Page 88 - SEN115 - November/December 2021

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“There is a significant discrepancy between the SEN learners’ targets and those of their peers”
Education should be about providing a curriculum that meets the needs of the children in today’s world. Yet, teachers face an overwhelming number of issues ranging from those related to behaviour to those associated with school culture and learning difficulties. Why is this happening?
It is no secret that there is a shortage of teachers. The number of neurodivergent learners in mainstream schools is also on the increase. Sometimes it’s because parents feel that a special needs school is not suitable for their child; at other times it’s because there is no space available. Yet, the staff in this type of educational setting often don’t have the knowledge, resources and funding available to adequately meet the children’s needs. As a result ‘accessing the curriculum’ and ‘differentiating outcomes’ are loosely used - there are so many misconceptions surrounding these terms.
In most cases there is a significant discrepancy between the SEN learners’ targets and those of their peers. Teachers try to find activities for the learner that are related to what they are doing in their planning and curriculum, but struggle to find an adequate way of working with such children. So, more often than not, children are given work that is below their age level to avoid overwhelming the child or are made to complete
numerous colouring sheets with a lot of cutting and pasting of pictures or photos. At the end of the term or year the child’s parents have some academic work to look at and lots of artwork they can admire, but is it meaningful to the child’s educational and life experience? Do such activities really help the child to develop the skills they need?
Let’s consider a group of year 3 students who are learning about forces ie ‘push’ and ‘pull’. While the class is learning about the
■ Profile, Assessment and Goal Setting. SEN115
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Professional support
About the author
Feliciea Jibson is Chief Science Officer at PAGS SRL and founder of PAGS (Profile, Assessment and Goal Setting).
pagsprofile.com
Josianne Pisani is a teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer at ETI Malta with years of experience in teaching English as a second language to learners of all ages and abilities.
englishpracticecafe.com