Managing Special Needs in the Primary School

Mrs Joan Dean

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781134792221
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs has significantly changed the way in which schools assess and provide for pupils with special needs. The various chapters of the book cover: * recent legislation * the needs of children with different types of special needs * school policy and the whole school approach * approaches to the National Curriculum * possible ways of organising for special educational needs * the role of the special needs co-ordinator * the role of the class teacher * assessment and record keeping * working with parents * staff development * support services Written with the needs of primary school teachers and heads in mind, this book addresses the implications which the Code of Practice has for primary schools, focusing in particular on these issues from the management point of view.

Chapter 1

The current situation

When Timothy started at the local village school he seemed to his teacher to be a bright little boy and she had no suspicion of the problems which he would pose later. His older brother Darren had just moved from her class into the next class and was already reading quite well and making satisfactory progress in mathematics. Timothy seemed to settle down quite easily and enjoy all the activities which she was providing. It was only as time went on that she began to realise that he was not making much progress in reading. She tried to make more time to hear him read, which was not easy in a class of thirty-two infants, but the end of the year came and he still had not really started to read at all. He appeared to be unable to remember any words or sounds from one day to the next.

There were only four classes in the school and after discussing Timothy with the headmistress it was decided that he should spend more time in the infant class and that his teacher should try to give him special attention. He still made almost no progress but at the end of his second year he was moved up into the next class. His new teacher was convinced that helping him was mainly a matter of finding things which interested him and accordingly he made books about trains and foot-ballers, copying large passages out of books quite neatly and illustrating them attractively. Unfortunately he was unable to read what he had written or to write very much by himself and his teacher was at a loss what to do next.

Time passed and Timothy gradually moved up the school, still unable to read although his progress was almost normal in mathematics except where reading was involved. The teachers of the top two classes found this even more of a problem than the teachers of the younger children because their training had not prepared them for a child who was still at the beginning stages of reading and writing. They spent time hearing him read but were not really sure how best to help him apart from this.

At one stage the headmistress suggested to his mother, who was concerned about him, that she should help him at home. She blushed deeply and said ‘I'm afraid I have the same problem.’ Further discussion revealed that there was an older sister in the secondary school who still could not read fluently in spite of the good work of a competent remedial department. Timothy eventually left his village school for the secondary school still unable to read.

This is a true story, although the names have been changed, but it all happened a long time ago when there was very little back-up help for schools and they were left to manage as best they could. It demonstrates how we come to have so many illiterate adults and why we need the Code of Practice to ensure that more is done to deal with the problems of today's Timothys so that no one leaves school unable to read and write and manage the day-to-day mathematics that we all need.

The 1993 Education Act has laid down a number of requirements for the education of children with special needs. The Act defines children with special needs as follows:

A child has a ‘learning difficulty’ if—

(a) he has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of his age,

(b) he has a disability which either prevents or hinders him from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of his age in schools within the area of the local education authority, or

(c) he is under the age of five years and is, or would be, if special educational provision were not made for him, likely to fall within paragraph (a) or (b) when over that age.

(DFE 1993: para. 156.2, p. 101)

It points out that children whose mother tongue is not English do not come into the category of having special educational needs.

The Act goes on to make the point that children with special needs should be educated in a school which is not a special school unless this is incompatible with the wishes of their parents. It specifies that when children with special educational needs are educated in other than a special school it must be possible for them to receive the necessary special provision without affecting the provision of efficient education for other children or the efficient use of resources.

The Act requires the governing body to see that children with special needs are adequately catered for and that teachers are aware of the importance of identifying and providing for children with special needs.

The Act is complemented by the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs (DFE 1994c) which sets out how schools and Local Education Authorities (LEAs) should implement the Act.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROVISION FOR SPECIAL NEEDS

The 1993 Act and the Code of Practice are the latest developments in a move towards integrating children with special needs into normal schools which has been taking place gradually since the Warnock Report and the 1981 Education Act, both of which recommended a move towards integration. They reflect a general move towards integrating people with disabilities into normal society.

The Warnock Report (DES 1978) estimated that up to one in five children were likely to need special provision at some point in their school lives and this is confirmed in the Code of Practice (DFE 1994c) which also states that:

only in a minority of cases—nationally around two per cent of children—will a child have special educational needs of a severity or complexity which requires the LEA to determine and arrange the special educational provision for the child by means of a statutory statement of special educational needs.

(DFE 1994c: para. 2.2, p. 5)

The conclusion that around 20 per cent of children will have special educational needs at some stage in their school lives means that in a class of thirty children, six may need special provision over the course of their schooling. It can therefore be seen that every teacher and every school will encounter some children who need special provision whether or not children who would formerly have been in special schools are integrated into mainstream schools.

One category of children who might be held to have special needs which was not included in the Warnock Report, nor the 1993 Act or the Code of Practice, is children with exceptional ability. Research (Freeman 1983; Denton and Postlethwaite 1985; and many others) suggests that these children are not extended by their education in many cases and that their needs are not met. This has been a recurring theme in HMI reports from the 1970s onwards. The pressures of the National Curriculum are likely to make it even more difficult for teachers to spend time identifying and providing for these children, yet their needs are considerable and they are important for the future. These children too may need special provision and this book includes them as children with special educational needs.

