Module 1: Some background and statistics

In England, the term 'special educational needs' (SEN) has a legal definition, referring to
children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than
most children of the same age. Children and Young People (CYPs) with significant needs are
supported with additional funding, resources and provision, as outlined in Statements/EHCPs*.
Children and Young People with lesser needs are still identified as having SEN, but funding is
delegated to their education setting so that their needs can be addressed by a local team of trained
professionals (now called SEN Support).

These national tables highlight the gap between the performance of children and young people
who have a degree of SEN (SEN with no statement/EHCP*), those with a Statement/EHCP, and
those with no identified SEN. Whilst SEN should be expected to have some impact on
attainment, the gaps are simply too great.

*In 2014, SEND Reform legislation in England replaced Statements with EHCPs (Education
Health and Care Plans). The “D” in SEND includes those with disabilities.
The UK coalition government's green paper (HM Government, 2011) noted that pupils with SEN
are four times less likely to participate in higher education.

Young People with identified SEN are 20 times more likely to receive a permanent exclusion
and seven times more likely to be excluded for a fixed-period than pupils with no identified SEN
The most recent available figures show that the gap is still profound 

(from
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file
/863815/2019_KS4_revised_text.pdf)
The lack of aspiration, access and achievement that pervades our education systems is
evidenced by the failure of the majority of schools in the UK to address the needs of all children,
even the most disadvantaged or vulnerable.
Some schools celebrate examination results that exceed academic targets, claiming significant
success if the attainment of grades A*– C at GCSE or progression at Key Stage 2 (KS2) to Level
4 exceeds 70% or more.

There is rarely any mention or comment about the 20–30% of pupils who have failed to reach
even basic levels of literacy or numeracy.

Those without GCSE qualifications in mathematics and English dominate the numbers in our
prisons and drug centres and, statistically, have a shorter life expectancy. 52% of male offenders
and 71% of female offenders have no qualifications.

The correlation between low family income and special educational needs is high (Civitas
2012).

Better-educated people typically have better health status, lower unemployment, more social
connections, and greater engagement in civic and political life. (Commission on the
Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress: 2008).

It isn't just children with identified special educational needs that should be considered
here.

Module 2: About Achievement for All

Achievement for All is a movement focused on educational change: building a world in
which all children are seen as having potential, and where every child is enabled to be the best
that they can be regardless of their background, the challenges they face or the needs they may
have.

For the last four years we have been working with schools, Early Years settings, and Further
Education colleges to raise aspirations and improve the achievement of ALL pupils, particularly
those facing barriers to their learning.

The team behind our programmes have over 700 years of teaching experience between them!
That means we get the pressures facing teachers today, and we understand the challenges our
families want to overcome.

Our programmes not only improve the life chances and school experience of the children and
young people on them, but address many of the hurdles facing modern education, including
reduced capacity, ineffective personal development, and the need for stronger leadership.

Our programmes come at a fraction of the cost of consultants or extra staffing, and include
a powerful evidence base that will support settings wanting to show effective use of Pupil
Premium, or improved outcomes in reading, writing, and maths. Using a unique direct delivery
model and a team of highly trained expert coaches we work with you to design a programme
bespoke to the setting it serves, and tailored according to the vision and goals you have for your
pupils.

We are a Not-For-Profit charitable organisation and charge schools only what we need to
cover our costs. We have a first class reputation for delivering improved outcomes in the lowest
achieving 20%.

Achievement for All values

ASPIRATION

 high expectations for all, including ourselves

 setting ambitious goals and striving for excellence
 being passionate in everything we do

ACCESS

 honesty and openness, with respect for all

 insuring opportunities for sharing, growth and development
 excellent communication and collaboration

ACHIEVEMENT

 celebrating the success of others and ourselves

 working in partnership to achieve common goals
 high quality and high impact
Achievement for All offers schools, academies, colleges and early years settings the
expertise and resources to become more inclusive, and realise the potential of every young
person in your education setting.

Our core programmes help to develop leadership for inclusion, teaching and learning to close
the gap, significantly improve relationships with parents and carers (even those who are hard
to reach) and exploit wider outcomes and opportunities beyond the standard curriculum to
develop behaviours for attendance, learning and well-being.

We also offer our schools an extensive range of tailored modules, that can be delivered by our
Coaches, or used to support and empower your professional development team. These can be
accessed through Achievement for All's professional development portal, The Bubble.

Achievement for All's extended training offer to primary

and secondary education settings
There is a similar range of professional development resources available for early years settings
(Achieving Early) and 16+ provision (Achieving Further).

