BECTA Annual Research Conference

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BECTA Annual Research Conference

• The impact of the SENCO forum
• Ann Lewis
• London, June 2002

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Purpose of the forum

• To provide an opportunity to discuss issues that
  relate to SENCOs support for pupils and the
  development of ideas and practice in special
  needs provision, and to enable communication
  between those working in Higher Education, and
  practitioners in LEAs and schools 
• Quoted in NCET 1997 p 26

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Education budgets, Est 01-02

• ENGLAND LSB
• c 15 held centrally by LEAs
• Of which c 35.2 SEN
• C 85 devolved to schools
• Of which c 3-7 SEN

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• Tribunals 94-01 of appeals by SEN
• Autism 3 gt
  15
• EBD 6 gt
  14
• Severe learning difficulties 6 gt 4
• Moderate learning difficulties 9 gt 5
• Literacy incl SpLD 40 gt 34

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Support staff in schools in England Source
Howson 2002
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Evaluations/ research into the senco forum

• 1995 - CMC/SENCOs. Study 1 re pilot
• 1997 - CMC/SENCOs. c 500 members. Studies 2 and
  3 re usage
• 2000 - Study 4 c 900 members archive study re.
  usage
• 2001 - Study 5 library/ archive study re ICT
  requirements
• 2002 - Study 6 re impact c 840 members

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FOCUS Perceived impact of the forum

• Who uses the forum?
• What is the pattern of usage ? cf earlier
  studies
• What are the perceived professional gains?
• What are the perceived personal benefits?

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Target SENCO-forum groups

•  1. Active members who send public messages
• 2. Active members who send private messages
• 3. Passive members i.e. those who read, but do
  not send, messages
• 4. Non-members who come across messages through
  the BECTA archive

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Time scale January-May 2002

• Forum notice / questionnaire
• late February
• Return date 5 April

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• A higher rate of contributions are associated
  with members who have
• (1) a comparative lack of real-world social
  support and
• (2) greater levels of skills/ competence
• (Cummings et al 2002)

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Returns

• 143 returns (3 blank)
• NOT a pre-selected group
• Note large minority of members join/leave forum
  each month

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Numbers joining/leaving forumsourceJason
Douglas, BECTA
   
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Monthly postings to forum
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Who uses the forum?

• Returns from spread of 63 LEAs/ regions across
  England and Wales
• Schools representative re SEN numbers
• SENCOs just over half similar to BECTA base
• 21 different user groups by professional
  background

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School backgrounds Teachers re SEN (62.8)

• ½ from infant, junior or primary schools
• 1/3 from secondary schools
• 1/10 from nursery schools
• 1/10 from special schools
• 1 respondent from FE

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Parents (13.6)

• One reservation I have with using the Forum to
  seek direct help is that it now has a wide
  audience outside that of teaching colleagues. I
  am always unsure whether or not parents may read
  my queries or comments. This definitely
  restricts what I say or ask.

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Other users

• Publishers/consultants/ charities (13.6)
• Support workers (11.4)
• Advisory teachers (7.1)
• Educational psychologists (6.4)
• LEA officers/inspectors (5.7)
• Academics/researchers (5.7)

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Sources of professional help

• 2/3 named 29 different professional groups
• 2/3 named 34 different print-based sources
• 2/3 named various internet based sources

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Qualifications of respondents

• 2/3 had a first degree
• ¼ had a higher degree

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• The forum has been invaluable. I am mainly a
  listener in but I have been known to
  contribute. I have learned so much from the
  experts out there and I have found the forum
  such a brilliant resource.

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Reading of messages

• 9/10 reportedly read messages at least once a
  week
• 8/10 reported reading over ½ of all the messages
• Just over 1/10 read between ¼ and ½ of the
  messages
• Under 1/10 read less than ¼ of the messages

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(No Transcript)
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Basis for selecting messages read

• Nearly ½ - general professional or personal
  relevance
• Nearly ½ - specific topic
• Nearly 1/10 - identity of the sender

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Sending of messages

• ½ sent public messages
• ¼ sent private messages to individuals on the
  forum
• Nearly 2/3 of the users with higher degrees
  sent public and/or (very rarely) private messages.

