EDUCATION FOR ALL Special Needs and Inclusive Education in Malta External Audit Report European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education This document is the final EDUCATION FOR ALL Special Needs and Inclusive Education in Malta – External Audit Report. This report has been prepared by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education on behalf of the Ministry for Education and Employment, Malta. The report has been developed as a result of work conducted throughout 2014 by staff and consultants from the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. External Audit Team members: - Dr Amanda Watkins, Assistant Director, Agency - Dr Verity Donnelly, Project Manager, Agency - Professor Serge Ebersold, National Higher Institute for Teacher Training and Research on Special Needs Education (INS HEA), Paris and University of Strasbourg, France - Professor Richard Rose, University of Northampton, UK (England) - Dr Per Skoglund, National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, Sweden European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2014 Secretariat Brussels Office Østre Stationsvej 33 Rue Montoyer, 21 DK-5000 Odense C Denmark BE-1000 Brussels Belgium Tel: +45 64 41 00 20 Tel: +32 2 213 62 80 CONTENTS List of Figures and Tables ........................................................................................... 7 List of acronyms used in the Report and Annexes ...................................................... 8 FOREWORD ............................................................................................................ 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................... 11 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 16 The External Audit approach .................................................................................... 16 Audit objectives ....................................................................................................... 17 Key milestones within the Audit ............................................................................... 18 Conceptual framework .......................................................................................... 19 Critical Reflection Document ................................................................................. 20 Framework of Standards ....................................................................................... 20 Audit dataset ........................................................................................................ 20 Findings ................................................................................................................ 21 Evaluation of policy and practice against the Standards ....................................... 22 Audit recommendations ........................................................................................ 22 1. THE EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT IN MALTA ........................................................... 24 1.1 Historical background ......................................................................................... 24 1.2 Recent developments ......................................................................................... 27 1.2.1 National Curriculum Framework .................................................................. 27 1.2.2 The National Literacy Strategy ..................................................................... 28 1.2.3 A strategic plan for the prevention of Early School Leaving in Malta ............ 28 1.2.4 Integration of migrant children .................................................................... 29 1.3 Special needs and inclusive education ................................................................ 29 2. STANDARDS FOR THE AUDIT ............................................................................ 31 2.1 Desk Research .................................................................................................... 31 2.1.1 Principles underpinning an inclusive education system ................................ 32 2.2 Critical Reflection process .................................................................................. 33 2.3 The framework for Audit Standards ................................................................... 34 2.4 Critical issues for data collection ........................................................................ 36 2.5 Data collection to inform the Standards ............................................................. 37 3. ENABLING SCHOOLS TO IMPLEMENT INCLUSIVE EDUCATION ........................... 39 External Audit Report 3 3.1 Findings – areas of strength ............................................................................... 39 3.1.1 Culture and geography that supports stakeholder engagement .................. 39 3.1.2 The college system as a potential framework for collaboration ................... 39 3.1.3 Opportunities and system flexibility for delivering ‘joined-up’ initiatives ...... 39 3.1.4 School leaders’ positive view of policies fostering inclusion .......................... 40 3.2 Findings – areas for development ...................................................................... 40 3.2.1 The need for coherence of policy goals for inclusion at national level .......... 40 3.2.2 Ensuring the implementation of a policy vision for inclusive education ........ 41 3.2.3 Ensuring funding mechanisms support equity .............................................. 42 3.2.4 Developing school-level policies for inclusive education ............................... 43 3.2.5 Addressing the tension between increasing academic outputs and meeting individual learning needs ........................................................................ 45 4. ENABLING SCHOOL STAKEHOLDERS TO MEET LEARNERS’ DIVERSE NEEDS ....... 48 4.1 Findings – areas of strength ............................................................................... 48 4.1.1 Shared belief in the democratic value of inclusive education ........................ 48 4.1.2 Motivated and committed educational personnel ........................................ 48 4.1.3 Examples of innovative practice that can be built upon and scaled-up ......... 49 4.2 Findings – areas for development ...................................................................... 49 4.2.1 School professionals who feel unprepared for inclusive education ............... 49 4.2.2 School stakeholder perceptions of limitations in classroom support ............ 51 4.2.3 The effects of an LSA role focused upon supporting individual learners ....... 52 4.2.4 A highly centralised system that leads to ‘learned helplessness’ .................. 54 5. AN OFFICIAL NEEDS IDENTIFICATION AND STATEMENTING PROCEDURE THAT PROMOTES RIGHTS .............................................................................................. 57 5.1 Findings – areas of strength ............................................................................... 57 5.1.1 Positive examples of learners’ rights being met ........................................... 57 5.1.2 Highly structured needs identification procedures ....................................... 57 5.1.3 Awareness of the need to further develop procedures ................................. 58 5.2 Findings – areas for development ...................................................................... 58 5.2.1 The gap between school-based assessment and formal needs identification procedures ...................................................................................... 58 5.2.3 The continuing rise in numbers of learners referred for statementing .......... 59 5.2.4 Over-reliance on statementing procedures as a means of securing support . 