Page 20 - SEN113 SEN Magazine July-August 2021-V3

20 everyone is encouraged to participate. Recently a child from the Learning Support Unit entered and won an international art competition. The school sees first-hand the benefits of inclusion for children and adults alike, and challenges negative attitudes and prejudice towards those with differences. It’s unthinkable that until recently some children were excluded from education and social events. Learning in Partnership RAIS works in partnership with doctors and nurses in a small company hospital situated in the residential area. The hospital helps to facilitate additional support from visiting therapists which cannot be resourced on Bonny Island. With limited access to specialists, such as occupational health and physiotherapists, this external support is essential for children with multiple physical and cognitive needs. Staff are fully committed to their own professional development, with many self-funding courses and workshops led by internationally-recognised experts across the spectrum of Special Education. RAIS teachers believe that by continuously improving their own knowledge, skills and understanding they will help children access the best possible Individual Education Programmes within the local context. For RAIS, learning support goes beyond implementing a programme during the school day, and helping children gain life skills that can be applied outside of school is a vital aspect of the curriculum. When COVID-19 closed the school in March 2020, staff knew they would need to work closely with parents so that children were provided with real-life opportunities to use and develop the skills they had learned in school. Teachers offered workshops, supplied resources, and organised virtual meetings with families to ensure that no child’s learning stood still. After a year of remote learning, the results are remarkable and have exceeded expectations. Children are applying life-skills in everyday tasks at home, and parents are seeing their children as capable individuals with varying levels of independence. ■ RAIS pupil at play. “Embarked on a dynamic outreach programme” Transition from RA International School With no secondary provision at RAIS, a move to mainland Nigeria or overseas have been the only available options for children transitioning from the Learning Support Unit. This hurdle can sometimes mean leaving one parent working on Bonny Island whilst the other relocates with the child. Realising the impact this has on families, RAIS embarked on a dynamic outreach programme involving local schools, organisations and families to raise awareness of diverse learning needs, and to demonstrate how it’s possible to provide support on Bonny Island. As Marytina explains, “How can children demonstrate respect and have an awareness of individual needs, if adult role models don’t do this at home, in the workplace or at school?” As a result, RAIS staff have provided workshops to local teachers and children, emphasising that whilst some individual needs can be seen, others such as dyslexia are invisible. Helping the Bonny Island community to embrace diversity and challenge exclusion is slowly reaping rewards. Green shoots of the trailblazing approach are emerging, with a school on the island now working towards inclusion and offering places to children from the Learning Support Unit. “We will continue to raise awareness on Bonny Island,” says Marytina, “our outreach work is just the beginning of making inclusion possible beyond the gates of RAIS.” SEN113 senmagazine.co.uk Inclusion overseas About the author Marytina Osuchukwu is Deputy Head of School at RA international School, Bonny Island, Nigeria. Martina’s responsibilities include leading the Learning Support Unit and the Early Years classes. Janice Ireland has worked with RA International School as an Education Consultant for the past 10 years.