Leadership responsibilities
Leaders play a key role in creating and maintaining an inclusive culture. They should ensure:
- A whole-setting culture of inclusion
- High expectations for all learners
- Effective collaboration with families, partner agencies and services
- Compliance with statutory duties and legal requirements
- Staff have the skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver inclusive practice
- Systems are in place to identify needs early and provide timely support
- Resources are used effectively to meet the needs of learners
- Inclusive practice is monitored and reviewed to improve outcomes for all children and young people
Special Educational Needs Coordinators
Special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) play a key role in leading and coordinating support for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They should:
- Lead strategic development of SEND provision across the setting
- Support, advise and develop staff to deliver effective inclusive practice
- Oversee and coordinate the graduated response
- Monitor the quality and impact of support and provision
- Help ensure needs are identified early and appropriate support is put in place
- Connect and co-ordinate the team of professionals working with the child or young person and their families
Practitioners responsibilities
All practitioners are responsible for creating inclusive learning environments and supporting the progress of every child and young person. They should:
- Promote participation, belonging and positive relationships for all learners
- Take responsibility for the progress and achievement of all learners
- Recognise and respond to individual strengths and needs
- Deliver high-quality, adaptive teaching and inclusive practice
- Work closely with colleagues, families and other professionals
- Make reasonable adjustments where needed
- Lead the assess, plan, do, review cycle with the SENCo
- Monitor progress and adapt support to improve outcomes
Responsibilities of all settings
All settings play a key role in delivering inclusive practice and supporting positive outcomes. They should:
- Use a consistent assess, plan, do, review approach to identify, plan and review support
- Prioritise early identification of strengths, needs and barriers to learning
- Promote positive relationships, wellbeing and a sense of belonging
- Work in partnership with families and carers to support children and young people
- Support effective transitions at every stage of education and into adulthood
- Provide inclusive environments that enable participation and achievement
- Monitor the impact of support and adapt provision when needed
- Ensure children and young people receive timely and appropriate support through the graduated response
Quality assurance and continuous improvement
To support consistent inclusive practice across Somerset, all settings should:
- Follow the shared expectations set out in this framework
- Use common tools, processes and approaches
- Review and evaluate their practice regularly to understand its impact
- Carry out quality assurance activities to support improvement
- Work in partnership with the local authority and other services
- Provide ongoing training and professional development for staff
- Use data, feedback and outcomes to inform decision-making and improvement
Continuous improvement should be informed by:
- Feedback from children and young people
- The views and experiences of families
- Practitioner knowledge and expertise
- Local and setting-level data
- Regular evaluation of outcomes and inclusive practice
By reviewing practice and acting on feedback, settings can strengthen inclusion, reduce variation and improve outcomes for children and young people.