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Chapter 1 Fundamentals of special educational needs and disability in England

Overview

In this chapter, you are guided through four fundamental concepts that underpin special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision for children and young people in education. Each of these fundamental concepts should be applied to the four areas of need discussed in subsequent chapters.

It is important 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 the SEND Code of Practice: 0–25 Years

Three principles underpin the Code of Practice.

Section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014 makes clear that local authorities, in carrying out their functions under the Act in relation to disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs (SEN), must have regard to:

»the views, wishes and feelings of the child or young person, and the child’s parents

»the importance of the child or young person, and the child’s parents, participating as fully as possible in decisions, and being provided with the information and support necessary to enable participation in those decisions

»the need to support the child or young person, and the child’s parents, in order to facilitate the development of the child or young person and to help them achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes, preparing them effectively for adulthood.

(DfE and DoH, 2015, p 19)

While reference is made specifically to local authorities, the implication is that this applies to all organisations (across education, health and social care) and all practitioners working with children, young people and their families in the area.

Voice of the child, young person and family

It is important for you to take some time to consider how you engage the voice of learners and their families in a cohesive, consistent and coherent manner. Using one or more of the person-centred thinking tools can aid this process, as they elicit different types of information according to need. In total, there are 12 types of person-centred thinking tools. The core tool is also known as a ‘one-page profile’. The versatility of this tool (which asks three questions: What’s important to me? What do others think of me? How best can I be supported?) means it can be applied to all learners as part of the high-quality teaching provision on offer (see Chapter 3).

Participation in decision-making

There is a difference in participation when saying to a child/young person or parent, ‘What are your thoughts?’ compared to saying ‘This is our view, what do you think?’. None of us like others making decisions for us. The SEND Code of Practice places an emphasis on co-production. Like inclusion, co-production is a much-debated construct of theory to practise. However, co-production can be broken down into the following aspects:

»co-design, including planning of services;

»co-decision-making in the allocation of resources;

»co-delivery of services;

»co-evaluation of the service.

Therefore, any ‘additional provision’ put in place should be discussed, agreed, delivered and evaluated with parents/carers.

Figure 1.2 below summaries the definition of SEN in the Code of Practice (DfE and DoH, 2015, pp 15–16) and disability in the Equality Act (2010). In effect, the focus is on ‘provision that is additional to or different from’ that generally made for others.

Figure 1.2 Definition of SEN and disability in the SEND Code of Practice 2015

2 High-quality teaching is the baseline

The emphasis on ‘additionality’ is important. However, it is possible for a child or young person to have a diagnosis of SEN, but still access the curriculum due to the setting’s inclusive practice in high quality teaching.

1.24 High quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised will meet the individual needs of the majority of children and young people. Some children and young people need educational provision that is additional to or different from this. This is special educational provision under Section 21 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to ensure that such provision is made for those who need it. Special educational provision is underpinned by high quality teaching and is compromised by anything less.

(DfE and DoH, 2015, p 25)

In the SEND Code of Practice, any directive defined by ‘must’ implies it is enshrined in law. Statements that involve ‘should’ are designed to demonstrate good practice.

A useful way of distinguishing differentiation from personalisation is by recognising that ‘differentiation’ is teacher-led and ‘personalisation’ is learner-led. When these two combine, high-quality teaching is effective. The various aspects of differentiation and personalisation are summarised in Figure 1.3. Compare this to the contents of your setting’s teaching and learning policy.

Figure 1.3 High-quality teaching requires both differentiation and personalisation

3 Graduated approach

The graduated approach is to support the effective identification of special educational needs, as well as to monitor the effectiveness of any additional provision or interventions. Four stages of action combine to make the graduated approach cycle, as indicted by Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4 Assess, plan, do and review

(DfE and DoH, 2015, p 100)

Each stage of action does require class and subject teachers to lead and work ‘with’ the SENCO. The exception is ‘Plan’ when, in a secondary context, the SENCO, a key worker or mentor may lead on planning by consolidating views from subject teachers. It is important to involve parents/carers in the process, particularly when planning any appropriate provision.

In the SEND Regulations 2014 and the DfE/DoH SEND Code of Practice 2015 the term ‘SENCO’ is used as the official title of the statutory role for the person who co-ordinates, leads and manages special educational needs and disability across settings. Each school uses the legal guidelines to draw up their own bespoke job description. Therefore, many schools use the term SENDCo, Additional Educational Needs Co-ordinator (AENC) or Inclusion Lead, to name a few. Throughout this book, we have used SENCO, as per the legislation.

4 Provision framework

Pulling together the definition of SEN, high-quality teaching and the graduated approach into a coherent framework (Figure 1.5) enables practitioners and parents to understand the fluidity and static provision put in place as children and young people develop.

Figure 1.5 Provision framework to demonstrate how additionality builds on high quality teaching

In some instances, children and young people with SEND require a short-term intervention to learn a new skill, acquire knowledge or change attitudes. In other instances, long-term support in terms of a resource (eg, visualiser) is required. It should be noted that not all short-term support is because a child and young person has a SEN. So accurate assessment by the teacher is vital for determining the right type of intervention.

Reflective task

Use the summary task (Appendix 3) and support evaluation task (Appendix 4) to articulate and consolidate your learning from this chapter.

Four areas of need

In the subsequent chapters, attention is given to the four areas of need as defined in the SEND Code of Practice 2015 (Chapter 6). While these are dealt with separately, it is important to keep in mind the overlap, as shown in Figure 1.6.

These four broad areas give an overview of the range of needs that should be planned for. The purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take, not to fit a pupil into a category. In practice, individual children or young people often have needs that cut across all these areas and their needs may change over time. For instance, speech, language and communication needs can also be a feature of a number of other areas of SEN, and children and young people with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may have needs across all areas, including particular sensory requirements. A detailed assessment of need should ensure that the full range of an individual’s needs is identified, not simply the primary need. The support provided to an individual should always be based on a full understanding of their particular strengths and needs and seek to address them all using well evidenced interventions targeted at their areas of difficulty and where necessary specialist equipment or software.

(DfE and DoH, 2015, p 97)

Figure 1.6 Four broad areas of need

Now what?

Practical task

•Revisit your responses to the SEND: personal reflections questionnaire for early career teachers in Appendix 1. Is there anything you would refine after reading this chapter?

•Set up four folders online or in hard copy. As you gather information about the four areas of need, store these in the relevant folders. You may come across information from your setting (eg, resources) or the GP. It is helpful to store these in a structured way, so you can access the information as and when the need arises. Within each folder, you may decide to set up sub-folders (eg, research, case studies, resources). This will be particularly useful to those of you who are considering a long-term career in special educational needs, as either a specialist teacher or future SENCO.

Feel free to get in touch, if you want to discuss career pathways to become a SENCO using the seven-point plan for development:

Anita Devi @Butterflycolour

What next?