Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Over a third of special schools within the UK already use our assessment software, and our new evidence platform, Evisense is gaining popularity as schools see how easy and flexible it is.

Are you Ready for the Removal of P Levels?

On the 12th June 2018 we ran a webinar called 'Are you Ready for the Removal of P Levels?' It introduced the teacher assessment framework for pupils working below the national curriculum assessment standard and talked about the challenges schools face by its introduction. If you missed the webinar you can watch it now by clicking on the link below:

Assessment Software Designed for Special Needs

Our assessment software, Connecting Steps was designed by an SEN teacher some 20 years ago, who identified that existing assessment systems weren't able to detect the subtle improvements achieved by her pupils. So, from the very beginning, our Connecting Steps assessments have been developed to identify and record even the smallest of achievements. We provide assessment content within the software to cover all types of need - PMLD, SLD, MLD, ASD and SEMH. Our content covers a wide ability range and can be used from birth to 25, making our software ideal for a wide range of SEN settings.

• Designed by SEN teachers, for SEN teachers 
• Can identify even the smallest of improvements 
• Designed for birth to 25
• Progress can be tracked across wide range of curriculums and frameworks 

Our Connecting Steps V4 assessment software spans a wide range of abilities and ages. It includes content that covers the ability range the P Levels and National Curriculum levels previously covered: 

• Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
• Engagement Steps (Students not yet engaged in subject-specific learning)*  Now Available!
• Progression Steps (Students engaged in subject-specific learning)  Now Available!
• Primary Steps - End of Year Outcomes (Students engaged in subject-specific learning in a primary setting)  Now Available!
• Secondary Steps
• Adult Steps

*Will be updated in 2018-2019 inline with Government changes. This update will be free to schools who have purchased Engagement Steps

If you would like more information on Connecting Steps and how it can be used in your school, why not arrange a FREE online meeting? The meetings last around 30 minutes and are a great way to find out how the software works and how it can be used in your school.

Engagement Steps

We have created a brand new assessment framework called Engagement Steps in response to the recommendations made within the ‘Rochford Review: Final Report’ (The Report). The Report identified two categories of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). These groups of pupils have different assessment requirements. The categories they identified were:

• Pupils engaged in subject-specific learning
• Pupils not yet engaged in subject-specific learning

We designed the Engagement Steps framework to support the learning and assessment of students not yet engaged in subject-specific learning. The Report recognised that the subject-specific areas assessed by the P Levels are not appropriate for students with the most significant disabilities and difficulties; therefore, a new approach was required. They built on the work already carried out by the CLDD research project (The CLDD Project) in 2011. Using old language our Engagement Steps content covers the developmental range from P1(i) to P6.

The assessment framework is divided into key developmental areas which reflect the four areas of need listed in the “Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years”. These areas are:

• Cognition & Learning;
• Communication & Interaction;
• Social, Emotional & Mental Health; and
• Sensory & Physical.

Our Engagement Steps assessment framework is designed to be used in a non-linear fashion. Through our research and understanding, we know that students will not work progressively through each step, completing one and then moving on to the next. Students will experience and engage with skills across multiple levels. For example, a child may develop their responses to environmental sounds regularly but may also be less motivated to respond to human voices. Therefore, students will develop skills across multiple steps simultaneously. Engagement Steps is organized into the following areas:

• Cognition & Learning;
• Responsiveness
• Curiosity
• Investigation
• Discovery
• Anticipation
• Persistence
• Initiation
• Communication & Interaction;
• Expressive Communication
• Receptive Communication
• Social, Emotional & Mental Health; 
• Social Affection
• Emotional Affection
• Sensory & Physical;
• Sensory Operation
• Visual
• Auditory
• Tactile
• Olfactory/Gustatory
• Vestibular
• Proprioceptive
• Physical Operation
• Fine Motor
• Gross Motor

Progression Steps

Progression Steps is an observation-based assessment framework for Connecting Steps. It helps teachers to identify and record the on-going achievements of pupils who are working moderately or severely beneath age-related expectations in some or all areas of their development. It can be used with pupils who are either studying elements from a formal curriculum or those who are still engaged in a semi-formal approach to learning. Using old language, our Progression Steps covers a range from P4 to around Level 7 of the old National Curriculum. It supports the schools use of the new Pre-Key Stage standards from the DfE.

