It is important to understand how provision management is developed in a school in order that this is completed with fidelity. Different people may have a variety of ideas on what Provision Management is, but by outlining how Provision Management is developed using the SENJIT (no date) guidelines enables the effectiveness of the system in raising pupils attainment in reading, spelling and maths to be analysed.
Auditing the projected need in each year group in the next school year means listing types of provision you could make: literacy, mathematics, language, social and emotional, motor coordination, EAL/EMA, attendance and gifted and talented provision.
(Gross, 2008, p.122).
This also assists in identifying where staff skills will need to be developed and then planning for their continued professional development (CPD) (DCSF, 1997). This system aims to ensure that provision is matched to the needs of the pupils.
Once the audit of need has been completed the next step is to determine for which of the pupils additional provision is essential. This group would include those pupils with statements, children at an early stage of English – language acquisition and possibly those children at school Action Plus on the SEN code of practice (Gross, 2008). Then you would look at pupils
whose difficulties impact very significantly on their own or others’ learning or those who have the potential, with very little help, to catch up with their peers and achieve age-related expectations. (Gross, 2008, p.123).
The last categorisation is for those pupils who require additional provision if the budget allows but “for whom the priority is lower.” (Gross, 2008, p.123).
Thirdly you need to compare your projected needs with your current provision to determine any staff development or training needs and identify any changes to the current system (Gross, 2008).
The fourth stage held to be an important step in determining the success of provision management is the identification of the available school budget.
...pulling together different funding streams, such as a core amount from the school’s base budget, delegated SEN funding, EMA funding, specific Government grants for personalisation, and local authority funding for priorities such as early intervention of behaviour support.
(Gross, 2008, p.124).
The next step is to consult the evidence from national interventions, the local authority, the school’s own research and also the school’s own evaluations of interventions previously used, to determine which interventions will be put on next year’s provision map (Gross, 2008).
The final step is to draw up the provision map and then ensure that the provision and pupils’ progress is tracked. In order to match pupils to the appropriate provision clear entry and exit criteria for each provision used is required.
‘Before’ and ‘after’ measures can serve to track children’s progress as a result of the interventions, and this information used to evaluate the impact of each provision.
(Gross, 2008, p.124).
It is important to know the impact of provisions on pupils’ progress to determine whether they are cost-effective.
This in turn feeds back into the provision-mapping cycle, helping to inform your choice of interventions for the future.
(Gross, 2008, p.124).
When writing provision maps it is argued, that this is best undertaken in year groups although Gross (2009) states that in smaller schools it may be better to map by phases. It is also important to map by types of provision for example literacy, mathematics and language skills interventions. Gross (2008) also recommends that in England literacy and mathematics should be divided into ‘Wave 2’ and ‘Wave 3’ interventions to ensure that appropriate provision is made for the target groups. In Wales the Welsh
Assembly Government did not adopt the Waves interventions but the same principle can be applied. Gross (2008) refers to ‘Wave 2’ interventions being targeted at pupils just below the age related expectations i.e., those who are considered to be able to catch-up with their peers. ‘Wave 2’ interventions would be administered by TAs in small groups using tightly structured programmes. ‘Wave 3’ interventions are for pupils where the gap is wider and who generally require one-to-one or very small group support with a specialist teacher or highly trained TA, using interventions that are tailored to the individual learning needs of the pupil.
Individual education plans are formally reviewed on a term by term basis and provision maps also need to be monitored and kept under review on a term by term basis. This is important to ensure pupils are correctly placed on the SEN Code of Practice and Common Assessment Framework (CAF) processes as children progress and need their successes noted (Cheminais, 2010). It is also recommended that provision maps are reviewed annually in consultation with
...multiagency professionals, key school staff, parents/carers and pupils.
(Cheminais, 2010, p.38).
Some schools choose to do the annual review via a provision mapping day in the summer term (Cheminais, 2010) which ensures that all stakeholders are included in the process and are also clear about whether any additional provision will be required in the next academic year.
Provision maps aim to ensure that pupils’ progress is tracked by using before and after assessments so that the impact of the specific provisions and pupils’ progress is
provision -and sharing with other schools those interventions that have worked well” (DCSF, 1997, p.2), which should be an integral approach as part of professional learning communities (PLCs). This data will also feed into the school’s self-evaluation as well as informing the local authority about the resource use and how the
achievement of pupils with SEN is being raised (DCSF, 1997).
