NATIONAL AWARD FOR SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS COORDINATION (NASENCo) PG CERTIFICATE
WELCOME TO THE PGCERT NASENCO AT LEEDS TRINITY UNIVERSITY At Leeds Trinity we aim to help you develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to take the next step in your career working with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and support them to achieve the best possible outcomes. We have designed a postgraduate certificate (PGCert) course to broaden your existing knowledge and develop advanced practice in SEND. This course has been developed for those who currently work as a SENCo or are aspiring to become one in the future. Crucially, we’ve aligned this course with the outcomes for the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination (NASENCo) qualification and the national strategy which focuses on the development of skilled professionals who work in a range of provision in both mainstream and specialist settings. If you have a desire to make a real and practical difference to children and young people with SEND in education, then this course will support your career development and enhance the development of provision in your setting.
About Leeds Trinity University A small university with a big reputation, Leeds Trinity University is renowned for teaching excellence and producing highly employable graduates. We’re proud to be known as the University where you’re a name, not a number, thanks to our commitment to ensuring everyone in our community, whatever their faith, feels supported and valued. Leeds Trinity has always been characterised by this sense of community spirit, offering a truly personalised university experience that enables students to flourish. Our reputation for teaching quality and excellence has been developed thanks to a commitment to delivering outstanding teaching, led by research, scholarship and practice. Our teaching staff have extensive professional experience in their fields and many are active researchers, contributing to our increasing reputation for research excellence. 2
WHY STUDY WITH US? • Developed for SENCos by SENCos, with the now-legal requirement as its focus. •
The course is aligned with the national outcomes for the NASENCo qualification and the national strategy which focuses on the development of skilled professionals who work in a range of provision in both mainstream and specialist settings.
• Learn from staff who are highly experienced in SEND practice. • Receive highly personalised learning to help you develop your skills and school-based practice to work strategically in educational settings. • Grow your professional networks with practitioners and leaders in the field of SEN. • Benefit from campus-based learning, with personal tutors and support services such as our Learning Hub, which provides personalised academic support, and our library. • Progress onto further postgraduate study or research, using credits gained on the course towards a postgraduate diploma or Master’s degree. • On completion of the course, join our Leeds Trinity Alumni community and benefit from our networks, research and conference opportunities. • Enhance your career opportunities within SEN, senior leadership or consultancy to education providers.
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COURSE OVERVIEW How can outstanding provision be developed in schools for children and young people with SEN using evidenced-based best practice? Leeds Trinity provides postgraduate training to professionalise the SENCo role, improve pupil outcomes and to invest in and retain current SENCos. It is a requirement that all schools have a qualified SENCo and all new-to-role SENCos will need to achieve this qualification within three years of taking up their post. The field of SEND is complex and constantly changing. This part-time course will give aspiring and practising SENCos an in-depth understanding of effective policy, provision and practice to meet the diverse needs of children with SEND. The course will address all the professional learning outcomes required by the national award. You will meet colleagues and develop professional networks with both practitioners and leaders in the field of SEN. You will be asked to explore the reasons why a child cannot access learning and will develop innovative ways to remove barriers to progression for children and young people with SEND. You will develop skills to critically evaluate policy and provision to develop outstanding inclusive practice with children and care givers. You will evaluate evidence-based practice on learning, teaching and assessing students with SEND, such as the impact of research evidence on different literacy schemes or the impact of CPD on support staff effectiveness in schools. You will also develop skills to understand each child’s needs and start the journey to becoming an expert in identification and assessment to allow personalised planning and support to be developed so no child is left behind in their educational journey.
COURSE STRUCTURE This part-time course is taught over ten teaching days over a period of a year or across an academic year. You will focus on both SENCo as a practitioner and SENCo as a leader across two modules. We understand the challenges of a SENCo workload and have designed the course and developed assignments to link to your core role in the workplace. You can also personalise your learning to your own needs and specific SEND areas of interest. There is an expectation that you will study and undertake independent learning outside of campus study days.
“This qualification has provided me with opportunities to critically examine and reflect on my own professional practice. It allows you to enhance your ‘tool kit’ to support the extremely vulnerable children you encounter in your journey as a SENCo.” Laura Butler Lead Practitioner for Inclusion (SENDCo) at a Primary School PGCert NASENCo 4
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MODULES The module details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study. SENCo as Practitioner This module focuses on understanding and implementing the statutory and regulatory framework. You will explore in detail the graduated approach and the four areas of SEN. There will be a significant focus on your personal and professional skills linked to child-centred approaches and developing the practice of quality first teaching to meeting these. You will develop a practitioner enquiry on a child within your provision and submit a portfolio based on the provision delivered at your own setting and your work within it. SENCo as Leader This module is about developing your leadership skills to enhance your school provision in order to improve outcomes for SEND. Leading in the SENCo role will be the focus of this module. You will learn best practice in collecting and using data. You will gain a deeper understanding about developing whole school provision for SEND. There will be content linked to the effective management of support staff and creating a coaching culture in your school to support teaching staff to develop effective practice in their classrooms. The SENCo as a leader of CPD will also be an area of exploration to develop whole school improvement. You will complete a practitioner enquiry on leading and developing your own provision linked to your leadership skills in SEND and you will submit a second portfolio based on this work. For students attending our course partnered with Leeds City Council There will be a contextual session giving input into the Leeds Strategy for SEND and the services available to support your work. You will also have access to SENDIT staff at key points during the year to help support your work. You will be offered two optional study support days on campus at Leeds Trinity University.
