Special Educational Need and Disability in the wider context

Harry Daniels and Jill Porter

Aims

• To explore the contextual and cultural nature of SEN and disability;

• To consider what inclusive education means for the classroom teacher

• To examine the ways in which teachers can differentiate to meet the needs of individuals and groups of learners.

Number of students in cross-national Category A as a percentage of all students in primaryand lower secondary education

0

2

4

6

8

10

Percentage 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 5 6 8

GR

TU

NZ

FIN

AU

DE

CH

NL

ITA

FR

ESP

IRL*

PR

HU

US

CZ

*Public institutions onlyFrance and the United States: estimated figuresTurkey: data refer only to compulsory school period ((ISCED 1)

Sociocultural, historical processes and categorisation

Sociocultural, historical processes and categorisation

Females in secondary special education represented a different combination of abilities and disabilities than males. As a group, females were more seriously impaired; even among males and females with the same disability category, females had marginally greater functional deficits than males. (Wager, 1992, pp.33-34)

National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students - (USA)

Females in secondary special education represented a different combination of abilities and disabilities than males. As a group, females were more seriously impaired; even among males and females with the same disability category, females had marginally greater functional deficits than males. (Wager, 1992, pp.33-34)

National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students - (USA)

Sociocultural, historical processes and categorisation

• The incidence of ADHD in Australia is demographically perplexing. Differential rates of diagnosis between states and regions suggest that there may well be some degree of diagnostic predisposition connected with the incidence of the syndrome. Slee 1998 p. 133

Sociocultural, historical processes and categorisation

• The incidence of ADHD in Australia is demographically perplexing. Differential rates of diagnosis between states and regions suggest that there may well be some degree of diagnostic predisposition connected with the incidence of the syndrome. Slee 1998 p. 133

Contextual Nature of Difficulties

• Definition of Special Educational Need-

Education Act 1996

“ Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

Special educational provision is provision that is additional or otherwise different from provision that is normally available in the area”

• Children have a learning difficulty if they have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age or if they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from using educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of their age..”

What is disability . . . ?

• A disabled person is someone who has … “a physical or mental impairment which has substantial and long term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day to day activities”

• The effect must be

– substantial (more than minor or trivial)

– long term (lasting a year or more)

– adverse

………..

• This definition includes sensory and hidden impairments such as:

– mental illness or mental health problems– learning difficulties– dyslexia– diabetes– epilepsy

Not all disabled children will have a special educational need, i.e. they will not have a learning difficulty, and not all children with special educational needs will be disabled

Duty not to discriminate• As from 1 September 2002 it is unlawful for schools

to discriminate, without justification, against disabled

pupils

• Discrimination embraces two core elements

– treating a disabled pupil less favourably for a reason

relating to his/her disability

– failing to comply with the duty to make ‘reasonable

adjustments’

Support and Aspiration:A new approach to special educational

needs and disability• Spotting problems early

• Distinction between those who may be “struggling with learning and need school-based catch-up support which is normally available” and those with specific needs who require an “individually tailored programme”

• New single school-based SEN category to replace School Action and School Action Plus

• Inclusion is a process- a never-ending search to find better ways of responding to diversity.

• Inclusion is concerned with the identification and removal of barriers to learning.

• Inclusion is about the presence, participation and achievement of all pupils.

• Inclusion involves a particular emphasis on those pupils at risk of underachievement or exclusion or marginalisation

• Adapted from Ainscow 2007 p 155-156

Differentiation

• What do we mean by differentiation ?

• Modifying or adapting the lesson for one or some pupils in order that all children make progress.

• Challenge and Support

• Response mode

• Access

• Content/Interests

• Language

• Structure

• Pace

• Grouping

• Level

Adaptations and Modifications for Individuals and Groups

Some examples of differentiation

• What one thing could adapt in your next lesson – who would benefit from it and how ?

Reading Difficulties

Media

Font

Headings and Emphasis

Layout

Writing Style

Increasing accessibility

Language and Communication Difficulties

• low distraction placement e.g. seated near the teacher.• teacher speaks facing the class and stops speaking when

writing on whiteboard. • gesture, drawings, prompt cards, photos and, where

appropriate, symbols/signs, are used alongside written words to support teaching at whole-class and one to one levels in order to clarify:

• the timetable;• learning outcomes;• expected behaviour;• key vocabulary and information;• the sequence of steps within an activity;• safety rules;• names of equipment and where it is stored, etc.

• Amount of teacher talk is reduced.• Care is taken in the use of language to avoid metaphor,

sarcasm, overly long or complex sentences.• Staff slow down their rate of speaking.• Key vocabulary is planned in advance of the lesson. New

words are linked to existing words and knowledge.• There is repetition and multiple exposure to new

vocabulary.• Key vocabulary is displayed (as appropriate to the

situation and pupil).• Skills of cooperation and interaction specifically taught,

e.g. use of role cards to clarify responsibilities of group members

• Study and organisational skills are taught e.g. Using highlighter pen to pick out key information.

• All pupils encouraged to ask questions and seek clarification e.g. Staff praise pupils who ask for help, clarification, repetition.

• Teachers make order, structure and sequence clear : e.g.

• What will happen during the lesson is written in language which pupils understand.

• Plan referred to during teacher introduction and updated as lesson progresses – ‘this is where we are now.’

