Role of Headteacher & Senior Leadership

The main goal of this toolkit is to support nominated children to stay in the classroom and get the same out of their learning and school experience as their classmates. Your role as a headteacher or member of the senior leadership team is to get the ball rolling for the study in your school. In school, you will appoint a SENDCo and help facilitate teachers use of the toolkit to enable children to hit small, achievable targets.

The items below are the main areas where we’ll ask for your support. Some are to do with recruitment of eligible children, some to do with the delivery of the toolkit, and some are to help us evaluate it. To say thank you for taking the time to be part of this research, school staff involved will receive £10.

Consent and appointing staff

You will be responsible for consenting to your school’s participation and facilitating the research happening in the school. This includes appointing a SENDCo if your school does not already have one, and ensuring that the SENDCos, teachers and TAs are willing to take part in the study. You will need to give permission for the SENDCo to identify potentially eligible children and approach parents about the study prior to being contacted by the research team. You will also be responsible for allowing the research team access to the school and classrooms for behavioural observations and considering other methods of fostering inclusivity at your school.

Implementing the toolkit

Although you may not be directly involved in the research taking place throughout, your role is crucial in allowing the study to take place and supporting the staff who are taking part in order to ensure that this is a successful and manageable endeavour for all involved parties.

How well is the toolkit working?

After the toolkit has been implemented in your school you may be asked to take part in a discussion with the research team to talk about the toolkit and its implications on the wider school environment and teacher wellbeing, as well as attending a focus group with other involved members of staff held for each child to discuss the strengths and limitations of the toolkit. We will also ask you to contact the research team should the need for immediate change arise within the toolkit.