60 5.2.5 System-level factors are not equitable for all learners .................................. 61 6. SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT THAT ENABLE ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN EDUCATION ........ 64 4 Special Needs and Inclusive Education in Malta 6.1 Findings – areas of strength ............................................................................... 64 6.1.1 Parents who believe in the benefits of inclusive education for their children 64 6.1.2 Availability of expertise in supporting learners’ diverse needs...................... 64 6.1.3 Forward-thinking initiatives to increase the inclusiveness of the Maltese education system .................................................................................................. 65 6.2 Findings – areas for development ...................................................................... 65 6.2.1 The perceived need to improve the support provided to mainstream schools .................................................................................................................. 65 6.2.2 Effectiveness and long-term sustainability of LSA provision ......................... 67 6.2.3 The need for a clearer role for specialist provision ....................................... 69 6.2.4 The role of the Student Services Department re-focused as School Services . 70 6.2.5 The need to develop a support system underpinned by a collaboration culture .................................................................................................................. 71 7. EDUCATIONAL QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESSES THAT ENABLE ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN EDUCATION ............................................................................ 73 7.1 Findings – areas of strength ............................................................................... 73 7.1.1 Increasing integration of issues of diversity and inclusion in wider education policies ................................................................................................. 73 7.1.2 Existing quality assurance standards and procedures .................................. 73 7.1.3 Willingness of the Directorate for Educational Services to engage in system review ....................................................................................................... 74 7.2 Findings – areas for development ...................................................................... 74 7.2.1 The need to embed national quality assurance and accountability mechanisms in school-level policy and practice .................................................... 74 7.2.2 The need to embed national quality assurance and accountability mechanisms within SEN resourcing procedures .................................................... 75 7.2.3 Addressing perceptions of fragmentation in the governance of inclusive education .............................................................................................................. 76 7.2.4 The need for transparent formal accountability procedures ......................... 77 8. EVALUATION OF POLICY AND PRACTICE AGAINST THE STANDARDS ................. 79 8.1 Process for evaluating policy and practice against the Standards ....................... 79 8.2 Priorities for future action identified by the evaluation ..................................... 80 8.3 Reflections on the evaluation process ................................................................ 83 9. RECOMMENDATIONS LINKED TO THE STANDARDS .......................................... 85 External Audit Report 5 9.1 Legislation and policy that promotes a rights-based approach to supporting the active participation of all learners ...................................................................... 85 9.2 Build the capacity of mainstream schools guided by a clear policy vision for inclusive education as an approach for all learners .................................................. 86 9.3 Establish a continuum of support and resources for colleges and schools ......... 87 9.4 Develop coherent training in inclusion for all school stakeholders ..................... 88 9.5 Provide flexible frameworks for curriculum and assessment, together with teaching approaches that engage all learners and support their active participation ............................................................................................................. 89 9.6 Re-focus the identification of needs and allocation of support towards early support and prevention ........................................................................................... 89 9.7 Embed coherent monitoring and evaluation processes in all school, service and Ministry-level work ........................................................................................... 90 9.8 Inter-connections between the areas of recommendations ............................... 91 WAYS FORWARD ................................................................................................. 93 Priority steps ............................................................................................................ 94 Critical levers for short-term action ......................................................................... 98 Re-visiting the 2005 re-positioning plan? ................................................................. 99 Concluding comments .............................................................................................. 99 LIST OF ANNEXES ............................................................................................... 101 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 102 6 Special Needs and Inclusive Education in Malta List of Figures and Tables Figures Figure 1. Audit Cycle................................................................................................. 17 Figure 2. Summary of Audit Methodology................................................................ 19 Figure 3. Developing Audit Recommendations ......................................................... 22 Figure 4. Overview of the education system ............................................................ 25 Figure 5. Development of the Standards .................................................................. 31 Figure 6. Inter-connection of the seven areas of system Standards ......................... 92 Figure 7. Flowchart of priority steps ......................................................................... 97 Tables Table 1. Learners statemented by year .................................................................... 60 Table 2. Learning Support Assistants (working with Identified Learners) .................. 67 External Audit Report 7 List of acronyms used in the Report and Annexes BMJ – British Medical Journal CPD – Continuous Professional Development DES – Directorate for Educational Services ESL – Early School Leaving GDP – Gross Domestic Product ICT – Information and Communication Technology IEPs – Individual Education Plans INCO – Inclusion Co-ordinator ITE – Initial Training and Education LSA – Learning Support Assistant NGO – Non-Governmental Organisation PIRLS – Progress in International Reading Literacy Study PISA – Programme for International Student Assessment SEN – Special Educational Needs SMTs – Senior Management Team members SMP – Statementing Moderating Panel SSD – Student Services Department TIMSS – Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study UDL – Universal Design for Learning UNCRC – United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child UNCRPD – United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 8 Special Needs and Inclusive Education in Malta