Menu

How to include children with special educational needs

Looking for SEN Jobs? Click here to search our current roles

 

Why should a school be inclusive?

If we think about it, schools today are inclusive on a daily basis. Children are progressing at different rates and have different ways in which they learn best. As a result, when teachers plan lessons, they have to take this into account and analyse how they will organise and differentiate their lessons, classrooms, books and materials. Teachers have to actively consider the needs and abilities of their class all the time, and therefore why should they stop when supporting the learning of children with SEND or disabilities?

The points suggested below help teachers plan for the educational needs and disabilities of SEND students, but could equally be used for when they work with children and young people who learn in mainstream schools:

  • If a child has a need, these should be met and they should receive a broad, well-balanced and relevant education.
  • Parent views should always be taken into account and the wishes of the child should be listened to.
  • The child's needs will usually be met in a mainstream school, sometimes with the help of outside specialists.
  • Parents should be consulted on all the decisions that affect their child.
  • Parents have a vital role to play in their child's education.

However, if as a parent or teacher you feel that your school is not putting in place any inclusive strategies for those with SEND, speech and language difficulties, or physical disabilities, then know that they are now breaking the law.

Since 2010, the Equality Act, which replaced the Disability Discrimination Act everywhere except in Northern Ireland, is in force and applies to state, fee-paying, academies, and special schools. It means that there can be no discrimination against children and young people with different needs, and the act covers admissions, unlawful exclusions, the way education is provided to the child and how facilities can be accessed and used.

Every school is required to have systems and processes in place which identify and assess children who are in need of support. Staff must monitor students and secure appropriate support for any learning difficulties or physical disabilities that they may have. Each school must:

  • Assign a SENCO to be formally responsible for co-ordinating SEN provision.
  • Do everything they can to meet children and young people's needs.
  • Communicate with parents when making special provisions for a pupil.
  • Help young people with SEND engage in the activities of the school alongside pupils who do not have special needs.
  • Create a SEN information report which details the arrangements that will be put into place for the admission of SEN and disabled children; the strategies which will be used to prevent disabled children from being treated badly by others; the facilities which will enable all students to access the school; and how the staff plan to improve access as the years go by.

Normally, educational settings are provided with additional money, called a delegated budget, to support children with SEN. Any child with SEN is entitled to receive up to £6,000 funding from their school every year.

What does a teacher need to know before they can help a child with special needs feel included in the classroom?

Before a teacher begins to put any strategies in place to help students feel included in the classroom, it is really important that they know as much as possible about that child. This will make the decisions and resources made have a much greater impact on the student, and hopefully ensure that any actions will be successful for a longer period of time. Before you make these decisions, ask yourself, the pupil, and the pupil's parents these quick questions:

  • What sort of problems is the child having?How and when do they manifest?
  • Is the child able to work at the same level as others of the same age? Are there particular subjects or topics that feed into or buck this evidence?
  • Does the child already receive any other extra help? Is anything working at home or in other environments that could be useful to modify or continue?

When a child with SEN has been identified and amendments to the classroom are required, it is crucial that teachers regularly monitor a SEND child's progress and behaviours through an Individual Education Plan (IEP). The plan can help to shape, with day-to-day observations, how the classroom can be made more inclusive. Other professionals such as speech therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and educational psychologists assess each child's abilities, and their recommendations are added to the IEP as well.

If the child is moving up to a new class then the IEP should go with them and support the prospective teacher with making arrangements, or if the child is starting school then the IEP can be used as a working document which is actively used on a daily basis. The IEP may include:

  • What special or additional help is being given
  • Who will provide the help, and how often it will be given
  • What help parents can give their child at home or in other settings
  • What the child's targets are
  • When and how progress will be checked

The plan will change and be updated over time, and so will become a brilliant tool in helping teachers and staff improve the inclusivity of the classroom environment as the years go by.

 

What strategies can be used to help children feel included?

