The APSEND National Network for CEOs advocates for and supports trust leaders whose trusts include any form of specialist setting. Membership includes CEOs of both specialist and mixed MATs and comprises around 50 CEOs from across the country.
The network represents EYFS, primary, secondary, post 16 and all through schools, with the majority of member trusts running special schools, Alternative Provision (AP) academies, SEMH provisions and external facing services such as Outreach teams. The network also includes more specialist settings such as: Tier four CAMHS units; hospital schools; specialist units attached to mainstream schools; 1 to 1 and home tuition services; and specialist post 16 provisions.
Since 2020 the network has been chaired by Mark Vickers MBE, CEO of Olive Academies. Mark is supported by an executive group of five CEOs who represent trusts in different regions of England.
In this article, we explore key insights and reflections shared by Mark and the executive group, offering valuable perspectives on SEND and AP leadership and the strategies required to navigate the complexities within the education landscape.
The main challenges across education
Many of the challenges we face as MAT leaders in SEND and AP are the same as mainstream colleagues, but they are often magnified by issues to do with the nature of our provisions, such as small student and staff numbers, and the necessity for specialist training and facilities. An example of this is the current crisis of recruitment and retention prevalent across the whole education system. This becomes even more acute in APSEND settings where, due to smaller staff cohorts, even small changes to the staff body can result in huge challenges around training and the fidelity with which we are able to deliver specialist interventions. Our staff are also confronted by a relentless and increasing level of complex needs, at the same time the wider support services and structures that families and communities used to rely on are receding. Whilst our APSEND schools and settings pride themselves on the level of support they are able to provide for staff who are facing these situations day in and day out, it is difficult to keep encouraging staff to do more with less, and resourcing cuts places more and more risk on the settings and frontline staff themselves.
The increasing complexities in pupil needs I referred to above are also being experienced across the system, and have been greatly exacerbated as a result of the pandemic. In our experience as MAT leaders working in partnership with mainstream schools from across the sector, we are also acutely aware that many mainstream colleagues are currently feeling overwhelmed by the juxtaposition of increasing need on the one hand, and decreasing resources on the other. Unfortunately, we have witnessed this pressure lead to poor decision making by some schools in terms of pupil placements, and inclusion more generally. This impacts on APSEND provisions because it is fundamentally changing the cohorts that we are working with. For example, we are seeing larger numbers of young people with undiagnosed SEND placed in Alternative Provision settings, and whilst individual settings might be ‘outstanding’ providers, if they are not equipped to meet the specific needs of the young person, it will then become very difficult to ensure the young person is able to access their education effectively in an environment that is conducive for their learning needs.
The variability of some mainstream schools’ approaches to inclusion is also a challenge for the sector. As APSEND leaders we have a birds-eye view of how thresholds for behaviour and the use of suspensions and exclusions vary between our local feeder schools. What we see and experience in this regard presents challenges when cohorts of young people are referred to us for very different levels of behavioural issues and need. At the moment we believe this is an underutilised opportunity for localities to work together on local approaches to inclusion, that are more equitable for young people and could create a fairer and more balanced system.