Why High Levels of Need Should Never Come at the Expense of the Highest Levels of Aspiration
25 Sep, 20241-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- About the responsibilities of an Education and SEND specialist and the obstacles and challenges a leader faces.
- About the importance of forging relationships with others in the SEND sector.
- How to find and apply for the best SEND jobs.
Working as a specialist in the education and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) sector can be a rewarding but demanding role - one that requires hard work, compassion and someone who is able to adapt to the needs of students with SEND.
Creative Education and SEND specialist Lee Cough is responsible for ensuring that the learning, safeguarding and wellbeing of students and team members are met. His role varies from leading teams, to teaching and supporting students, including those dealing with exclusion from education.
Lee is passionate about neurodiversity, social, emotional and mental wellbeing and believes in the importance of taking care of the mental health of staff as well as students. In this exclusive interview Lee shared his own views on his 15-year career and the values that have helped him to adapt and thrive in the SEND sector.
Tell us about your career journey so far. What inspired you to start a career in SEN education?
I fell into this career about 15 years ago. I aspired to work in sport, specifically football and was finding it difficult to make a full-time living from it. I was coaching a football team for adults with disabilities and a role as a Teaching Assistant at a local secondary SEN school came up. This arrangement provided me with a means of earning a living whilst pursuing my true passion (at the time) and continued on and off in a range of roles.
In truth it was only about 8 years ago that I started to seriously think about a career in SEN education. Around that time, I worked in a team that viewed the needs of students in a different way to what I had seen before. By placing a significant focus on viewing each student through their very individual neurodivergent and sensory experiences, my passion for SEN was born.
Since then I’d say I’ve been driven to try and understand each individual's experience in the educational environment, viewing it through the lens of their individual SEN needs, and also of their historical and ecological experience. I have spent time teaching, supporting students and leading teams to support students experiencing exclusion from education, deprivation, trauma and a wide-range of neurodivergence.
What does your current role consist of?
I work for a Creative Education College that specialises in neurodiversity and is relatively unique in that it has a central leadership team as well as a series of small campuses based in buildings of cultural significance all over the country.
My official title is Campus Lead and at its most basic I represent the most senior leader on site at one of our campuses. That means I take lead responsibility for ensuring that the learning, safeguarding and wellbeing of both students and team members are met.
Each day looks different but fundamentally it’s about relationships; with the students, with team members, with primary carers and also with the central leadership team, social services and mental health support providers.
How do you keep up-to-date with changes in the SEND industry?
I’ve been fortunate to have worked for organisations that are committed to leading change and driving the evolution of the SEND industry, which allows me to stay up-to-date naturally. I also try to surround myself with people who are affecting change, evolution or innovation, both in and outside of education. LinkedIn is a fantastic resource for this.
What’s the most valuable lesson that you’ve learned in your career so far?
I think it's quite paradoxical in that the more you learn and experience the more you realise just how much you don’t know, and so I’d say the most important lesson is to stay humble and open-minded. Remember that as a priority, you’re here to serve the student and their families and everything else is secondary.
I’m also fortunate to have been around long enough now to see the journeys that students have taken. I've seen children and adolescents with complex special needs go to university and I’ve seen children and adolescents experiencing exclusion from education go onto full-time jobs, make positive contributions to their community, start families and become fantastic parents.
High levels of need and high levels of support should never come at the expense of the highest levels of aspiration.
What challenges or obstacles have you faced in your career?
So many to mention, in the first few years I had to really adapt my thinking around young people and specifically young people with SEN, to a point where I wasn’t especially good at my job. It’s important to understand just how each person’s needs and experiences impact their daily lives and how they present themselves.
Another obstacle is being able to adapt to the continuing and evolving demands of the sector and adapting to the needs of the student with SEND. It’s also important to continue to try to make an impact even when it isn’t immediately visible or measurable.
As a leader, the biggest obstacle is meeting people when they’re on their own professional journeys and being able to shift my focus from taking primary responsibility to handing that responsibility to others and supporting them with it.