Each of the Modules below contain material that can be used:

 by Departments or across the whole school workforce over the course of a term or maybe
longer.
 to support individual study, either light touch or to Masters level
 by Governors, non-teaching staff and part of ITT (Initial Teacher Training) as well as Middle
Leadership development.

All of these courses can be accessed through Achievement for All's on-line professional
development portal, The Bubble.

Leadership for inclusion

Collaborative action research

Effective use of pupil premium

Governance for inclusion

Maximising the impact of teaching and learning assistants

Middle Leadership Development Programme

Teaching and learning to close the gap

Conducting effective progress meetings

Effective feedback

Literacy and English

Numeracy and maths

Digital literacy in the 21st century

Wider outcomes and opportunities

Anti-bullying

Community engagement and partnership working

Developing pupils’ self-esteem

Developing resilience and self-efficacy

Managing transitions

Engaging with parents and carers

Structured conversations

Early support

Welcoming and including families

Visit the Achievement for All website for more information about courses and programmes: 

https://afaeducation.org/

Module 3: Inclusive educators in inclusive schools

‘Inclusion’ is more than a word. It is a way of life. Everyday situations that you may take for
granted can become a physical barrier or a psychological hurdle to others.

By showing understanding, respect, talking and listening to a young person and their family, and
by taking positive proactive action, these barriers can be dismantled, creating a fairer world for
all.

Explore 'inclusion' from four separate perspectives

How do these statements challenge your attitudes and values?

CLICK HERE TO OPEN INTERACTIVE GUIDE

How "inclusive" is your thinking?
This interactive explores a number of scenarios that involve inclusive practice in education
settings. The responses, however surprising, are based on actual events.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN INTERACTIVE GUIDE

Inclusion and innovation
Meeting the needs of learners with special educational needs is seldom a whole school priority.
However, if you flip your thinking, and see "meeting the needs of individual learners" as the
driving force behind school improvement, every single learner in your school community stands
to benefit.

We call this child-centred innovation.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN INTERACTIVE GUIDE

Module 4: Your opportunity to conduct some action

research
Apply your learning in small steps
It is so  important to apply any new learning in small steps, and with small groups of learners
first. Don't try and do too much at once! Apply and consolidate learning in 6-8 week cycles of
activity.

Collaborative Action Research (that is, working on parallel or overlapping projects with a

small group of colleagues) will really work well as a process to support the application of
learning, reflecting on progress, and working jointly on problem solving, creative and critical
thinking. Try to enrol colleagues, meet regularly, and share our plans, challenges... and
successes!

1. Select a target group of children/young people

Think about an area of learning where you would like to see accelerated progress.

How will you measure progress?

What evidence will you need to collect?

As you learn new approaches or techniques, keep reflecting on this initial selection, to see if your
new learning is relevant.

2. Find out about the children/young people

If they have a special education need, what is the nature of the need?

What advice can you obtain from specialists (like your SENCo- Special Educational Needs
Coordinator)?

If the child our young person has an education plan, how can your activity align to the outcomes
that are expressed in the plan? And finally, engage with the child/young person and their family:
talk to them. How can you positively enroll them in what you want to achieve... together?

3. Research a range of strategies to apply, and select the most appropriate one

Someone once said that an idea is dangerous if it is the only one you have! Try to consider a
range of strategies and approaches, and evaluate which one is most suitable to secure the
outcomes you and the learner desire. Talk to colleagues. Adopt the resources other
professionals have developed, but then adapt them and personalise them to your needs, and the
needs of the young person you are targeting.

4. Measure your starting point, then apply your new learning

Collect some baseline evidence from your target cohort, then apply some new learning, or
new approaches, to your target group. The baseline evidence can be quantitative (e.g. a reading
or writing test) or qualitative (e.g. a questionnaire about how they feel about learning, or it could
be a "smiley face" confidence scale).

5. Monitor progress, evaluate impact, then begin the cycle again!

During the action phase, monitor the progress you are making. Make sure the children and
young people are aware of what you are trying to do together. If there are barriers to progress,
work together to overcome them. Do not be afraid to change a plan if it is not working.
Collect evidence through measurements or interviews, and evaluate what worked, and why?

Share your findings with colleagues, learn from each other, celebrate your successes with the
learners and their families... then start again!

Remind students and staff about the accessible features

available across Office 365 with this convenient one page
document.

O365 Education - Learning Tools one pager.pdf

And finally... we want to hear from you! How do you bring

inclusion alive in your classroom, in your education setting?
Leave a comment below, and share your action research
story.
Find out more about Achievement for All: visit our website
Achievement FOR All