THE SEND THEATRE

Hosted by:

New for 2024!

We are delighted that nasen is a Supporter of the Schools & Academies Show Birmingham, bringing their unrivalled insights and much-valued expertise to our audience.

nasen have been working closely with the Schools & Academies Show to design the sessions for this year’s SEND Theatre – hosted by nasen Live, and are featured prominently across the agenda. You can explore the agenda in more detail below!

Meanwhile, the nasen stand provides a fantastic opportunity to engage with the organisation, discuss membership, and learn more about nasen’s current and upcoming work.

SEND Conference Agenda
Hosted by nasen LIVE

10:00am - 10:30am | Skills Every SENCO Needs

• With changing pupil needs, the skills and talents of inclusive practitioners must change also
•Knowing how to harness your knowledge and skill set to support not only pupils but staff also
• What are the talents and attributes an effective practitioner requires in today’s system?

Confirmed Speaker:

Annamarie Hassall MBE
Chief Executive
nasen

10:40am - 11:15am | Investing in Our Future: Building a Robust SEND Workforce

• Discover creative and cost-effective approaches to tackling the recruitment and retention crisis that you can easily implement in your educational setting.
• The importance of nurturing internal talent by upskilling your existing educators and TAs with an aptitude for SEND provision and how this CPD can improve retention
• Learn about how strategic partnerships between special schools and local universities and colleges can help create a sustainable workforce by enhancing SEND training for new teachers
• Safeguarding your SENCOs social, emotional and mental health

Confirmed Speakers:

Vicki Dwyer
Head of School
The Royal School for the Blind Liverpool

Sonal Desai
Area SEND Lead
Croydon Council

Geoff Lewis
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Warwick

Dr Sharon Smith
Co-Director
Special Needs Jungle

Amanda Wright

Head of Whole Schools SEND
nasen

11:25am - 12:05pm | From Truancy to Triumph: Strategies for Inclusive Attendance

• The importance of adopting a nuanced and inclusive approach when tackling absenteeism amongst SEND students
• Early interventionist strategies for students with EHCPs and those awaiting EHCPs to reduce absenteeism and exclusion
• How to avoid putting measurements in place that actively exclude students with chronic health issues and disabilities

Confirmed Speakers:

Stephen Steinhaus
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Solihull Alternative Provision Multi Academy Trust

Dr Sharon Smith
Co-Director
Special Needs Jungle

Dr Sarah Broadhurst
Director
Autism Education Trust

Keran Currie
Area SEND Lead
Croydon LA

Cynthia Gouveia Caria
Outreach Consultant
BeyondAutism

12:15am - 12:45pm | Creating Truly Inclusive Classrooms: Intersectional and Equitable Approaches to SEND

• Acknowledging the intersections of race, class and gender and how these identities impact the support provided to SEND students and their families.

• Appropriately supporting and empowering disabled children and their families from marginalised communities.

• Understand how unconscious biases impact student outcomes and how to challenge discrimination in your educational setting.

Confirmed Speaker:

Frances Akinde
Advisor and Inspector for SEND
Hampshire County Council

12:50pm - 1:20pm | Improving SEND Provision by Engaging Pupil Stakeholders

• How to ensure your practice incorporates the views of pupil stakeholders
• What placing pupils at the centre of your provision really looks like
• Reflecting on pupil experiences to enhance your educational offering

Emily Niner
Head of Strategic Partnerships & Projects
Autism Education Trust

Confirmed Speaker:

1:15pm - 1:55pm | Challenges and Reforms in SEND Funding for Local Councils

• Importance of collaboration between local councils, schools, health services, and families
• Examples of councils experiencing significant SEND funding deficits
• Argument for why reform is necessary to ensure fair and effective support

Confirmed Speaker:

Arooj Shah
Children and Young People Board Chair
Local Government Association

2:00pm - 2:30pm | Accessibility and iPads to Create a More Equitable Learning Environment

• Acknowledging the intersections of race, class and gender and how these identities impact the support provided to SEND students and their families
• Appropriately supporting and empowering disabled children and their families from marginalised communities
• Understand how unconscious biases impact student outcomes and how to challenge discrimination in your educational setting.

2:35pm - 3:35pm | Excellence in SEND Education Showcase: Early Career Teachers and TAs, Supporting LGBTQ+ SEND Youth, SEND Health and Safety

14:35 - 14:40 | Chair's Opening Address

Speaker: Dr Sharon Smith, Consultant/Researcher and Co-Director, Special Needs Jungle

14:40- 14:50 | Case Study 1 – Strengthening How Early Career Teachers Deploy Teaching Assistants: Practical Advice for Schools

  • Identifying the challenges associated with deploying teaching assistants in the early part of a teacher’s career

  • Suggesting practical action that can be taken by schools to support early career teachers to work more effectively with teaching assistants

  • Sharing details of a project aimed at strengthening how early career teachers deploy teaching assistants to enhance educational inclusion

Speaker: Geoff Lewis, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Warwick

14:50- 15:00 | Case Study 2 – Intersectionality in Action: Supporting the Needs of LGBTQ+ SEND Youth

  • Intersectional approaches to supporting LGBTQ+ SEND students in your educational setting

  • How to best empower trans, non-binary and gender questioning students

  • Fostering a school community where everyone feels able to be themselves

Speaker: Laura MacKay, Chief Executive, Just Like Us

15:10- 15:20 | Case Study 3 – SEND Health and Safety Management Systems in SEND

  • Risk Profile – hazard identification for SEND Pupils and Risk Control

  • How to conduct Suitable and Sufficient risk assessments to ensure staff are aware of potential risks

  • Environment, building, higher risk areas/activities – a walk-through of the potential higher risk concerns with case studies

  • Establishing a good state of ‘Emergency Preparedness’ to respond to any eventuality, including fire safety and evacuation management

Speaker: Stuart McGregor CMIOSH, Principal Operations Director, The National Alliance of School Premises Managers

15:20- 15:30 | Questions & Answers

Confirmed Speakers

Geoff Lewis
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Warwick

Dr Sharon Smith
Co-Director
Special Needs Jungle

Stuart McGregor
Director of Operations
NASPM

Laura MacKay
Chief Executive
Just Like Us