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PGCiPP: National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination

PROGRAMME 2012 -2013

INTRODUCTION

The National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination is a nationally recognised accredited

programme for SENCOs who have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). It is a mandatory requirement for all

SENCOs who are new to their role and will be relevant to experienced SENCOs who are wanting recognition

of their professional knowledge and expertise through a Master level qualification. The PGCiPP: National

Award for SENCOs offers flexible, bespoke provision to develop the professional attributes of the SENCO

leadership role. This Award is at Masters level and is strongly rooted in evidence-based SEND practice in the

workplace; equipping SENCOs to evaluate and develop effective leadership and management of SEND

provision and make links between theory and practice. The programme has been designed to be delivered

over one academic year. This course outline includes important information about key dates and topics for

the facilitated sessions, the assignments and assessment criteria, contact with your mentor and a suggested

reading list.

Aims of the programme:

to raise achievement of pupils with SEN and/or disability; including academic

attainment and achievement in accordance with the five outcomes of Every Child

Matters;

lead and develop effective teaching and learning throughout their school or setting for

pupils with SEN and/or disability;

lead and effectively co-ordinate the provision for pupils with SEN and/or disabilities to

enable full access to the broad, balanced and rich curriculum;

improve their own and colleagues practice with regard to SEN and/or disabilities, and

work effectively with parents/carers and other professionals, and

lead and promote a whole school approach to inclusive practice

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PROGRAMME

University of Chichester, Bognor Regis Campus

All sessions: 10am – 3.30pm

Cohort 5

WSx - Portsmouth - Hants - IOW

Cohort 6

ESx - Surrey - Brighton and Hove

Independent study/ work-based research

Assignment hand in date

1.Introduction and welcome to the programme. Statutory role of the SENCO. Accessing university online resources.

Friday 14 Sept

Friday 21 Sept

Become familiar with government documents relating to SEND available in your school

2. The SENCO as leader and manager. Management and deployment of TAs and the SEND team.

Friday 12 Oct

Friday 26 Oct

Develop an audit to establish the skills and training needs of TAs and staff.

3. Strategic management of SEND provision. Narrowing the Gaps, Progression Guidance, use of data eg RAISEonline.

Tuesday 13 Nov

Tuesday 20 Nov

Access the data (RAISEonline, CASPA, Fischer Family Trust) and bring to the session

1. Commentary

Friday 16 Nov (5)

Friday 23 Nov (6)

4. Researching SEND. SEND policies and procedures. Sources of information on specific SEN groups.

Friday 7 Dec

Friday 14 Dec

Access your SEND/ Inclusion Policy and bring it to the session

5. Developing inclusive pedagogy. Provision mapping. Monitoring and assessment of interventions.

Friday 11 Jan

Friday 25 Jan

Access your provision map and list of interventions to bring to the session

2. Essay

Friday 25 Jan

6. Working in partnership with parents and vulnerable pupils

Thursday 7 Feb

Thursday 28 Feb

Discuss with parent governor the priorities for working with parents in your school.

7. Study and resource day. Multi- agency stands. SENCOs presentations.

Thursday 28 March

Thursday 28 March

Prepare your presentation 3. Presentation

Thursday 28 Mar

8. Visit to other setting Friday 26 Apr Friday 26 Apr

Write a reflective report on a visit to another setting

9. Managing meetings. Solution focused meetings, managing stress and time management

Friday 10 May

Thurs 23 May

Write a reflective account of any meetings you have chaired (statutory assessment, CAF, TAC)

4. Research project

Monday 3 June

10. Reflective practice and the impact of changes in SEND provision and pupil progress. SEND Symposium

Thursday 20 June

Thursday 20 June

Bring your portfolio to the session

5. Portfolio

Friday 19 Jul

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ASSESSMENT

1. Formative Assessment

In order to encourage reflective practice on the part of students and to assist tutors in tracking their

progress during the programme, students will be required to:

extract from their assignment and mentor sessions any significant developmental aspects and

points of constructive criticism given in the detailed feedback and suggestions for improvement

that tutors have made;

tutors will then discuss these points with the student at his/her tutorial, assist with any perceived

difficulties, and refer to the points in their own feedback commentary, when it is subsequently

written for the current module.

this mechanism should prove invaluable in signalling and facilitating support in areas of specific

need for students, and assist with their development and progression through the programme.

