The biggest extension of rights in Europe? Needs,rights and children with additional support needs in Scotland

ABSTRACT

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 boosted the rights of parents of children with additional support needs (ASN) by improving access to information, instituting a Code of Practice and establishing new redress mechanisms such as the ASN Tribunal and independent mediation. More than a decade later, Scottish legislation enacted in 2016 and implemented in 2018 attempted to increase children’s rights, broadly placing them on a par with those of parents and young people. This paper draws on data from an ESRC project entitled Autonomy, Rights and Children with Special Needs: A New Paradigm? (ES/P002641/1). Analysis of Scottish Government policy and legislation, key informant interviews and official statistics are used to examine the extent to which the new rights are likely to be realised in practice, given the complexity of the legislation and competition between discourses of needs, broadly synonymous with the wellbeing agenda and rights. The paper concludes with a discussion of the lessons which may be learnt from the Scottish experience, which will be of interest to an international audience.     

The rights of children and young people under special educational needs legislation in England: an inclusive agenda?

ABSTRACT

In this article we consider the rights of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in England, introduced under the Children and Families Act 2014, within the context of the wider reforms made by the Act. Drawing primarily on key informant interviews conducted as part of an ESRC project on Autonomy, Rights and Children with Special Needs: A New Paradigm? (ES/P002641/1), and making reference to the international framework of children’s and disabled persons’ rights, we present an analysis of the (mostly professional) viewpoints gathered and what they tell us about the progress towards the realisation of children and young people’s autonomy and agency in this field.     

Are the needs of children and young people with social,emotional and behavioural needs being served within a multi‐agency framework?

This article discusses the effect that recent policy and legislation has had on services for children and young people with social, emotional and behavioural needs (SEBN), particularly ‘Looked After Children.’ The article highlights the Government's overarching plan to promote social inclusion and effective multi‐agency collaboration and discusses the confusions arising from the use of ‘multi‐agency’ terminology. Two case studies of individual children then illustrate the manner in which collaborative working is either supportive of, or hinders, positive intervention. Finally the article discusses how general policy issues impact on practice with children with SEBN.     

Autonomy,rights and children with special educational needs: the distinctiveness of Wales

ABSTRACT

Wales was the first UK country to incorporate the UNCRC into domestic law and the first to appoint a children’s commissioner. Wales is distinctive in the strong links between education and the promotion of the Welsh language as evidenced in successive Welsh language strategies. With regard to children with special educational needs, the 2018 Additional Learning Needs and Educational Tribunal Act makes provision for children’s voices to be heard in their own right. This paper examines the complexities in hearing the voices of children with severe and profound learning difficulties (SPMLD), and how these can be addressed in the language context of Wales. It concludes that there are cautious grounds for optimism about our ability to hear the views of children with SPMLD, as long as we are prepared to acknowledge the resource implications. However, there is a need for more debate about the potential tensions between the Welsh language strategy and making provision for children with special educational needs in their preferred language. This debate needs to be informed by research on the impact of immersion education on progress, access to the curriculum and inclusion for children with SPMLD, and on their views about all aspects of their provision.     

Modern foreign language education for learners with additional support needs in Scotland

The face of Modern Foreign Language education (MFL) in Scotland is changing. A major policy shift in Scottish education in 2012 set out the aspiration that all students up to the end of third level education in Scottish schools would have the opportunity to learn not one but two languages, in addition to their mother tongue. Over the last 20 years, there has been, concurrently, an undertaking by the Scottish government, in a series of policy documents, committing to provision that will ensure that students with additional support needs (ASN) receive equality of access to a broad and balanced education. This paper draws upon policy documents and published research in the area to review the extent to which the vision of language learning of all has been made available to students with ASN and the documented benefits associated with MFL education for those with ASN. Drawing upon case studies of inclusive MFL pedagogies, it identifies successful strategies that can be deployed by teachers. It then considers some of the mechanisms by which the current gaps in provision have arisen and proposes possible remedial steps, drawing on both an analysis of policy and case studies of effective practice.     

Interprofessional work in early childhood education and care services to support children with additional needs: two approaches

Abstract

In Australia, over 900,000 children attend some type of early childhood education and care service. Many of these children have learning difficulties and early childhood teachers play a significant role in identifying children’s needs and working with other professionals to instigate and/or implement appropriate interventions. When educators and allied health professionals work collaboratively in interprofessional ways, they are in a better position to support children and their families. Drawing on findings from a sustained body of research, this short paper shares our reflections on some of the benefits and challenges of two different approaches to working in interprofessionally in Australian early childhood education settings, and provides some suggestions for supporting this work.     

