SEND and Inclusion Project 26/27

SEND and Inclusion: What is Good Curriculum Design?

Set your curriculum re-draft off in the right direction by addressing the needs of all children.

How we teach is vital, but we also need to be making the right decisions around what we teach our pupils, especially when they have additional needs.

This 4-part curriculum-focused series will zoom out to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, while also zooming in to the curriculum decisions of teachers and leaders on a daily basis. It will make links between national policy and daily classroom practice, particularly supporting the leaders in schools who bridge that gap within their setting.

Audience: SENCOs, Teaching and Learning/Curriculum Leads, Heads, Subject or Phase leaders.

Project Objectives

To understand the implications of the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR)
To explore where the CAR’s recommendations provide supportive solutions for schools, and where schools will still be looking to find their own solutions
To consider the principles of effective curriculum design for pupils with SEND in mainstream classrooms
To explore effective curriculum planning, adaptation and delivery for pupils with
higher levels of need, including with Inclusion Bases in mainstream schools.

Project Outcomes

Leaders will be more familiar with directions of travel around curriculum, including their implications for pupils with SEND
Leaders will be better able to reflect on their own curricula and consider adaptations, where required for pupils with SEND
Leaders will consider what curriculum thinking may be required for pupils with higher levels of need in mainstream settings.

Programme Overview

Session 1

This in-person session will start at the national policy level. It will explore the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, looking particularly at the implications for pupils with SEND. Through presentation and discussion, it will support leaders to consider their own readiness for the changes that are coming.

Session 2

This online session will look at a number of principles that support effective curriculum design for pupils with SEND. Drawing on a range of sources, it will support leaders to think deeply about how the curricula they oversee, deliver or support meets the needs of pupils with SEND.

Session 3

This online session will focus on curriculum thinking for pupils with higher levels of need. It will bring together policy, research and practice, to support leaders to consider how to serve their pupils with SEND well.

Session 4

This in-person session will pull together various threads from the 4-session course, supporting leaders to feel ready for the upcoming changes, while understanding now how they can further develop the appropriateness of their school’s curricula for the pupils it aims to serve.

SEND and Inclusion: What is Good Curriculum Design? Project

Four in-person and virtual sessions
We recommend that two delegates attend the project
Access to the project includes access to an area on VNETCIC.com with all resources
VNET members can access one project as part of their membership package, additional projects cost £350+VAT
Non-member price £500+VAT

Dates

Gary Aubin

SENDMattersUK

Gary leads on a SEND School Improvement programme with Whole Education, supporting schools and Trusts to drive a whole-school approach to supporting pupils with SEND. Gary sits on the Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review panel.

Gary is the Education Endowment Foundation’s SEND Associate. In this role, he has worked extensively on sharing the evidence base behind high-quality teaching for SEND, as well as advised on the development of the SENCO NPQ.

As a Consultant, Gary has spoken internationally, advised the BBC, written content for the National Institute of Teaching and given talks to hundreds of Trust, Local Authority and school audiences.

Gary Aubin is the author of The Lone SENDCO, a handbook of 300 questions and answers for busy SENDCOs. His second book, The Parent’s Guide to SEND, is being released in early 2025. Gary led on SEND provision for a Multi Academy Trust of 10 primary and secondary schools for several years. He is a secondary teacher, former primary and secondary SENDCO and former secondary Head of Year. Gary also authors the SENDMattersUK blog.

VNET EDUCATION CIC