According to DfE statistics, the percentage of pupils with SEN support has increased to 13.6%, continuing an increasing trend from 2016.To illustrate this in real terms, in an average class of 30 students, almost 4 pupils will require SEN support. This has huge implications for how we teach, the support we provide and how classrooms are managed.
One thing that I love about my job is visiting different classrooms to see how teachers design learning and interact with pupils. I enjoy speaking to kids about the projects they are working on and the topics they are covering. Recently, the school SENDCO and I conducted a few lesson visits focusing on the learning of SEND pupils.
One particular class we visited had two students on the SEND register. One, a boy with suspected ADHD, working memory and processing weaknesses, the other, a girl with dyslexia. Now, I am aware that just watching pupils passively can be a poor proxy for learning – one student who may look diligent as they scribble notes in their jotter may not have the foggiest idea of what is actually taking place in the classroom, while another student who stares out the window could be processing information at a very high rate. This is often why I speak with both teachers and pupils about what is taking place during these visits. In this instance my conversations with both students were fascinating and enlightening.
I initially spoke with a group of students without special needs to get a gauge on what neurotypical students were experiencing and how they engaged with the learning process. This provided a baseline understanding of what was taking place in the learning environment. Call it a litmus test. After all, there is no reason why we should not expect our students with SEND to meet this standard. I am sure that most would agree that the aim, is to close attainment gaps between those with SEND and those without. After having spoken to these students, I approached the girl with dyslexia to have a short conversation about the project she was working on. Confidently and articulately, she was able to explain the mechanics of what her group was doing, the purpose of the task and what she was learning. There was virtually no difference between the quality of her articulation and that of her neurotypical peers. In contrast, when I spoke with the boy with working memory and processing weaknesses and posed the very same questions, he struggled to explain what he was doing and why he was doing it. The richness of his expression was markedly different from that of the girl’s. This may be fairly obvious you might think. In any class, there will always be differentiation of outcome, and you are right to think so. But this is a lazy conclusion to draw and masks low expectations of some students with SEND. What if this boy had been asked to do a write up of the project, and that assignment was to be graded? How could he possibly demonstrate his understanding in articulate written language when he was barely able to perform this task verbally. Writing lucidly is no easy thing to do at the best of times!
Reflecting on this experience after having spoken spoken to the teacher about the lesson, I came away thinking the following
- What if all students had the opportunity to practise rehearsal of articulating the learning process. A simple mid-point plenary could be useful with a few starter sentences.
- We are learning to…
- We hope to achieve…
- The skills we are practising are…
Something like this could help to scaffold the articulation of students’ learning journeys. Early on in my career, I used to call these ‘learning pit-stops’. I suspect I may have subconsciously pilfered this title, so if you are the inventor of this term and reading this blog, please don’t sue for theft of intellectual property!
2. Having had an enlightening discussion with the class teacher who was wholly committed to supporting her pupils, she suggested that she’d include explicit success criteria next time, with a particular emphasis on students like the boy who struggled to articulate his learning. What a great way to communicate high expectations and clarity of learning intentions. The beauty is that this benefits ALL pupils!
3. Both of these pupils have 1-1 support. I couldn’t help but wonder if their 1-1 support teacher builds on some of the work the students do in their lessons. For someone with working memory issues, this would be fundamental in supporting students’ cognitive load and strengthening neural pathways.
4. Finally, context is key! During my chat with the class teacher, it was revealed that the boy had been absent one lesson, therefore he was slightly out of step with others. Whilst this does not account for all of the issues he had with the learning process, it stressed the importance of regular attendance for students, especially those with SEND. Every lesson is vital in order for attainment gaps to be narrowed.
Overall, I know that as a leader I need to do better in promoting high quality teaching and learning provision for SEND. As Katherine Walsh, Director of Inclusion at River Learning Trust suggests, we are all teachers of SEND with a responsibility to ensure their progress.
1- For DfE stats on SEND pupils: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-englan