Manchester Metropolitan

University

Transforming
the role of
the SENCo

Conference Programme
Programme
The Conference this year will focus on the challenges
of improving the outcomes for children and young people
with special educational needs in the current school context.
Perspectives from our keynote speakers and workshops
will bring a critical and evaluative perspective to the
implications for provision and practice.

Foreword
The NASENCo Conference is an opportunity for SENCos and practitioners working within the field
of special educational needs and disability (SEND) to reflect together on the challenges they face in
supporting the improvement of outcomes for children and young people with SEND in 2017. At the
same time the day is an opportunity to explore solutions by engaging with the learning experiences
of colleagues and SEND practitioners.
At this Conference Professor Mel Ainscow will focus his keynote address on ways of making schools
effective and the development of inclusive schools, drawing on lessons from research. Rob Webster
will be sharing with us the outcomes of the SENSE project; research into the experiences of pupils
with statements and Education, Health and Care Plans in mainstream secondary settings and
Steve Tyler will be bringing us an insight into effective practices with families of young people
with Autistic Spectrum Conditions.
The four Workshops have been chosen to maximise the support we are offering to you in supporting
change and improvement in your schools. Kay Hill and Elizabeth OShaunessy will discuss the
recommendations from the Rochford Review, looking at new approaches to assessment and reporting
for children below expected levels. Dennis Piper will introduce The Piper Model, personalizing
interventions promoting emotional resilience in children with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Christopher Robertson will introduce us to ways of recognizing and overcoming barriers to coordinating
special educational needs and disability in schools and settings. Dominic Griffiths will discuss
neurodiversity in his workshop; a new and different way of looking at SpLD and ADHD.
I am certain that this years Conference will be engaging, informative and interesting and will
encourage you to reflect further on your practice and your school context. Enjoy the day!

Michele Moore & Mal Ashman

Award Leads, National Award of Special Educational Needs (NASENCo)
 NASENCo Conference 14th July 2017
8:30 Registration/Refreshments
9:10 Welcome/ Michele Moore SENCo Award Lead, Manchester Met.
9:15 Introduction Keith Faulks Dean, Faculty of Education, Manchester Met.
9:20 Keynote 1 LT1: Professor Mel AinscowCBE, Professor of Education and
Co-director of the Centre for Equity in Education at the University
of Manchester Making schools effective for all children: some
lessons from research.
10:05 Workshop 1 LT 7: Kay Hill/Elizabeth OShaughnessy New approaches
to assessment and reporting for children working below expected
levels effectively implementing Rochford.
LT5: Dr. Dominic Griffiths Time to unpack the SEN
shoeboxes? The case for a properly neurodiverse alternative.
LT6: Christopher Robertson Get real! Recognising and
overcoming barriers to coordinating special educational needs
and disability provision in schools and related settings.
10:50 Break
11:10 Keynote 2 LT1: Rob Webster Co-Director, SEN in Secondary
Education(SENSE) study, UCL, Centre for Inclusive Education
Making a Statement: The experiences of pupils with Statements
of SEN and EHCPs over time.
11:55 Workshop 2 LT5: Dr. Dominic Griffiths Time to unpack the SEN
shoeboxes? The case for a properly neurodiverse alternative.
LT 7: Kay Hill/Elizabeth OShaughnessy New approaches
to assessment and reporting for children working below expected
levels - effectively implementing Rochford.
LT4: Dennis Piper The PIPER Model: Personalised
Interventions Promoting Emotional Resilience in Children
with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs.
12:40 Lunch
13:45 Keynote 3 LT1: Dr. Steve Tyler, Senior Lecturer ASD, Manchester Met
Effective practice with families of young people with ASC.
14:30 Workshop 3 LT4: Dennis Piper The PIPER Model: Personalised
Interventions Promoting Emotional Resilience in Children
with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs.
LT6: Christopher Robertson Get real! Recognising and
overcoming barriers to coordinating special educational needs
and disability provision in schools and related settings.
LT 7: Kay Hill/Elizabeth OShaughnessy New approaches
to assessment and reporting for children working below expected
levels - effectively implementing Rochford.
15:15 Plenary Sara Whalley NASENCo tutor, Stockport Local Authority.
15:25 Close
 Speakers
Mel Ainscow is Professor of Education and Co-director of the
Centre for Equity in Education at the University of Manchester
and Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology.
His work focuses on ways of making schools effective for all
children and young people. A long-term consultant to UNESCO,
he is currently working on international efforts to promote equity
and inclusion globally. He led the Greater Manchester Challenge
a project that involved a partnership between national government,
ten local authorities, 1,150 schools and many other stakeholders,
with a government investment of around 50 million. Currently
Professor Mel he heads up Schools Challenge Cymru, the Welsh Governments
flagship programme to accelerate the rate of improvement across
AinscowCBE the countrys schools, focusing in particular on the progress
Professor of Education of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. His most recent
and Co-director of the Centre books are: Struggles for equity in education: the selected works
for Equity in Education at the
University of Manchester
of Mel Ainscow (Routledge World Library of Educationalists
series), and Towards self-improving school systems: lessons
from a city challenge (Routledge). Two new books, Inside the
autonomous school: making sense of a global educational trend
(with Maija Salokangas) and Promoting equity in schools:
collaboration, inquiry and ethical leadership (with Jess Harris
and Suzanne Carrington) will be published by Routledge in 2017.
In the Queens 2012 New Year Honours list he was made a CBE
for services to education.

