The School Leader's Guide to SEND

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This title is available to purchase directly from the Bloomsbury website here. 

This guide skilfully combines the rich depth of knowledge of the author, gained through her lived and extensive experience of school leadership and SEND leadership, with practical and actionable steps to take in order to improve wide-ranging aspects of inclusive practice.

The logical and all-encompassing structure of this guide in five parts (Knowledge and Understanding of SEND, Whole-school strategies, Building relationships with key staff, inspection, accountability and school improvement and Case studies) makes it highly suitable both as a cover-to-cover read or a dip-in dip-out guide for both experienced and new-to-post school leaders, SENDCOs and governors.

As a school leader for Inclusion, I have both read it cover-to-cover and revisited specific sections and paragraphs to support strategic planning and practical implementation. I have equally shared specific sections with different leaders and members of the SEND team to read prior to collaborative planning. This has served the invaluable purpose of giving structure and depth to our discussions.

Part 1 is essential reading for all school leaders seeking to understand the full range of challenges to creating inclusive schools, combined with clear guidance on how to build an inclusive culture from the foundations upwards and references to where and when to seek external and local support. Leaders and SENDCOs looking to improve teacher’s and TAs’ understanding of condition-specific barriers and their confidence to address these impactfully through high-quality teaching and support will find the instructional adaptations in the second half of part 1 extremely useful.

Leaders and SENDCOs wanting to focus on strategy, will find the reflection questions in each section particularly handy. Whereas those seeking practical and actionable steps, will enjoy reading the Top Tips. The case studies in section five, give further clarity on how different leaders and students across primary and secondary schools experience inclusive practice and give further examples to the reader of how the guidance in this book can be applied in practice and more importantly the impact that it can have for schools and individuals.

If you enjoyed reading Amjad Ali’s A Little Guide for Teachers: SEND in Schools, you will also enjoy the accessibility of the guidance provided in this book which additionally has an extra- depth of knowledge and references to more general leadership themes such as CPD, school attendance and budgeting. Being published around the time of the SEND White Paper Every Child Achieving and Thriving means that this guide provides up-to-date knowledge, language and support for school leaders and SENDCOs navigating their way through the implementation of the proposed changes.

Reviewed by Caroline Hurley
Caroline Hurley is an Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion and Literacy.
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About The School Leader's Guide to SEND

The School Leader's Guide to SEND is your strategic roadmap for transforming inclusive education in today's challenging educational landscape.Are you a school leader seeking to transform SEND provision in your school? This essential guide provides practical strategies for developing whole-school inclusive practice. Lynn How draws on her extensive school leadership experience to offer a wealth of cost-effective initiatives and interventions, alongside a clear, strategic approach to improving SEND provision.From building a holistic understanding of SEND to effectively supporting your SENDCos and learning support teams, this guide helps school leaders:- make meaningful whole-school reasonable adjustments- provide equal opportunities for all students- develop strong, productive relationships with SENDCos and SEND teams- understand the importance of moving beyond a one-size-fits-all approach.With a foreword from Ross Morrison McGill, @TeacherToolkit

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