Young Children With Special Educational Needs

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

This assignment will be viewing two settings giving the comparison of two early years’ provisions for young children with Special Education Needs (SEN) (See Appendix 1 and 2). This will establish an understanding of the theoretical perspective and legislative context of SEN provision. This report will include the definitions of SEN policies, the provision and the role of SENCO. It will also be referring to the Code of Practice in relation to theories of development, support, decision making and assessment. Findings from both settings are to be explored to establish the relevance and adequacy of these provisions for children with SEN.

A child has special educational needs (SEN) if he or she has learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for him or her to learn than most other children of about the same age. Many children will have SEN of some kind during their education. Schools and other organisations can help most children overcome the barriers their difficulties present quickly and easily. A few children will need extra help for some or all of their time in school. Children make progress at different rates and have different ways in which they learn best. Practitioners take account of this in the way they organise their activities and teach. Children making slower progress or having particular difficulties in one area may be given extra help or different lessons to help them succeed.

Historians of special education usually trace its roots back to the end of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth century (Hallahan et al., 2009 and Kauffman, 1981cited in Taylor and Wood, 2005). Prior to the French and American Revolutions, care for people with disabilities came largely in the form of asylums, created almost as much to protect the larger society from those considered insane as to protect those housed within the institutions. With the revolutions, however, came principles of democracy and egalitarianism. Many European and American physicians, clergymen, and other reformers tackled the issue of rehabilitating and educating children with a variety of disabilities.

The first Education Act concerned with disability came into force in 1975 and defined five categories of disability. Prior to the Education Act of 1944, access to education was limited, and in 1938, only one fifth of all children received a formal education after the age 14. But in 1944, an amended Education Act was introduced. This Act defined 11 categories of disability, including children who were deaf, blind, physically handicapped, epileptic and diabetic. Then in 1970 the Act was amended once more, to include children who had mental disabilities.

The 1981 Education Act which followed the Warnock Report changed the concept of special needs. It aimed to give parents more power, as partners in their children’s education. The Education Reform Act 1988 introduced the National Curriculum and gave more power to schools. The Warnock Report gave rise to the Education Act 1981 which attempted to address the situation of special needs. It introduced the idea of special educational needs (SEN), "statements" of SEN, and an "integrative" which later became known as "inclusive"—approach, ‘based on common educational goals for all children regardless of their abilities or disabilities: namely independence, enjoyment, and understanding’. ref.

The 1981 Act was eventually superseded by the Education Act 1993 (which was subsequently consolidated into the Education Act 1996) which required the Secretary of State to issue a Code of Practice on SEN giving practical guidance to LEAs and the governing bodies of all maintained schools about their responsibilities for all children with SEN.

Through the years, predominant views of SEN have changed considerably and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) cited in Section 1 a definition of disability identifying the rights under the Act of those affected, as individuals having ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities’.

Nowadays doctors who are in the public sector have additional responsibilities since December 2006. The Disability Equality Duty (DED) means that any public body needs to actively look at ways of ensuring that disabled people are treated equally.is this paragraph relevant?

Another vital piece of the SEN framework was the revised Code of Practice, which came into force in January 2002 and incorporated amendments from the Special Educational Needs Disability Act, 2001( SENDA) together with new SEN Regulations which made inclusion more of a legal requirement. After the implementation of SENDA, the law was amended (by insertion of a new section 316/316A into the Education Act 1996). This change requires Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to place children with SEN in mainstream schools not only where it would be compatible with efficient education and the efficient use of resources, but also because they must be educated in a mainstream school unless it is incompatible with efficient education and the wishes of the parent.

The Education Act 1993 and the Education Act 1996 (as amended by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001) explains that a child has special educational needs if he/she has learning difficulties calling for special educational provision to be made for him/her. The requirements of the Act and the SEN Code of Practice do not therefore apply to more and/or very able children, unless other special educational needs are present. In addition, the Act is quite specific that a child must not be regarded as having learning difficulties solely because the language or form of the language, of the home is different from the language in which he/she is, or will be, taught.

With regards to the Code of Practice 1994, the Education Act 1993 in practice recommends that the school should devise an initial Individual Education Plan (IEP), setting shorter-term educational and/or developmental targets for the pupil, within two months of his/her Statement being finalised. The two settings A and B under consideration in this assignment, review their SEN children’s progress towards these targets at least twice a year and give his/her achievements in relation to the IEP full consideration at the first Annual Review of the Statement, when further targets are set.

Setting A

The full details of Setting A can be found in Appendix 1 but to summarise: the nursery is a private provision; it is in Central London and children are entitled to 15 hours a week. This nursery works differently to Setting B; this one can be very expensive but does offer full days. Over the last few years, there have been 3-5 members of staff with around 32 children and the staff have developed their skills and knowledge to meet the needs of children with significant special educational needs.

The setting has developed and sourced over 10 new multi-sensory resources to help maximise the potential of children with additional and special educational needs. This is why the fee is very high. For children attending such settings additional funding necessary to support their special educational needs can be applied for through the Early Years SEN Panel. A statutory assessment and statement of special educational needs is not required for this funding.

The nursery is run by a team of professionally-qualified (NNEB, NVQ 3 and 4, Foundation Degree in Early Child Studies and BA joint honours in Early Child Studies and Education) staff with a variety of childcare experiences. All staff keep their childcare qualifications up to date with appropriate training recommended by Ofsted.