As part of a new SENCO role you will be required to:

complete a self –review questionnaire (Pre Programme)

collect evidence for the Portfolio

maintain a reflective journal to raise personal awareness of any issues, changes and

developments in your professional practice.

complete mentor records with your mentor

give group presentations as part of the taught sessions

complete a post- programme self review questionnaire

2. Summative Assessment

As part of M level study you will also be required to complete assignments that have evidence that you

have met the Learning Outcomes. Each of these assignments will be an opportunity to critically reflect upon

aspects of your SENCO role and make effective links with theory and practice. You will receive guidance

from tutors on how to complete these assignments and tutorials to discuss your chosen topic and get

feedback from your assignments.

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ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment 1 – Commentary (1000 words, or equivalent) A critical understanding of your current role as

SENCO

1. Introduction: Describe your setting and the specific nature of your role eg part time, full time,

member of SLT. Why is this role important to you in your professional career and what do you want

to learn from it?

2. Work-based evidence: Use the Learning Outcomes to identify an area of strength and an area for

development. Describe why this is a key area for you and your school. What examples from your

school, class and/or pupil(s), can you draw on? What links can you make to literature/government

documents/ research?

3. Reflective Practice: How will this impact on your leadership and management of SEND and how you

work with pupils, parents and colleagues. What leadership and management skills do you want to

develop?

Due date: Cohort 5: Friday 16 November 2012 Cohort 6: Friday 23 November 2012

Assignment 2 - Essay (3000 words or equivalent) A critical evaluation of your leadership and management

role in developing SEND provision in your workplace.

1. Introduction - What leadership and management skills are you currently developing? Why have

chosen to discuss these and why are they significant to you and your role in school?

2. From your reflective log identify examples that highlight how you are leading and managing in your

SENCO role.

3. With these examples critically examine your leadership and management skills and make links to

relevant literature and theories on leading and managing others.

4. Elicit and analyse any feedback you have received from colleagues, governors, parents, pupils and

outside agencies about how you are leading and managing SEND provision in your workplace;

5. Conclusion: Critically re-evaluate your leadership and management role and how you want to

develop your work with children, families and other agencies.

Due date: Friday 25 January 2013

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Assignment 3 – Presentation (10 minute/2,000 word equivalent) – outlining the small-scale research being

undertaken in your workplace.

1.Introduction: Explain why you have chosen to focus on that aspect of SEND provision, what/who is

involved and your role in it.

2. A brief outline of literature, government documents and policies that link to your subject focus.

3. An explanation of how you have implemented changes to support more inclusive SEND provision.

4. Identify the strengths and difficulties of the research you are undertaking.

5. Conclusion: A reflection of your own leadership and management as a key participant in the process of

change.

6. A bibliography

Supportive evidence: Please hand in a copy of the Powerpoint/Prezzi handout or commentary with a

Bibliography.

Due date: Thursday 28 March 2013

Assignment 4 – Research Project (4,000 words, or equivalent) on an aspect of SEN provision that promotes

inclusive practice in the workplace.

1. Introduction: An outline of the focus for your action research. What is the rationale and the

context for your study and why is it significant to you as SENCO?

2. Literature Review: A critical discussion of the literature that relates to your research focus.

3. Methodology: A discussion on the methods used to gather evidence; the people involved and the

time frame for the action research.

4. Results: An analysis of your findings.

5. Discussion: What are the implications of the research? What are the next steps?

1. Conclusion: What aspects of the research have been significant for you as a researcher and how has

this study informed and changed your professional practice?

7. Bibliography

8. Appendices

Due date: Friday 7 June

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Assignment 5 – Portfolio (2,000 words, or equivalent) A critical evaluation of your leadership and

management development with supportive evidence from key stakeholders and the changes you have

made to SEND provision and inclusive practice in the workplace.

1. Contents Page

2. Learning Outcomes: annotated

3. Commentaries:

For each of the five areas of the Learning Outcomes you need to write a 350 word reflective summary

on how your leadership and management skills have developed in that area.

a) Critically reflect on the knowledge, skills and understanding of your SENCO role that you regard as

having changed. Include evidence in the Appendix.

b) Critically reflect on aspects of the programme that have been most significant in your learning

about leadership and management of SEND provision.

c) Critically reflect on how your leadership and management in this area has impacted on the pupils

and families, the school and colleagues. Include evidence in the Appendix.

d) From discussions with your line manager reflect on the leadership and management skills you need

to develop further.

4. Supportive Evidence:

Brief reports from key stakeholders about how they view your role and the impact your role has had on

SEND provision and school development.

Summarise in 250 words how you feel about this feedback. What does it say about your leadership and

management of SEND and what are you going to do next with the information they have given you?