A whole school approach to special needs is therefore required in which all teachers develop some expertise in dealing with children who have learning problems or who are outstandingly able.

Prior to the publication of the Warnock Report (DES 1978), most of the education of children with disabilities took place in special schools and children were classified according to their particular problems. It was not always easy to do this because a child might have more than one disability. There have also been developments in medicine and health care which have changed the incidence of particular disabilities with consequences for the special schools catering for them.

The Warnock Report (DES 1978) suggested that it might be better to classify children with disabilities according to the way their needs might be met and that where possible such children should be educated in mainstream schools alongside their peer group. These children would be held to have special needs over and above those of the school population generally. The report also stressed the importance of involving parents in considering the needs of a child.

Warnock started with a definition of the goals of education which might be said to apply to the education of all children and not only to those who have special needs:

First to enlarge a child's knowledge, experience and understanding and thus his awareness of moral values and capacity for enjoyment; and secondly to enable him to enter the world after formal education is over as an active participant in society and a responsible contributor to it, capable of achieving as much independence as possible.

(DES 1978:5)

The 1993 Act confirmed and brought up to date the arrangements under the 1981 Act for making an assessment of a child's special educational needs, setting out the various stages.

The assessment process involves parents at every stage and they may appeal if they disagree with the final conclusions. Assessment may result in a statement giving details of the child's educational needs, outlining the special provision required and stating the arrangements needed to meet those needs. Once a statement has been issued the child's progress must be reviewed annually.

INTEGRATION

The Code (1994) makes the following statement about integration:

The needs of most pupils will be met in the mainstream, and without a statutory assessment or statement of special educational needs. Children with special educational needs, including children with statements of special educational needs, should, where appropriate and taking the wishes of their parents into account, be educated alongside their peers in mainstream schools.

(DFE 1994c: para. 2.1, p. 2)

The word ‘Integration’ can have a variety of interpretations. Spodek et al. (1983) describe the aims of integration as follows: ‘Handicapped children should have the opportunity to participate in as many of the same activities and should be educated in the same manner as their non-handicapped peers to the greatest extent possible’ (p. 61).

The Warnock Report (1978) defined three levels of integration:

Locational integration

• where special units are set up in ordinary schools.

• where a special school and an ordinary school share the same site.

Social integration

• where children attending a special class or unit eat, play and consort with other children and possibly share organised out-of-classroom activities with them.

Functional integration

• where the locational and social association of children with special needs with their fellows leads to joint participation in educational programmes.

(DES 1978: para. 7.7, p. 100)

The Code of Practice suggests that the governing body and the headteacher should determine the school's general policy and approach to provision for children with special educational needs, establish the appropriate staffing and funding arrangements and maintain a general oversight of the school's work.

Integration of children with special needs is not easily achieved. It is easier if they have been part of the school from the beginning and more difficult if they have spent time in a special school. Initially teachers, older pupils and parents will be apprehensive, but eventually everyone comes to learn the valuable lesson that people with handicaps are much like the rest of us. Some will be very able and some will have great difficulty with the curriculum. Some will be outgoing and friendly and easy to get on with and others will have difficulty in making friends. Many children with physical impairments, in particular, are used to being with adults a good deal and may take time to adjust to their peer group. There is also the danger that children with physical disabilities will attract too much notice and be given too little opportunity to become independent. Deaf children are likely to have a more difficult time because their impairment tends to arouse irritation rather than sympathy and because they often have problems in communicating which makes them unsatisfactory companions. Such children may have difficulty in demonstrating their real level of ability. Those with behavioural problems are likely to be less popular with teachers and may not get on with other children.

Some children require concentrated help and LEAs have dealt with this in many cases by providing units within schools which allow the necessary help for some of the time but also make it possible for the children to integrate with others, perhaps joining normal classes or at least joining their peer group socially.

Children with exceptional ability have somewhat similar needs. Like other children with special needs they need to be able to live and work with their peer group in preparation for adult life, but they also need the stimulus which comes from being with a group of like ability. There is a case for gathering together a group of such children to do work which goes beyond the stage their peers are at, perhaps studying some quite different area or going more deeply into aspects of National Curriculum work.

There is a particular problem when one child is a long way ahead of his peer group. This may occur in any school. Such a child probably needs an individual programme for some of the work and an awareness on the part of the staff that such children may tend to underperform in order to stay with their friends and not be different from others. They may well be overlooked if they are well behaved, conforming and comparatively undemanding. A school needs to be on the lookout for such children.

There is a sense in which every child has special needs in that every child is different and they may need to be grouped differently from time to time in order for those needs to be met. The presence of children with special needs which are easily evident tends to make teachers more aware of the needs of individuals generally.

There is evidence from a number of sources that integration can work well. In a study b...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Educational management series
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of figures
• 1 The current situation
• 2 The whole school approach
• 3 Identifying and assessing children with special needs
• 4 The organisation of special needs
• 5 Children with learning difficulties
• 6 Emotional and behavioural problems
• 7 Physical disabilities
• 8 The exceptionally able child
• 9 Working with parents
• 10 Support services
• 11 Staff development
• 12 Evaluation
• 13 Conclusion
• Appendix 1: Check-lists
• Appendix 2: Tests available to teachers
• References
• Index