Nurturing Inclusion: Are you a “Hunter” or “Farmer”?

By Helen Masters

The idea of different personality traits in leadership interested me after having a discussion with a CEO of a MAT. He looks at personality traits so as to place people in their strongest positions.  I decided to delve into this further and found these types of terms are used particularly in business, specifically sales. This subsequently lead me to ruminate about SENCO Leadership.  In the multi-layered role of a SENCO within education, the attributes of “farmers” and “hunters” are particularly relevant. The hunters-farmers model was first developed through the American insurance sector in the 1870s. So this month’s blog is about learning from outside spaces.

SENCOs are tasked with ensuring the inclusion and support of SEND students, requiring a delicate balance of long-term relationship building and proactive problem-solving. I thought I’d explore how these farmer and hunter traits manifest in the context of SENCO Leadership and their significance for fostering inclusive education. I can see both these traits in myself, how about you?

The Farmer: Cultivating Relationships and Building Trust

At the heart of effective SENCO Leadership lies the ability to cultivate strong relationships and foster trust within the educational community. Like the farmer archetype, SENCOs prioritise nurturing connections with students, parents, teachers, and external support agencies. They invest time and effort in understanding the individual needs of students with SEND, building rapport, and creating a supportive environment where everyone feels valued and included. Farmers in SENCO roles demonstrate patience, empathy, and a long-term perspective. They collaborate closely with teachers and support staff to develop personalised learning plans, adapt teaching strategies, and implement accommodations that meet the diverse needs of students with SEND. By cultivating a culture of inclusion and acceptance, SENCOs lay the foundation for a supportive learning environment where every student can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

The Hunter: Seizing Opportunities and Driving Innovation

In addition to nurturing relationships, effective SENCOs must also possess traits akin to the hunter archetype, such as agility, adaptability, and a results-driven mindset. Like skilled hunters, SENCOs proactively seek out opportunities to enhance support services, improve outcomes, and drive innovation in special education provision.

Hunter traits are particularly evident in the proactive identification of emerging needs and trends in SEND provision. SENCOs stay abreast of legislative changes, best practices, and research findings in the field of special education, seizing opportunities to implement new interventions, technologies, and support strategies that benefit students with SEND. They advocate for inclusive practices, challenge barriers to learning, and champion the rights of students with SEND to access high-quality education.

Balancing Farmer and Hunter Traits for SENCO Success

Successful SENCOs must understand the importance of striking a balance between farmer and hunter traits to meet the diverse needs of students with SEND. By cultivating strong relationships, building trust, and fostering inclusion, they can create a supportive learning environment where every student feels valued and supported. Simultaneously, SENCOs embracing the proactive mindset of hunters, seize opportunities to drive innovation, improve outcomes, and enhance support services for students with SEND. They collaborate with stakeholders, leverage resources, and advocate for systemic changes that promote equity, access, and inclusion in education.

In summary, the farmer and hunter traits in SENCO Leadership offer complementary strengths that are essential for fostering inclusive education and supporting students with SEND. By cultivating relationships, building trust, seizing opportunities, and driving innovation, SENCOs play a vital role in creating a learning environment where every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

It is worth taking the time to examine your own traits and those in your team, so that you can play to your ‘top shelf ‘strengths and work on our ‘bottom shelf’ ones … maybe strength shelves is a topic for another blog. What do you think?

About Helen

Helen is an experienced teacher and SENCO, currently working as SEND Director for an Academy Trust.  She is also an ATC with #TeamADL In her leisure time, you will either find Helen on the golf course, walking the dog or in the gym.

Getting to the heart of it

By Jenny Bowers

In the book ‘Journeying to the Heart of SENCO wellbeing’, co-written by Dr Anita Devi and myself, the index shows that we reference questions/questioning 37 times. Recently, I have been wondering whether those in leadership positions in the education system have forgotten the importance and value of questioning.

Think back over the last day at work, who did you ask questions of? What kind of questions were they? Did they add knowledge, value, set a new course of action, deepen your understanding of a situation/concept or the understanding of others?Now reflect on what questions did you want to ask, or could have asked but didn’t? What was the barrier there?

I often wonder whether SENCO’s and leaders have stopped asking questions for two broad reasons; time and fear.