5. Appendix

- key evidence which reflects significant work achieved in your role as SENCO

- self reviews from sessions

- visit report

- previous assignments (annotated with Learning Outcomes)

- mentor records

- CPD

6. References: Useful texts, research and government documents

Due date: Friday 19 July

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General Assessment Criteria

knowledge of the major concepts of the area of study without significant omissions, errors

or irrelevancies;

evidence that the relationship of these concepts to workplace practice is understood;

the ability to write coherently and concisely presenting a position or argument based on

the outcomes of reading and/or enquiry;

the ability to analyse critically and reflect on professional practice using an identified

framework and/or general theory;

the ability to evaluate critically the findings of published research and other literature;

the ability to synthesise and draw upon a range of appropriate material.

Specific Assessment Criteria

a critical appreciation of current debates, theory and research relating to SEN and inclusion

an ability to analyse and evaluate the SEN provision in their own workplace in the light of

contemporary inclusive developments

an awareness of how their SENCO role leads and coordinates effective SEN provision for

pupils, colleagues and families in their workplace

an ability to analyse and evaluate their own leadership and management performance and

the processes involved

professional insights as an agent of change in the context of action research

critical engagement with and use of appropriate work-based research evidence

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON ASSIGNMENT HAND-IN AND FEEDBACK PROCEDURES

Submission of Assignments:

Please number the pages and include the word count (excluding the bibliography) at the end of the

assignment.

Securely fix in a floppy backed folder with;

a completed assignment/module submission sheet, available from your module tutor(s), the

MA(Ed) Office or from the Student Downloads page of the website:

http://www.chi.ac.uk/courses/teacher-training/maeducation/ma-ed-student-downloads

and your ID number from your TurnItIn receipt written on the submission sheet

Either hand in to the MA(Ed) office in Room 7, Arran House at BRC or post to:

SSENCOT Administrator, University of Chichester, Bognor Regis Campus, Upper Bognor Road, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 1HR provided it is postmarked on or before the deadline date.

Please ensure that you have paid the correct amount of postage.

Please do not e-mail, give or post your assignment directly to the tutor; they are not in a position to

record formally that it has been received.

Always keep a copy of your assignments.

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Assignment Submission sheet

Available on the MA(Ed) website, student downloads. Please complete all sections of the form. When the

assignments have been received by the MA(Ed) office, the forms will be folded to facilitate anonymous

marking. Signing in – the instruction to sign the hand-in sheet held in the office can obviously only apply to

those of you bringing in your assignment. As stated above, it is still perfectly acceptable for you to post

your assignment but it must include the new submission sheet.

Extension requests

For students intending to submit assignments, we understand that occasionally things go wrong and you

may request an extension of up to two weeks. If you request an extension to your assignment, you are

indicating your intention to submit this work and we would remind you that failure due to non-submission

of the assignment, without mitigating circumstances, will result in a fail.

Requests for extensions must be emailed before the due date to D.Seach@chi.ac.uk, copied to

SSENCOT@chi.ac.uk.

Mitigating Circumstances

If you have a major problem which prevents you from submitting your assignment, you must claim

mitigating circumstances. You are strongly advised to submit your claim form with evidence to AQSU as

soon as you know there is a problem and before the Board of Examiners. For information and a claim form

go to:

Portia; select tab for UniServices; select Academic Standards Unit.

Should you fall sick or have unforeseen problems after this date, you must contact Diana Seach,

Programme Coordinator, to discuss your position.

Please note that you will receive informal feedback following the completion of each assignment. Grades

will not be formally submitted to the External Exam Board until September 2013.

In the event of a failed assignment, and in accordance with section 6.9.4 of PGAS Definitive Document,

(2007) you are allowed to resubmit one failed assignment and will receive tutorial guidance according to

need. The maximum grade obtainable for such resubmitted work will be D.

NEW ANTI-PLAGIARISM SOFTWARE AND PROCEDURES

Turnitin is a web-based plagiarism-prevention service, which checks assignments for unoriginal content.

The results can be used to help students learn how to avoid plagiarism as it provides better and faster

feedback to improve their writing or to identify similarities to existing sources. Turnitin encourages best

practice in using and referencing other people's written material.

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Changes for students:

You are no longer required to hand in a digital version of your written assignments on CD.

Submission of written assignments must be uploaded to Turnitin and submitted as a hard copy.

You must upload your written assignments into the link set up by your lecturer on the module's

Moodle page. This must be done before the assignment deadline. If for any reason Moodle or

Turnitin are unavailable on the day an assignment is due in, you must upload it into Turnitin as soon

as possible thereafter. Details of system downtimes can be found on Portia (the Traffic Light) and

on the Help Pages (help.chi.ac.uk).

