Inclusive Education Audit Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

It was developed through engagement and consultation with a range of stakeholders, including:

• Children and young people
• Parents and carers
• Headteachers and SENCos
• Education officers at Southampton City Council
• Social care officers at Southampton City Council
• Voluntary agencies
• Health services

Key themes that kept being repeated were feeling wanted and valued, staff empathy and understanding of needs, access to a peer group, the environment, flexibility, and access to resources.

These key themes have formed the basis of this audit.

There is a range of support available as part of the process which includes universal support, peer mentoring and individual school support. These are outlined in the Menu of Support information, but support can also be tailored to individual settings need. Speak to the Inclusion Audit Manager (contact details below) for more information on support available.

Support for collating the results of the auditing tools will be provided by the Inclusion Audit Manager.

These will then be presented back to education settings in the form of a summary report for support with developing action plans.

The questionnaires will remain anonymous. The Inclusion Audit Manager will store the results of the audit to support peer mentoring opportunities, such as sharing of good practice. The audit is a self-reflective tool for settings, not a tool for assessment or judgement.

This can be decided on an individual basis. We would recommend parents/carers and pupils on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) registers as a minimum are involved, but you may wish to utilise the assessment tools for all parents/carers and pupils or for targeted groups to complete focused work.

There are electronic versions of the questionnaires alongside paper copies to tailor to individual settings preferred communication. There are also template letters for parents/carers and PowerPoints for pupils to support communication about the process.

Completion of the audit and collation of the questionnaires will enable settings to identify their strengths and areas for improvement. It will inform the setting’s development plan and identify training needs. Completed on an annual basis it will allow settings to evaluate their successes and will inform the triangulation of information discussed at the Schools Monitoring Group (SMG).

As a citywide audit it is hoped that it can become a vehicle for sharing good practice and developing a collaborative approach for meeting the needs of all children and young people in Southampton.