Loading...
Improving the quality of SEND provision through establishing a model of distributed leadership
Citations
Altmetric:
Authors
Editors
Date
2026
Educational Level
ISCED Level 2 Lower Secondary Education
ISCED Level 3 Upper Secondary Education
ISCED Level 3 Upper Secondary Education
Curriculum Area
Geographical Setting
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Abstract
Following a 'Requires Improvement' Ofsted rating in October 2021, this secondary school faced challenges including a narrow curriculum lacking ambition and coherence, imprecise curriculum planning, weak assessment systems, and insufficient subject-leadership oversight of SEND. Through the Whole School SEND Peer Mentoring programme, leaders developed a shared vision and language for SEND, implemented a universal'targeted'specialist levels of provision model, strengthened subject leadership, refined SEND identification processes, embedded high-quality teaching across departments, and clarified the EHCP 'golden thread' into classroom practice. Evidence of impact includes improved communication and shared understanding of SEND, streamlined documentation, strengthened distributed leadership, enhanced teacher expertise, more consistent classroom adaptation, and a subsequent Ofsted re-inspection outcome of Good with SEND removed as an area for improvement.
Description
Keywords (free text)
inclusion, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), leadership, peer-mentoring