Time

From my discussions with staff in schools it appears that a limitation on time can stop them from asking questions as they have not set aside enough time to listen to the answers, consider the meaning and consequences and then take action if necessary. Or it may be out of concern that the other person does not have enough time. When agendas for meetings are long, over bloated and under resourced, asking a question can feel challenging. It is essential to finish at the stated time; everyone has other things to attend to. However, issues and challenges will never truly be resolved if the right questions are not asked at the right time. Effective questions can mean that the right people are engaged, involved and informed. All possibilities are explored and all opportunities considered. There can be clarity of the next steps, success criteria and who is responsible for seeing each step through. It may be that the right time to ask the question is before the meeting itself, checking that the agenda is doable and sensible. Sometimes less a less packed agenda means more meaningful discussions will take place.  In our book, Anita talk about the ‘purpose’ of meetings, as opposed the the agenda.

Fear

It appears that for many fear stops them from asking a question as they are fearful that it will show a lack of knowledge, competence or skills. I think that this is damaging of self, and of the relationship with the other person. We cannot hold all knowledge about everything. No one can. I would also argue that effective questioning shows high levels of skills and competence as it shows awareness of what is known and what needs to be known, or what needs to be thought through and explored. Knowing what you don’t know and being prepared to take on another’s knowledge thoughts or opinions, are both skills.

Sometimes though it is that they are fearful of appearing to question or judge the other persons knowledge, competence or skills. This is where professional curiosity is essential. If you ask a question from a place of curiosity it is non-judgemental. It is inviting the other person into your perspective and asking them to share their perspective and thinking with you. For example, asking an educational psychologist why they have suggested a particular intervention can lead to an open discussion about what is the best use of resources or the best provision, as they may have focussed on one particular area, whereas you have a wider perspective of the whole child’s need. It is good professional curiosity that can lead to a question to a social worker about why an action sits with school instead of health, or why one action supersedes another. You might not get the answer that you want, but it can lead to greater understanding and ensures that what you would like to be considered is considered by all. Curiosity doesn’t doubt their specialism or knowledge, it ensures that all options, points of view and others knowledge is also taken into account.

I love this quote, how can it help you in your role?

“It’s better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.”

            James Thurber

Finally, consider the questions you ask yourself. Are you being able to be reflective? Are you being curious with yourself?

Be confident that questions will lead to better answers, more productive outcomes and better use of resources. It also fosters collaboration and connection, and we know how important those are for our wellbeing.

So I will leave you with one final question for this month. I’m aware that many of you will be on half term, but questioning is not only powerful in our professional lives, they are powerful in our personal life too.

What question are you going to ask of whom today?

Acceptance

By Jenny Bowers

Happy New Year to all the #Senco5ADay blog readers!

Here we are, in January 2024. How are you choosing to start the year? What conscious decisions have you made to support your wellbeing and leadership in these uncertain and tumultuous times?

Have you considered acceptance? What is your gut reaction to that word? When I ask people what they think acceptance is they often see it as ‘giving up’ or ‘settling for less than possible’.

Three years ago, I was in a place where I believed that accepting was in opposition to striving for better, or for improving. Then I undertook some research into psychological therapies, and I can across Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, (ACT) my thinking changed, and I discovered that acceptance was a very powerful tool for my own wellbeing.

Consider the quote below:

The root of acceptance is essentially saying yes to your own experience. Not that you like it, not that you want it, not that you’re missing it, but that it’s okay to be you.

Dr Steven C Hayes Founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy speaking on a podcast- https://psychiatryinstitute.com/podcast/founder-acceptance-commitment-therapy-hayes/

What I discovered is that acceptance is very freeing. If you can reflect back on where you have been, what you have done and who has influenced you right now in this moment, then you can accept that this moment is where you are meant to be. This then means that you look to the present and the future with grace, and crucially, with more emotional capacity and stronger mental fortitude because you are not filled with regret, resentment or constraint over what might have been.

Acceptance is fully acknowledging yourself with all your power, your character, your flaws, skills, knowledge and goodness, and seeing that everything that has gone before has a purpose, it is the building blocks of you as a human and therefore is the foundation of what is going to come next. You can move forward with knowledge, understanding and experience.

Acceptance is in fact in opposition to ‘giving up’ it is saying, ‘I am here now, this is what I know, this is what my values are, this is what I feel, so this is what I will do next’. I cannot change the past, and why would I want to? But I can make some changes now if that will enable positive steps forward.