Rob Webster is a researcher at the UCLCentre for Inclusive

Education, where he also leads the MaximisingtheImpact
of Teaching Assistants (MITA) initiative. He has worked
on severalresearch projects, including theground-breaking
Deployment and Impact ofSupport Staff project. Rob led the
Making a Statement study andthe SEN inSecondary Education
study, both of which focussed on the educational experiences
of childrenand young people with SEN. He is currently leading
a trial of awhole school intervention to improve howschools
deploy and train TAs, which isbeing funded by theEducation
EndowmentFoundation (EEF). Rob has co-written the
Rob Webster EEFsMaking the Best Useof Teaching Assistantsguidance
Co-Director, SEN in report, and two acclaimed books:Maximisingthe Impact of
Secondary Education(SENSE)
study, UCL, Centre for
Teaching Assistants andThe TeachingAssistantsGuide to
Inclusive Education Effective Interaction.Hehas worked as a TA across primary,
secondary and special schools, and as alocal authority
SEN Officer, managing the statuary assessment process
andschoolplacement.
Steve is currently an Associate Lecturer within the Faculty
of Education at Manchester Metropolitan University and
a consultant for the Together Trust, a leading North West
childrens charity. Until recently Steve was a Senior Lecturer
at Manchester Metropolitan University and Award Coordinator
for courses in Autism Spectrum Conditions. Previously, he was
for eighteen years principal of a specialist school for children and
young people with ASC, and his career has also included being
a Research Fellow at Keele University, a primary school teacher,
and an educational psychologist. He has also been a member of
the NAS Accreditation Programmes Standards Body. His current Dr. Steve Tyler
interests include the education of young people with ASC and work Senior Lecturer ASD,
with their families. Manchester Metropolitan
University
 Workshop leaders
Kay has worked in SEN and wider inclusion for over 20 years,
from Primary SENCo, through leading the introduction of the
SEN reforms in a local Authority to running her own SEN/AEN
consultancy. Kay is about to take up the post of Head of Learner
Support in Rhondda Cynon Taff LA where she is looking forward
to implementing the ALN reforms for Wales.
Kay has been involved in delivering the National Award for SEN
Co-ordination from its inception in 2010 through the Manchester
Metropolitan University/LA partnership model.
Kay Hill Kay is passionate about the role of the SENCOs as leaders of
Head of Learner school improvement, having the knowledge, skills and tenacity
Support Rhondda
to ensure every teacher is willing and able to meet the needs
Cynon Taff
of every learner.

