Preparing to Include Special Children in mainstream Schools n Practical Guide LIZ FlflUELL First published in 2001 by David Fulton Publishers This edition published 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon 0X14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Note: The right of Liz Flavell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Copyright © 2001 Liz Flavell British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 1-85346-770-7 The materials in this publication may be photocopied for use only within the purchasing organisation. Otherwise, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. Typeset by Elite Typesetting Techniques, Eastleigh, Hampshire Contents Acknowledgements iv Introduction v 1 The National Curriculum 2000: the Inclusion Statement 1 2 How to Make Inclusion Work 17 3 Changing the Role of the Special School in the School Community 28 4 Communication - Ways of Celebrating Diversity 44 5 Planning and Organisation in Mainstream Settings 53 6 Development of Physical Resources on a Mainstream Site 63 7 Recording, Monitoring and Evaluating Pupils7 Progress and Experiences 73 8 'Perceptions of Inclusion' Comments 81 Bibliography 86 Index 87 Acknowledgements I acknowledge the kind help and assistance of Hilary Barrett and all the staff at Penny Field School and Education Leeds. I would also like to extend grateful thanks to: The head teachers, staff, governors, pupils and parents from Penny Field School St Urban7 s Catholic Primary School, Miles Hill Primary School, City of Leeds High School; Paul Barker and June Wilson of Leeds Inclusion Project; Helen Longland and Cath Rutherford of the Leeds SEN Monitoring Team; Angela Cox, chair of governors, Penny Field School; Julia Robinson and Julie Davey, Purple Class Team; The Inclusion Network - Sally Beveridge and Sue Pearson - Leeds University; and everyone else who has contributed time, effort and support to this book. Introduction This book is intended to be an aid to those who work in special or mainstream school and who are seeking to develop inclusion for all pupils with severe and complex learning difficulties. As Dawn Male (1997: 2) states: 'Inclusion has been variously defined. Whilst integration is generally accepted as being the process by which pupils with SEN mix and work alongside those without SEN, fitting into existing arrangements, "inclusion is a larger and prior concept" (FEFC, 1996)'. According to Sebba and Sachdev (1997: 9-10): 'An inclusive school is one which attempts to respond to all pupils as individuals by reconsidering its curricula organisation and provision'. The majority of pupils with severe, profound and complex learning difficulties are however, educated in special schools with limited or no access to mainstream peers. This book aims to set a positive agenda to the process that sees these pupils spending increasing parts of their school life within an inclusive environment. High School Annual Joint Residential Group 3 'Outward Bound' to Special School y' Groups 1 & 2 from Special School to High School Interaction between Special School four Schools Pupils join\Jpur classes in groups Presentation to whole of 3 ana 4 \ school termlv Two groups to/ Nursery Pupil with Learning Mentor physical needs Group to join group in joins group for Sensory room & hydrotherapy Garden Primary School 1 Primary School 2 Year 1 groups join peers for Literacy Years 5 & 6 to join peer age lessons for alternative lessons Figure la Model of inclusion in a group of schools There are issues and difficulties attached to pupils with this level of complex learning difficulty sharing their education with mainstream peers. Many of these problems arise while working within the schools and require quick and positive responses. Based upon the experiences of one special school working closely with three mainstream schools - two in the primary Preparing to Include Special Children in Mainstream Schools phase and one high school - I intend to show that by sharing and valuing good practice between schools, it is possible to include the pupils with the most profound and severe learning difficulties, while providing all pupils with a high quality education (Figure la). A vision and philosophy is needed to put into practice the belief that all pupils can be educated together. By viewing inclusion as a process, and ensuring excellent communication and development planning, there are no problems that cannot be overcome as schools work together on forging closer relationships for the benefit of all pupils. The schools involved must share the workload on developing inclusion, and accept that it is a learning situation for all. Just as no two schools are the same, so no two schemes for inclusion can work in exactly the same way - the way in which each group of schools tackles inclusion will necessarily be different. Each school is a community of pupils, parents, governors, teachers, and support and ancillary staff with diverse needs and ideas. All members of a school need to be considered when developing an inclusion plan. Readers will know to look for the similarities and not the differences. The special school is for pupils with severe learning difficulties. Within this population are pupils with very complex and profound special needs including severe learning difficulties with associated motor and sensory impairments. The resources needed include specialist seating, sensory curriculum access, highly individual communication support and individual learning and behaviour objectives. However, the most vital resource is the staff - specialist teachers, highly trained support workers, health and therapy staff - all of whom share in the inclusion experience. The process described in this book can only show the development of inclusion up to a point, as it is not a static state but a process. Some of the ideas and ways of working together may help those enthusiastic practitioners who wish to start or continue their own process of linking mainstream and special schools in a successful and realistic project, perhaps leading to more permanent partnerships. Photocopiable