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The Working Lives of Teachers report, published in April this year, highlights a number of compelling findings from an inclusion, CPD and teacher workload perspective. When we explore this in conjunction with the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, in response to the SEND Green paper, it feels like a crucial time to be drilling down on some of the practical and achievable steps that school leaders can take now in order to support their students and teachers to do their very best within an inclusive, mainstream educational setting moving forwards.
Let’s dive into some of the key findings:
The Working Lives of Teachers, a summary of findings related to inclusion, teachers and CPD:
Full time leaders in the UK are working an average of 57.5 hours per week, with 86% of leaders working between 40 and 69 hours per week.
For full time teachers, on average they are working 51.9 hours per week, with 78% working between 40 and 69 hours per week.
CPD: only 37% of ECTs report feeling prepared for teaching in a multicultural or multilingual setting.
For non ECT teachers, 73% are confident in their abilities to deliver a curriculum that meets the needs of all learners.
The topics that teachers want training on in the next 12 months, 40% want training on subject specific knowledge or pedagogy, 30% want it on teaching students with SEND, 23% using technology when teaching, 12% classroom management and 12% teaching in a multicultural or multilingual setting.
The biggest barrier to accessing CPD currently is reported to be the lack of time for CPD due to workload or competing priorities with 66% of responses.
So what can we conclude from this report?
Teacher and leader workload is a concern and the long-term sustainability of teacher and leader workload is questionable.
ECTs need more support to develop their confidence and range of inclusive teaching and learning strategies, as well as some more experienced teachers too.
CPD that is linked to subject-specific pedagogy and inclusion is something that teachers and leaders want but workload is currently the biggest barrier to accessing this.
For the full report, click here.
What about the Green Paper and the SEND/AP Improvement Plan Response?
This identifies a vision to “create a more inclusive society that celebrates and enables success in all forms, with the cultures, attitudes and environments to offer every child and young person the support that they need to participate fully, thrive and fulfil their potential”.
Whilst clearly this is policy directly about SEND and AP, I feel that it’s important to point out that this plan focuses on developing “National Standards” that will “place a greater emphasis on the important role mainstream settings play in providing quality first teaching”. In stating this, the DFE is addressing the pivotal role of quality first teaching when meeting the needs of the majority of pupils with SEND within a “consistently high-quality provision”.
Read: the first step in developing a successful SEND and AP provision (and a more inclusive society) goes back to teachers planning and delivering an inclusive mainstream curriculum which is characterised by:
- having high aspirations for all;
- adjusting and adapting the curriculum to meet the needs of all;
- (which in practice looks like:) providing ample "scaffolding up" to enable all to achieve their potential, adapting methods and strategies as per individual learners' evolving needs.
The plan also states that “by improving early identification and the quality of SEN Support, we expect to reduce the need for EHCPs because the needs of more children and young people will be met without them, through ordinarily available provision”.
The DFE offers to share the first of three practice guides by the end of 2025 for mainstream settings - but that’s 2.5 years away, and if you ask me, school leaders and teachers need support now, because how many teachers might have left the profession due to burnout after working 60 hour weeks by December 2025?
For the full summary paper, click here.
So combining the findings of both reports, we can see:
Teachers and leaders are already working exceptionally hard and long hours.
Teachers and leaders want more support with curriculum-based training and with teaching for a wide range of needs within the mainstream.
The DFE wants mainstream schools to improve the consistency of quality first teaching as the first step to improving the SEND and AP provision, moving forwards.
Practical advice and support will be available for mainstream schools to do this in 2.5 years.
But we need solutions now, so what could this look like?
There is a pressing need for teacher and leader CPD which reduces rather than adds to teacher workload. If we shift more towards providing training using a “do with you” or “do alongside you” model, we can support teachers to finding ways of working smarter, not harder and to draw upon the core resources that they already have. We can coach and guide teachers to adapt existing curriculums to include a wider range of strategies that are helpful for all, crucial for some - most of which they already know.
Schools can ensure CPD is provided in context rather than in the abstract in which teachers are implementing their learning to their upcoming lessons in order to save time within their working day, and where they can access immediate, supportive and constructive coaching dialogue to facilitate ongoing self-evaluation.
Implementing an inclusive curriculum framework that centres upon a baseline expectation of inclusive strategies which are helpful for all learners, is the first step to achieving greater consistency with quality first teaching and with boosting teacher confidence to meet the needs of all learners.
Next, developing a whole school approach to academic language and the core skills of reading, writing and communication, will transform the accessibility of curriculum content. Let's not forget: without a foundation of these core skills, it's near-impossible for learners to access the curriculum content at their full potential in order to have a chance of achieving their potential. And let's also remember: every teacher who teaches IN English is a teacher OF English. Read: it's everyone's responsibility to build these skills across the curriculum.
So what's next? If you've got a couple of minutes to reflect on where your school is right now in terms of its accessibility and inclusivity, take a look at our inclusive curriculum blueprint.
If you've got any "no" or "unsure" answers to these questions, book in a free consultation with me and we can explore together what your next tangible next steps might look like for 2023-24: anna@ealinclusive.com
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