Reform in the SEND sector continues to be a huge topic of discussion. How have things changed or progressed in the SEND sector since the start of your career?
There have been significant changes to the education and SEND sector in the last 15 years and in particular the importance of prioritising the emotional wellbeing and mental health of students.
Now a school, nursery or college will often take and be expected to take lead responsibility for the safeguarding needs of young people both inside and outside of the classroom. This then places increasing demands and pressure on those working in the SEND sector and the emotional wellbeing and mental health of workers in the sector has become a significant area of focus.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
I would say this is a common theme with anyone working in education, but I put great responsibility and high expectations on myself and at times I feel the weight of it.
It can be frustrating and demotivating when there are obstacles to doing my job to the high standards I expect of myself and the standards I perceive others have of me. In these moments it’s important to have a good team and support network around me, they keep me grounded and step out from my perspective.
What changes would you like to see to better support the needs of children and young people with SEND?
At the risk of stating the obvious; more funding, more people and more support to keep good people within the sector. The evidence time and time again shows that the key driver to success in schools starts the relationship between a student and a key adult.
The more time each child can spend with an adult in school who is skilled, understands their needs and who themselves experiences strong emotional well-being and positive mental health, the better.
There’s a quote somewhere that reads something like ‘look after your employees and your employees will look after your customer,’ - the same principles definitely apply to this sector.
What would you say has been your biggest achievement in your SEN career?
There are individual journeys of students that I take particular pride in, but I’d say the biggest achievement in my career is the impact working in SEN has had on me as a human-being.
I’m far more self-aware and much more emotionally and socially intelligent than I was at the beginning of my career.
I’m not sure that development would have been quite as profound in another sector. It’s definitely a sector that teaches you about yourself, which is just as important as being able to successfully teach others.
Do you have any tips or advice for anyone considering a career in SEND provision?
My advice would be to have a clear understanding of your motivation and go for it! You play such an impactful role in the lives of young people, and it is vital you recognise your value and understand that you are here to serve.
Too often I have seen people come into the sector because they want to teach a certain subject and it has seemed the students are there to serve that purpose. When there are barriers to reaching that goal, you can see that motivation disappear.
If you are teaching a particular subject, your job is to open that door to the young person and support them through it.
What are your career plans for the future?
I’m fortunate that I am in a position where I feel I am effective in making a difference in an area I’m passionate about. It’s such an important experience to make a difference in young people’s lives and my only plan is to make sure that remains the case.
That being said…. If my line manager rang tomorrow and said I can achieve the above and they will double my salary, I definitely wouldn’t say no!
SEND jobs
If you’re searching for your next local authority SEND job, why not take a look at the latest vacancies, or simply upload your CV to be notified when a relevant position becomes available.
No career journey is the same, so why not check out more interviews with local authority SEND professionals to discover more about their career choices and their best specialist advice.
- Evolution of SEND provision: Expert insights on legislative changes and SEND initiatives
- Managing the annual review backlog: Insights from an annual review officer
- From teaching assistant to SEND team manager: Discover the career journey of a SEND case officer
Local authority recruitment services
As specialist local authority SEND recruiters, we support local authorities nationwide with their temporary, interim and permanent staffing needs.
We can supply SEND staff for service redesign, tackling annual review backlogs and SEND/EHC Case workers to amend plans or hold annual review meetings.
If you’re struggling to fill a vacancy, why not get in touch with one of our team to see how we can help?
South of the UK - Richard Shorrock
Midlands & North of the UK - Adam Zyda
Share your experience
Every individual brings a unique set of experiences, thoughts, and insights to the table. We believe in giving a voice to a community of professionals to inspire positive change and champion reform in the healthcare sector.
If you work in the healthcare sector and would like to share your own personal and professional experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a different perspective, could offer a fresh angle, or want to challenge assumptions.
Simply reach out to our Head of Content, Nicole Sherwood, to discuss a collaboration which makes your voice count.
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