By Mark Vickers MBE, Chair of the APSEND Network 

On Wednesday 13th March, the APSEND national network for CEOs was delighted to support the inaugural SEND and Inclusion conference hosted by two strong MATs: TEAM Education Trust, led by APSEND Executive member Sarah Baker, and Triumph Academy Trust, led by Sarah Malam. The day was a fantastic success, and a celebration of collaboration across the sector. It was simply fantastic to see so many professionals and system leaders involved in delivering sessions, sharing ideas and supporting their peers.

We were particularly pleased that Alasdaire Duerden agreed to open the conference for us. As the Department for Education’s Head of SEND and AP Local Implementation Unit, his knowledge, experience and insight was invaluable to our trust leaders as they begin to grapple themselves with the planning and implementation of last year’s SEND and AP Improvement Plan. In a wide ranging and honest ‘fireside chat’ conversation with me, Alasdaire discussed the intention behind the AP and SEND reform proposals, and how the department have taken the time to ensure that they have learned important lessons from 2014, the last time that sweeping system reforms were developed and implemented at scale. Alasdaire also guided us through the development of the Change Programme, and shared the thinking behind the selection of the 32 LA’s who make up the 9 Change Programme Partnerships.

  

Since covid, it feels like where possible meetings and conferences are now always held online, and as a national network, at APSEND with have embraced the way in which this allows colleagues from up and down the country to engage with our work. However, there is something very special about being physically in the room with your peers, and experiencing the conversations that happen around the edges of a session is often as important and rewarding as what you get from the content. Therefore, it was wonderful to see so many of our members attending our face to face APSEND meeting in the afternoon which included a range of strategic conversations about the role of trusts and CEOs in the changing system. As ever, I feel immensely lucky to be Chair of a network representing such an excellent group of professionals. 

 

At the meeting we also welcomed two new members to the APSEND Network: Lawrence Chapman, CEO of SENDAT, and Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne, CEO of Consortium. We are excited to welcome you to the network and we look forward to working with you going forward. 

 

Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to the system leaders and policy makers who joined us on the day, demonstrating an openness and willingness to engage with school, trust and system leaders, which feels more important than ever in the current climate of change of uncertainty. In particular, my thanks go out to Alasdaire Duerden from the DfE, Helen Matthews and Steven Shaw from Ofsted, and Alice Gregson from Forum Strategy who shared key insights and wisdom from their own trust networks, demonstrating once again the willingness that we all share to collaborate across the system to improve the outcomes of our students.