Slides for providers and practitioners to use to reflect on the challenges they face in delivering remote education during the pandemic. The lessons learnt can also inform future planning for children and young people with SEND. For more information and a video, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/remote-education-and-send/how-remote-education-is-working-for-children-and-young-people-with-send

1. Remote education for children and
young people with SEND
A discussion pack for leaders and practitioners
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 1

2. Background
 We published research into remote education in January 2021.
 This research is a follow-up from that, looking specifically at remote education for
children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities
(SEND).
 This slide pack accompanies a video presentation on YouTube. In these, we share
some of what we have learned about how remote education is working.
 We also take a look forward and explore how some of these things might
influence future practice.
 We hope it will be useful to leaders, practitioners, special educational needs
coordinators (SENCos) and other people working with and for children and young
people with SEND.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 2

3. A YouGov survey told us:
of parents of a child with SEND
said that they had disengaged
with remote education,
compared with 39% without
additional needs.
of the teachers surveyed
stated that their school
offered additional remote
learning arrangements for
pupils with SEND.
3
Remote education for children and young people with SEND - February 2021

4. Definition of remote education
Remote education research (Ofsted, January 2021)
Any learning that happens outside of the classroom, with the
teacher not present in the same location as the child or
young person.
 This should aim to deliver a high-quality curriculum so
that pupils know and remember more.
 This can be delivered through a combination of face-to-
face and remote methods.

5. Points to consider
 Remote education is a vehicle for delivering a high-quality curriculum. The purpose of
the education remains the same, and that is: for pupils to understand, remember and
apply the knowledge they are taught in the curriculum.
 Remote education does not necessarily mean it is delivered digitally, through online
lessons. It can be delivered through a range of methods using digital and non-digital
methods.
 While elements of remote education have proven useful, it cannot provide the same
offer of education that children and young people would receive in their school or
college setting.
 Remote education may be something we see more of in the future, so it’s important
to learn how to do it well for all children and young people, especially those with
SEND who may be more vulnerable to the impact of disruption in their education.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 5

6. Important context
 We know that everyone is learning about how to do this well.
 Our understanding of how to do this well is developing all the
time.
 This is a complicated challenge for all children and young
people, parents/carers and providers.
 This is not a final answer, but we hope it gives providers some
space for reflection on the learning that has happened and how
remote education is working for children and young people with
SEND.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 6

7. What has worked well in providing
remote education for children and
young people with SEND?
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 7

8. Learning
Attending Engaging Learning
 Careful selection and sequencing of curriculum content continues to be important for
children and young people with SEND.
 Remote education provides opportunities for children and young people to work on specific
objectives and targets in their education, health and care (EHC) and SEND support plans.

9. Decisions about what children and young
people need to learn are still important
 The curriculum still needs to be planned and sequenced.
 New knowledge and skills should build on what has been taught before
as well as towards clearly defined end points.
 Careful selection and sequencing of curriculum content means focusing
on the most important things for children and young people with SEND
to learn so that they can remember and use the knowledge they are
acquiring confidently and well.
 This is especially important for children and young people with SEND
and in the current context where there are likely to be fewer
opportunities for learning with a teacher in a classroom.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 9

10. Opportunities that have come from remote
education
 In some cases, children and young people have been able to work
on specific objectives and targets in their EHC and SEND support
plans.
 Learning at home and in the local community can help pupils to
transfer and generalise important knowledge and skills in
meaningful and functional ways.
 For example, ‘preparing a meal for myself’, where teachers have provided
pictorial instructions to help the child or young person prepare a meal at
home.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 10

11. Opportunities that have come from remote
education
 Children and young people with SEND have benefited from
being taught the ‘code’ of online learning.
 This helps them with engaging and interacting online.
 Being able to put their virtual hand up, mute and unmute and
contribute to virtual lessons can be the difference between being a
passive recipient and an active participant.
 However, attending doesn’t mean engaging, and engaging
doesn’t necessarily lead to learning.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 11

12. Discussion points
 Curriculum planning and
sequencing
 Making the most of
opportunities that have
come from remote
education

13. Teaching
Capacity of parents and carers
to support learning activities has a significant
impact on remote education for children and
young people with SEND, especially those with
more significant and complex needs.
Creating structure and routine
in remote education approaches are
important for children and young people
with SEND.
Asynchronous approaches
give children and young people with SEND
the opportunity to work at their own pace
and ‘revisit’ curriculum content.

14. How teaching practices have been adapted
 Structure and routine
 Children and young people with SEND can benefit from structure and routine.
 Some children and young people with autism had settled in well to the
routine of learning at home because the school had set up a tight timetable
of lessons and they liked the routine and familiarity.
 Shorter, more frequent lessons with learning organised into bite-size chunks
works well for some children and young people with SEND. They can revisit
content – for example – by watching sequences again. Follow-up 1:1 sessions
can then pick up anything that they have found more difficult.
 Some children and young people with SEND have been accessing pre-
recorded lessons or work packs. This has allowed them to learn at their own
pace, and in some cases revisit the learning then contact the teacher
separately to ask questions.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 14

15. How teaching practices have been adapted
 Teaching materials
 Leaders had adapted curriculum materials for children and young
people with SEND.
 Some teachers used telephone calls to children and young people or
parents to give information and guidance about the learning activities.
 It is important for providers to give clear guidance to children, young
people and parents about the intended learning and what the children
and young people have to do. The adult can then support their child’s
learning.
 Some children and young people with SEND received hard-copy packs
of materials for remote learning. Some teachers also provided
information packs for parents and carers, which helped them to feel
more confident about supporting their child’s learning at home.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 15

16. Discussion points
 Structure and routine
 Timetabling
 Lesson length and focus
 Individual follow-up
 Teaching materials
 Guidance sent home
 Information packs

17. The role of support staff
 Providing 1:1 support for children and
young people with an EHC plan.
 Managing breakout rooms.
 Replying to questions using the chat
function.
 Keeping in touch with children and young
people with SEND through phone calls,
emails or instant messages.