Therefore acceptance is also in opposition to ‘settling for less’ as it is enabling all of your emotional capacity and mental capacity to say ‘with what i have learnt, experience and felt in the past I can use all of this to move into what is possible’.

What is also amazing is that when you explore the power that acceptance of self gives you, you can then move on to find acceptance of others. Again, this is not about settling for less, it is about thinking ‘because of their life experiences, their knowledge, their feelings, they have come to this moment bringing themselves, how can I collaborate, share, explore, influence them to enable and empower them on their journey?’ Sometimes you also just have to find a way to accept that you cannot fix or solve or heal everyone, because that is not your role in their life at this moment. This is also not about accepting bullying or detrimental behaviour, as it could be that you accept that those behaviours are theirs to own and yours to report on, and remove yourself from so that you are safe.

While we are thinking about acceptance, it is also a good idea to find a way to accept that many of the situations that occur and impact you are out of your control, or are ones that you have limited influence over. However, that doesn’t mean you have no influence or no decision-making capabilities. It does mean that these are limited or restricted, so spot where they are and use your energy to utilise those, rather than allow worry or powerlessness to cripple you.

Yesterday an ATC from #TeamADL reminded me of the ‘Serenity Prayer’

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

(Attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, Lutheran theologian 1892–1971)

For me, this is all about acceptance, which for others it about grace.

Acceptance isn’t easy, it takes courage to acknowledge in fullness, ‘this is me, this is where I am at’. It will also take active practice, but Steven C Hayes developed ACT- and it is a word rather than the three letters A.C.T. because the therapeutic device is about achieving acceptance, committing to behaviours with that acceptance as a foundation and then moving forward (ACT-ing)

What do you consider acceptance to be? Have I changed your mind at all? Please let me know your thoughts.

Next month the blog will be all about questions. As you can see, I do like to use them! So in February you will find out why! Don’t forget, if you subscribe you will get the blog straight to your email.

Part 2: The language we use with others

By Jenny Bowers

For this term, as there are many professional discussions and reports about the importance of language and vocabulary for children and young people, and how this appears to be in decline, I am writing a sequence of blogs all about language.

Last month I explored the language we use with ourselves and in this second blog I am going to be exploring the language we use with others.

Within education we have sector specific language. This is to be expected, after all there is specific terminology in finance, in business and in health. What is crucial for us to remember is that sometimes we are in communication with those not immersed in our specific sector.  For example, family of children, social workers, health sector workers and those within our locality. It is important therefore that we use language that bridges the conversations of individuals and brings people together. What we don’t want to do is appear condescending or superior. What we do want to is encourage and support others in using the technical and sector specific vocabulary, so that it can enrich and empower them in conversation.  We want them to feel they can contribute.

Working within the SEND field this becomes even more crucial as we have a lot of acronyms, words from other fields (health in particular) and very specific words that might mean something different to others. This means that it can be confusing, even for those working in education. Think of an Early Careers Teacher, a newly appointed teaching assistant or someone working in a school office.

How, therefore, do we go about managing the use of sector-specific vocabulary, without overthinking every single conversation and exhausting ourselves in the process? I’d like to recommend 3 top tips:

1. Recognise what language is education sector specific
2. Recognise what language is SEND specific
3. Consider your audience, what will they have heard before, what will they know, what would they use, what would support them to be active participants in the conversation?

Start by going to where information is in print, in policies, on your website, in the Local Offer and in your school SEN Information Report, for example.

• Is there a glossary?
• Are acronyms/abbreviations spelt out the first time? 
• Read these documents out loud to yourself. Read them to someone else.  Is there clarity, is there explanation, is there appropriate use of technical language that the reader can absorb and then utilise?

Now think about how you can improve these, if necessary, so that they are in ‘plain English’ with appropriate use of sector specific language, that is explained.

You can then think about how some of these phrases and technical language comes across in the conversations you have, and how you can use them better to support everyone in the conversation. This will come naturally to you once you notice and consider it, that is the beauty of language!  Awareness expands empathy. You will also begin to notice how people will use these terms and phrases back with you, or with others. You are empowering them to be part of the conversation as everyone is talking the same language. Through sharing the language of education and SEND in a way that also explains it this language becomes a bridge.

Now we have considered our use of technical and sector specific aspect of the language and how to remove this as a barrier to conversation. Next, we need to consider the primary or preferred language or way of communicating of those we are communicating with? Communication is a two-way flow. Have we also listened and incorporated their language into your vocabulary? Are we acknowledging the value and importance of their language? This might be through localised phrases and dialects, through cultural exchange or it might be through understanding that they prefer a certain terminology when it comes to a diagnosis or need.

