There is no such thing as a doubt that, up and down the nation, faculties are dealing with challenges round behaviour administration. Nevertheless, we must be cautious that in our response to this, at a college and a system stage, we’re giving due consideration to the SEND Code of Apply and equalities duties.
Of specific concern for me in the mean time is the usage of Slant. Although the particular that means of the acronym can range barely, it essentially means: sit up, lean ahead, ask and solutions questions, nod your head and monitor the speaker. It’s a behaviour-for-learning strategy dictated to pupils and rigorously enforced.
Slant was first launched into US faculties over a decade in the past and it’s now firmly embedded in lots of UK faculties.
SEND and faculty behaviour
There is no such thing as a doubt that the Slant strategy could also be working properly in some faculties, and that some leaders have been wise about its implementation. Nevertheless, I concern that, in some instances, particular instructional wants and incapacity (SEND) hasn’t been sufficient of a consideration, and in others, SEND hasn’t been considered in any respect.
From my very own expertise and from my studying on SEND, I’m sure that it’s unreasonable to anticipate some pupils with SEND to persistently adjust to the Slant strategy.
So my questions are these: how far are faculty leaders adapting Slant for these pupils? How far are they monitoring the info to see the place SEND is a problem in accessing Slant as a behaviour-for-learning software? And the way properly are they speaking all of this to the pupil and to their mother and father?
If we take “sit up” for example, that’s very a lot about posture. An adolescent who has difficulties round steadiness and coordination, typically aligned to dyspraxia, might not have the ability to maintain sitting up straight, particularly for an extended time period.
Or what about “monitoring the speaker”? That is about demonstrating that you’re paying consideration. Younger individuals with SEND could also be listening however could also be unable – for quite a lot of causes out of their management – to persistently keep give attention to a person. For instance, they might expertise info overload and discover it overwhelming.
Speech and language challenges
And when the Slant strategy refers to “ask and reply questions”, we have to take into account these with speech, language and communication wants. Challenges round communication and interplay could also be a difficulty right here. As well as, these pupils with social, emotional and psychological well being wants might have low vanity or nervousness or might not really feel assured or comfy in answering and asking questions in entrance of friends, or being placed on the spot on this manner.
What’s extra, some might have extra time to course of info and will really feel higher asking and answering questions in smaller teams. Others might have various communication methods to help them, similar to indicators, symbols and non-verbal cues.
Has your faculty actually interrogated all these points? From among the examples I’ve seen which were celebrated on social media, it’s clear that in some faculties this has not occurred.
I’m urging faculty leaders to rigorously be sure that, in designing their behaviour coverage, cheap changes are made for SEND pupils. Ensure that the behaviour coverage is versatile and individualised for pupils with SEND.
Furthermore, senior leaders really want to analyse and monitor teams of scholars to establish patterns and tendencies. That is to higher perceive and decide to what extent pupils with SEND are probably to be the group who’re penalised – together with receiving detentions, being positioned in inner isolation and even suspended – on account of non-compliance with the Slant strategy.
It’s essential that academics have ample coaching and improvement, too, and that coaching is revisited steadily to make sure that classroom employees absolutely perceive learn how to implement this strategy for pupils with SEND and to make sure they meet the wants of pupils with particular wants by means of making cheap changes.
There is no such thing as a doubt that the Slant strategy supplies consistency and routine. Many youngsters with SEND might have that – however to not the extent of being penalised by means of management and compliance strategies that seem non-inclusive.
This isn’t about calling out particular person faculties utilizing this strategy, as some faculties are implementing SLANT successfully: they’re going above and past to ensure that particular person wants are met and that the equality duties and the SEND Code of Apply are being fulfilled.
However if you happen to haven’t ensured that this routine for studying is inclusive, that you’ve got correctly thought of various wants, that every one your pupils genuinely have an opportunity of being profitable in its use, then there’s a danger that Slant is just not in the most effective pursuits of youngsters with SEND.
Clive Lawrence is at present headteacher at one of many largest secondary particular wants faculties within the Midlands for college students between the ages of 11 and 19. He has beforehand led SEND in a big multi-academy belief and has been an govt headteacher of a split-site particular faculty, which he led to Ofsted ‘excellent’ inside 16 months. He tweets @CliveLawrence00