18. The role of support staff
• The availability of teaching assistants (TAs) or learning support
assistants to support learning activities has also had a significant
impact on remote education for children and young people with
SEND.
• In many cases, TAs have maintained their supporting role during the
pandemic. For example:
• Some pupils with an EHC plan had been allocated a TA as a key worker who
called the child or young person every day to check they were able to access
the work, and to provide support.
• TAs have been providing support in a range of ways: on a 1:1 basis, in
breakout rooms or in managing the ‘chat’ in online lessons.
• Support staff have also played a role in organising social activities, such as a
virtual music clubs or supported social calls on Zoom.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 18

19. The role of support staff
 Frequent dialogue with parents and carers as well as with
children and young people with SEND during this time is vitally
important.
 Support staff have played a crucially important role in this
ongoing communication with pupils’ homes.
 They have provided a point of contact for the children and
young people with SEND through email, phone calls or instant
messages.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 19

20. Discussion points
 Helpful but realistic levels
of support given to
families
 Levels and quality of
contact between school
or college and home

21. Assessment: Has the curriculum been
taught?
 Identifying the most crucial curriculum content
children and young people need to learn has to be
the first and most important step. This is because it is
knowledge of this content that should be assessed.
 Assessment of what children and young people with
SEND need to know, remember and do may be
particularly challenging in remote education.
 Examples of assessment activities include: low stakes
tasks, quizzes, polls, use of ‘chat’, discussion and the
use of video.
 Conversations, videos and pictures have all been used
as assessment tools.

22. How is assessment working?
 Our definition of progress is knowing more, remembering more
and being able to do more.
 Many providers described assessment as a ‘work in progress’.
 Feedback and assessment are especially important for children and
young people with SEND.
 This is harder when they are learning remotely.
 Some schools were assessing what has or has not been done rather
than what children and young people have learned.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 22

23. How is assessment working?
 Mainstream schools are using low-stakes assessments that can
give a basic indication of what children and young people have
learned. Tactics include:
 quizzes
 multiple choice questions
 chat boxes/poll.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 23

24. How is assessment working?
 Providers have found 1:1 conversations with the child or young
person – and their parent or carer – a useful tool for assessing
progress.
 Where outcomes or targets from learning and support plans for
individuals have been shared with parents, some schools have
discussed ways that parents can carry out activities and share
evidence of progress towards theses. This includes giving ideas
of how this could be done (for example, photographs or videos)
and support to do this.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 24

25. Discussion points
 Assessing learning, not
what has been done
 Low-stakes assessment
tactics
 Parental engagement and
involvement

26. Multi-agency support
 Therapists are adapting their practice
successfully.
 Some interventions have been
suspended, or delivered through
support staff or parents and carers.
 Providing the resources and support
children and young people with SEND
need to communicate is important.
 Parents and carers have welcomed
some aspects of telehealth and virtual
appointments.

27. The team around a child or young person
 The team around a child or young person with SEND remains vitally
important for their specific needs to be met.
 Maintaining therapeutic input has been a challenge. Therapists are
adapting their practice successfully, including using online technologies to
support parents and carers as well as children and young people.
 Professionals have needed to be creative in trying to ensure that they can
continue to provide what’s needed.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 27

28. The team around a child
 Providing the resources and support that children and young
people with SEND need to communicate is very important. This
includes ensuring that different types of augmentative and
alternative communication (AAC) are available and ready for
children and young people to use:
 programming digital devices with the relevant vocabulary
 providing resources such as symbols for communication books and
picture exchange communication systems (PECS)
 providing objects of reference
 visual schedules.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 28

29. Discussion points
 Ways of maintaining
therapeutic support
 Adequate communication
resources
 Making the most of digital
platforms to deliver
assessments or review
meetings

30. Bridging the gap between home and school
Set reasonable expectations.
Set
Explain what the child or young person is learning.
Explain
Explore the other factors that may impact on the child or
young persons’ learning.
Collaborate
Collaborate on how to make home a good learning
environment.
Explore
Make reasonable adjustments based on what you have
found.
Adjust
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 30

31. Thank you!
 During this challenging time, providers, leaders, practitioners, parents and
carers, and, most importantly, children and young people, have shown
resilience and adaptability.
 As we have already said, remote education may be something we see
more of in the future. It is really important that we learn how to do it well
for all children and young people, but especially those with SEND, because
future disruption is likely to have an even greater impact on them.
 We hope people will continue to reflect on how remote education has
worked for children and young people with SEND.
 If you found this and/or the video helpful, please share it with others in
your networks or organisations.
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 31

32. Ofsted on the web and on social media
www.gov.uk/ofsted
https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk
www.linkedin.com/company/ofsted
www.youtube.com/ofstednews
www.slideshare.net/ofstednews
www.twitter.com/ofstednews
Remote education for children and young people with SEND – February 2021 Slide 32