Childhood acquired brain injury: the knowledge and training needs of special educational needs coordinators

The aim of this study was to further explore Special Educational Need Co-ordinators' (SENCos) knowledge of childhood acquired brain injury (ABI) and if they have received training on how to effectively support children and young people (CYP) with an ABI in school. SENCos from Nottinghamshire were asked to complete a survey face-to-face or online. Data reported by Howe and Ball (Support for Learning, 32, 1, 85–100), was also used to allow comparisons between different counties in the UK for knowledge of childhood ABI. Results indicated that SENCos from Nottinghamshire hold numerous uncertainties about childhood ABI, although less uncertainties than SENCos from the West Midlands. A majority SENCos from Nottinghamshire had not received training about childhood ABI. Additional challenges in supporting CYP with an ABI were also identified. The findings show a clear need for more training on childhood ABI across UK schools. It is also apparent that obtaining funding for CYP with an ABI can be a challenge for SENCos. However, further research is needed to determine what these barriers to funding are.     

Students with special educational needs: transitions from primary to secondary school

This article looks at the experiences of young people with Statements of special educational needs prior to and following moves from primary to secondary school. Pam Maras and Emma-Louise Aveling of the University of Greenwich, London, used interviews to develop six qualitative case studies focusing on the transition process. Findings from these case studies reveal that the young people varied in their expectations and needs during the transition to secondary school, and that schools differed in the quality and efficacy of the support systems they provide. Parents' and carers' responses suggest that additional support services were not necessarily the most beneficial way to provide for all of the young people. What did appear to be beneficial was continuity of support throughout the transition to a new school, and the provision of a dedicated space within the school, such as a special needs unit. Several of the young people adapted easily alongside their peers without special educational needs, while others required more structured support. Pam Maras and Emma-Louise Aveling suggest that effective communication between support services, the young person, and their parents can facilitate successful transitions by allowing support to be tailored to individual students' needs.     

Classroom behaviour management strategies in response to problematic behaviours of primary school children with special educational needs: views of special educational needs coordinators

Children identified with special educational needs (SEN) and behavioural difficulties present extra challenges to educators and require additional supports in school. This paper presents views from special educational needs coordinators (SENCos) on various strategies used by educators to support children identified with SEN and problematic behaviours. The data were collected from telephone interviews with six SENCos from the UK’s South West Peninsula. The SENCos were invited to participate because their school was participating in a cluster-randomised trial of a teacher classroom management course (Incredible Years). Using thematic analysis to analyse the data, this paper illustrates strategies deemed by SENCos to be successful in the support of children identified with SEN. The management strategies generated by participating SENCos were then mapped onto those taught as part of the classroom management course for comparison. Findings indicate that strategies from the training programme appear to be appropriate for children identified with both SEN and behavioural difficulties.     

The role of the special needs assistant supporting pupils with special educational needs in Irish mainstream primary schools

In this article the author describes a small‐scale study into the role of the special needs assistant (SNA) supporting the inclusion of pupils with learning difficulties in the Irish Republic. The findings regarding the perspectives of teachers, principals, SNAs, pupils supported by SNAs and their parents on the support offered to three pupils are also described. The actual (as distinct from the prescribed) role of SNAs, including the issue of SNAs working in a general rather than a pupil‐specific capacity, and the nature of the SNA‐teacher relationship are discussed. The main findings emerging from the data were that the role of the SNA is one of both education and care and that SNAs are a welcome support for inclusion. Issues emerging from the study include the need for effective communication and planning, shared understanding of the role and responsibilities of SNAs and ongoing monitoring of the way in which support is provided.     

International mathematics tests and pupils with special educational needs

Tandi Clausen-May is a principal research officer in the Department for Research in Assessment and Measurement at the National Foundation for Educational Research. In this article, she examines the accessibility for learners with special educational needs of some of the mathematics questions from tests used in the 2003 cycle of two international surveys. Aspects of the language and layout of the questions are considered in relation to the principles of universal design as these are being formulated in the context of test development. Some potential barriers to the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs are identified and possible alter-native wording and presentation of the questions are suggested. Tandi Clausen-May closes her article with a discussion of the way in which some of the principles of universal design might inform the development of more inclusive tests for the future.     

