Natasha Gill

Senior Lead Practitioner for SEND, Ormiston Academies Trust

Natasha is a member of the central education team at Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT), a family of 45 schools across England. As the Senior Lead Practitioner for SEND, she oversees the trust’s strategy for SEND and inclusion, working with primary, secondary, alternative provision and special settings. Her work focuses on supporting schools to remove barriers and strengthen provision so that children with additional needs experience high quality teaching and a true sense of belonging. She supports the development of school leaders, culture and systems that enhance inclusive practice. She also contributes to sector-wide development through collaborations with national organisations such as Ambition Institute and Whole Education, supporting the sharing of best practice across the system.

1 Workshop series one

Supporting school leaders to maximise the impact of the SENCO role

Across England, the SENCO role is under increasing pressure, with rising vacancies, unsustainable workloads and growing expectations, set against a rapidly changing policy landscape. The SEND Reform White Paper signals a shift towards a more strategic SENCO role, while the new Ofsted framework places greater emphasis on inclusion and how effectively schools support pupils with SEND. This session explores what these changes mean in practice for schools and trusts. Drawing on system leadership experience across a school trust, it will examine how leaders can reposition the SENCO role towards strategic leadership of inclusive provision and teaching. Participants will gain practical approaches to workforce design, distributed leadership and SENCO support to strengthen inclusive classrooms and improve the sustainability of the role.