Two examples of current
legislation or relevant codes of practice that affect provision for pupils who
have disabilities or special educational needs
The
learning process is influenced by a number of factors including the
characteristics, attention, motivation and emotions of the individual, as well
as their family and cultural background. The role of the teaching staff is to
recognise and encourage the learning skills of each pupil with effective
rewards and attention. In case of children with special educational needs, the
teachers have to dismantle some attitudinal, organisational or practical
barriers that hinder these pupils’ development.
The
aim of the Disability Discrimination Act of 2005 is to deliver equality of
opportunity to disabled people. In education it means the recognition of
diversity and learner differences amongst pupils and the reduction to barriers
for learning for disabled people. In everyday practice, inclusion of disabled
people means their access to the learning environment as well as to the
curriculum. School staff has to be aware of these pupils’ condition and accept
that as a consequence some things need to be done differently. Individual
education plans can make it possible to involve SEN or disabled children in the
normal school setting while paying attention to their individual needs and
helping them make their way into mainstream education. Also, in an inclusive
educational setting, disabled children’s hidden difficulties, e.g., pain, and
their possible problems with auditory, visual or tactile skills, perception,
memory or concentration, have to be appreciated and taken into consideration.
The
Equality Act of 2010 replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single
act, providing easier implementation and understanding.1 The act
gives legal protection people from discrimination on basis of age, disability,
gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief,
sex, and sexual orientation in the workplace, schools and in wider society.
Part 6 of the Act covers issues in education, protecting the equal
opportunities in schools, including those related to children with SEN or
disabilities.2 UK legislation requires school to include all pupils
in mainstream education regardless of special educational needs, ethnic or
social background and gender. Although mainstream education is not always right
for every child, it does not mean that these children cannot be included at a later
stage of their development. Schools are required to actively seek to remove
barriers to learning and participation and create an environment that
celebrates human diversity.
The
National Curriculum Handbook for Primary
Teachers in England and the Handbook
for Secondary Teachers in England outline how teachers can modify the
National Curriculum to provide appropriate challenging work to all pupils,
respond to the diverse learning needs and overcome potential barriers. Furthermore,
special education professionals should work together with parents to ensure
that all the needs of SEN children are taken into consideration, their
development has to be reviewed regularly and also LEAs and schools have to make
sure that any child’s special educational needs are identified as early as
possible.
Helping two
pupils with different disabilities or special educational needs to take part in
an activity
Using
the ICT equipment can be one of the most enjoyable and also useful activities
for children at any age. They not only gain essential skills in using computers
but also by teaching them safely surfing the Internet they can carry out their
own research for other subjects. For pupils, however, with visual or hearing
difficulties the use of specialised ICT equipment can help to take part in
everyday class work.
For
blind children, the adding of a screen-reader software, speech output, tactile
output or Braille print can make it possible to use ICT. Changing the font size
and colour might be enough for pupils with poor vision to recognise letters.
Touch typing can help partially blind children to use the computer more
effectively, as this way they do not have to look between the screen and the
keyboard continuously. Large keyboard stickers are to be used as a learning
tool only, to help the pupil identify where the keys are and learn their
location. They are available in different colour and sizes, so the most
appropriate one can be chosen for different types of visual problems. Blind students
can use screen reading and voice recognition software to operate their
computer. The first one will intelligently send information about what is being
typed, what has been typed and menu options to a voice synthesiser, so that the
user does not need to see the screen. The second one recognises speech and
types it into the computer – this way spelling mistakes are avoided as well.
When
teaching hearing impaired children, we have to take special considerations to
make their collaboration in the classroom easier. The teacher has to make sure
that the child with hearing difficulties has optimal hearing and listening
environment and keep other noise to a minimum so that it is not interfering
with listening devices. The closer the child is to the teacher, the easier it
is for them to read from the lips. Therefore the teacher has to face the
hearing impaired child during oral communication, and also ensure that there is
adequate lighting to help clear sight of visual aids.3 If it is
possible, we can use technology to maximise hearing and alternative source of
information about sounds.
In
both cases, the Teacher or Teaching Assistant has to make sure that the child
with disabilities can fully participate in the classroom activities and the
technological aids are adequate for them to understand the learning material.
Working in partnership with families to support a pupil
with different disabilities or special educational needs
Parental
involvement is essential in the lives of all pupils, but might be even more
important for those with disabilities or special educational needs. These
children face more difficulties when trying to keep up with the challenges set
by school and education therefore the support of a stable and caring family is
vital. School are required to maintain a co-operation with the parents as they
have crucial knowledge and experience in what is best for their children.