The identification by teachers of special educational needs in primary school pupils and factors associated with referral to special education

This paper addresses the identification of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream primary schools by their teachers. Data were analysed from two consecutive measurement occasions of a large cohort study in the Netherlands. The types and severity of pupils’ problems, and their school careers were studied. Around 25% of the pupils were considered by their teachers to have SEN. Results show that a substantial percentage of pupils who had been identified with SEN at the first measurement occasion were not identified with SEN three years later, whereas the same percentage had not been identified with SEN at the first occasion but was at the second occasion. Significant predictors of being identified with SEN include results from skills tests, and the teacher’s views on the pupil performing below expectations, having a less favourable attitude to work, being less popular with classmates, and being more dependent on the teacher. In addition, boys are more likely to be identified with SEN in comparison to girls. Cognitive impairment and/or delayed cognitive development proved to be the most influential predictor of referral to special education. In addition, chances of a pupil being referred to special education are influenced by several other pupil characteristics. Implications of these outcomes are discussed.     

Mental health and special educational needs: exploring a complex relationship

The relationship between mental health and special educational needs is both complex and misunderstood. In this article, Richard Rose, Professor of Special and Inclusive Education, Marie Howley, Senior Lecturer, Ann Fergusson, Senior Lecturer, and Johnson Jament, a PhD student, all from the Centre for Special Needs Education and Research directed by Richard Rose at the University of Northampton, discuss findings from a national research project which explored the perceptions of pupil mental health needs by staff working in residential special schools. Teachers and other professional colleagues often feel ill-prepared to address mental health difficulties experienced by their pupils. This is, at times, exacerbated by a wider confusion when atypical behaviours are attributed to a diagnosed learning difficulty rather than being recognised as symptomatic of a mental health problem. The article suggests a need for clarification of the relationship between complex special educational needs and mental health and for increases in training opportunities and the development of resources for teaching about and supporting mental health and emotional well-being.     

Departmental differences in attitudes to special educational needs in the secondary school

As trends in favour of inclusion continue, questions arise concerning the extent to which teachers in mainstream schools feel prepared for the task of meeting pupils' special educational needs. Little previous research has considered how the subject taught impacts upon the attitudes of mainstream teachers towards pupils with special educational needs. In this article, Jean Ellins, research fellow at the University of Birmingham, and Jill Porter, senior lecturer at the University of Bath, report on their research into the attitudes of teachers in one mainstream secondary school. Building a detailed case study using documents, records of pupil progress, an interview and a questionnaire using a Likert-type attitude scale and open-ended questions, these researchers set out to explore distinctions between the attitudes of teachers working in different departments. Their findings suggest that the teachers of the core subjects, English, mathematics and science, had less positive attitudes than their colleagues. Further, pupils with special educational needs made least progress in science where teacher attitudes were the least positive. Jean Ellins and Jill Porter review the implications of these findings and make recommendations for future practice and further enquiry.     

Ideology influencing action: special educational needs co‐ordinator and learning support assistant role conceptualisations and experiences of special needs education in England

One outcome of England's Code of Practice’ (DfE, 1994) was an increase, first, in the number of learning support assistants (LSAs) working in mainstream schools and, second, the establishment of the role of special educational needs co‐ordinator (SENCO). Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with SENCOs and LSAs to explore: (i) why they chose their occupation; (ii) how they conceptualise their role and (iii) the decisions they make when endeavouring (or not) to cultivate an inclusive culture in schools. Many SENCOs sought the role in order to increase the educational attainment and life chances of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Inclusive concepts such as fairness, equality and social justice underpinned their rationales. LSA justification was more pragmatic and often related to how the role would help them to achieve a further career ambition, or because it was compatible with personal circumstances. Younger participants thought that they could strengthen their teacher training applications by using the role of LSA to gain more experience working in schools generally, and with pupils with SEND in particular. The role of both SENCO and LSA has been found to be extremely diverse in England, depending largely on the needs and resources of the schools in which these two groups find themselves.     