A Primary School Teacher for 23 years, during which timeshehas

held a variety ofsenior roles andtaught in 3 different schools
across Trafford Local Authority.She co-ordinated the GM
Challenge Families of Schools under the direction of the DfE and
Lead Primary Advisors during 2008-2012.She currently leads the
everyonelearning@ Teaching School Alliance based atHawthorns
School (specialist provision)in Tamesideand continues to lead the
Greater Manchester Family of Schools.

Elizabeth
OShaughnessy Dennis Piper is a Special Educational Needs Consultant, and
Everyonelearning@ Social, Emotional and Mental Health Specialist. He also works
Teaching School as an Associate Lecturer and Academic Tutor at Manchester
Alliance Lead Metropolitan University. He was formerly a Head teacher, Head
of Special Educational Needs (SENCo) and Class teacher and has
worked in mainstream schools, special and inter-agency provision
for over 30 years.
Dennis work in the field of Social, Emotional and Mental
Health has resulted in national and international recognition
for innovation. He has developed a range of training packages
to assist schools in becoming not only more child-centred and
inclusive but also emotional wellbeing friendly. Dennis emotional
wellbeing research and the PIPER model is being published
simultaneously in London and New York by Routledge (Taylor and
Francis Group).
As an applied researcher, and whilst completing his Doctorate
Dennis Piper at Manchester University, Dennis works to provide the bridge
between academic and professional aspects of the roles of teacher
Special Educational
Needs Consultant, and and lecturer. Dennis is a member of a number of specialist groups,
Social, Emotional and involved internationally in projects in the field of social and
Mental Health Specialist emotional learning and mental health needs.
Christopher Robertson is Honorary Lecturer in Education at the
University of Birmingham. He also works as an independent
academic and author. He specialises in special educational needs
and disability focused policy analysis and the implications of policy
for schools and other educational organisations.
For fifteen years, until January 2015, Christopher was a lecturer in
inclusive and special education at the University of Birmingham
where he directed the postgraduate National Award for SEN
Coordination (NASENCO) programme. He has had extensive
experience of teaching children and young people with physical Christopher
disabilities, severe learning difficulties, and profound and multiple
learning difficulties in both mainstream schools and specialist
Robertson
Honorary Lecturer
settings. His teaching and research interests are in the areas in Education at the
of education policy, international perspectives on special and University of Birmingham
inclusive education, the coordination of provision for children and
young people with special educational needs, pupil/student/parent
partnership and participation, and all aspects of teacher/school
workforce development. Christopher has also held lecturing posts
at Canterbury Christ Church University and the University
of Londons Institute of Education.
He has written extensively on the role of the special educational
needs coordinator (SENCO). He has also co-authored books
on special educational needs and written published articles
on teacher education, autonomy, parent partnership, teacher
stress, the social theory of disability, curriculum development
related to special educational needs and the views of children
and young people with special educational needs and/or
disabilities on their education.
For many years Christopher has been involved in lobbying
government to define and regulate the role of SENCOs more
carefully, and to ensure that SENCOs are appropriately trained.

Dr Dominic Griffiths (AMBDA) is a Senior Lecturer in Inclusive

Education and Special Educational Needs at Manchester
Metropolitan University. Dominic has thirty years experience
teaching in primary, secondary and special schools, he has been
a specialist dyslexia teacher and local authority advisor for SEN.
He teaches on the MA in Specific Learning Difficulties, teaches
units on the BA (Hons) in Inclusive Education and Disability
Studies and leads the SEN option for trainee teachers on the BA
(Hons) Primary Education. Dominics PhD thesis was on The
Provision and Use of Reading Support in GCSE Examinations.
He has a research interest in the training of teaching staff to Dr Dominic
promote inclusive practice and has published and presented Griffiths
at conferences on the subject. Senior Lecturer
in Inclusive Education
and Special Educational
Needs, Manchester
Metropolitan University
Faculty of Education

PgCert Dyscalculia
Apply now for
September 2017 entry
The newly formed PgCert in Dyscalculia
at Manchester Metropolitan University
is a nationally recognised qualification
designed for teachers of children
and adolescents who are
experiencing specific learning
difficulties in mathematics.
The PgCert in Dyscalculia
focuses on enabling the classroom
practitioner to gain a high level
of knowledge and skill so they
are able to meet the needs of
learners with specific learning
difficulties (SpLDs) in mathematics.

