Valley Invicta Academies Trust SEND Action Research Event

Valley Invicta Teacher Training was delighted to host the Valley Invicta Academies Trust SEND Action Research Event with Dr Alison Ekins which took place on Thursday, 16 November.

Dr Ekins, Trust Director of SEND, wrote this about the event:

During the academic year 2022/23, all of the nine VIAT Trust schools engaged in a year-long SEND Action Research project. Each school identified their own focus for their Action Research project, and this produced a rich variety of different research projects that we are now able to share and disseminate to support the continued development of practices across our Trust schools.

Across the VIAT SEND Action Research projects, we prioritised embedding the Kent Mainstream Core Standards and the evidence-informed approaches built into the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) Guidance Reports. These have been instrumental to us in ensuring that the practitioner research that we have undertaken in each school is built on a foundation of evidence-informed knowledge and understanding about what works and practices which may be effective to support a range of different pupil and cohort needs.

16 November 2023 was the culmination of the work that had been undertaken, and I was delighted to be able to host a VIAT SEND Action Research Celebration event, which showcased and provided an opportunity to share the fantastic SEND Action Research projects that had been completed by all of our nine Trust schools.

The event was attended by SENCOs, senior leaders and headteachers from all nine schools, as well as governors, Trustees and senior colleagues from the Local Authority, including the Director of Education for Kent. The research presented by each school was of an extremely high quality, with clear links to wider evidence-bases and research and opportunities for further collaboration and learning across the Trust. A hard copy VIAT Action Research Evaluation Report booklet was also provided to give everyone with more details about exactly what had been undertaken and the findings, impact and implications for the future from each of the nine SEND Action Research projects.