• Individual versions of this as appropriate, e.g. A4 sized whiteboards on pupils’ desk with tasks erased as they are completed, etc.

Controversy & Differentiation

• “The focus on differentiation risks taking us back….. It encourages us to focus on individual learners and their differing needs rather than using the links between them as a resource for curriculum adaptation and development.”

• Hart.S. (1992) Differentiation- Way Forward or Retreat ? British Journal of Special Education, 19, 1.

Ask the pupils

• “I suppose I do get treated differently now and again, I think that’s a good thing and sometimes I feel it’s a bad thing. I mean obviously, I want to be treated the same, but then sometimes I’d like to be treated differently… I like to be asked.” 14 year old boy with a degenerative neuromuscular condition. Asprey and Nash, 2005.

Current SEN Code of Practice states ….

• “pupils at SEN School Action or above must be receiving support which is “additional to” or “different from” the educational provision made generally for children of their age in schools, other than special schools, in their area.”

• This is not “more literacy” or “more maths” but would be interventions which address the underlying learning needs of the pupil in order to improve his or her access to the curriculum.

Ofsted message is…

• At present, the term ‘special educational needs’ is used too widely. Around half the schools and early years provision visited used low attainment and relatively slow progress as their principal indicators of a special educational need. In nearly a fifth of these cases, there was very little further assessment.

Inspectors saw schools that identified pupils as having special educational needs when, in fact, their needs were no different from those of most other pupils. They were underachieving but this was sometimes simply because the school’s mainstream teaching provision was not good enough, and expectations of the pupils were too low. A conclusion that may be drawn from this is that many pupils are being wrongly identified as having special educational needs. Ofsted National SEN Review 2010

SEN Green Paper message is…

• “we intend to tackle the practice of over‐identification by replacing the current SEN identification levels of School Action and School Action Plus with a new single school‐based SEN category for children whose needs exceed what is normally available in schools” (p10)

 

• At present, the way that schools identify children with SEN is not achieving this. In particular, children are often identified as having lower‐level SEN (at School Action) when in fact the barrier to their learning could and should be addressed through normal day‐to‐day classroom practice” (p67)

Moving from :

To

Pupilsneeding tocatch up

School Action

School ActionPlus

Statement

UnderachievingOr less-experienced learners -“target group”

Special EducationalNeeds

• “in order to reduce the bureaucratic burdens on schools, in reviewing and updating the “Code of Practice”, we will remove the advice on using IEPs” (SEN Green Paper 2011)

• will encourage schools to explore the ways in which new approaches can be used

While/if schools retain them, IEPS should …

• only record that which is “additional to” or “different from” the educational provision made generally for children of their age in schools maintained by the LA, other than special schools, in their area

• not be“more literacy” or “more maths” but be interventions which address the underlying learning needs of the pupil in order to improve his or her access to the curriculum.

• state what the learner is going to learn – not what the teacher is going to teach (ie state the outcome – be clear about what the pupil should be able to do at the end of the given period).

• be accessible to all those involved in their implementation – pupils should have an understanding and “ownership of the targets”

• be seen as working documents

• be manageable and easily monitored

• be based on informed assessment

• Be time-limited – there should be an agreed “where to next …” – not necessarily another IEP

Where do the targets come from?

Discussion between teacher and SENCO

Discussion with pupil

Discussion with another professional

• ‘tracking back’ objectives to earlier year groups / key stages

• giving significant time to those parts of the curriculum which are priorities;

• maintaining, reinforcing, consolidating and generalising previous learning as well as introducing new knowledge, skills and understanding;

• identifying skills which require regular and frequent practice and teaching;

• Having high expectations of all pupils.

AccessAccess

Teaching Teaching stylesstyles

LearningLearningobjectivesobjectives Quality first teaching

Other General Strategies

• Support with spelling / writing independently• Support with reading• Peer support• Practical experiences• Alternative forms of recording, including ICT• Worksheets• Appropriate forms of assessment• Modes of communication• Age-appropriate resources• Use of games• Using Assistants effectively• Effectively using IEPs

Unicef Innocenti Report (2007),

• The true measure of a nation’s standing is

how well it attends to its children – their

health and safety, their material security,

their education and socialization, and

their sense of being loved, valued, and

included in the families and societies into

which they are born.

Dimensions of child well-beingused by UNICEF

• Material well-being

• Health and safety

• Educational well-being

• Family and peer relationships

• Behaviours and risks

• Subjective well-being

• The United Kingdom and the United States find themselves in the bottom third of the rankings for five of the six dimensions reviewed.

“Each child’s resources and strengths must be the deciding factors in establishing an educational programme. (rather than look for weaknesses) we would do better to look for strengths and recognise that these will be different for different children. Differences offer hope because they provide the possibility of alternative routes for development, educational and personal fulfilment. We would rejoice in them and capitalise on them. They are after all, the very stuff of life”.Connolly, K.J. (1993) In praise of difference. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 35, 11, 941-943.

“Each child’s resources and strengths must be the deciding factors in establishing an educational programme. (rather than look for weaknesses) we would do better to look for strengths and recognise that these will be different for different children. Differences offer hope because they provide the possibility of alternative routes for development, educational and personal fulfilment. We would rejoice in them and capitalise on them. They are after all, the very stuff of life”.Connolly, K.J. (1993) In praise of difference. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 35, 11, 941-943.

In praise of difference