The SEN Practitioner

Status, Skills and Support
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-03450-6
Verlag: Taylor & Francis

Buch, Englisch, 200 Seiten, Format (B × H): 210 mm x 297 mm

Reihe: nasen spotlight

The ‘SEN Practitioner’ can take many forms, from the SENCO, pastoral lead or nurture practitioner to the teaching assistant or classroom teacher. All are essential lynchpins within the education system who provide inclusive opportunities for children with SEND.

This rich, edited collection explores the range of practitioners that make up the SEN workforce and considers their skills, attributes and needs in depth. It focuses on practitioners in a range of settings, including mainstream, special schools, and alternative provision, and provides comprehensive guidance on what each role entails. Chapters also consider the diverse needs of SEN practitioners and share perspectives from neurodivergent professionals, which thoughtfully explore how practitioners can be developed and supported themselves. Throughout, reflections and takeaways are included, to prompt readers to identify how key insights can be transferred to their own setting and practice.

By drawing together chapters from a range of contexts, this book provides an essential overview of the diversity of the SEN workforce and key next steps for further training and development. It will be valuable reading for SENCOs, MATs, and CPD Leads, as well as students of education, inclusion and SEND.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Professional Practice & Development

Autoren/Hrsg.

Middleton, Tristan

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Teildisziplinen der Pädagogik Sonderpädagogik, Heilpädagogik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Figures and Tables

Contributors

Foreword – Annamarie Hassall: CEO, nasen

Introduction - Tristan Middleton

PART I The SEN Practitioner: Roles, Skills and Attributes

1. All Teachers are Teachers of Children with SEN: The Mainstream Class Teacher as a SEN Practitioner - Julie Wharton

2. Teaching Assistants: Developing an Effective Workforce to Support Learning - Sara Alston

3. Achieving the Best Pastoral Support: Roles, Responsibilities and Skills – Sue Soan

4. Early Years SEN Practitioners: Challenges, Opportunities and Key Take-Aways – Angela Scott

5. Alternative Provision Staff – Sarah Johnson

6. Nurture Group Practitioners – Tristan Middleton

7. The SENCo – Lynda Kay and Tristan Middleton

8. The Team Around the Child and Learners with Social Emotional and Mental Health needs - Dennis Piper

PART II The SEN Practitioner: looking forwards through the experience of practitioners

9. Inclusive Classrooms: Good for Everyone, Good for Dyslexia – Julia Clouter

10. Beyond Inclusion: Recognising the Strategic Power of Autistic Educators – Simon Preston

11. Disabled Teachers, Discourses which Aid, Discourses which Hinder – Mark A. Lyn

12. Supervision for Education Practitioners in SEN – Jonathan Reid

13. Effective Pastoral Care that Supports SEND: A Support for Practitioners – Phil Jones

14. Relational Practice: A Triadic Lens for Practitioners in SEN – Lynda Kay

15. SENCo Strengths-Based Leadership: Leading Change and Flourishing Through Hope, Optimism, Self-Efficacy and Resilience – Jon Gibson

16. Leadership of School Culture to Support Practitioners: Recruitment, CPD and Relationships – Hilary MacMeekin

Conclusion – Tristan Middleton

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Dr Tristan Middleton is Senior Lecturer in Inclusive Education at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. He is editor of the British Journal of Special Education and has published a wide range of academic article publications as well as book chapters and books. Tristan is passionate about educational inclusion and the opportunities that those in Higher Education have to make a positive impact upon education practice.