It has been well-documented throughout this year that the pandemic has cast a long shadow over our youngest children's learning and wellbeing. As our new series on observations highlights (page 18), many of our youngest children may well have been born during lockdown, and all of them will have experienced its effects in a variety of ways – for good or bad. Its long-term impact is not always obvious and children cannot be expected to ‘grow out’ of any ill effects. This situation makes meeting provision for SEND in early years increasingly complex.
Following the release of Ofsted's annual report (13 December), the national media was quick to pick up on its stark message about the current crisis in special educational needs. The number of children with SEND has increased by 77,000 in the past year, with around 1.5 million children identified with SEND in schools.
Covid continues to complicate the picture. On the one hand, Ofsted has flagged severe delays with Education Health and Care Plans, while recognising that many children are being diagnosed with SEND who do not have it in the ‘normal usage of the term’. Where children are struggling to catch up post-pandemic, it says that teachers and parents should not ‘automatically’ assume there is an inherent problem. It is easy to see how diagnosing these children as having SEND is overwhelming the EHCP system, while placing unnecessary labels on children. Ofsted is advocating that ‘a sound curriculum and good teaching’ are key to preventing the need for specialist help from developing at an early age, and I’m sure we will be hearing a lot more from the inspectorate about curriculum in the coming months.
Let's hope that the sector will benefit from more resources and support to meet these challenges. Wishing all our readers a happy, healthy 2023.