Once uploaded into Turnitin, an Originality Report will be generated, highlighting unoriginal

content. This is useful for you to check that you have referenced everything correctly.

Please note that you are not aiming for a 0% score as Turnitin will recognise all unoriginal text,

including quotes, templates and text which you have referenced correctly.

Generation of the Originality Report usually takes between 5 and 10 minutes but can take longer at

busy times.

If you choose to edit and resubmit an assignment (before the due date), the Originality Report will

be available the following day. Your lecturer will only see the most recent submission.

Very importantly, you must still hand in a printed version of your assignment as normal. Failure to

do so may result in failing the module.

When you submit to Turnitin, please write the Paper ID (available from your Turnitin receipt)

number onto the assignment submission sheet attached to your hard copy assignment.

Feedback method/Results

Feedback is done with a system known as MAF on line - Module Assessment Feedback on line. The

University sees key benefits for students including:

Marks and feedback can be released on line before the Board of Examiners, although they will still be

subject to Board of Examiners’ approval. Once the tutor has released the feedback, you will receive an

email in your Chi email account informing you of this. You must have an active Chi email account – if you

do not wish to use this email address then you can arrange to have it forwarded to an email address of your

choice. Please contact Help@chi.ac.uk for advice on this. You will be able to see your feedback on line

through your Portia SONAR account. It is absolutely essential therefore that you keep your Portia account

active

Assignment hand back

Assignments will either be handed back by the module tutor or posted recorded delivery to your

home address. The assignment will not, however, be accompanied by a comment sheet – this will

only be available on line.

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Resubmission information

Please note that if you are unsuccessful in an assignment:

The Programme Coordinator will contact you via email about a fail and you will be asked to contact

the Programme Coordinator to discuss what happens next.

A formal resubmission date for your assignment will be set by the External Exam Board for the

Postgraduate Awards Scheme. You will be notified of this resubmission date by letter shortly after

the Exam Board has taken place. Please note you may submit your assignment earlier if you wish.

Please note also that if you decide not to resubmit without appropriate mitigating circumstances,

this will count as an irrevocable fail and you will be required to leave the programme.

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MEETING YOUR MENTOR

When meeting with your mentor we ask you to consider the following:

The frequency, length and location of meetings need to be mutually agreed. Meetings should be

uninterrupted.

You will be required to prepare for the sessions by bringing with you particular issues or concerns

and to make use of your reflective log to share aspects of your learning.

Timing and content of sessions needs to be mutually agreed so that you do not get side tracked.

The mentoring focus is on the work-place and course related issues, not your personal life. At the

same time it is recognised that personal issues will affect work and study and vice versa. Should

individual personal issues be causing you serious distress the mentor will encourage you to seek

appropriate additional support such as counselling.

Pressure to cancel may occur due to workload and other commitments. Mentoring is seen as key to

your effective leadership and development of your new SENCO role and should be seen as a

priority.

The mentor record (download from Moodle) is an important part of the process and must be

completed as evidence that the session has taken place and that you are able to reflect and action

the points discussed.

It needs to be agreed that any contents of mentoring sessions relating to particular schools,

colleagues, families and pupils will only be disclosed outside of the session in an anonymised and

generalised way to ensure confidentiality.

You will be required to meet on a regular basis (up to 3 hours per term) at a mutually agreed location and a

record of these sessions will be kept by both of you. The role of the mentor is to be:

An active and empathetic listener

Reflective, helping you to track your thinking about a particular situation or area of concern and

reflecting back what you have said

Asking questions that give you the opportunity to agree or contest their understanding of what you

have said.

Asking questions that have the effect of opening up new channels of thinking and removing blocks

to the development of your SENCO role.

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EVALUATIONS

As with previous groups all the SENCOs appreciated and enjoyed opportunities to meet with other SENCOs

to share examples of different and good practice in SEN in their schools. They also found it useful to find

out the differences in the role between Primary and Secondary schools and found the liaison between

school useful for sharing information and transition.

A strength of the programme which was expressed by all the SENCOs was the networking opportunity that

the sessions offered. The sessions also gave them time to reflect on good practice and share resources with

others in a supportive environment. They particularly enjoyed the visiting speakers and the knowledge

from LA personnel was very valuable.

Over the course of the programme SENCOs felt that their knowledge and understanding of the role had

grown considerably and this had given them a lot more confidence to make the changes they thought were

important for their school and challenge what was not working well for the pupils.

