We all want every child and young person to be able to go to school or other setting, to do well and to enjoy their time there.
Sometimes that’s difficult. In Devon, we know that different schools have different approaches to the way that they support pupils, including those who may have additional needs.
That can lead to inconsistency, and it can be hard for young people and parents and carers to know what they can expect from their local school or setting.
We want a good level of support to be consistent across Devon, so that pupils and their parents and carers know what sort of support they can expect from their school, to help them be included and engaged.
Working with schools and groups of parents and young people, we have created an Ordinarily Available Inclusive Education Framework which describes the sort of support that all Devon schools, early years, and post 16 settings should be able to provide all children and young people, including those with SEND.
It’s based the teaching standards and guidance from the Department for Education.
We are asking schools to review and reflect on their own practices, to see where they might be able to improve the way they support pupils.
There is a lot of very good work being done in schools across Devon to support pupils, and this framework, or guidance, is to help build on that good work.
Over coming months, we want to work with schools to help them compare this framework against the way they do things, to see if there are changes that they could introduce that could improve the support that children and young people receive at school, inside and outside the classroom.
The Ordinarily Available Inclusive Education Framework is published on our website. If you have any questions about the impact that the framework will have at your school, please contact your school directly.