Language has great power; to enable true and powerful dialogue, to find common ground, and by utilising it effectively it will lead to greater understanding. However, we need to find a way to value and utilise it in a way that is comfortable to us and comfortable to those we are speaking with.

Note I have used ‘with and not ‘to’. A subtle difference, but one that encapsulates what I have been talking about.

There has been a lot to absorb this month, and so next month I continue to consider language, how we hear it and how we respond to it and in December I will be exploring how it brings us joy!

What are your experiences and approaches to using language effectively with others?

#TeamADL regularly delivers accredited ‘Managing Difficult Conversations’ training, based on Harvard research.  You can find out more here

Part 1: The Language we use to talk to ourselves

By Jenny Bowers

Hello SENCOs and happy new (academic) year! I hope that the term has got off to a great start and your resilience, hope and optimism are high!  Recently there has been a lot of professional dialogue and publications about the importance of language and vocabulary for children and young people, and how this appears to be in decline.  This made me reflect, how do we model language to our learners.  In a series of blogs, I will cover self-talk (inner voice or thoughts), how we talk to others (out expression) and how we listen to others.  At a later point in the year, I will return with some follow up questions.

A central concept to this series therefore is our use of language, which is defined as:

The principal method of human communication, consisting of words used in a structured and conventional way and conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture.

Oxford Dictionary

There is a simplicity in this, and it appears that language is straightforward. So why is it the root of most conflicts, or misunderstanding and, paradoxically also at the root of joy and relationships? This is what I hope to unpick this term.

Before you go any further, please read and reflect on this quote from the American author,

Language exerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides.

Rita Mae Brown

What does that set of words mean to you? Is it a warning, a reminder, a statement of fact, an opinion? Or all of these? I see the inner voice as the moon on your tide of thoughts and feelings.

Supervising SENCO’s, DSL’s or senior leaders, I often hear

 ‘I should have …’

 ‘I must … ‘

‘I have to …’

This outer language is an expression of their self-talk.  What do these words convey?  Joy in the job OR negative self-worth? Does this sound like you? Do you say it to others? Or in your self-talk? How aware are you of your self-talk and the tone/words it uses with you?  Think back to your last internal monologue, or to when you were last speaking to someone about what you were doing. Were should/must/have to mentioned? What was your tone you to yourself or about yourself?

When I hear the words ‘should/must/have to’ in supervision I often gently reflect these back and ask ‘why should you?’ ‘what makes you think that?’ ‘Who is saying that?’ and explore how using this language internally is not helpful but can in fact be damaging.

Let’s look at another example, a SENCO says ‘I should have got all of my annual review reports done by Friday and I haven’t.’ The internal voice (tone and language) is implying that they are not good enough, they are bad at time management, they are rubbish at their job, and so emotional capacity and resilience is being eaten away.

By focusing on what happened instead, this could be reframed as,

‘I had intended to complete all of the annual review reports by last Friday and in fact I completed 70%.  However, managing two staff absences, a new request and supporting an ECT prevented full completion. I am grateful.  If I block out time this Thursday, I’ll get the rest finished.’  

This internal voice evokes kindness, acceptance, recognition and planning, Resilience is bolstered, and the emotional capacity remains high.

We all need to work on on recognising and utilising our inner voice, and the first step is realising what we are saying to ourselves. We then can explore how useful these messages are and harness the power of the self-talk to be more productive.

Here are a few language replacement ideas … can you think of others?

Replace	with
should	I would like to It is important to X that I do A priority for tomorrow is I will aim to
must
Have to

Reflecting on alternative language choices

Previous blogs and the SENCO wellbeing book explores the power of using positive self-talk, by starting the day with affirmations or declarations.  Other useful tools the ‘Going home checklist’ and SENCo Time Management eBook. All of these are about the internal voice being one of encouragement, support and positivity.

Self-talk can keep us stuck, challenge and curiosity can move us past blame and anger to new solutions and perseverance.  Dr Anita Devi wrote about this in the SENCO wellbeing book.  This helps the shift from striving to thriving.

• How are you going to harness the power of your self-talk this term?
• What type of language are you going to use in your thoughts?

Next month I will be exploring the language we use with others.

See you then!

Jenny