Educating the educators: developing those who support learning for students with additional learning needs

This article reports findings from a research project which developed and introduced the Enhanced Learning Support Assistant Programme (ELSAP) as a source of professional development for learning support assistants who were supporting students with additional learning needs in a college of further education in England. The purpose of this article is to share findings from the project and to highlight the benefits experienced when learning support assistants can participate in professional development activity. The research project was a mixed methods study with participants drawn from learning support assistants within one college of further education in England. Data were collected throughout the 14‐week intervention. Findings indicate that the programme had a positive effect on participants' confidence, sense of professional identify and of being valued, as well as improving their ability to perform their role.     

Exploring the participation and agency of students with special education needs in a Macau-Chinese secondary school

The research explores the perceptions of five secondary school students with special education needs (SEN) about their participation in learning, group membership, and agency within an inclusive school in Macau SAR. This goal is achieved by using students' voices documented in open-ended interviews and is underpinned by the conceptual framework of heutagogy. The aim is to shed light on students' perceptions on school effectiveness in supporting their needs through successful participation and agentic possibilities. Findings showed that students were more prone to social rejection and being isolated or bullied than their peers. They were struggling to feel included or participate, their needs were only partially being met, and they had few opportunities to exert influence on their educational trajectories. Recommendations are provided to assist educators and schools in enhancing students with SEN to connect to the learning process and community, with the provision of appropriate learning adjustments and more active approaches to ensure their acceptance by mainstream students, including the formation of coaching peers to assist in developing social and academic skills under teacher's scaffolding practices. This study highlights the contribution of the heutagogical perspective to advance research on the participation and agency of students with SEN in mainstream schools.     

Riding the dragon: developing inter‐agency systems for supporting children

‘Better inter‐agency working’ has been the oft‐quoted remedy to many reviews of services to support vulnerable children and young people, and yet outside the realms of tightly focused specialist teams it seems to be very difficult to achieve. Georgina Glenny here reviews three case studies of interdisciplinary and inter‐agency working to examine some of the reasons for the difficulties and some of the factors that contribute to success. Her findings suggest that, however ‘loose‐knit’ they are, members of children's services can work together effectively if they feel themselves to be part of a common project served by an inclusive communication system. In the successful case studies the ‘common project’ was defined by an agreed central purpose to guide action within a defined geographical locality. Central to achieving this purpose was a carefully managed series of communication feedback loops to ensure good quality information was being shared at all levels. With this communication system in place the complex system of relationships and actions that resulted could be reflected upon and continually tweaked to ensure that ‘project purpose’ was achieved or at least ‘worked towards’ in a managed way.     

Effects of a support group for siblings of children with special needs

School psychologists may provide support services to siblings of children with special needs as part of a family-focused approach to intervention. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 6-week support group for siblings. Pre-and posttest assessments of six children who participated in the support group and five who did not indicated that the support group had a significant effect on the participants' perceptions of social support. Parental interview data also indicated some improvements in the group participants' behavior toward their siblings. No significant differences were found between the groups on measures of behavior problems, self-concept, or knowledge about and attitudes toward children with handicaps. These results provide moderate support for the effectiveness of support services for siblings of children with special needs.     

Secondary school transition for children with special educational needs: a literature review

Successful transition from primary to secondary school is important for psychosocial well‐being. Children with special educational needs (SEN) may face additional complexities at transition, although the impact of this process on children's psychosocial adjustment has been underexplored. The article aims to review systematically the literature exploring the impact of transition on the concerns and psychosocial adjustment of children with SEN in comparison to typically developing children. Published studies were identified through a systematic search of six electronic databases. Articles fulfilling inclusion criteria were reviewed and a quality criteria system was developed to rank studies. Children with specific learning difficulties perceive lower levels of social support and more peer victimisation after transition than typically developing children, but methodological limitations and the modest number of studies restricted the conclusions that could be drawn.     

Evaluating a schools' service for children with a facial disfigurement: the views of teaching and support staff

In this article Lindsay O'Dell and Jess Prior present the findings of a small survey, organised as a collaborative project to evaluate a schools’ service, set up in 1998 by the charity Changing Faces 1 to assist pupils with facial disfigurements. Twenty schools responded, each of which had a pupil in their school, aged between 3–16 years, with a facial disfigurement. Qualitative and quantitative questions addressed schools’ expectations of the service, ratings of visits from Changing Faces, helpful/unhelpful aspects of the service and suggestions for improvements, as well as information about the child and school. The data was analysed using both quantitative data and a qualitative thematic analysis. Findings point to reasons for initial contact, and effectiveness of any intervention. Whilst many families and schools seek support in times of crisis, sometimes contact is made to try and prevent future difficulties. Professionals working in education may have much to learn from cases where the child, school and family are all coping well. Future research plans include extending this pilot survey to include the views of a wider range of schools as well as those of the children and families involved.     

