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Partner Story: Kendra Del Rio, Riverside School and Hornchurch High School

Kendra Del Rio is Director of SEND, currently at Riverside School, which is in Barking in East London. The school is part of Partnership Learning Trust. The school has 68 students on the SEND register. 16 of those have EHCPs and the remainder have SEND support.

Last year’s SEND progress was +1.9 in line with the rest of the school. Kendra applies strategies to Hornchurch High School which are at a different stage of their SEND improvement journey.
 

On the experience of Challenge Partners:
Riverside School has been a part of Challenge Partners since 2020 and has participated in Growing the Top and the Quality Assurance Review. We were drawn to Challenge Partners because it allows participants and facilitators to engage in really rich conversations to reflect on areas of strength and areas for improvement and development. Challenge Partners challenges you to reflect on your practice in a non judgmental and honest way.


On the experience of Challenge Partners’ SEND Peer Review:
Both as a participant and a facilitator, the experience has been an extremely positive one. The Evaluate My School tool to start off with really prompted deeper thinking from all of us as a department, looking at all strands of SEN, and it enabled us to really focus on where we are as a school and where we want to go next. 
  The whole process has really enabled the sharing of innovative ideas and being creative to face the challenges of a broken system. All of us working together really has strengthened what we can do to give the best that we can to the children that we support.

 

On what has been implemented as a result of the SEND Peer Review:
I really liked something called knowledge scripts which have the key words and the key facts for a unit of work that's coming up. We've tried it in schools since the SEND Peer Review, and the student voice has been really good. They've said they like the visuals, the key facts and the vocabulary, and it's all nice and clear and easy to remember.
   It has also really made me think about how important the links are between primary and secondary, and how that will be crucial for the future.

 

On the role of a SEND Peer Review Lead Facilitator:
It's very much like a coaching role to enable conversations. Make sure that everyone's thinking deeply and contributing. Whether schools are hosting or visiting and it's about agreeing on a way of working, such as being reflective and not judgmental, being open and honest. With no disturbance to really get down to the nitty gritty, and really think and pick apart ideas. And to guide the day, think of some probing questions that you can ask to get people back on track at any time.

 

Advice to a school new to the programme:
You get to work with exceptional professionals from across the country And you get a real feel for the hard work that everybody’s doing - striving for the best outcomes for students with SEND. You can't learn too much wherever your school is, whatever stage they're at. 

You really explore your school and really think about your school's processes and plan next steps. Wherever your school is on the journey, we can’t stop reflecting and learning for others. And I think that really sums up Challenge Partners for me as well - whether you're hosting or or you're visiting, you’re going to come away with something.

Whoever is thinking of doing it, do it. It’s really the best thing I have done.