Are all
children
special?
This paper is
• about gaps in the discussion of
SEN, disability and inclusion
• a draft
This paper is not about
• Definitions: SEN, disability, inclusion
• Behaviour, autistic spectrum disorder or
ICT
• The wonderful places that are ahead
on everything inclusive
Two icebergs (not the pack)
• Inclusion is very • Guidance on SEN
and curriculum
slow
either poorly
• Not much
distributed or at
difference in the
the tail of activity
figures between
1999-2003
Key issue
• How do you manage the shifting
parameters of roles of all services while
giving more responsibility to the ‘frontline’
and developing the highest standards for
minorities within whole-institution
development?
The adbiz anxiety generators
• Are you wearing the
right clothes?
• Do you smell right?
• Is your car adequately
powerful and lively?
The edbiz anxiety generators
• Will they get the
right results?
• Will they be secure
at all times?
• Will those children
be in their class and
affect their learning?
Individual planning
• Targets relating
to SEN are part
of normal
school
processes
Individualised or Personalised
Support?
Inclusive Planning
The Inclusion Statement
• ‘the more important
agenda is how to
develop a pedagogy
that is inclusive to all
learners’
Davis and Florian 2004
• Setting high
expectations
• Providing for the
diversity of learners
• Providing for groups
and individuals
Expectations
• Let me get this straight:
we are going to catch
up with the rest of the
class by going slower
than everyone else.
Bart Simpson
Expectations
• Pupils withdrawn for substantial
literacy support should make
double the normal rate of
progress
Primary National Strategy
Expectations
• Expectations for SLD/PMLD
under-investigated
• Need to offer many ways to
success within right structures
and right teaching approach
Speech Language and
Communication
• The greater part of the provision for school-aged children
with speech and language needs should be embedded
within the curriculum and take the child’s educational
context into consideration.
• Services should work together to appraise the level and
type of inequities in existence, and put appropriate
mechanisms in place to address these inequities.
• There should be a comprehensive accredited system of
educational and training opportunities for all staff working
with children with speech and language needs.
• DfEE RR 239
Multi-sensory or ‘primary’
• We all benefit
from learning
which involves
our brain’s
diversity of paths
The Governments SEN
Training strategy
• Basis: what all should know
• Specialist in-school support & learning
opportunities
• Specialist out-of-school support
& learning opportunities
• Nothing about subject leadership
Threads for development
• National emphasis on oral
language/communication development
in the classroom
• OFSTED report on any BESD provision
to include standard section on specialist
communication support
Threads for development(2)
• Longitudinal studies of trajectories of
attainment for students with learning
difficulties, particularly through secondary
onwards
• National campaign asserting that the least
schools can do for an inclusive society is to
ensure that they are open to the full diversity
of learners
Threads for development(3)
• raise status of subject/curriculum area
developers by putting subject/etc
associations on properly funded basis
with explicit links to national policy on
SEN. Incorporate work with Strategies
Threads for development(4)
• Nest at local level:
– Children’s Service Planning
– School Improvement
– Curriculum Development for SEN and Disability
(including assessment) cf DDA Planning Duties
– Incorporate specialist/mainstream provision joint
working
– Share across LEA: use SEN strategy training plan
with additional commitment to subject leadership
in and out of school