12 June 2026 weekly update

Dear Colleagues,

As we move into the final term of the academic year, schools, colleges and other settings, alongside colleagues at KCC start to turn their thoughts to what has been achieved during the year, evaluate what impact the work has had and how that evaluation informs our planning for the year ahead. Many changes have been thrust onto schools this year and school leaders and their staff must be congratulated for facing the challenges while continuing to provide for all of our children across Kent. This academic year has seen a renewed Ofsted framework launched in November 2025, GLD targets from DfE for primary schools, Curriculum and Assessment review, Education White Paper and a consultation on SEN reforms, while schools have also worked to implement the local SEN reforms.

At KCC, as part of the SEN and overall improvement journey, the school improvement cycle is being used as a model for the continuous improvement which is necessary to ensure that the SEN service and inclusion work moves forward. Evaluation is planned to take place with the Community of Schools chairs in July to assess progress so far and make improvements, the PRG school feedback survey is live until Friday 19 June so services can adapt their offer to schools for the next academic year, the speech and language service have also conducted their survey which will support further improvements and the advert has gone live for a new Head of Service for the Specialist Teaching and Learning Service who will lead the redesign and the development of the service to meet future need. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all schools for the time you are giving to engage with these evaluative processes, as it is only with this information that the system can be assured that the offer to schools is truly evidence informed.

We also encourage headteachers during this period of evaluation, to take some time to think about the role of the SENCO as a strategic leader across the school. With the renewed focus on the role of the SENCO, both locally and nationally, it is natural to evaluate the role of the SENCO and think about how this incredibly skilled workforce is empowered and supported to deliver. We are delighted that a group of SENCOs and other leaders have put themselves forward, in the spirit of coproduction, with the continuous development of KCC's inclusion strategy Countywide Approach To Inclusive Education (CATIE). This group of SENCOs delivered a set of webinars over this year to support SENCOs in their implementation of Kent's reforms, using their own professional experience and will continue to do so in the next academic year. It is recognised that not everyone knows everything and we would like to congratulate this group for taking the initiative in this way. We are delighted to host them to support their colleagues and to encourage this way of working.

Community clerks

Following the information received by KCC regarding administrative issues in the Communities of Schools, a new team of clerks have been recruited and are embarking on a period of onboarding and induction. These clerks will be fully in place for September 2026 and we are looking forward to how they will improve the experience of some community meetings. Clerks will reach out to chairs in the next few weeks to make arrangements for the new academic year. The Community clerking team are now confirmed as per the table below. We are sure that you will make them welcome

My best wishes for a restful weekend.

Siobhán Price
Assistant Director, School Inclusion