A conversation with Kirsten, an experienced SENCO: The evidence of many children struggling in every class
Kirsten is an experienced primary SENCO working with several small schools. She discussed the challenges in tracking social-emotional development in primary schools. She noted a significant increase in children struggling with emotional regulation and resilience, often first identified in reception but neglected in subsequent years. Current assessment focuses on cognition and learning, neglecting emotional development. Despite the introduction of ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) roles, schools increasingly struggle to afford classroom assistants and the needs for help far outstrips supply of adults able to listen and serious school funding challenges are actively limiting what schools can manage to provide. Kirsten emphasized the need for formal assessment of emotional development, similar to the Early Years framework, to better support children in a timely fashion. She believes addressing these issues early could prevent future problems. Clarification: In the recording, I threw Kirsten with my question asking about the 4 strands of the EYFS. This was my mistake, in fact, the Early Years Foundation Stage has 7 strands and the Early Years Development Journal used for SEND children has 4 strands. Action Items [ ] Obtain and review the assessment data from the early years foundation stage to understand the level of social-emotional development of students as they transition to primary school. [ ] Investigate the use of Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) in the schools and the potential to expand this support. [ ] Explore the possibility of incorporating a structured assessment of social-emotional development into the primary curriculum, similar to the early years framework. [ ] Consider ways to prioritize the development of students' social-emotional skills within the primary curriculum.