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(No Transcript)
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Perceived value

• 2/5 gave professional aspects only
• 1/5 gave personal aspects only
• 2/5 gave a mix of personal and professional
  aspects
• NB open ended cf rankings

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Professional value 1. Up to date

• Many users reported that the forum is where the
  latest information can be accessed immediately
  and, because of the diverse population of the
  forum, there is normally someone either involved
  in, or with good knowledge of, the latest
  initiative.

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• As a member of a dyslexia association, I find it
  invaluable to listen to what teachers are
  thinking and feeling. I feel it helps us to
  support them and to persuade our parents that
  teachers are often on their side but constrained
  by funding. I also pick up so many very valuable
  tips and strategies to pass on to others

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Professional value 2. Government links

• Government circulars and similar documents can be
  discussed to ensure that they have been
  understood. Through this process, the
  individuals response to documents can be
  compared with the reactions of other forum users.
  

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• Main value is To be in touch with the
  mainstream even though I am an expatriate. I
  work in a British curriculum school.

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Professional value 3. Depth speed

• The forum is used as a way of finding links to
  in-depth information from other sources, saving
  valuable time and effort. .. forum members can
  pass on the names and addresses of valuable
  websites, contacts, journals, charities and
  organisations.

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Professional value 4. Curriculum

• The forum is also used as a source of information
  for pedagogic developments across the SEN sector.
  Messages are also posted about best practice and
  practicalities of these developments

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• I am also interested in .. good classroom
  practice. Since I do not work in schools (as I
  teach privately nowadays) the forum enables me to
  see what the concerns of the day are and helps me
  to keep in touch with what is happening in
  schools etc

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Professional value 5. CPD

• Some respondents reported the use of the forum in
  their initial and/or continuing professional
  development at a range of levels including higher
  degrees, initial teacher education and SEN
  diplomas or certificates.

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• I am often generously supplied with downloadable
  resources from other SENCOs etc
•  

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• I am SENCO at a school, which for various reasons
  has not acknowledged the existence of special
  needs up till now. SENCO Forum has been a good
  source of INSET for me. I know what we should be
  doing but when it will all happen I am not sure.
  Hence, the anonymity of the system is
• extremely useful for me. Mine is a well-known
  school.

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Personal value 1. Support
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• Its brilliant. The contributions are
  knowledgeable, caring, funny, contributors are
  willing to give of their time to help others.
  The light-hearted stuff has been equally
  supportive in getting me through some very dark
  personal times recently.

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Personal value 2. Reduced isolation
40

• My school operates a mushroom style of
  management, its good to know what goes on
  elsewhere and talk/defend with.

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Personal value 3. Altruism
42

• A means of sharing my hard won specialist
  knowledge/ experience and best practice with
  colleagues for the benefit of all children, not
  just those in the schools in which I work .

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Particular issues1. Mentoring

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Particular issues2. Cliques
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• Some people dominate the forum with huge e-mails
  and that is wearing. There is a small clique
  of people who must have a lot of time on their
  hands.

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Particular issues3. Volume of
messages
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• The forum is a vibrant community of fellow
  seekers of wisdom and an international family
  at times we argue and bicker, have a good moan or
  cry for help, but all moods are catered for. The
  forum has developed over the last few years into
  a unique group of caring colleagues with a
  massive personality of its own. Long may it
  continue.

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Recommendations

• Sustain the SENCO arena as the context for the
  forum
• Inclusiongt Encourage contributions from
  non-education professionals
• Maintain the archive
• Review as a prototype for other groups

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Follow up studies

• Covert and explicit mentoring
• Moderate and low users
• Support workers

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• True communities tend to be leaderless or to
  have a shifting personal authority. The
  connection among individuals that respects their
  individuality and that is not linear or
  hierarchical is what is often referred to as a
  community. A community respects the individual
  and yet finds common ground. We may argue that a
  community is in some sense related to anarchy.
  Purves 1998

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Acknowledgements

• Research team Ann Lewis, Martin Ogilvie, Liz
  Potts, Lin Walsh
• BECTA Terry Waller, Jason Douglas
• Chair of Advisory Group, Klaus Wedell
• Advisory Group members

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• Contact details University of Birmingham,
  School of Educatione mail a.lewis_at_bham.ac.uk
  tel [phone]