An inclusion initiative in Singapore for preschool children with special needs

This paper describes a preschool inclusion initiative in Singapore, which currently has no mandate for integrating children with special needs in mainstream schools. This very small-scale qualitative study involving children with mild learning disabilities discusses a therapy outreach programme by a local children's hospital. It explores the supports and challenges of this experience based on interviews with therapists, teachers, principals, and parents. Facilitators of inclusion included communication, collaboration, availability of training and resources, and a readiness for inclusion. Barriers to inclusion included person-related hindrances, structural obstacles, gaps in programme delivery, and limited specialized training and resources. We learned that in the absence of mandatory provisions for inclusion, children with special needs can be supported in regular education when there is “buy in” for early inclusion and intervention amongst key stakeholders. Practical strategies toward this end are discussed.     

The practices of dealing with children with special needs in school: a Norwegian perspective

The article has two parts. Part one deals with some historical developments in the field of special education in Norway. There has been a change in formulated policy from a clearly segregated system, then integration and mainstreaming and now intentions about inclusion as an ideal. The second part is about children with behavioural difficulties and especially children diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders) and how they are treated within the education system. Knowledge about these children’s situation is not very well developed or widespread in the Norwegian education system. The numbers of children with an ADHD diagnosis vary a lot between schools. Both diagnosis and treatment connected to ADHD have been highly controversial in Norway, as in many other countries. The gap between ideals and realities is a striking element in special education in Norway and also for these children. The inclusion criteria have not been met. The reasons for this are discussed.     

Including children with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms: implications for pedagogy from a systematic review

This paper reports on the outcomes of the first in a series of three systematic literature reviews in inclusive education. The aims include establishing what research has been undertaken in the area of effective pedagogical approaches to enable children with special educational needs to be included in mainstream classrooms, synthesising themes in a purposive sample of the literature and examining how this research might inform practice. One outcome of this first literature review was an overview of the various ways that teachers are effectively including children with special educational needs. In this paper, using the literature, we share some of the characteristics of the teaching approaches that have been shown to lead to positive outcomes in the areas of academic attainment, social involvement and improved behaviour. We discuss how these approaches, particularly those involving peer group interactions, might be used by teachers to support all learners.     

Key workers and schools: meeting the needs of children and young people with disabilities

Across the world countries are advocating the education of children and young people with disabilities in mainstream schools. There is also increasing interest in developing effective coordination of the specialist services pupils with disabilities receive from different agencies. This is accompanied by growing recognition that such care coordination can positively influence the experience of inclusion for children and their families. However, while the literature of care coordination generally includes education as a core provider, there is little evidence on involvement of education professionals and the outcomes for children and schools. These issues are addressed by the findings reported here on the role of key workers in care coordination and their relationship with schools. The findings draw on interviews with professionals from seven key worker services across England and Wales, parents and carers who were recipients of these services and teachers in schools serving children supported by key workers. These interviews are part of a wider multi‐method study exploring the effectiveness and costs of different models of key worker services for disabled children. The data reveal the range of education and school issues addressed by key workers and the factors influencing their work with teachers. The benefits for children, families and schools of key worker involvement are identified and the implications for schools explored. Consideration is also given to the advantages and disadvantages of teachers themselves taking on the role of key workers. It is argued that key workers can improve home–school relationships, facilitate the contribution of teachers in inter‐agency working, enable mainstream schools to better meet the individual needs of pupils with disabilities and improve their inclusive practice.     

Systematic review of the evidence to support expert practice in the education and care of children and young people with special educational needs and disability in the UK

Scopus, EBSCO, ERIC and British Education Index were interrogated in a systematic review of primary research since 2014 addressing expert practice and outcomes in education and care for young people with special educational needs and disability in the UK. Grey literature and studies of medical settings, preschool children, mainstream education or professional education were excluded. Quality was gauged by effect sizes, risk of bias and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. The search identified 7058 items. Twenty-eight studies were included, with 1839 participants of 4–22 years. Risk of bias was low, with effect sizes from small to extremely large. The qualitative studies were rigorous. Expert practice with positive outcomes was evidenced in comprehensive assessment, enhancing engagement and personalised interventions. Correction of visual problems, use of humanoid robots, and tested models were generally effective. There was rigorous evidence for efficacy of frameworks and reasonable evidence for creative approaches to physical activity. Drama lessons were valued. Standing frame use improved peer interaction or caused segregation. Disparity between problem identification and planned support in education health and care plans, and addressing personal and physical health factors were problematic. The voice of young people was lacking. More training was required in augmented and alternative communication.