Our Cognition and Learning content aims to help staff to assess the knowledge and abilities associated with the intellectual development of the child against the national curriculum subjects. We have increased the range of areas within the Progression Steps to include areas like Sex and Relationship Education.

Towards the end of 2018 we will begin work on the other areas of need; Communication and Interaction; Social, Emotional and Mental Health; and Sensory and/or Physical Development. These will take between 1 and 2 years to develop.

Primary Steps

If you are looking at using B Squared assessment with both mainstream and SEN pupils in a Primary setting then the Primary Steps works well for you. It includes the End of Year Outcomes and the first 4 levels of our Progression Steps for pupils working below Year 1.

Core Subjects

Foundation Subjects

If you would like more information on Connecting Steps and how it can be used in your school, why not arrange a FREE online meeting? The meetings last around 30 minutes and are a great way to find out how the software works and how it can be used in your school.

Click here to download our SEN Assessment Order Form, or contact our sales team for more information on our products for Primary schools by emailing sales@bsquared.co.uk or phoning 01252 870133

Evidence your Students’ Learning

Evisense is our new evidence platform for schools. It provides an ideal solution for schools who have children with SEND, many of the activities undertaken are temporary. Pupils are building a tower of bricks or mark making in sand/shaving foam and being able to record these is an important part of the assessment process. Evisense allows teachers to record these activities in a clear and simple way. Evisense can also be used to capture the range of activities children participate in as part of everyday school life. These experiences can be as important as academic achievements.

Evisense provides a secure and stable platform for teaching staff to record and share photos, videos, audio recording and documents. Teaching staff can use this evidence to show achievement and demonstrate progress in a relevant and meaningful way. Evidence can be linked to skills to show improvements that may otherwise have been hard to demonstrate.

We developed Evisense as a result of feedback from teaching staff who were frustrated with the amount of time spent on collating supporting evidence and needed somewhere safe and secure to store, manage and share key accomplishments. When we researched this field, we realised that while other evidence software exists, limitations on security, safeguarding, capacity, timescale and accessibility existed. We therefore developed Evisense, designed to be secure, collaborative, powerful and flexible giving staff a tool that works for them, not against them.

Ease of Use

• Access is quick and easy, via iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android and Amazon Fire apps as well as a web browser
• Evidence can be recorded in multiple ways - via photos, videos, documents, audio files or a written observation
• Evidence can be linked to assessments and viewed within our assessment software*
• Teachers can filter evidence by group, pupil, curriculum*, subject*, level* or broad area of need (C&L, C&I, SEMH, S&P)
• Reports can be shared with parents electronically or in printed format. Embedded QR codes allow access to videos from the printed reports

Impact on Learning

• Assists assessment, supports interventions, supports EHCP targets and supports moderation
• Parental Engagement has a big impact on educational outcomes. Evisense lets staff share evidence with parents instantly. Parents can talk to their child about what they learned or enjoyed in school and extend the learning outside the classroom
• Evidence can be shared with parents through printed reports at regular intervals. Parents may find seeing what their child has achieved and experienced more meaningful than an attainment score
• Where appropriate, pupils can add their own evidence so they can review and reflect on their own work
• Frees up staff time, enabling them to focus on improving outcomes in the classroom

Enhancing everyday school life

• Sharing evidence with parents means they are able to see their children engaging in school life and can be more involved
• Sharing their achievements can boost confidence among students
• Laborious task of cutting, sticking and pasting photographs is eliminated so staff can focus on teaching

For more information on Evisense please visit the Evisense website