Away from the initial preparations and paperwork, there are many more social and behavioural strategies you can put into place, or try out, as the pupil integrates into the classroom. Such strategies will help the child feel included because you are actively supporting their confidence and sense of belonging, and you may find that this will positively impact the rest of your class just as well.

We recommend:

  • Finding common ground
  • Using a practical curriculum supported by multi-sensory teaching and learning
  • Constantly revising and reinforcing learning
  • Teaching and empowering students to ask questions
  • Communicating regularly and openly with all staff and parents involved with the child
  • Addressing the child by their name – they may not always realise ‘children' or ‘the class' includes them
  • Creating a focused learning environment without arresting sensory stimuli
  • Providing a quiet area or time out place for the children
  • Encouraging students to get involved and show responsibility by working with their peers
  • Expanding discussions to point out strengths, not just weaknesses
  • Expanding inclusion to outside the classroom with extracurricular activities
  • Being consistent when applying rules
  • Reinforcing instructions with visual and tactile supports, such as visual timetables
  • Helping children to build friendships with peer mentoring, buddies and friendship benches
  • Celebrating differences
  • Ensuring that SEN provision plays a key part in the school's personal development plan
  • Developing and monitoring the School's SEN policy

The benefits of an inclusive classroom

There are very few reported studies which show a negative impact to classrooms if teachers pursue inclusive practices, and actually, many children with or without special needs throughout a classroom have benefitted socially, emotionally and academically.

Indeed, such benefits include stronger friendships, respect for and from their peers, a greater appreciation and understanding of differences, and being better prepared to coordinate themselves in a diverse society when they reach adulthood.

Academically, inclusive classrooms often mean that students meet higher expectations, improving the overall results of their school. On top of this, there is a greater learning culture within schools and children often feel more capable of pushing themselves further.

Research also suggests that families across the school will equally reap the benefits. If SEN children feel accepted, then their parents, and other parents who feel like outsiders, may feel more welcomed and so more able to fit into the school community.

Some of the challenges with accommodating children's special needs

When inclusivity works well in a school, then a lot of time and energy has been applied to make that happen. Parents, teachers, health professionals and school leaders have worked very hard behind the scenes.

One of the main challenges in accommodating special needs students is finding the time to facilitate it all, on top of teaching, parenting and other daily tasks. Then of course, being able to organize and coordinate all of their stakeholders can be a complex achievement as well. Keeping everyone aware of any updates, and checking on whether they are available to discuss the decisions being made, is a never-ending process.

Most schools will probably find too that the strategies they first put into practice will have to be changed quite early on, and that they will never find quick fixes which can be relied upon year on year. This is ultimately because children are growing mentally and physically every second of every day, and therefore what you thought was helping them on one day may not be applicable the next. This means that there could be a high turnover of ideas and resources for staff to deal with, and that there will be both good days and bad, putting even greater mental and emotional strain on the teachers, parents and children being supported.

Equally, for some children with disabilities or special needs, a particular type of technology or expensive resource may be required. This technology may take a long time to arrive despite being desperately needed, or sometimes cheaper alternatives need to be found because the device is beyond a school or parent's budget. Therefore, teachers and parents may find continuing up to the point of receiving a resource challenging to organize, or have to settle for technology that does not quite fit with what the pupil deserves.

How can teachers overcome these problems?

The idea of inclusivity may be very difficult to incorporate into every school, and for some teachers, feels like a heavy weight to bear on top of all the other endless tasks assigned to the teaching profession today. However, remember that all you are trying to do is to support the learning of your whole class and that you are not alone in this. Rely on and discuss any problems you may face with the rest of your staffing team. Share ideas and solutions with parents. Talk to or find common ground with the child that you are trying to help.

When inclusivity works you will feel the benefits much more than the challenges, and will have done a great service to all of the children within your care.

Looking for SEN Jobs? Click here to search our current roles

 

For more information on inclusivity please check out these links:

GOV UK - Children with Special Educational Needs

British Council - How to Include Children with SEND

Child Law Advice

Learning NSPCC Children with SEN

Leave a comment

Required

Required

Required