Essential Guides for Early Career Teachers: Special Educational Needs and Disability. Anita Devi
to remember that SEND is underpinned by a legislative framework and so in supporting children, young people and their families, consideration must be given to national law, local policy and provision within the setting.
Chapters 2 to 5 can be read in sequential order or as a dip-in resource, based on the needs of the children and young people in your care. It is important that you read Chapter 1 in full before proceeding to any of the subsequent chapters.
Reflective tasks
1.To reflect and build on your existing knowledge, complete the SEND: personal reflections questionnaire for early career teachers in Appendix 1 of this book. Completing this reflective tool may lead you to some further actions. Discuss your responses with a peer, coach, mentor or trusted colleague.
2.Look at the timeline in Appendix 2. The table maps some of the key milestones that have shaped provision for children and young people with special educational needs, disability and mental health services in the United Kingdom. The list is not exhaustive but serves to demonstrate the legislative background to the sector. The revised SEND Code (DfE and DoH, 2015) brings together special educational needs, disability and mental health.
•What deductions can you make?
•What do you think the next 30 years will look like?
•Can you see any links to the global developments listed in Table 1.1?
Table 1.1 Global developments in special needs education, disability and wider aspirations
|
Global developments 1940s–2030s |
| 1948 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Article 26 focused on the Right to Education. ‘Education is a right. Primary school should be free. We should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others. Our parents can choose what we learn.’ |
| The United Nations designates 1981 as the International Year for Disabled People. |
| 1989 Convention of the Rights of the Child adopted by United Nations General Assembly. |
| 1994 World Conference on Special Needs Education with 92 governments and 25 international organisations engaging in the dialogue. The outcome was the UNESCO Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action which drove the vision ‘Education for All’ and new framework for action. |
| Global developments 1940s–2030s |
| 2000–2015 Before the turn of the century eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were agreed by world leaders at a United Nations summit. The achievement of universal primary education was one of the goals. |
| 2015–2030 A further 17 Sustainable Development Goals are prioritised to build on and enhance the work of the MDGs. Goal 4 requires everyone to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’. |
Inclusion
As a construct, inclusion is a widely used term, while simultaneously being a highly debated aspiration, with many as yet unanswered questions about what it means, represents or looks like.
The text below is taken from the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994). Do these beliefs and proclamations sum up the essence of ‘inclusion’?
We believe and proclaim that:
»every child has a fundamental right to education, and must be given the opportunity to achieve and maintain an acceptable level of learning;
»every child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs;
»education systems should be designed, and educational programmes implemented, to take into account the wide diversity of these characteristics and needs;
»those with special educational needs must have access to regular schools which should accommodate them within a child centred pedagogy capable of meeting these needs;
»regular schools with this inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all; moreover, they provide an effective education to the majority of children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the cost-effectiveness of the entire education system.
(UNESCO, 1994)
While inclusion is often perceived from the child’s eyes as personalised opportunities (Imray and Colley, 2017), there is a need to consider the role of the teacher:
Expert teachers, who respond to the diversity of learners’ needs found in every classroom, but especially in classrooms with a high proportion of children with special educational needs, have been found to embed a responsiveness to individual need within the content of the whole class teaching. What is not well understood is how they do this.
(Davis and Florian, 2004, p 36, cited in Imray and Colley, 2017)
Lewis and Norwich (2005, cited in Imray and Colley, 2017) take the view that children with severe learning difficulties or profound and multiple needs do not learn differently. However, what is required are ‘practical pedagogies … at the level of concrete programmes, materials and perhaps settings’. They argue the principles of curriculum design and pedagogic strategy for special educational needs and mainstream education remain the same. Clarifying further Norwich (2015, cited in Imray and Colley, 2017) argues, ‘there is still a commitment to teaching a common curriculum by different means, by different strategies and learning materials and media’.
Hornby (2015, p 48, cited in Imray and Colley, 2017) adopting a more pragmatic view, considers inclusion in terms of a continuum of settings, as illustrated in Figure 1.1. It is important to note that needs are increasing and places in special schools are limited. Also, the parents of many children with complex needs prefer their child to attend a mainstream setting.
Figure 1.1 Inclusion continuum based on setting
The inclusion debate will continue. As a teacher, it is important for you to think about your views on inclusion and how these are reflected in your classroom. Is your view shared by children, young people or families in your learning community?
In many instances, additional provision and reasonable adjustments put in place (eg, dyslexia-friendly classrooms, visual timetables) benefit all children and young people.
Four fundamental concepts
The focus of this chapter is to examine further four fundamental concepts that underpin good practice to support special educational needs and disability in the classroom.
1 Principles underpinning