Course delivery with Leeds City Council We work with Leeds City Council to deliver SENCo education for the NASENCo award for the local authority and embed the ‘Leeds Approach’ to inclusion.
“Our vision in Leeds is to be the best city in the UK, and the best city for children and young people to grow up in. We want Leeds to be a child friendly city and we aim to improve outcomes for all our children, especially the most vulnerable. The benefit of working in partnership with Leeds Trinity University is that that new SENCos will develop the skills to implement the graduated approach to identifying and meeting SEND needs and secure an appropriate continuum of support for pupils.” Leeds City Council 5
LEARNING, TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT The course is delivered via blended learning with on-campus teaching days at Leeds Trinity, work-based tasks and activities on our virtual learning environment, Moodle. You will be assigned a personal tutor who will support you in developing your own school-based practice and in submitting your final work-based portfolio for each module. As students on this course will be working either full or part-time in educational settings, module leaders will monitor and discuss access to teaching and resources with every group: where you may be unable to attend sessions because of your professional work commitments, discussion notes and recordings of sessions will be made available. Given the professional background of all students, the need for discretion and integrity in individual and collective study is paramount and is a continual focus in sessions. Assignments are designed to promote the development of specialist knowledge directly applicable to the workplace. Critical thinking and analysis skills are explicitly taught and revised over both modules.
Assessment You will complete a portfolio of work-related tasks for each module. These portfolios will be the assessment element of the course. The tasks included in each portfolio will help you apply theory to your practice in supporting learning in children with SEND.
Entry requirements Leeds Trinity University is committed to recruiting students with talent and potential and who we feel will benefit greatly from their academic and non-academic experiences here. We treat every application on its own merits; we value highly the experience you illustrate in your personal statement. You will need to be a teacher who holds Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) or Early Year Teacher Status (EYTS) working in, or with access to, an educational setting. You may work in a range of settings and be from a range of local authorities in or outside of our region. You must be a designated or deputy SENCo, an aspirant SENCo, an inclusion manager or in a position to undertake or support some of the SENCo duties over an extended period. You will also need to have completed an induction period. You will need a document of support from your head teacher and an understanding that you will be involved in ten days of learning on campus over the course of the year or across an academic year. You will need to submit a completed application form, together with a letter of support from your setting. If you are not a qualified teacher and work within special needs coordination in a provision, you can apply to undertake the course. Although you will not gain the NASENCo, you will receive the award of PGCert Special Educational Needs Coordination. Due to the work-based learning focus of the course, you will need the support of your workplace in undertaking the course. For full entry requirements, visit our website.
How to apply NASENCo application forms can be downloaded from our website. Please visit leedstrinity.ac.uk/postgraduate for the latest course information, including tuition fees, and to access the application form. For more information about applying, contact our Admissions team at admissions@leedstrinity.ac.uk or on 0113 283 7123. 6
FACILITIES AND SUPPORT We’re proud to be known as the University where you’re a name, not a number thanks to our approach to student support. This means that you can access a wide range of support and facilities, tailored to you, at every stage of your journey. Whether you need academic skills support, help with your health and wellbeing, or you just need someone to talk to, you’ll find that help is available from lots of different places.
One-to-one academic support As soon as you start your course, you’ll be assigned a personal tutor. They’ll take the time to get to know you and your learning needs throughout your course, giving you personalised academic support to keep you on track with your studies.
Library and learning resources The library is equipped with everything you need to succeed in your qualification. It also has a variety of group, quiet and silent study environments, networked PCs and laptops for loan, and facilities for printing, copying, binding and laminating.
Learning Hub We understand that no two students learn in the same way. That’s why you can access personalised academic and study skills support through our Learning Hub. The team of specialist advisers can offer support with essay writing, time management, effective note-taking, critical thinking and research and much more!
Student Support services As well as providing plenty of facilities and resources to support your learning, we also want to make sure that you look after your health and wellbeing. We offer a range of student support services, from counselling and online self-help to student finance advice. Whether you have a personal or academic issue, our experienced and dedicated staff are here to listen and help you get the support you need.
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Leeds Trinity University Horsforth Leeds, LS18 5HD 0113 283 7150 hello@leedstrinity.ac.uk Information correct at time of publication, November 2021. Please visit leedstrinity.ac.uk/postgraduate to review our latest course information before you make your application. The information in this booklet is available in alternative formats. Please call 0113 283 7150 or email hello@leedstrinity.ac.uk
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