Although provision management is supported by reasoned arguments for its potential for better meeting the needs of pupils with additional and/or special educational needs, there is no research investigating the possible psychological benefits of this new model.
It is important when looking at a new model to highlight any theoretical domains that may explain how provision management improves learning outcomes for pupils with additional learning needs. The theoretical domains of self-efficacy, choice theory, social constructionism and system change have been covered to potentially highlight the psychological mechanisms possibly underpinning provision management.
Provision management has important possible psychological effects which educational psychologists, teachers, parents and local authority officers need to be aware of. If provision management helps staff and pupils to improve their perception of their abilities through the delivery of the interventions for the staff and the learning outcomes of the pupils, then the psychological concept of self-efficacy will be
important in determining possible reasons for the perceived effectiveness of provision management. If the pupil is feeling more confident about their abilities this in turn will increase their self-esteem and academic self-concept, which then ultimately increases academic attainments (Zimmerman, Bandura and Martinez-Pons, 1992). These
psychological domains are key areas within educational psychology that
educationalists need to be aware of if they are to improve the learning attainments of young people. The research of Glasser (2001), Bandura (1977, 1994), Schunk (1983), Burr (2001, 2003) and Levin and Fullan (2008) will be examined to determine key psychological domains that may be under pinning provision management.
Choice theory states that
“all we do is behave, that almost all our behaviour is chosen, and that we are driven by our genes to satisfy five basic needs: survival, love, and belonging, power, freedom and fun”.
(William Glasser Institute, 2010, p.1).
A central aspect of Choice Theory (Glasser, 2001) is that these basic needs motivate us internally to do what is most important and satisfying to us. Choice Theory (Glasser 2001) purports that all human beings choose how to behave and are constantly self- evaluating their behaviours to choose the best way to assist them in achieving their goal. Crawford, Bodine and Haglund (1994) claim that we fulfil the basic
psychological needs as follows;
1. We fulfil the need to belong by loving, sharing and cooperating with others.
2. We fulfill the need for power by achieving, accomplishing, and being recognized and respected.
3. We fulfill the need for freedom by making choices in our lives.
4. We fulfill the need for fun by laughing and playing. (p.46)
Provision Management fulfils the need to belong and have power by providing some of the additional to and different from provision in small groups, which
promotes sharing and co-operation with others and facilitates the pupils’ achievements through focussed and directed work in a respectful environment. The need for freedom will still be dependant on the pupils’ choosing to participate and engage in the
learning activities presented to them, and if the learning environment is tailored to meet the pupils’ academic and psychological needs, as should be the case if the school has undertaken the audit of need and embedded this in the Provision Management system, then it is more likely that pupils’ will engage.
Through the use of enjoyable learning activities and games in small groups the pupils’ need for fun should be met and whilst this would not be directly attributable to
Provision Management and more to directly related to learning strategies it is more likely to an outcome of teaching and learning styles in Provision Management systems due to staff having a specific focus on the needs of the pupils’ and being trained in interventions to maximise learning in specific areas. As human beings we all need things that satisfy us in order to succeed.
If provision management through quality provision and interventions enables pupils and LSAs to feel satisfied with their experiences then this should lead to success and the pupils’ feeling motivated to learn and progress. Also, if learning is rewarding, as should be the case through the use of provision maps which are embedded in the Provision Management system, then the pupils are more likely to succeed due to having their basic psychological needs met. These are important psychological concepts that should be prevalent in our education system.
Provision management is likely to develop peoples’ knowledge through the process of the management team, LSAs, teachers and pupils working together and therefore has important psychological effects from a social constructionist perspective. Through the system of provision management different discourses will be developed, which in turn
helps to develop individuals’ identities within the education system which are either accepted or refuted by the individual and will determine the outcomes of the research.
System change and renewal is an important concept underpinning provision
management as it requires teaching staff to possibly change their current practice in order to bring about and sustain improved learning outcomes for pupils with ALN, It is therefore important to understand the theoretical issues underpinning system change and renewal to ensure that it is being applied to the system of provision management.
The new model could be explored by examining the psychological domains of self- efficacy, choice theory, social constructionism and system change and renewal.