SENCOs met regularly in three different venue within their local authority and generally found these

comfortable and accessible. The internet was not always easy to access at the Quay Arts Centre (IOW) and

the parking was a problem at St Mary’s Training Centre in Eastbourne. Those attending the Bognor Campus

benefitted from access to the library. In future all cohorts will be based at the Bognor Campus giving

everyone the same opportunity to access the university campus and resources.

Some SENCOs appreciated the university e-resources and information about the course on Moodle.

However others had difficulty accessing it at times and also wanted information available earlier so that

they had time to read and prepare for the sessions. Most SENCOs agreed that the course had encouraged

them to read more and engage with literature, especially for the assignments.

This year the assignment pattern changed and SENCOs appreciated that smaller assignments were easier to

manage. They also enjoyed doing the research in their own setting as they could see the relevance to what

they were doing and the impact of the changes they were trying to make. Some SENCOs requested that the

timing of the hand in for some assignments came after the half term break so they had time to focus on it.

This has been considered for the next cohort.

In terms of the course content most SENCOs found the information extremely useful and the opportunity

to work in groups doing practical activities was really helpful. Some SENCO suggested that they would like

more input on strategies for particular SEN groups and how to assess individual needs and monitor

effective interventions. This will be considered when planning the next programme.

“I now understand the need for pupils with SEN to talk more about what they feel they need and what they

think will help them. Colleagues have become more responsible for providing opportunities for pupils with

SEN to progress. Parents are better informed of progress and have more open access to the SENCO.”

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SUGGESTED READING

Baker, R (2009, 2nd ed) The SENCO's Guide to SEN, Disability and Every Child Matters: The Easy to Use Guide

to SEN, Disability and Every Child Matters in All Mainstream and Special Schools. Lydney: Baker- Phillips

Educational Communications:

Briggs A and Coleman M (Eds.) (2007) Research Methods in Educational Leadership and Management.

London: Sage Publications

Cheminais, R (2005) Every Child Matters: New Role for SENCos: A Practical Guide. London: David Fulton

Cheminais, R. (2009) Effective Multi-Agency Partnerships: Putting Every Child Matters into Practice. London:

Sage Publications

Cowne, E. (2002) Developing Inclusive Practice: The SENCO's Role in Managing Change. London: David

Fulton

Cowne, E. (2004)(4thEdition) The SENCO Handbook: Working within a Whole School Approach. London:

David Fulton

Drifte, C. (2005) A Manual for the Early Years SENCO. London: Paul Chapman Publishing

Ekins, A. (2011) The Changing Face of Special Educational Needs. London: Routledge

Frederickson, N. (2002) Special Educational Needs, Inclusion and Diversity. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill

George, J. & Hunt, M. (2003) Appointing and Managing Learning Support Assistants: A Practical Guide for

SENCOs and Other Managers. London: David Fulton

Gibson, S. & Blandford, S. (2005) Managing Special Educational Needs: A Practical Guide for Primary and

Secondary Schools. London: Paul Chapman

Hallett, F. and Hallet, G. (eds) (2010) Transforming the Role of the SENCO: Achieving the National Award for

SEN Co-ordination: Buckingham: Open University Press

O’Hanlon, C. (2003) Educational Inclusion as Action Research: an Interpretive Discourse. Maidenhead:

McGraw-Hill

Soan, S. (ed) (2010) The SENCO Handbook. London: Optimus Publishing

Sheehy, K. Nind, M., Rix, J. & Simmons, K. (eds) (2005) Ethics and Research in Inclusive Education: Values

into Practice. Abingdon: Routledge

Tripp, D.(1993) Critical Incidents in Teaching: Developing Professional Judgement. London: Routledge

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Useful Websites

Advanced training materials for teachers of pupils with SEND www.education.gov.uk/lamb

British Educational Research Association http://www.bera.ac.uk

Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education www.csie.org.uk

National Association for Special Educational Needs www.nasen.org.uk

National College for School Leadership www.nationalcollege.org.uk

The Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services www.c4eo.org.uk

The Sutton Trust www.suttontrust.com

Journals

British Journal of Special Education

International Journal of Inclusive Education

Special Children

Disability and Society

Contact Details:

Diana Seach: Programme Coordinator. Tel 01243 812178. Email: d.seach@chi.ac.uk

Aileen Arthur and Helen Wignall: Administrators. Tel: 01243 812045/812141. Email: SSENCOT@chi.ac.uk

Ann Jones: Subject Librarian. Email: a.jones@chi.ac.uk

IT Services Helpdesk: Tel: 01243 816222 Email: help@chi.ac.uk

D. Seach 2013