Developing Distributive Leadership in Secondary Schools to Improve Inclusion with Eleanor Sams

The SENDcast

As SEND registers continue to grow and expectations rise across the profession, many SENDCOs are leaving due to overwhelming workloads and lack of support. It’s crucial that we rethink how to empower teachers to meet their students' needs.

In today’s episode, Dale was joined by Eleanor Sams, an Assistant Headteacher and SENDCO at the Marvel College in Hull. Eleanor tells us about ‘developing distributive leadership in secondary schools to improve inclusion’ sharing her school’s successful implementation.

Their discussion includes:

• Key challenges for new SENDCOs: The pressure to be an expert in everything and how this can be especially overwhelming in larger settings.
• Strategies for conducting a whole school SEND review: Helping new SENDCOs identify strengths and areas for improvement.
• The concept of all teachers as teachers of SEND: Addressing the nervousness some staff may feel and exploring how to overcome this.

Eleanor provides valuable insights on implementing a distributive leadership model, illustrating what this can look like in a large setting. When schools get it right, it empowers teachers to understand their learners better and meet their needs more effectively, all while relieving SENDCO workloads. She also explains how this approach can be implemented with minimal cost and has been proven to increase attendance, improve outcomes, and reduce behavioural incidents.

View all podcasts available or visit our SENDcast sessions shop!

About Eleanor Sams

Ellie Sams is an Assistant Headteacher (SENDCO) at The Marvell College in Hull.

Ellie has supported children with SEND since 2011, across both specialist and mainstream settings. She joined the Marvell College in 2016 as a Teacher of History. She has worked as a Head of Year and was appointed as Assistant Headteacher and SENDCO in 2022.

Since 2022, Ellie has worked alongside the Senior Leadership Team to develop a culture of inclusion that runs throughout all areas of the school. Alongside her responsibilities at The Marvell College, Ellie supports across the trust as a SEND Hub leader, this includes supporting the development of provision for students with SEND across a number of primary schools. She is also a trustee at Humberston Park Special School, responsible for Transdisciplinarity and Learning.

Contact Ellie

https://www.themarvellcollege.com/

www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-sams-sendco

Useful Links

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
• Email Dale – [email protected]
• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

The SENDcast is powered by B Squared

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.