Inclusive_Education

Part B Inclusive Education The purpose of this assignment demonstrates examples of inclusive practice within the setting and considers recommendations on how the setting may become more inclusive. The foundations of Mosscroft Primary School is located within an area of social and economic deprivation with numbers of children eligible for free school meals recognised as well above the national average. An Ofsted report concluded that the ‘proportion of pupils with learning difficulties/disabilities is well above average and children begin nursery with skills that are well below expectations in virtually all areas of learning.’ (2007:1) Numbers of children vary in each classroom and years two and three are joined together to help lift the numbers to full capacity. This situation is mainly due to ‘families moving out of the area’ (Ofsted, 2007:1) resulting in numbers dropping significantly. There are many contrasting views that support and define the term inclusion which can ‘often be associated with students who have impairments or students seen to have special needs.’ However the responsibility of schools to provide inclusive practice suggests that it should relate ‘to all children and young people.’ (Booth & Ainscow, 2002:1) Sebba and Ainscow (2006:9) define inclusion as a ‘process by which a school attempts to respond to all pupils as individuals by reconsidering its curricular organisation and provision.’ The provision within the setting consists of many teachers including a read and recovery teacher, support staff, a SENCO and Inclusion Co-ordinator, helping to oversee the management of the schools inclusive learning practice. Teaching assistants work alongside staff in the classrooms to help facilitate the needs of the children within their learning; this can be seen as a ‘central point to develop effective educational inclusion.’ (Cheminais, 2002:21) However, it can be noted that many teachers appear to not appreciate the help and support from several Teaching Assistants even though research suggests they can make a ‘significant contribution by increasing the captivity to respond to pupil diversity.’ (Cheminais, 2002:21) Our school ‘aims to be an inclusive school; we actively seek to remove barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude individual pupils, or groups of pupils. This means that the equality of opportunity must be a reality for our children.’ (Inclusion Policy, 2010:1) This statement is supported through the Inclusion Policy as all staff aim to uphold high expectations of all pupils in practice. This collaborates alongside Ofsted who emphasise that ‘all schools need to cater equally for all pupils, while at the same time holding the belief that all schools should aim to achieve high standards.’ (Ofsted, 2003::1) Minimising children’s barriers to learning and participation can be accessed through sufficient resources and is seen as a key element used within the setting. Although research suggests that ‘there are always more resources to support and further learning.’ (Booth & Ainscow, 2002:5) Furthermore it can be seen that the use of resources requires careful consideration in order to be used effectively throughout all areas of learning and within the classroom. In 2004 Removing Barriers to Achievement presented the government’s representation for the welfare and education of children with additional needs, ‘building on the proposals for the reform of children’s services in Every Child Matters.’ (Teachernet, 2010:1) The vision for improvement ‘is delivered by working in partnership’ (Teachernet, 2010:1) through Early Intervention, raising expectations and improving co-operation with outside agencies. Partnership with many outside agencies allows the school to share effective strategies and provide additional specialist advice for all staff. Specialist expertises include, speech and language services, Educational psychologists, social services and many more. These services provide vital information about children within the school and help provide regular training, interventions, classroom support, identification and assessment of pupils with individual needs. Regular meetings are also held to develop this partnership and communication is seen as an effective key. In aspects of teaching and learning it is known that the majority of pupils ‘can succeed through class based teaching, however even in a classroom where personalised teaching is effective for some pupils this approach may not be sufficient as these pupils may benefit from small groups or one-to-one interventions to enable them to make progress.’ (National Strategies, 2010:1) Within the setting the school provides sufficient early intervention programmes such as Read and Recovery aiming to help underachievers develop their reading and writing through one-to-one tuition. However ‘the variables of budget, teachers, expertise, staffing, rooms and learners’ are considered to have a major impact upon the decisions for the correct interventions and strategies that suit the needs of all children. The policy for teaching and learning was drawn together and approved by all staff and governors, allowing all contributions to be valued. It establishes that the school ‘continuously aims to improve the effectiveness of our teaching.’ (Teaching & Learning Policy, 2010:1) To incorporate successful teaching and learning two models of teaching are used within the setting. The Transmission Model is used to expand on ‘learning that is mainly dependant on the teacher and is processed through repetition.’ (Roehampton, 2011:1) However, this model suggests that the teaching and learning does not look at the process for all pupils as it may not be accessible for everyone and may show signs of becoming less inclusive as it is very much teacher led. Osborne et al stresses that it is the ‘the pressures from a restricted but overloaded National Curriculum, combined with high steaks, national testing, which appears to be diminishing the opportunities for teachers to work in a way that enables them to develop the whole child and address the social concerns of wider society.’ (2000:160) The debate of excessive pressures on staff within the setting is considered high as Ofsted stated that ‘Year 6 pupils' attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, including the proportion of pupils who attain higher levels.’ (2010:1) This highlights the significant uphold for pressures to keep the scores high in results tables, which leads to the continuous pressure on teachers and the results for the SATS. The Guardian newspaper published an article stating that ‘schools spend too much time preparing children to pass exams at the expense of a broader education, while league tables pile on the pressure for staff,’ leading to key questions including, does this consider an approach to inclusive education and effective classroom teaching' (Guardian, 2006:1) In contrast the Experiential Model is used throughout the rest of the school consisting of fluent discussion and interaction which explores and ‘encourages children to take responsibility for their own learning and enhances participation, self reliance and self confidence’ (Flowers et al, 2007:23) This model of teaching suggests being effective only if appropriate planning is in place as all lessons ‘follow guidelines as a resource to adapt an existing session to make it more suitable for all learners and children with learning difficulties or disabilities.’ (LSIS, 2010:33) This links in with the National Curriculum as it outlines how educators are able to adapt the framework so that all pupils can gain access to the curriculum. Pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities vary from other pupils as they may have their own set targets, however this is no exception as the inclusion statement within the National Curriculum summaries that ‘schools have a responsibility to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils’ (DfEE, 1999:23) The school follows these guidelines by taking into consideration the learning of all pupils, their needs and abilities to ensure that all children are able to reach their full potential in lessons. However there can be barriers as the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties/disabilities remains well above average, leading to teachers having to take extra time to plan effectively and try and cater for all. Through the models of teaching accelerated learning approaches are also used alongside ‘effective teaching strategies to create an inclusive classroom which helps pupils to learn effectively’ (Cheminais, 2004:40) In order to identify children’s individual learning needs teachers observe closely in the classroom and in children’s work. This helps to build appropriately on the foundations of current knowledge and also allows teachers to revisit basic ideas to further children’s understanding. This strategy is emphasised by Bruner, an American psychologist who believed that learning was ‘an active process in which learners construct new ideas based on current knowledge.’ (Bruner cited in Kearsley, 1994:1) Furthermore Sharman et al (2000:13) states that, ‘by watching children we evaluate their needs, extend their experiences and facilitate their learning.’ When planning to meet children’s needs it is suggested to be important to consider equal opportunities and challenging children to move forward. Teachers within the setting consider Individual Education Plans and also include differentiating appropriately with sufficient resources and teaching strategies to create a more inclusive approach. However, many issues arise when ‘teachers may not have considered that they need to differentiate not because of different abilities but because children learn in different ways.’ (McNamara & Moreton, 1997:2) This suggests that when differentiating work it needs to be done carefully and appropriately in order to challenge children in developing their abilities. When planning for individuals teachers look over IEP’s that state specific needs and targets alongside strategies and teaching approaches to help the delivery of learning. The head teacher’s position within the setting plays a vital role in overseeing the whole school and all inclusive aspects which also consists of the responsibility for continuous professional development. The government strategy for SEN states that, ‘head teachers should ensure that all staff develop the skills and confidence to respond effectively to all children.’ (DfES, 2004:2.8) However, within the setting continuous debate for the improvement of professional development for teaching assistants remains in dispute. Research suggests that ‘while professional development for teachers is improving, the support given for wider workforce may be lacking in comparison.’ (Holmes, 2008:1) A recommendation for future training is valued however an essence of time and funding available within the school budget remains low leading to staff not able to continue professional development on a regular basis. This remains difficult as ‘teaching assistants are increasingly relied on to provide help for children who experience difficulties in learning.’ (Richards, 2008:1) In comparison the government emphasise that in order to raise standards towards inclusive education it helps to ‘reduce teachers workloads by increasing the variety and complexity of tasks carried out by teaching assistants.’ (Richards, 2008:73) Therefore it would seem necessary to improve the quality of knowledge and skills within the areas of special needs for all staff, including TAs. This assignment leads to consider recommendations to further inclusive practice within the setting, as perhaps one of the ‘biggest source of difficulty for teachers and schools is balancing needs’ for all pupils.’ (Clough, 1998:11) In order to respond to all pupils’ diverse needs teachers may need to extend their ‘range of teaching strategies to match individual learning styles and employ a variety of activities within each lesson.’ (Briggs, 2005:5) Research suggests that this recommendation is beneficial as ‘when schools become more inclusive and more responsive to diverse needs, standards rise.’ (Briggs, 2005:8) In other aspects of teaching ‘curricular has always been a means of exclusion’ (Clough, 1998:11) suggesting that teachers ought to take into consideration all needs and abilities in offering flexibility between the two models of learning. This strategy suggests being more beneficial as it gives teachers the possibility to adapt opportunities instead of diminishing them. Limited knowledge and understanding of special areas of need could significantly be improved, as inadequate knowledge does not prepare ‘teachers and staff to work with the full range of pupils with special needs. (Briggs, 2005:10) Therefore training for teachers and teaching assistants should be considered important ‘on particular needs of pupils with learning difficulties who are to join the school community and be given guidance with appropriate teaching methods, learning activities and specialist materials.’ (Briggs, 2005:10) Negativity between teaching staff and teaching assistants could be resolved through effective time management, planning and ensuring that colleagues understand ‘the role and expectations of all teaching assistants.’ (Cheminais, 2004:87) Lastly regular reviews for effective inclusion through policy and practice should be valued and taken into consideration over a period of time. Research establishes this by emphasising that ‘teams should examine existing priorities in the plan and consider how they contribute to inclusive development within the school in order to make any necessary adaptions.’ (Booth & Aninscow, 2002:32) In conclusion, schools are capable to make many changes to improve inclusive practice and education on a regular basis. Issues relating to individual needs could be prioritised in order to plan and deliver more effective and suitable lessons within teaching and learning based. However inclusive education suggests being a ‘process that will take time to achieve as it is about continuous school improvement rather than sudden change.’ (Briggs, 2005:1)