education and inclusion (2011)

Special Educational Special Educational Needs and Needs and InclusionInclusion

Historical Perspective

Before the turn of the 20th century:

• ‘handicap’ ethos• medical model• diagnosis/treatment• identification within the medical field• emphasis on ‘disability’ not ability

Categories of Handicap before 1981 Education Act

BlindPartially sightedDeafPartially hearingEducationally sub-normalMaladjustedPhysically handicappedEpilepticDiabeticSpeech defectedDelicate

Only reference to education or

learning

Attitudes to disability

Terminology often reflected attitude:

‘Deaf and dumb’ ‘Deaf mute’‘Mentally defective’ ‘Retarded’‘Feebleminded’ ‘Imbecile’‘Idiot’ ‘Cripple’

Mongolism Downs Syndrome Handicapped Disabled, impairedMaladjusted Emotional and Behavioural

DifficultiesEducationally subnormal Learning difficulties

The Warnock Report“The present concept of special educational need is based on the deliberations of the Warnock Committee, which had a governmental brief to investigate and make recommendations about special educational provision, and which published its report in 1978. The Committee brought together and articulated the views that were current among many of those who were working in special education, and it was generally held to represent a major development in official thinking about special educational need. Although not all of its recommendations were adopted, it has been of lasting significance, not least because of its insistence that special educational need and special educational provision are central concerns for all who are involved in education, rather than subjects for specialist interest only.”

Beveridge, Sally. (1999). Special Educational Needs in Schools.

1981 Education Act

Operative in 1983Embraced many of the Warnock Report’s recommendations

• Integration• School psychological and support services expanded• SEN - compulsory component on all ITT courses• Role of parents in decision-making increased• Identification & assessment in educational arena

Broad SpectrumMILD SEVERE

MODERATE

Special Educational Needs (2002)

A child has special educational needs if he or she has a ‘learning difficulty’ because:

• the child has significantly greater difficulty in learning than most children of the same age, or

• the child has a disability which needs different educational facilities from those that schools generally provide for children of the same age in the area.

SEN: General Principles• A child with special educational needs should

have their needs met.• The special educational needs of children will

normally be met in mainstream schools or settings.

• The views of the child should be sought and taken into account.

• Parents have a vital role to play in supporting their child’s education.

• Children with special educational needs should be offered full access to a broad, balanced and relevant education, including an appropriate curriculum for the foundation stage and the National Curriculum.

(SEN Code of Practice 2002)

?

Categories of Special Educational Needs

1 Learning Difficulties– Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD)– Moderate Learning Difficulty (MLD)– Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD)– Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty (PMLD)

2 Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulty (BESD)

3 Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)

4 Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties

– Hearing impairment (HI)– Visual impairment (VI)– Multi-sensory impairment (MSI)– Physical disability (PD)

5 Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (inc Asperger’s Syndrome)

Degrees of response to children with Special Educational Needs

1 School ActionTeachers use Individual Education Plans (IEPs) to record the different or additional provision to be made for the child, teaching strategies, short-term targets for the pupil, success criteria, and what they have achieved.

2 School Action PlusThe school asks for outside advice from the LA’s support services, or from health or social work professionals.

2 Statement

Sets out the child’s needs in detail and the special educational provision to be made for them – a statutory provision.

* As a proportion of all children with statements of SEN in maintained primary and secondary schools.

Pupils with statements of SEN by type of need and school, 2008

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

%

Special

Secondary

Primary

Pupils with statements of SEN by type of need and status, 2008

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

%

Statement

School Action Plus

Rate of incidence of pupils with statements of SEN in maintained primary and secondary schools: January 2008

Pupils with SEN statements as a percentage of all pupils, England 1994-

2008

0

1

2

3

4

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Perc

en

tag

e

Deciding where children who have statements are educated

(1)A child who has special educational needs and a statement must be educated in a mainstream school unless this would be incompatible with:

a. the wishes of the child’s parents; or

b. the provision of efficient education of other children.

These are the only reasons why mainstream education can be refused outright.

Deciding where children who have statements are educated

(2)LEAs and maintained schools can only deny mainstream education, against parental wishes, on the grounds that it would be incompatible with the efficient education of other children. A school will only be able to rely on this ground if there are no reasonable steps that either it or the LEA could take to prevent the incompatibility at the school. Clear evidence must be provided to justify why no reasonable steps can be taken. It is envisaged that it will only be possible to demonstrate this in a small minority of cases.

