4 July 2025 weekly update

Dear Colleagues,

As we reach the end of the academic year, I thought you might be interested in an update on some of the work we have been doing.

Speech and Language support - The Balanced System®

Five years on from the launch of this joint transformation project led by Kent County Council (KCC) and NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB), accredited schools were celebrated at a recent event. The project aims to enhance SLCN support across the county. Hester Mackay, Professional Lead Teacher for the Balanced System® at KCC, said “The day was about bringing everybody together so they could share the amazing work they’re doing and inspire each other.

“We want to use the wealth of knowledge that we have in these accredited schools and settings to inspire other people and give them the confidence and support they need to go on to better meet SLCN."

Staff including Rebecca Hughes, assistant head teacher at Temple Hill Primary Academy in Dartford , Carol Smith, manager and SENCO at Briary Pre-School and Suzanne Legge, from Newington Community Primary School talked about the impact of the programme on their children.

A number of parents also shared their experiences. “I learned communication strategies, such as giving my son processing time to express himself. I have found I am now able to come home and start conversations with my child about their day and experiences at school in ways I couldn’t before. This has improved our relationship massively and his attendance has now massively improved. He is now reaching his learning potential.”

The Balanced System® was referenced in the last SEND inspection report 2022 and it is really pleasing to now have such robust evidence from both professionals and parents of the impact this groundbreaking programme is making. More information is available in this film​

Understanding the progress being made across the county in rolling out the Balanced System® is really critical intelligence to help us plan how to best deploy resources going forward. At the July SENCo forums, SENCOs were asked to complete this survey to collect this information - it would be helpful if you could follow this up so we have a form completed for your school.

Supporting neurodivergent children in Kent schools

You may be aware that the DfE established a neurodivergence task and finish group which has been advising the government on how to best meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within mainstream education settings

Leading practice in this area, a partnership between KCC and Kent and Medway Integrated Care System was established in 2024 to take a more strategic approach to early identification, support and intervention which does not need diagnosis. This built on the work led by KCC on disseminating Autism Education Trust training and development which started in 2022 and an ICS funded pilot in a group of Tonbridge Wells primary schools, This is Me.

This partnership enabled a successful joint proposal to the DfE to participate in the national Partnerships for the Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) project which aims to make schools more inclusive and supportive for children who are neurodivergent, including children with autism, ADHD and other learning differences. In phase one, Maidstone schools worked closely with health professionals, educational psychologists and parent carer forums to improve how they support children. Staff received specialist training from organisations like the Autism Education Trust and Kent Educational Psychology Service, helping them better understand the needs of neurodivergent pupils.

In Kent:

• 20 schools in Maidstone took part
• 826 staff members were trained
• 208 training sessions were delivered in just six months.

Training covered a wide range of topics, including autism, communication, sensory needs and inclusive classroom strategies. Schools also worked with speech and language therapists and neurodiversity specialists to strengthen their support.

Staff in Park Way Primary School in Maidstone took full advantage of the wide range of training available. “The fantastic training on offer - from Makaton on how to conduct communication, physical and sensory audits - has really deepened our understanding of neurodivergence and strengthened our support strategies,” explained Denise Hill, Deputy Head at the school.

Grace Donnay, SENCo at Archbishop Courtenay School shared how the project has helped her school reflect more deeply on how adult behaviour impacts neurodivergent pupils:

“One of the things that the PINS project has taught us is to unpick how our behaviour as the adult impacts neurodiverse children. What can I change to avoid putting a child in a situation that causes anxiety or disengagement?

"We’ve made some brave decisions - like moving staff around to better match the needs of individual children - and the impact has been amazing. One child who was rarely in class is now hardly ever out of class.

"It’s about understanding that what works for one child might not work for another, and really taking the time to figure out what each child needs.”

The project has also helped schools set up parent carer forums with support from Kent PACT. These forums give parents a space to share experiences, support each other and work with schools to improve SEND support.

PINS has highlighted the importance of the whole school working together to support pupils, and helping all parents understand how schools support children with SEND.

Frances Hopes, project lead at Kent PACT, emphasised the importance of partnership working, "We started out by making sure parents and carers understood the purpose of the forum. Then, over different sessions, we supported them to run their own group at their schools.

“The forums decide their own rules and use the time to discuss all kinds of topics concerning SEND in the classroom and in their own lives. It is an opportunity for parents and the school to come together and learn more about how SEND affects families and how much schools can do to help these children in the classroom.”

Emma, a parent from East Farleigh Primary, said: “It’s somewhere we can get support, so we don’t feel alone. We share our struggles, discuss strategies and ideas that can help both at home and in school.”

Phase two of the PINS project has seen 18 more schools in Kent sign up (and 12 more in Medway) where implementation will start in September 2025.

Meanwhile, schools from phase one will continue to build on what they’ve learned and support new schools through peer networks.

There is extensive evidence of the impact of PINS alongside the rollout of This is Me which is currently being collated and will be disseminated in the autumn. The ICS has developed a really comprehensive website with a wealth of information.

Parental and young people's engagement

The SEND Partnership Board requested papers on parental and young people's engagement and co-construction and I have included these papers below as you may be interested in a finding out more about what is happening across the Kent system in collaboration with parents as well as a deep dive into the work with pupils undertaken by the statutory Specialist Teaching and Learning Service.

• Parental engagement report (PDF, 315.2 KB)
• Youth voice report (PDF, 835.7 KB) - documents referenced in youth voice report:
  • Sound circle feedback (PDF, 466.8 KB)
  • Early years vision impairment spring event - Kent Life review (PDF, 1.1 MB)
  • Student voice - why did we feel the need for a sensory student council (PDF, 634.0 KB)
  • Joint exhibition family flyer (PDF, 149.2 KB)

KsENT and Communities of Schools

KCC and KsENT are really pleased that we are able to provide clarity as to the role of our special schools within the Community of Schools model and our joint commitment to ensure the best possible outcomes for children who have special needs in Kent schools. There is considerable expertise across the system in both mainstream and specialist settings so, in order to work towards an equitable system, it has been agreed that special schools are best placed to sit in the Professional Resource Group. This means that the system can plan more strategically to best utilise the knowledge, skills and expertise for the benefit of all children. KCC and KsENT are committed to working together over the coming months to give greater clarity as to what this means and how mainstream schools can best collaborate with special schools to improve outcomes for children.

And finally...

The last School Funding Forum of the academic year took place today and the agenda included:

• Latest SEND activity benchmarking
• Communities update
• School reserves update
• Redundancy update
• Annual terms of reference refresh
• Growth funding update
• SRP commissioned places.

All papers and minutes can be viewed from the Schools Funding Forum page.

Best wishes

Christine McInnes
Director of Education and SEN