Parents have to be treated as partners in the teaching-learning process: their
opinion has to be taken into account since they know their children’s needs the
best, but in return they have to take a responsible role in the child’s
education.4 The TA has to involve the parents or carers in the learning
process so that they know what is required of their child, what is causing
difficulties or what is that they are good at. This way the family can help the
SEN or disabled pupil with further practise at home, or reinforcing behavioural
standards outside of school using the same reward system as the teachers do.
The Special Educational Needs Policy of the St. Michael’s School in Birmingham
also encourages parents to visit school and discuss their children’s progress
with the teachers, or also come to the classes and help them there in the
learning process.5 The TA has to have a positive attitude towards
the parents, taking into consideration the difficult situation the parents or
carers are due to the child’s special needs. The TA has to provide them with
clearly understandable information about the child’s situation and avoid any
stereotypic views about parents’ attitude. In order to communicate with the
parents effectively the TA should acknowledge their knowledge about their child
and be aware of their emotional investment. If the parents are informed about
the child’s strengths as well as areas of additional need, they can complement
the school work with additional practice at home. If there is a difference of
opinion with the parents, the TA has to seek an agreement, as it is essential
for the child to have continuity and harmony between learning in the school
setting and at home.6 It can be made possible if the parents fully
understand their SEN child’s individual education plan. The teachers have to
devote sufficient time for IEP meetings with parents where they can exchange
opinions ideas, and fully inform parents about individual progress.7
Furthermore, schools have to ensure that parents have sufficient information
about organisations supporting SEN and disabled children, that can offer
additional help and evaluation of special educational needs outside of school.
These voluntary organisations can provide additional information, training and
support in the home and in school for children with special needs and their
families, facilitating these pupils’ development.8
Supporting the family of a pupil with disabilities or
special educational needs
The
Teaching Assistant is in a close relationship with the pupils therefore they
have an important role in first of all recognising children with special
educational needs and find all the available help for them and their families. TAs
can provide the parents with information on the particular learning difficulty
a pupil has so that they have better understanding of their child’s situation
and the kind of support they need in learning. It is also essential to involve
the parents or carers in the pupil’s learning process because they have the
deepest knowledge of their child’s needs and they can see that their opinion is
appreciated. The child also has to experience a harmony between learning in the
school setting and at home so that they have more opportunity to develop.
Parents can be involved in the child’s education not only by the discussions
taking place at parent-teacher conferences but also by being invited into the
classroom where they can actively participate in their child’s learning process
and learn more about how to how to help them at home. Parents of SEN pupils
often do their own research about the kind of problem their child has and can
provide valuable information to the teachers who might not be fully prepared in
every type of learning difficulty. Therefore it is useful not only to fully
inform parents about the child’s individual education plan and also involve
them in planning. This way they can co-operate in the pupil’s educational
development and feel their knowledge and experience is appreciated. In the
meantime they can make the teacher’s and TA’s work easier since they have to
cater for possible more than one pupil with different learning problem in the
classroom.
Bringing
up a child with physical disabilities requires a huge emotional investment from
the parents so the TA has to make sure to do their best to ease their burden.
School are required to be equipped for accepting children with physical
disabilities so all the TA has to do is to make the best use of these
resources. If the child has visual difficulties, specialised computer
programmes can be applied to read out the screen content and to use audio input
instead of typing. For a child with hearing problems, the TA has to make sure
they have a front seat in the classroom, and to directly face them while
talking to make lip reading possible. Depending on the level of hearing
disability, specialised audio equipment might be useful as well. Physical
disabilities might be helped by adjustable chairs ad desks so that the child
who has problems can have the most comfortable position while sitting in class.
It is advisable to involve the rest of the class when helping out a disabled
person so that they learn to accept this situation as normal, part of the
everyday routine and will not treat their peer who has disabilities as an
outsider. This is a good opportunity to teach them about tolerance and the
appreciation of diversity in the community. It will be a great help for the
parents of the disabled pupil if they see that they can rely on the school to
accommodate their child and what is more can expect support from the classmates
as well. The teachers, pupils and parents of a school have to build up a
community that involves children with special educational needs and
disabilities, celebrating the diversity of people.
External sources:
1 Equality
Act 2010: guidance
2 Equality
Act 2010
3 “Teaching Hearing Impaired Children.” Teach Magazine
4 “Chapter 2 Working in Partnership with
Parents – Introduction.” Special
Educational Needs Code of Practice
5 St.
Michael’s Special Educational Needs Policy
6 “Chapter 2 Working in Partnership with
Parents – Key principles in communicating and working in partnership with
parents.” Special Educational Needs Code
of Practice
8 “Chapter 2 Working in Partnership with
Parents – Working in partnership with the voluntary sector.” Special Educational Needs Code of Practice
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