The school has regard to the DfES Code of Practice in the Identification and Assessment of SEN and has appointed a Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) to co-ordinate provision throughout the nursery. The school also recognises the importance of early intervention in identifying and meeting the individual needs of children. The school is an inclusive setting and welcomes all children with special needs and disabilities, recognising their requirements. The philosophy is working in partnership with parents and taking into consideration their views and the views of each individual child.

The registered person who is the principal is a speech therapist and is aware that some children may have special needs and is proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken. When such a child is identified or admitted to the provision, steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties. The setting is committed to working in partnership with parents and carers to support children who have barriers in learning new tasks and skills.

Currently there is a child in the very early stage of the identification process but it is taking a long time to give the child support because of funding and fee issues. The parents will need to have a statement regarding the child with SEN and they need to prove this with their own psychologists report, as the private school will not fund this.

Setting B

The following school is Setting B details of which can be found in Appendix 2, but to summarise: setting B is a primary school; it is also in central London and this has government funding by Camden town council; the children can come at the age of four years. The rooms are spacious and very well resourced. We have a dedicated early year’s centre, music and performing arts suite and a computer suite – as well as computers in every classroom. There are three outdoor play areas for the children including a wildlife garden, two quiet gardens and games areas.

Children may have learning, physical, emotional/ behavioural or social needs which require special support or provision over the long or short term. Their needs are identified and assessed by SEN co-ordinator (SENCO) and according to the national code of practice and help is provided in school or sometimes from outside agencies for those who need it.

The ‘mission statement’ at school is to create a school community where everyone works together to provide an excellent all round education for our children. In doing so they will ensure that all children are safe and feel included, that they engage fully with opportunities offered to them, enjoy their learning and achieve highly.

The school works in close partnership with parents and carers to encourage them to be involved in their children’s education. They value our parents and carers and they are always welcome in school.

The Educational Social Worker and School Nurse visit weekly. Children have a medical examination when they start school, which parents are asked to attend. Also the dental health team check teeth once a year.

The writer of this essay has suggested being present at meetings about pupils to learn from the experience of colleagues and to understand something about parental expectations. This may lead into tackling challenges together and extend our knowledge of the wider world; also having a strong desire to learn will lead all learners to achieve their very best. Working with the principal and teachers in having a system that will enable a consistently positive experience, the swift resolution of problems and positive partnership should be achieved.

Currently there are two language difficulty children with SEN in reception who have a one to one key worker who works closely with the SENCO in the school to provide an appropriate learning experience. The primary school gives additional SEN support with an inclusion team which has a good reputation.

Comparison of two settings - talk about positive public more… negative private more

There are evident differences and contrasts between the two settings; there are also a few similarities which become evident when comparison is made. (Also see Appendix 1 and 2) Both provisions have a similar SEN approach and the equivalent quality of staff regarding how well qualified they are. An important aspect of SEN provision is a good relationship with parents as they are the first teachers as well as having a better understanding of their own child and the two settings display this very well.

Regarding the specific needs, the private school, which takes children of all abilities, is able to choose candidates from a pool of applicants. But publicly funded schools educate only children from their borough.

Interestingly enough, private schools have a reputation as having the best times for working parents. Some recent studies indicate that governments are trying for state schools to become better at educating students and aim to have increasing numbers of higher performing students.  Researchers believe this stems from the fact that the state schools must find ways to enrich even the most problematic of children. If someone is not doing well, they are required by law to provide remediation. Through this remediation, most low performing students are helped to catch up. Private schools, on the other hand, do not always keep up with the latest methods. Should you relate this to your schools?

The Code of Conduct for both settings spells out serious consequences for disrespecting a teacher or a classmate. The Code of Conduct is enforced. Bullying is unacceptable behaviour. Disruptive behaviour is unacceptable. Fighting is un-acceptable. Discipline promotes an atmosphere for learning in both settings.

Discipline is a critical part of the three ways partnership in private school education. When parents sign the contract with the school, parents are committed to a three way partnership. While the school takes care of the academics and provides a host of other services while child is in its care, parents are still required to be involved. The private school will not allow parents to be a silent partner. It will insist on parent involvement.

There is an increased emphasis in both settings and expectation that education providers will work more closely in partnership with parents. This includes informing parents when their children are first placed on the SEN register and continuing to involve them in the planning and implementation of their educational provision. There are also new challenges in the two settings for education providers in the way they involve children and parents in targeting new challenges.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if I change the essay I would talk about the EYFS 2012 (what is it?)more as I did not explain on the changers made. I also think that I was one sided with the setting as I took upon the role of judging which school will suit I ….

Possibly:

In conclusion, in considering the provision for SEN children in the two settings, it was helpful to review the history of special education in order to understand how and why that provision came about. Two hundred years ago, apart from the asylum, there was no formal provision made. With the gradual development of education for all young children in the nineteenth century interest in SEN began to emerge and as educational opportunity increased in the twentieth century, legislation relating to it began to acknowledge SENs, eventually making provision for children affected by them. The Warnock Report in 1978 was a major milestone on the road to the recognition and management of SEN and laid the foundation for the inclusive approach that has been legislated for in recent Education Acts and SENDA, with which schools such as Settings A and B make every effort to comply. Perhaps because of the legislation there is an increasing awareness of the difficulties face by children with SEN which in schools like Settings A and B results in them being treated with greater sympathy allowing them more chance to benefit from the help offered. Although one of the schools is private and the other in the maintained sector, both as required by the Code of Practice make provision for SEN children by having a SENCO to co-ordinate that provision throughout the school and to ensure that SENs are identified and managed, that their approaches are inclusive and that parents are involved and informed. In short, both settings work hard to make sure that their SEN children have the best start in education so that they can go on with confidence to realise their potential.