Speakers
Virtual School for SEND
The Virtual School for Special Education Needs and Disabilities SEND) is a service for educators.
We work with mainstream schools, including academies and free schools, to support them to meet the needs of their learners with SEND. We work with other departments in the council and health, to help schools fulfill their duties set out in the Equality Act 2010, the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice 2015. We do this through:
- SEND Know How, to inspire, inform and empower through a professional development suite that includes conferences, videos, workshops, SEND forums, webinars, ITT links, presentations, NQT training and Norfolk SENDCo Now training.
- Targeted support
- Offering advice and challenge
- Co-producing the SEN Support Guidance: provision expected at SEN Support
The Virtual SEND oversees the allocation of Element 3 SEN funding for schools from the high needs block (HNB).
We want to ensure that all Norfolk schools feel supported by us and have an inclusive culture. We foster relationships with other agencies working within the field of SEND, including local groups and national organisations.
Malcolm Reeve
Malcolm has worked in the field of SEND for 30 years and in that time has worked in adult provision, mainstream schools, and special schools. He has worked in with children throughout the age range and with learning difficulties ranging from moderate to profound. Malcolm has been a Headteacher of three schools and one federation. He is a National Leader of Education, a Member of the National SEND Forum, and Patron of the Centre Algarve holiday centre for people with special needs.
Barry Carpenter
In a career spanning more than 30 years, Barry has held the leadership positions of Headteacher, Principal, Academic Director, Chief Executive, Inspector of Schools and Director of the Centre for Special Education at Westminster College, Oxford. In 2009, he was appointed by the Secretary of State for Education as Director of the Children with Complex Learning Difficulties and Disabilities Research Project. Since completing that research, Barry has overseen the development of a national project developing online ‘Training materials for teachers of children with severe, profound and complex learning disabilities”(www.complexneeds.org.uk).
He is the author of over 150 articles and many texts on a range of learning disability/special needs topics. His most recent book publications (with Carolyn Blackburn and Jo Egerton) focus upon Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Most recently he co-authored “Engaging Learners with Complex Needs” (Routledge).He is the co-founder of the National Forum for Neuroscience in Special Education. For the Mental Health Foundation, he Chaired the National Inquiry into the Mental Health of Young People with Learning Disabilities. He is currently Chairing a working group looking at the needs of Girls on the Autism Spectrum, which will be the focus of his next book.
Barry has 3 children – one a School Principal, one a Senior Occupational Therapist and a daughter with Down’s Syndrome, who now has a home of her own, published her first book in 2017, and is on an Apprenticeship as a Teaching Assistant.
Kim Pigram
Kim Pigram is a qualified teacher and before joining Ofsted had extensive experience of school leadership. Kim was a senior leader in an academy, with specific responsibility for teaching, learning and assessment. Her particular areas of expertise are history and the arts.
Jason Howard
He is a qualified teacher with 17 years’ experience in the independent and maintained sectors. He has a Bachelor’s degree and Doctorate in History and, before joining Ofsted, he was a secondary school headteacher in Lincolnshire. Jason also has experience of working as a regional director for a large multi-academy trust. His main areas of expertise are in leadership and management, safeguarding, post-16 education, and teaching and learning. He is on secondment until February 2021.
Local Spotlights
More information about the local SEND organisations who contributed to this conference.
Keith Bates is the Headteacher of Eaton Hall Specialist Academy.
Eaton Hall is a residential special school catering for boys with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. Their vision is to improve the life chances for all their pupils by addressing pupils' social and emotional wellbeing. All elements of teaching and learning at Eaton Hall have these needs at their heart. The school aims to restore equilibrium to the child and family, return the child to the home setting and, where appropriate, to mainstream education.
Find out more about Eaton Hall here.
This Norfolk SEND Youth Forum is a new Youth Group, who met (virtually) for the first time in September 2020, to share experiences in education and training, committed to working together to improve services for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
This is a project supported by the Norfolk SEND Partnership, in partnership with the Virtual School for SEND (VSS).
The group welcomes new members aged 11-25 to meet, discuss issues, and create change.
Find out more and how you can get involved here.
Anna Sims is the lead trainer for Norfolk's PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) service.
PATHS® supports pupils to develop social and emotional skills (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision making and relationship skills). PATHS® includes a structured curriculum, support for children to apply skills to new contexts and extend learning to the home environment. Schools are supported to develop a whole school approach through:
- Structured PATHS® curriculum with regular support from a PATHS® Coach
- Training for all staff and support for lunchtime staff
- Parent and carer engagement
- Support to evaluate the impact on pupils
Find out more about PATHS here.
Just One Norfolk is the ‘go to’ health website for Norfolk families! As part of the Norfolk Children and Young People’s Health Services they provide health support and advice for children and young people across Norfolk and offer a wide range of services.
You can visit their website and find out more information here.