‘Attainment at all costs’ approach could undermine Send changes, school leaders in England say | Special educational needs
Changes to special educational needs provision in England could be blocked by “academic attainment at all costs” policies that prioritize exam results and penalize inclusive schools, headteachers said in response to government consultations.
The Association of School and College Leaders said the government’s emphasis on academic targets contrasted with measures designed to help mainstream schools accommodate more children with special educational needs and disabilities (Submit).
The union said the reliance on “high-stakes” assessments, including the proposed grade 8 reading test, “creates perverse incentives for school and university leaders who are penalized for lower academic outcomes for some students from Send. This cannot be addressed by reform of Send alone.”
In its official response to the school’s white paper, ASCL said: “Unlike the strong focus in the early sections of the white paper, the ‘ambition’ section of the document ignores Submission and wider implications and still focuses on academic attainment at all costs. “This critical inconsistency will underpin the success or failure of reforms.
“If we want education for all, the principle of ‘for all’ must be applied to all areas of education policy.”
Margaret Mulholland, the union’s Delivery and attendance specialist, said: “The government’s reforms have the potential to deliver huge benefits but schools must help deliver them. They must then be supported by guidance, adequate staffing, funding and time to prepare (including training where necessary).
“Without this there is a real risk that schooling will become impossible, relationships with parents will suffer and children will be left without the support they need.”
Under the proposed changes, mainstream schools are expected to have a “participation base” for children with special needs, but ASCL said there was little detail about how the bases would operate.
“The inclusive base should not include rooms containing children who are excluded from classrooms because of behavior… The inclusive base should not become exclusions by pencil holding, self-contained units, or by any other name.”
The Coram group of children’s charities responded to the consultation, warning against narrowing the grounds for parents to apply to specialist Removal courts.
“School grievance processes are not an adequate substitute for legally enforceable rights,” he said. “This is likely to cause serious tensions between schools and parent-carers, causing further stress on the school system and parents. It is also likely to lead to more litigious action such as judicial review of decisions.”
New research from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) has found that changes could be stalled by a growing concentration of Send students in a small number of mainstream schools.
The research found that there was a big difference between mainstream schools with the fewest and most Send pupils: the lowest quintile averaged just 10% of Send pupils, while the highest quintile averaged 26%.
NFER said “structural guidance” meant families gravitated towards schools with good reputations, while other schools discouraged students from Send from applying. One school leader was quoted in the report as saying: “We’ve always tried not to have a good reputation for posting so parents won’t be tempted to call us.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “This report provides clear evidence that local authority needs to take a stronger role in controlled admissions, with oversight to ensure placement decisions are made fairly and transparently.”
