Please see below the presentations and resources from speakers who delivered at the Primary SEND Professional Community on Thursday 10th October 2024:

​Alison Betts, Whole School SEND National Coordinator
Update on Whole School SEND.

View Alison's presentation here.


Jill Lake, School Nursing Service, Devon County Council
An overview of their offer and how they are currently working.

View Jill's presentation here.

View DCC posters here.


Robyn Emmerson, Ellen Tinkham School
SEN 100 Project and outreach work.
​
View Robyn's presentation here.


Kellie Knott, SEND Improvement Director at Devon County Council
State of play and vision for SEND going forward with DCC.

View Kellie's presentation here.

About Josie and her role as After School Club Leader, Pupil Premium Advocate and Teaching Assistant.

"My name is Josie and I have been working at my school for nearly 8 years. When I first started working here, I was a 1:1 TA supporting a pupil with additional needs. Since the beginning of my journey at the school I have had fantastic support from SLT to develop my career and have managed to work my way up to be the leader of the After School Club provision. In this role I oversee and manage up to 140 children and 8 team members.

I have made loads of changes to the ASC provision as the children were not enjoying their time in the club previously and I made it my priority to make sure that the children enjoy their time here and feel relaxed and comfortable as they have such a long day in school.

One of my biggest achievements is revamping our old café area into a chill zone area, where I have made it similar to a home setting so the children can go there if they struggle with the busyness of the club and can go there to have that ‘feel at home feeling’ where they can relax. Our SEN children particularly enjoy this area and its close to my office so I can make regular check-ins to see how they are doing.

I have also had the privilege this year to take on a new role that has not been done before which is a Pupil Premium Advocate. This role is all about how I can help our wonderful PP children have better opportunities in school by making sure they have access to clubs, mentoring, emotional literacy and more!

Fortunately I still get to do 1:1 support in the middle which I really enjoy!

My 3 roles come with challenges as all jobs do but I absolutely love working with children and wouldn’t change my busy schedule in school for anything! My faith drives me to do better and do more where I can. 

A HUGE thank you to the Exeter Consortium and to my Assistant Head who nominated me for this reward. It was a lovely surprise and am blessed and fortunate to do the job I do."​

​The ‘School Staff ‘Thank You’ scheme’ is open to all Exeter Consortium partner schools as listed on our website HERE and a school can nominate one member of staff per year. To nominate a member of staff from your school please use the Google form HERE. The deadline for nominations is the last Friday before each half term break.

For information about the Exeter Consortium ‘School Staff Thank You Scheme’ please contact [email protected]

Please see below the presentations and resources from speakers who delivered at the Primary SEND Professional Community on Thursday 23rd May 2024:

​Alison Betts, Whole School SEND National Coordinator and Jeanette Savage, Regional Lead for the South West of England.
Update on Whole School SEND.

View Alison and Jeanette's presentation here.


Jo Siney, Head of Service and Jon Mitchell, Service Manager, Support & Advice/Designated Social care Officer – SEND, Disabled Children’s Services and Lise Bird, Head of Service for Early Help & Partnerships, Devon County Council.
Overview of the services on offer, how to access the services and who can benefit, criteria for referral and assessment.

View Jo, Jon and Lise's presentation here.


Laura Syree, Early Help Locality Officer, Devon County Council.
Early Help in Devon, the Level 2 and Level 3 offer.
​
View Laura's presentation here.

Useful links:
Early Help information - Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership (devonscp.org.uk)
Early Help Contacts, Training and Resources - Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership (devonscp.org.uk)
Children’s Centre Consultation - Have Your Say (devon.gov.uk)


Ben Jones, Operational & Clinical Service Manager, and Sarah Foxall, CAMHS Mental Health Support Team (MHST).
Overview of the Mental Health Support Teams in Schools, access, future plans and further help.

View Ben and Sarah's presentation here.


Laura O’Shea, Advisory Teacher for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Devon County Council.
Laura oversees the work of the Specialist Support Assistant’s (SSA’s) within the SEND Support Team and provided an update on the service.

View Laura's presentation here.


Next Session
Thursday 10th October 2024, 8.45 - 12.00, Future Skills Centre
Booking link to follow. Please note the new venue.

