Inclusion looks different in every school. You need to find strategies that work in your classroom with your pupils. Inclusion is not a fixed state â itâs a process that takes time to achieve. Rather than a sudden change it is a process of continuous school improvement. Inclusion has to work for each individual teacher in each classroom. By finding out what works for you and by ditching what does not, you can celebrate and enjoy the triumphs, and learn from strategies that turn out to be less successful. Teachers are not expected to put everything in place overnight, but should begin to look for new ways of including children with a diverse range of needs. The ideas and suggestions that follow are intended to support school leaders, teachers and class teams as together they develop their own inclusive practice.
Throughout this book the term âpupils/children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)â is used. A child has special educational needs if he or she:
The term âparentâ is used throughout and is intended to cover any additional main care-givers.
The Equality Act 2010
Sitting alongside the Children and Families Act 2014, the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 remain in place. This is especially important because many children and young people who have SEN may have a disability under the Equality Act. The definition of disability in the Equality Act is: âa physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on a personâs ability to carry out normal day-to-day activitiesâ. âLong-termâ is defined as lasting or being likely to last for âa year or moreâ, and âsubstantialâ is defined as âmore than minor or trivialâ. The definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and, just as crucially for schools, children with long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer.
As the SEND Code of Practice (2015, p. 16) states, this definition provides a relatively low threshold and includes more children than many may realise. Children and young people with some conditions do not necessarily have SEN, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children, and young people and those with SEN. Where a disabled child or young person requires special educational provision they will also be covered by the SEN definition.
This doesnât apply to our school. We donât have any disabled pupils. Oh yes, it does apply to your school â it applies to all schools, including primary academies and free schools. Importantly, the duties are anticipatory in that they cover not only current pupils but also prospective ones. Schools are required to have accessibility plans that address three elements of planned improvements in access for disabled pupils:
- improvements in access to the curriculum;
- physical improvements to increase access to education and associated services;
- improvements in the provision of information in a range of formats for disabled pupils.
Schools also have wider duties under the Equality Act to prevent discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity, and to foster good relations. These duties should inform all aspects of school improvement planning from curriculum design through to anti-bullying policies and practice.
But we donât have the specialist knowledge for these children. Primary schools have always welcomed children with a range of special educational needs and disabilities as part of their diverse school communities. However, schools sometimes, for a number of reasons, can be reluctant to include a child with more significant or complex needs. These include a perceived lack of expertise, worries about behaviour and, most commonly expressed, concerns about the effect that child might have on the education of the other children in that class.
The SEND Code of Practice is very clear that where the parent of a child with an Education, Health, and Care plan (EHC plan) makes a request for a particular school, the local authority must comply with that preference and name the school in the plan unless:
- it would be unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or SEN of the child or young person, or
- the attendance of the child or young person there would be incompatible with the efficient education of others, or the efficient use of resources (SEND Code of Practice 2015, 9.79, p. 172).
Equally, schools cannot refuse to admit a child who has SEN but who does not have an EHC plan because they do not feel able to cater for those needs, or because the child does not have an EHC plan.
Wonât including a child with complex SEND mean more work for the teacher, leaving less time for the other pupils? Isnât that incompatible with the efficient education of the other children? Initially, there will undoubtedly be more work for the teacher, especially in preparation and training; but once systems have been set up (and providing the whole school is committed to inclusion), in a short time the child with SEND will become just another member of the class. Under the Equality Act 2010 schools are required to make reasonable adjustments for children with a disability and the preparation and training necessary to include a particular child is deemed a reasonable adjustment. Teachers and teaching assistants are enormously resourceful and creative people, with more skills and knowledge than even they realise. Children with SEND are just that â children â and each has his or her individual talents, strengths and needs. A colleague once commented, âItâs all a mind game really, isnât it Sue?â â and she was right. Focus more on the childâs abilities and his or her personality and less on the difficulties and âneedsâ, and you will find just how rewarding it can be to help a child with SEND to grow as a full member of the school community.
What is the responsible body for our school? The âresponsible bodyâ for a maintained primary school is usually the governing body, and for primary academies and free schools, the proprietor. The responsible body is responsible and ultimately liable for the actions of all employees and anyone working with the authority of the school, such as contractors or parent helpers.
Will a school always know that a child has a disability? It is not always obvious that a child has a disability. Such disabilities as Autistic Spectrum Disorder, dyslexia or epilepsy may not be immediately obvious. These, along with other âhidden disabilitiesâ may take time before they are recognised, and if necessary, diagnosed by a doctor. Underachievement or behaviour difficulties may relate to an underlying physical or mental impairment that could be covered by the Equality Act. A responsible body would have difficulty claiming not to have known about a disability if, on the basis of the childâs behaviour or underachieve ment, it might reasonably have been expected to know that a pupil was disabled.
Try to avoid making assumptions about children based on a diagnosis or reports from professionals. Each child is different and will respond to each situation in his or her unique way. By all means find out about the childâs condition, but look at the disability in the context of the child as an individual. The social model of disability sees the environment as the primary disabling factor, as opposed to the medical model that focuses on the individual childâs needs and difficulties.
Schools need to take an environment-interactive approach. Interventions should be centred on adapting educational context rather than on âfixingâ the individual childâs needs. Chances of success in terms of outcomes for the child are far greater where schools focus on adapting systems and teaching programmes rather than on trying to force the child to adapt to the existing context. For example:
Case study: Jo
Jo is in Year 5. She has Downâs syndrome and learning difficulties. Although she made very good progress in Key Stage 1, the gap in attainment between her and her peers has widened and she is now working on the programme of study for Year 2. Since the start of Year 3 Jo has had all her lessons either in the Year 1 classroom or in the library, always accompanied by her teaching assistant. Joâs learning targets focus on three areas: reading, speech and language, and social skills. While her reading has shown some improvement, her speech and language and social skills remain stubbornly immature, with few signs of progress. Could this be because the models of language that Jo experiences in school are those of younger children? And could her development of social skills be hampered by the lack of interaction with children of her own age?