The development of the special educational needs coordinator role in a higher education setting

UK higher education appears to have generally been slow to adopt an organised means of provision for special educational needs for its students. This may be due to the fact that, historically, relatively few disabled students entered UK higher education. However, there is a growing number of disabled students entering UK higher education institutions, and the figure is likely to increase. It is therefore important and, under the UK Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001), legally binding, that UK higher education institutions make appropriate adjustments to their activities so as not to disadvantage or discriminate against disabled students. In this article Mark Taylor examines the development of the special educational needs coordinator role in a higher education setting based upon a two‐year case study in a UK university.     

Modern languages and special educational needs: a review of research

The Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 requires that all pupils of secondary school age should have equal access to a broad and balanced curriculum. The inclusion of language studies within the statutory framework of the Northern Ireland curriculum has led to a significant expansion in the teaching of modern languages to pupils with special educational needs. Many teachers are now faced with the task of teaching pupils who hitherto would have been excluded from the language department and some teachers in special schools now have to teach a language with which they themselves are unfamiliar. This paper is the first stage of a research and development project funded by the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (NICCEA); it examines some research evidence relating to the challenge of teaching languages to pupils with special educational needs.     

Students with special educational needs and cooperative learning in the ordinary classroom: some learnings from teaching practice

This article presents the results of a study to determine the strategies used by teachers to include students with special educational needs in regular classrooms, primarily using Cooperative Learning strategies. It aims to identify the factors of inclusive learning in order to enhance the participation and learning of all students in the classroom and in their cooperative teams. A qualitative case study was carried out in the context of the teachers participating in a postgraduate course ‘expert in cooperative learning’ offered by the University of Alcalá (Spain), over a period of six years (2011–2017), involving the participation of 176 professional teachers. All the participants attended an annual university continuous training course on cooperative learning. Document analysis, in-depth interviews and a questionnaire designed ad hoc were used. The conclusions include the importance of cooperative work in facilitating inclusive education, with a variety of different strategies used to respond to all students' needs, and those with special educational needs in particular, and the coordination required between teachers and special educational needs specialists to implement those strategies.     

RESEARCH SECTION: Between a rock and a hard place: parents' attitudes to the inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream and special schools

In this paper, Katherine Runswick‐Cole, a researcher at the Research Institute for Health and Social Change at Manchester Metropolitan University, engages with parents' attitudes to the placement of their children with special educational needs in mainstream and special schools. She sets her review of parents' views within the current policy and legislative context. She then moves on to explore parents' attitudes to inclusion by drawing on the social model of disability as an analytical tool and developing a typology of parental school choices. The study reported in this paper involved 24 parents who were contacted through voluntary organisations and interviewed, either in their own homes or on the telephone. The views of seven professionals were also gathered. The findings reveal that parents' attitudes to mainstream and special schooling are influenced by their engagement with models of disability. The parents' experiences suggest that, despite the shifts in policy we have seen since 1997, the process of inclusive education continues to be fragile.     

Strengthening the special educational needs element of initial teacher training and education

In the academic year 2006–2007, the Training and Development Agency (TDA) set up a development programme to enable Initial Teacher Training and Education (ITTE) placements in specialist special education provision. The goal of the programme was to enhance the knowledge, skills and understanding of inclusive practice for special educational needs and disability among those joining and those who are relatively new to the teaching workforce. This article, by Gill Golder, Nicky Jones and Erica Eaton Quinn, all Senior Lecturers at the College of St Mark and St John in Plymouth, outlines one project related to this TDA programme. The authors explore the outcomes of their work on a three‐year BEd (Honours) Secondary Physical Education course in the south‐west against the TDA's objectives for both trainee teachers and the special schools to which they were attached. Results confirm the importance of preparing trainee teachers for a future career in more inclusive schools.     

Elective home education and special educational needs

This paper reviews the literature on home education with reference to special educational needs (SEN). A rapid expansion in home educating families is noted. Parents present a variety of reasons for this, including those with concerns about the provision for their child's SEN.
In one Local Education Authority (LEA), data were obtained through questionnaires from 65 families when they first registered their children for home education. In addition, 12 families, who had been home educating their children for more than 2 years, were interviewed about their experiences. Many of the children involved had SEN, but most of the parents and children expressed satisfaction with their present arrangements. However, there was often a feeling expressed that they would have preferred their children to have attended school, if their special needs could have been met. Implications for education services policy and schools' practice are discussed.     

