Meet the Candidates

She was part of the first cohort which studied for the qualification with Real Training and has been very impressed with the level of service and support that she received. All the materials are accessed via the learning platform on the website and she could choose when and where to study. "I didn’t want to have to take days out of school and I do have to fit things round family commitments so this was ideal," she said. "I have studied in this way with the Open University so I know it suits me. I like to learn independently."

 

She particularly enjoyed unit 2 which compares systems in two different schools, "You complete a placement in another school for up to 3 days, looking at how their SEN system has developed. It lets you compare the practice and paperwork in both schools. It made me think much more deeply about how and why we do things. When you start work in a new school, you follow what is already in place. The SENCO accreditation gives you a chance to think about whether these procedures are effective. Following the placement, I went back to my school and set up a new action plan. It is also interesting to see how different schools view inclusion. There is a great difference in the balance between withdrawal and classroom interventions in different schools. Now I have finished the course, I am keen to find out what we can do in every single lesson to enable children with SEN to have access to the curriculum. I am also looking at child friendly Individual Education Plans (IEPs) where pupils are more involved in the process."

 

The course materials were supplemented with a one day conference in London. This was an important part of the course as all the students come together, "There were a over a hundred people there on the day and there was a real buzz," said Esther.

 

"The thing I like about Real Training is that you have excellent feedback from your tutor and the course leaders. As I was part of the first group going through, we could talk about improvements and they took it on board. It was a real two way process. I also appreciated the prompt feedback from tutors: it was always very constructive and you could amend your work while it was fresh in your head. With other courses there is often a delay of a week or two between submitting and getting a response, by which time you have often lost the impetus. I think speed is important."

 

As part of the course, Esther was asked to lead an Action Learning Set and brought up issues where she wanted other people's opinions, "It is good to talk to people and it broadens your views. We have had a change of government while we have been on the course and there is much to discuss. I have raised issues on the website forum and had helpful advice from others. I was assessing a difficult case in my last school and got a different perspective from forum members. It was good to see how other schools dealt with similar problems."

 

Esther found Real Training's National Award for SEN Coordination invaluable, "The course really makes you stop and think about the changes that can be made to the policies, procedures and practice at your school."

She works part time in a two form entry primary school in Wimbledon and shares the role of SENCO with another teacher. When they offered her the post she realised that she needed to improve her knowledge and set about finding a suitable course, "Real Training had only just started advertising the course, in fact I believe I was the first person to phone and ask Siobhan about the course. The flexibility was what appealed to me." Since then Melanie has met other SENCOs on in-service training courses who have to attend classes each week to get a similar qualification. "If they have had a hectic week at school they really struggle to get to university on time and it plays havoc with family commitments too." With Real Training Melanie has set her own deadlines and has completed most of her assignments during school holidays when life is a little less fraught.

 

Unit 4 was particularly useful in Melanie's case although she found it very demanding. "We had to keep a log of our experiences throughout the course. I had benefited form spending time in another school as part of unit 2, comparing practice and had highlighted the need for an audit of special needs provision in or school. I came to realise that I needed to have a complete understanding of the financial side of SEN and how much it was costing our school. I also needed to look in detail at specific statements and whether we were covering our costs. It was quite an eye opener! The amount the school receives does not cover the cost of teaching assistants and the school has to subsidise this extra support."

 

As a result Melanie has delved deeper into the different interventions used in the school to see which are the most effective. "I have realised that training has to be our priority. For example, we have teaching assistants running a handwriting group for children with special needs but they have not been trained and so the children are doing the same exercises year on year to no effect. I have now bought in a kinaesthetic handwriting programme called Speed Up and want to get the TAs trained to use it. We need to make sure the children are progressing. The trouble is that with the constant flow of paperwork, we don't have enough time for planning and monitoring appropriate interventions. The National Award for SEN Coordination with Real Training has given me many practical resources that make my life easier."