2

It is important for parents and families that EP input leads to their child being better understood and supported.

SENDCOs felt this statement went hand in hand with the number 1 ranked statement as “you can’t have better outcomes if they (YP) are not understood and supported” and they felt strongly that this is what schools are primarily asking of an EP. There was a reflection from SENDCOs that schools often look at the education outcomes however EPs look at the YP holistically and have more of a future perspective which they felt was an important addition.

2

It is important that EPs support schools to make evidence-informed decisions in relation to strategies and provision.

SENDCOs shared comments including “if there is no evidence what the point is in doing it” regarding strategies and provision and felt like this is something an EP can have unique knowledge of. SENDCOs also felt strongly that they value the bespoke and achievable provision/strategies which are considered for their setting by Catalyst EPs and that they do not always get this consideration from other professionals.

3

It is important that EPs advocate for children.

Although this was initially considered high importance, the SENDCos discussed that there are a lot of people who can advocate for the children including parents and carers.

3

It is important for children to trust, relate and feel listened to by Eps.

SENDCos questioned how much of a relationship the children can build with an EP if they are only seeing the children for an assessment. In contrast, some SENDCos felt that their EP who had developed a consistent relationship with the school knew the children and gave an example of the EP speaking to them on the corridor. The SENDCOs shared that the importance of this depends on the age and the needs of the child (and gave an example of a young child who is non-verbal not understanding that they are meeting an EP).

3

It is important that EPs support schools to build capacity (e.g., increase the ability to improve student learning).

In an ideal world, it would be high importance for EPs to support with capacity but issues with funding mean that they need to see individual children and it is not possible to request work such as staff training. SENDCOs discussed the standard of quality of EP work at Catalyst being ‘high’ and ideally would like revisits from EP after assessments to support capacity but this is not currently possible. Although SENDCos discussed the importance of capacity work being what makes a difference when the EP is ‘gone,’ they shared that they could obtain support for the development of capacity from other sources such as SALT and outreach.

4

It is important for parents and families to see EPs as a neutral and external source of support.

SENDCOs shared how they felt If there is conflict between parents and school there might be a need for the EP to be an external professional and it can be important they remain neutral however schools also feel like they want parents to see the engagement of an EP as a mechanism of help the school has brought in for that child to strengthen school and family relationships around the support being offered.  SENDCos also shared they sometimes may need the EP to be an ‘allied’ professional when discussing approaches or concerns which parents do not agree with school on (if this is what the EP agrees is best for the YP).

4

It is important for schools to feel supported and have confidence in EPs as partners.

SENDCOs shared that they do not always see EPs over time. SENDCos shared that they had some less positive experiences.

5

It is important for schools to have a clear understanding of the support that is available from EPs, including individual child and systemic work.

SENDCos discussed that although they would like to know what support is available from EPs, they do not have the time or funding to request the work and need to focus on the list of children for individual support.