DfES (2001). Inclusive Schooling

2003 2004 2005 20066,990 7,800 7,930 8,200

90,640 88,950 85,500 82,600152,920 150,390 146,220 141,000

Placement of pupils with statements of SENby type of school, England, 1993 to 2007

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Maintainedmainstreamschools +PRUs

All specialschools

Independentschools

Placement of pupils with statements of SENby type of school, England, 1993 to 2008

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Maintainedmainstreamschools +PRUs

All specialschools

Independentschools

N.B. New ‘Code of Practice’ introduced 2002

69797 72525 75300 70780 71040 69610 6738077330 79788 82100 78610 79320 78480 7658087326 86877 87400 85800 85800 84250 83290

Pupils with SEN statementsEngland 1997-2006

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Secondary

Primary

Special

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Primary 63551 67014 69797 72525 75300 70780 71040 69610Secondary 70080 73956 77330 79788 82100 78610 79320 78480Special 87330 87931 87326 86877 87400 85800 85800 84250


050000

100000150000200000250000300000 Special

Secondary

Primary


0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

Special

Secondary

Primary

Rate of incidence of pupils with SEN without statements in maintained primary and secondary schools: Jan. 2008

N.B. New ‘Code of Practice’ introduced 2002

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004821342 859742 885952 927000 834140 685100 685700479675 514386 541406 586300 519120 430080 450120

SEN pupils without statementsEngland 1997-2006

0200000400000600000800000

1000000120000014000001600000

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Secondary

Primary

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Primary 759449 821342 859742 885952 927000 834140 685100 685700Secondary 442024 479675 514386 541406 586300 519120 430080 450120

0200000400000600000800000

1000000120000014000001600000

19

97

19

98

19

99

20

00

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

Secondary

Primary

SEN pupils without Statements, England 1997-

2007

0200000400000600000800000

1000000120000014000001600000

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Secondary

Primary

SEN pupils without Statements, England 1997-

2008

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 20031693 1798 1890 1770 1800 1840 20103915 4270 4906 4430 4768 4940 56007530 7740 8260 8480 9300 9960 12010

Pupil Referral UnitsEngland 1997 to 2006

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Total on roll

Pupils withstatements

Pupil Referral UnitsEngland 1997 to 2006

02000400060008000

1000012000140001600018000

Total on roll


Pupis Referral Units England 1997 to 2008

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008


Pupilswithoutstatements

Total on roll

Pupil Referral Units England 1997 to 2008

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

1800019

97

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008


Pupilswithoutstatements

Total on roll

GCSE achievement by SEN

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% a

chie

vin

g 5

+ G

CS

E A

*- C

2005 2006 2007 2008

No identified SEN

SEN, no statement

SEN with statement

How meaningful is this

data?

GCSE achievement by SEN(including English and Maths)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

% a

chie

vin

g 5

+ G

CS

E A

*- C

inc.

E&

M

2005 2006 2007 2008

No identified SEN

SEN, no statement

SEN with statement

So what?

Inclusion“Inclusion, much more than ‘integration’ or ‘mainstreaming’, is embedded in a range of contexts - political and social as well as psychological and educational…

…inclusive education is really about extending the comprehensive ideal in education. Those who talk about it are therefore less concerned with children’s supposed ‘special educational needs’… and more concerned with developing an education system in which tolerance, diversity and equity are striven for. “

Skidmore, David. (2004). Inclusion: The Dynamic of School Development.

The Coalition’s Plans for SEN

Ministers are considering how to ensure parents can send their child with special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities to their preferred educational setting – whether that is a mainstream school, special school or an academy.

Ministers are considering a range of options including how to:

– give parents a choice of educational settings that can meet their child’s needs;

– transform funding for children with SEN and disabilities and their families, making the system more transparent and cost-effective while maintaining a high quality of service;

– prevent the unnecessary closure of special schools, and involve parents in any decisions about the future of special schools;

– support young people with SEN and disabilities post-16 to help them succeed after education;

– improve diagnosis and assessment to identify children with additional needs earlier.

The Coalition’s Plans for SEN

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

• “Children with special educational needs and disabilities should have the same opportunities as other children, but the current system is so adversarial that too often this doesn’t happen. I want parents, teachers, charities, teaching unions and local authorities to come forward with the changes they think are needed to make the system better for children with SEN and their families.

• Parents should be in control of their child’s education and future. Importantly, they must be involved in discussions and decisions about the support they need rather than feel they have to battle the system. I want to make it easier for parents to choose where their child is educated.

• I want to look at every aspect of SEN – from assessment and identification to funding and education. We need to strip away the cumbersome bureaucracy but ensure there is a better, more comprehensive service for families.”

Questions1. Do you think that children with SEN

currently have ‘equality of educational opportunity’ in schools?

2. Do you agree that all children should be educated in ‘mainstream’ schools unless it can be proved otherwise?

3. Are there some areas where the policy of inclusion has gone too far?

4. In which areas do you think this policy has not gone far enough?

5. How might SEN/inclusion policy and practice be improved?