An interview with Angelica Anderzon who trained to become a teacher with Exeter Consortium before starting her career as a primary supply teacher with Exeter Supply Partnership.

Angelica's background
Angelica moved to England from Sweden after finishing her A level’s where she worked for several years in various roles in hospitality before completing a counselling qualification at Exeter College. Angelica has always loved working with people and going to work in education seemed a natural progression following her counselling course when she realised that people need support from a very early stage and wanted to work with children and help them to have the best start in life as possible. She completed a Teaching Assistant Diploma Level 3 at Exeter College and gained a TA role at a local primary school in Exeter. Whilst working as a TA Angelica completed a BA Hons in Teaching & Learning Professional Practice with Worcester University. She then trained as a primary teacher with Exeter Consortium Schools’ Alliance and achieved QTS in June 2023.
 
Why did you choose to become a supply teacher?
I applied for ECT roles, however I was not successful initially and therefore decided to sign up for supply teaching as soon as I received my QTS certificate in June. This provided me with great experience working in a range of schools covering different age groups.
 
Why did you choose Exeter Supply Partnership?
ESP was recommended to me by my teacher training programme leader. I found supply teaching quite daunting initially, however I soon enjoyed going to different schools and teaching different groups of children. I then secured a permanent role working two days per week in one of my placement schools and I now do supply teaching in addition to those two days.
 
What do you wish you knew before beginning supply teaching?
Nothing really stands out because after finishing my training I felt I was very well equipped to go into schools and do a good job. Initially I did feel quite alone as a supply teacher but then I signed up for one of the ESP networking sessions where I met other supply teachers who were going through the same experience which was extremely beneficial for me.
 
What is your favourite thing about being a supply teacher?
The best thing is gaining experience of working in a wide variety of schools where you learn lots of approaches and this really opened my eyes to how things can be done differently. For example it has been so useful to look at various approaches to inclusion and provision for pupils with SEND and this has helped me to further develop my passion for this area of work.
 
What are your favourite/most useful resources to use?
I have not really needed my own resources because schools have been very clear about how they want things done especially around continuous provision. Planning has always been provided for the day and I have found this to be very clear.
 
How do you prepare for your bookings?
I have found that it is best to remain open minded and not to have any preconceived ideas about what a school is going to be like. It is good to have an open mind and of course to arrive at the school in plenty of time so that you can be prepared for the day ahead.
 
What approach do you take when you are attending a new school?
It is essential to have a look at the school policies, especially the marking policy, the behaviour policy and the safeguarding policy, all of which are provided by ESP prior to attending a booking, and to unsure you follow the policies. I have taken approaches from my training into the classroom such as the Rosenshine’s principles, I like to have active classes, a ‘no hands up’ approach and ensure that all pupils contribute to the lesson.
 
Would you say supply teaching is an enjoyable/fulfilling experience?
I have absolutely loved supply teaching! The experience of going to the different schools has been so valuable for me and has added to my practice. It has also given me the opportunity to take different approaches into other schools when a school has been receptive to this.
 
What advice would you give to a teacher who is new to supply teaching/ considering supply work?
If you are thinking of supply teaching then definitely do it! The flexibility that supply teaching provides is amazing and the fact that ESP operate a calendar system as a part of their app means you can choose when you want to work. 
 
How do you manage the uncertainty of supply work and the possibility of not having work on some days?
This is where being open minded about the schools you are happy to work in helps and it is about being brave enough to step into unknown situations and schools. I have been fortunate enough to have been offered all the work that I have wanted and even the Autumn term was really busy for me.
 
Would you recommend ESP to other teachers? If so, why?
Yes, absolutely and I have already recommended ESP to other teachers, I believe that you are totally the best option out there. Everyone at ESP is so friendly and approachable and even though most communication is done through the app, if I have ever wanted to ask a question or need advice then there is always someone available and they respond really quickly. 

​Find out about training to teach with Exeter Consortium Schools' Alliance.

Find out about primary supply teaching with Exeter Supply Partnership.

May 2024 | Countess Wear Community School
These events will provide an opportunity for supported peer moderation.

Teachers will work in small groups, following a rigorous process, to moderate writing. All teachers will need to bring all the writing from two children: one currently assessed at EXS and one currently assessed at GDS.
Cost: £50 per person for SWIFT member schools | £80 per person for non-member schools