Dr. Andy Hogg is a highly experienced education professional and the founder of The Support School (TSS). He has over 30 years of experience supporting pupils with additional needs across the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) spectrum and in English as an Additional Language (EAL/ESOL).
Andy works for Shaping Lives as a Learning Support Coach and delivers cognitive assessments and learning support plans for learners on the Early Years apprenticeships and is part of the team that delivers the Early Years SENDCO programme. He is also involved in Shaping Lives staff training for supporting learners with additional learning needs.
The Inclusion Journey: Why Early Years is the Frontline of the SEND Crisis
During NAW, I am reflecting on a career spanning over three decades, a journey that has taken me from local classrooms to the international education landscapes of Brunei, China, and Africa.
At the heart of this journey lies a singular focus: SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and the profound impact of inclusive practice during the most critical window of human development, the Early Years.
Moving Beyond the “Within-Child” Deficit
My interest in SEND began more than 30 years ago, teaching children with dyslexia and many who faced significant behavioural challenges. In those early days, I learned a lesson that has become my professional North Star: A child’s needs are not “within-child.”
For too long, the medical model of disability suggested the “problem” lay with the individual. I realised early on that it is the collective responsibility of the setting and wider society to recognise and meet those needs. Inclusion isn’t about shoehorning a child into a rigid, pre-existing structure; it’s about creating an adaptive ecosystem that expands to welcome the child.
How Far is Your “Inclusion Bus” Traveling?
In my experience leading SEND in both mainstream and special school settings, “inclusion” is a term that is often used but rarely lived to its fullest. I view it as a bus journey:
The First Stop: Many settings and schools claim to be inclusive but get off at the first stop, doing just enough to meet statutory requirements while remaining fundamentally unchanged. Others will be progressively more inclusive on the “bus ride”, getting off at various stops, often dictated by the money they have, or are willing to spend, to meet needs and also by the skillsets they have available on their staff teams.
The Full Journey:
The truly inclusive educator stays on the bus. They ask “What else can we change? How can we adapt the environment, the pace, and the sensory load?”
My personal “dream destination” has always been the co-location of mainstream and special education sectors on a single site. By integrating these sectors, we allow teachers and educators to develop a shared expertise and children to grow up in a society that views diversity as the default, not the exception. We challenge our edcuation staff to look beyond the “within child” attitude.
Global Insights: The Cost of Reactive Education
Since those first classroom experiences, I have, over the course of my career, developed specialised curricula for non-verbal autistic children and led the implementation of EAL (English as an Additional Language) provision across various settings. My work has covered a vast spectrum of needs. Including ASC, ADHD, Dyspraxia, Down’s syndrome, and even acquired brain injuries or neurological degenerative diseases.
While these stories often carry a weight of sadness, they provide immense satisfaction when we unlock a child’s progress through a bespoke strategy. However, my international consultancy work in the UK, Ireland, Brunei, China, and Africa revealed a universal, global systemic flaw. We react to needs rather than anticipating them. We pour resources into “fixing” problems at age 16 that could have been supported through movement and play at age 4.
The Science of Development vs. The Academic Agenda
After 30 years of teaching and much of my own practitioner research, I believe we are putting children into formalised classrooms far too early. Our current system is driven by a narrow-minded agenda toward validation via GCSEs and SATs. This “academic pressure cooker” ignores the fundamental biological reality of how a child’s brain matures.
When brains are in their most plastic, developing stages, we should be prioritising the “Big Four”:
- Play: The primary vehicle for cognitive exploration.
- Movement: Essential for vestibular and proprioceptive development.
- Speech: The foundation of thought and self-advocacy.
- Social Skills: The tools for navigating a complex world.
Modern society puts families under immense pressure. With the economic necessity of both parents working (and the even greater strain on single-parent households) families often lack the time to support these developmental milestones alone. This is where specialised Early Years provision becomes the engine room of social change.
Preventing the “Life-Limiting” Cycle
Early Years can lead the way out of the SEND crisis. We need policy makers who understand that, by promoting gross and fine motor skills and sensory integration, we can prevent many Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) from becoming the life-limiting barriers they turn into by the teenage years. When a child drops out of school at 15, the roots of that exit are often found in an Early Years environment that failed to recognise their unique processing style.
We need passionate, skilled professionals. We urgently need more male role models in our nurseries to provide a balanced, diverse start for our youngest learners.
Join the Journey with Shaping Lives
At Shaping Lives, we don’t just talk about the “Inclusion Bus”, we provide the training to drive it. We are committed to building a workforce that is specialised, informed, and passionate through our dedicated apprenticeship pathways:
- Level 2 & 3 Apprenticeships: Ground-level expertise in Early Years and Teaching Assistant roles.
- Level 3 SENDCO award
Level 5 Specialised Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship:
We are incredibly proud to launch this advanced standard. Aimed at practitioners who want to go beyond the basics: mastering the complex leadership and pedagogical skills required to support SEND at a high level.
Which bus stop would you get off at on the Inclusion Bus journey? No matter where you choose to get off or if you travel further, to the very end of the line where true inclusion lives, we are here to help you get there.
