SEND First Classrooms: flipping the narrative on Quality First Teaching
- Applied Psychologies
- Nov 19, 2024
- 2 min read
Katherine Johnson, headteacher at Northcott School, an Outstanding autism provision and outreach service, brought us statistics of the current SEND landscape.
The increase in the number of children requiring support for SEND was almost 80,000 in one academic year.
Percentage of children in mainstream schools with an EHCP is 41% compared to 28% in special education.
As Katherine said, something is happening and we can't ignore it. But doing something about it doesn’t mean specialist support. The focus of the session was how small changes that don’t cost a lot of time or money (if any) can meet need across the first three levels of the Graduated Approach. Here is the Hull Local Offer link to their graduated approach document where you'll find loads of great resources.
Another great resource shared is the read age calculator and the reading conversion website to convert any text into the appropriate reading age in seconds! And if you have access to Widget, a few more seconds can convert it into words and symbols - free to do and so simple and effective! All Hull schools have a licence through the LA according to Katherine, so please do enquire!
To sum up the session, from the 1500 children and young people surveyed by the outreach team, none of them said they need a 121 or they need to be out of the classroom. What they want is to be given the opportunity to learn and succeed with only minor changes needed, such as providing pre-learning and clear instructions to reduce anxiety or RAG cards to ask for help without drawing attention to themselves.
Listening to Katherine (Northcott) speak about things the pupils have said and the importance of pupil first teaching not just quality first teaching - a simple change of words that does alter how you think.
For a copy of Katherine's presentation with more simple solutions, direct from the children surveyed, please email us on info@appliedpsychologies.com.
Thank you to Katherine and Northcott School for sharing your passion and wisdom!
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This is a powerful reminder that inclusion doesn’t always require big structural changes—often it’s the small, thoughtful adjustments that make the biggest difference. Shifting from “quality first teaching” to truly pupil-first teaching highlights the importance of listening to learners and reducing barriers in everyday classrooms. We see similar needs among students preparing to study abroad, where clarity, support, and environment matter greatly. At GraddingHomes, alongside guiding students with course and university choices, we also support inclusive transitions through comfortable student accommodation in Aberystwyth, helping learners feel secure and ready to succeed.
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