Outstanding Leadership in Special Educational Needs: Principles, Policy and Practice

This book provides new and experienced Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) with a critical approach to understanding the importance of outstanding leadership of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and how to effectively meet the current SEND policy requirements.

Closely informed by the statutory guidance for SENCOs, this book covers all aspects of this challenging leadership role within the school. It provides a principled approach to understanding the challenges and complexity of SEND within the current context. Through concise summaries of policy and current research, critical discussions, reflective activities, case studies as well as practical examples, it helps the reader engage more deeply in critical thinking about the effectiveness of current practices in their own school setting and ways to develop them further for the future. Alison Ekins and Lorna Hughes establish that outstanding leadership in special educational needs is not something that can be achieved just by a single individual. The SENCO has a key role in enabling and empowering everyone in their school setting to understand SEND and engage actively in the development of more inclusive systems to meet the needs of diverse pupils.

Outstanding Leadership in Special Educational Needs, will, therefore, support everyone involved in education to develop their understanding of SEND. It is key reading for teachers, educational leaders and policymakers.

Alison Ekins is Director of SEND in a Multi-Academy Trust and Senior Lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK. She has previously authored The Changing Face of Special Educational Needs (2015) for Routledge.

Lorna Hughes is a Senior Lecturer in Special Educational Needs and Inclusion at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.