across all phases of education and types of schools and settings. We are passionate about achievement, access and opportunity, striving to close the gap and reduce inequalities in outcomes for children and young people with SEN. Our consultants are highly skilled and experienced in working with school and setting leaders, SENCOs and staff to enhance the quality of provision. For example, we are a leading provider for the National Award for SEN Coordination and provide school improvement services to both mainstream and special schools and the early years sector.

The service can be tailored to your requirements and personalised to individuals, groups, schools, early years settings, federations and local authorities. The following is a sample of the services we offer:

• Preparing for Ofsted - The Ofsted inspection framework changes from January 2012. Our service provides support, challenge and guidance in preparing for inspection, identifying the evidence and evaluating the pupils’ achievements. A central judgement in the new framework is focused on how well disabled pupils and those with SEN have achieved since joining the school. There is a strong emphasis on how schools are making the difference, closing the gap, reducing the inequalities in outcomes.
• Safeguarding and child protection - The 2011 Munro review of Child Protection includes recommendations for holistic reform of the child protection system. This one day training gives the latest and most up to date overview of safeguarding and child protection matters and requirements for all staff.
• Multi-professional teamwork - The 2011 SEN Green Paper identifies a strong emphasis on closer working relationships between education, health and care professionals in assessing needs, allocating resources and supporting children and young people with SEN and their families. This programme identifies the qualities and characteristics that go towards developing a strong and effective multi-professional team, using leading edge examples of best practice.
• Developing SEN knowledge - The Lamb report identified support and training required by teachers and support staff in high incidence SEN. These one day programmes provide staff with limited experience in these areas with opportunities to further their knowledge, skills and confidence in working with children and young people with high incidence SEN.
• Local Authority reviews - This service can be tailored to the local authority’s specific requirements by providing external and objective perspectives on the quality of provision for pupils with SEN in mainstream and special schools.