sheets are included for evaluation and monitoring records, pupil profiles, individual objective plans and other materials to help make inclusion a success that benefits all schools in the future. Any materials shown in the book are available to use in the form in which they are presented or may be altered to fit other situations. There are sample medium-term plans in brief to give a flavour of how subject areas can be made appropriate to the needs of all the pupils. This is a practitioner's account of jointly working in a group of schools centring on one special school. It is an overview of the work of these schools in taking inclusion forward with confidence and success. There are references to research that will enhance the practical situations but it is not intended as a case study. However, there are a great many people and some organisations involved in the process, all of whom make a valued contribution. Every participant in the life of a school is a stakeholder in inclusion: pupils, parents, teachers, support staff, health employees, managers, subject coordinators, taxi escorts, dinner supervisors, governors, local education authority (LEA) vi Introduction officers and administration staff. Inclusion should be seen as an exciting initiative by all those involved. If they are consulted from the beginning of the process, they will make a valuable contribution as the inclusive schools develop together. The opportunity is there for all pupils to learn together in the least restrictive environment while not compromising on the quality of the education they receive (Figure lb). The experience and expertise from both mainstream and special school staff will extend the scope of the learning environment for all pupils, while the development of an inclusive environment will be of benefit to both staff and children. Some sensitivity is necessary when steering staff through the process as it is almost inevitable that there will be anxieties about jobs and locations. Inclusion is not just for pupils, but for managers, staff, governors, parents and the local community. The role of the special school will inevitably change through the development of inclusion. Its resources can be used within a continuum of provision to enhance curricular developments. The special school will have an important part to play within the education of all pupils and can offer much to enhance the learning experiences of many pupils including those wholly educated within mainstream provision. There need to be common goals for everyone to work towards the same outcomes. Essentially, this is a change in schools to be truly inclusive for all pupils. It means that schools need to look at how to accommodate the needs of the individual pupils and not at whether the pupils can fit the system. With the advent of the SEN and Disability Rights in Education Act (Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) 2000b), no school can ignore its implications. Pupils do have a right to be educated together and provided with a broad, balanced and good quality education. This book should appeal to those who work closely with the pupils, i.e., teachers, support assistants, head teachers, coordinators, governors and those from LEAs who implement local policy. It is based on the practice governed by the Department for Education and Employment in England and Wales and any legislation referred to relates to this education system. Figure lb An inclusive lesson vii This page intentionally left blank The National Curriculum 2000: 1 the Inclusion Statement 'Providing Effective Learning Opportunities for All Pupils' The pupils are all of Year 1 age, between five and six years old. It is literacy hour in the inclusive class of a mainstream school. There are 25 pupils on the class register and an additional four pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties. The mainstream class teacher is leading the group, and two members of staff from the special school are seated among the pupils. Two pupils are in wheelchairs and so are seated at the side of the main group. One has severe visual problems too, but due to careful positioning of her chair, she can be seen to be following the activities of the group by her head movements. All pupils are given a turn to answer a question. Only one of the special school pupils present uses speech for communication, one is a signer and the other two use facial expression and body movements to express themselves in the group situation. The special school staff are carefully observing the pupils, but are not seated between them and any of their peers to allow for direct interaction. The Big Book story is about rhyme and rhythm. It has a number of short rhymes; some are traditional and some less familiar. The whole group focuses attention on the teacher leading the session. The pupils interact with each other by eye contact or touch. The pupils from the special school are involved in this, although only one initiates contact. The others are willing recipients. Communication by using smiles and head turning is common between all the pupils, as their attention slips between the focus of the lesson and the group as a social entity. The member of staff seated on the floor helps a mainstream pupil to refocus on the lesson by using gesture; there is no speech apart from by the class teacher. During the activity session, which is to match words to pictures on a felt board, all the pupils have a turn. Although the adults move the wheelchair to allow the pupils access to the front of the class, the rest of the work is done in pairs with a mainstream child performing the actions as directed by the child in the chair through a series of facial expressions. All the class watches as each has a turn. The pupil in the chair smiles and enjoys her part in the group identity. She has had a turn, interacted with teacher and pupil, watched as others have taken their turn and visually searched for the position of the pupil in the group when called by the teacher to take a turn. These are all valid objectives for this pupil in social skills and communication. 1