News Blog

Over fifty teaching professionals attended the online TKAT SEND conference on 25th January 2022 which had a theme of ‘Outstanding Provision for pupils with SEND’ Our sincere thanks for supporting the event go to Caterlink Ltd (www.caterlinkltd.co.uk), who work with a number of our schools.

Delegates heard examples of approaches to inclusivity and their impact in some of our TKAT schools, as inclusivity is integral to meeting the needs of learners with SEND.

The guest speaker was Amelie Thompson - Regional Lead from WholeSchoolSEND, who gave an introduction to the Teacher Handbook:SEND and spoke about how this could be used by teachers and SENCos to develop Inclusive practice in schools. A second session looked at planning inclusive lessons and developing inclusive learning environments.

Sara Walton, TKAT Safeguarding and SEND Lead, spoke about the importance of ‘joining the pieces together’ and having a holistic view of a child with special educational needs. Lori Mackey and Heather Jolly from Shenstone School explained ‘The Zones of Regulation’ - the Shenstone approach and practical ideas for use in school.

Mike Benton, Deputy Headteacher at Ore Village Primary Academy explored the approach to an alternative provision for their pupils and its positive impact. Mel Childs spoke about ‘The ARC’ alternative provision at Chichester High School.

The feedback from attendees at the conference  was very positive – one delegate commented:

“Thank you so much for organising the SEND conference today. I found it extremely supportive, informative and refreshing. I really appreciate the effort that everyone put in. I have learnt so much in such a short space of time!” (Primary School SENCo)