See: mmu.ac.uk/education/dyscalculia
Delivering expertise in SEND
for over 20 years
The Faculty of Education at Manchester Metropolitan University has been educating teachers,
practitioners and professionals for over 100 years and we are proud of our reputation for
inspirational learning and research. The influential Guardian University Guide 2017 ranks the
Faculty 15th (out of 77) UK education centres, positioning us as first in the North West of England.

Our world-leading Education and Social Research Institute was ranked in the UKs top 20 for impact in
education in the latest Research Excellence Framework (2014). We have expertise in inclusive education
and disability studies, STEM education and educational leadership and management.

We have an experienced team of academics working in ESRI who specialise in inclusive education
and disability studies, they are currently working on a number of research projects for the Department
for Education.

Department for Education projects:

Delivery of learning & development opportunities for senior leaders to support
whole-organisational strategic leadership of SEND provision in Further Education
This project addresses strategic leadership for inclusive practice and provision in Further Education
within a rapidly changing policy environment and in a sector, which is chronically underfunded.
Partners: The Association of Colleges, The Inclusion Circle

How can we better support young people with special educational needs
or disabilities within the youth justice system?
This project aims to promote better collaboration between youth justice professionals and local
authority SEND teams, to contribute to a process of cultural change within and across services.
Partners: Achievement for All (Project Lead), Association of Youth Offending Team Managers

Dyslexia Support Project

This project aims to provide services to support children and young people with dyslexia and other specific learning
difficulties (SpLDs). These services will include free teacher training events offered across the UK to help teachers
understand, identify and provide appropriate teaching and support to young people with dyslexia and other SpLDs.
Partners: British Dyslexia Association (BDA)

With over 20 years of experience in inclusive education and disability studies, the Faculty uses its
research expertise to underpin a suite of courses across all levels of study from undergraduate to
postgraduate and continuing professional development (CPD):

Postgraduate courses:
MA Autism Spectrum Conditions (part-time)
MA Inclusive Education and Disability (full-time)
MA Inclusive Education and Special Educational Needs (part-time)
PgCert National Award for Special Educational Needs (SENCO) (part-time)
PgCert/PgDip/MA Specific Learning Difficulties (part-time)

CPD short courses (subject to change):

Dysgraphia
SpLD Speech and Language Impairment
Dyscalculia
ADHD
Autism Spectrum Conditions

For more information, please visit mmu.ac.uk/education

SENCo Conference 2017
Exhibition Plan
Geoffrey Manton Upper Atrium
Manchester Metropolitan
University

National Award for

Special Educational Needs
Coordination 2017/18
Become a SENCo with one of our SENCo collaborative partners at a Local
authority near you!
As a group of experienced, high calibre SENCo providers we are enrolling now
for September 2017 with localised delivery centres across the North West region.
Applications must be sent directly to Manchester Met.

Bury

Oldham
Bolton

Manchester Met
Salford and Manchester
(One Education)
Wirral
Trafford
Tameside
Crewe campus Stockport
Manchester Met Shropshire

Entry requirements:
If you are an experienced SENCo or SENCo
new to the role in a mainstream secondary or
primary school, and hold Qualified Teacher
Status (QTS), then you can apply. Aspirant
SENCos may apply if they have appropriate
experience and can confirm on application an
agreement to work closely and collaboratively
with their schools existing SEND team to
meet all learning outcomes.
Course overview and application process:
mmu.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught/
2016/13361/
Programme specific queries can be referred
to Mike Bertenshaw (m.bertenshaw@mmu.
ac.uk) +44 (0) 161 247 6425