Inclusive special education: development of a new theory for the education of children with special educational needs and disabilities

Inclusive education and special education are based on different philosophies and provide alternative views of education for children with special educational needs and disabilities. They are increasingly regarded as diametrically opposed in their approaches. This article presents a theory of inclusive special education that comprises a synthesis of the philosophy, values and practices of inclusive education with the interventions, strategies and procedures of special education. Development of inclusive special education aims to provide a vision and guidelines for policies, procedures and teaching strategies that will facilitate the provision of effective education for all children with special educational needs and disabilities.     

Classroom contexts for learning at primary and secondary school: Class size,groupings, interactions and special educational needs

The inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools can result in difficult decisions regarding classroom organisation and management. The premise of this article is that these are likely to be affected by the classroom context, specifically the number of pupils in the class, the size and composition of groups and classes, and the presence of additional adults, but that there is very little systematic information on these features. A systematic observation study was conducted involving 48 pupils at Year 5 (9–10 years) and 49 pupils at Year 9 (13–14 years) with Statements of SEND, along with 115 comparison pupils at Year 5 and 112 at Year 9 who were typically developing. There were nearly 70,000 observations (data points) in total. Results showed that pupils at Year 5 with SEN were being taught in larger classes than at Year 9, and that, compared with typically developing pupils, they were much more likely to be separately taught in small, low‐attaining groups at Year 5 and small, low‐attaining classes (sets) at secondary. The study raises worrying questions about the appropriateness of classroom contexts for pupils with SEND and the heavy reliance on teaching assistants.     

Inclusive education and students without special educational needs

Background:?In the debate on inclusive education, students without special educational needs (SEN) are an important topic. However, there is a lot unknown about differences between these typical students in inclusive and non-inclusive classes. For example, the neutral results that are often found in earlier research could be caused by positive effects for some students, and negative effects for others.

Purpose:?This study investigated whether there is a relation between inclusive education and the academic achievement and socio-emotional functioning of typical students, and, more importantly, whether inclusive education affects the achievement and socio-emotional functioning of more and less intelligent typical students differently. Furthermore, we investigated whether differences occur by type of SEN of the included students. Here, we made a distinction between students with behavioural, cognitive and other problems.

Sample:?A representative sample of 27,745 students without SEN in Dutch primary education from a large cohort study in the Netherlands was used.

Design and methods:?Language and arithmetic tests were used to assess academic achievement. For socio-emotional functioning, both teacher and student questionnaires were used. A non-verbal IQ test was used to assess student intelligence. Based on the number of students with diagnosed SEN, the students without SEN were divided into several groups: typical students with no, a few and more than a few students with (certain types of) SEN in their class. Multi-level regression analyses were used to compare these groups.

Results:?For academic achievement, no differences were found between students without SEN in inclusive and non-inclusive classes. In this, we found no differences between intelligent and less intelligent typical students. For socio-emotional functioning, some differences were found, but the practical importance of these differences is unclear, since the effect sizes were small. The functioning of typical students does not meaningfully differ by type of SEN of the included students.

Conclusions:?The findings of this study are interesting in the light of the ongoing inclusion debate. Arguments against inclusive education often concern an assumed adverse effect on typical students. As in this study, hardly any differences were found between typical students in inclusive and non-inclusive primary school classes, this research strengthens the scientific evidence in support of inclusive education.     

High school transition – an intervention that empowers children with special educational needs and improves school practice

This article discusses the process and results of a junior school initiative from a local authority in the East of England, to ensure that vulnerable pupils in the school experience a successful transition to high school. The resulting project is the consequence of an inter‐organisational collaboration between the junior school, a secondary school and the local educational psychology service. The transition intervention, which is the first product of this project, was borne from the ideas of year 7 students with special educational needs, which were analysed and presented visually into a transition booklet, later used in the intervention with year 6 pupils. At the end of the intervention, the year 6 pupils provided feedback, which informed first changes in the intervention. Overall, the intervention was successful and because of the interest drawn, it was decided to extend the initiative to other schools with year 6 pupils.