TMA-03 E103-2
.docx
School
The Open University**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
EDUCATION Q94
Subject
Sociology
Date
Jan 9, 2025
Pages
6
Uploaded by ChiefDangerAlligator42
Lauren Jade LarkinsJ7757679Module E103TMA-03Introduction In this assignment I will be discussing practices that support inclusive outlooks in regard to children and why it is important to use this in educational environments and how it can be used to support children in a variety of diverse ways in multiple settings. In this assignment I have followed the ethical guidance of The British Educational Research Association (BERA, 2018) guidelines in relation to anonymising all names to maintain confidentiality. I have ensured that all names have been changed to ensure confidentiality and anomality. I have also used examples from The Open University and am confident they have followed the same guidelines. Why is inclusion important?Inclusion is an important right not just for adults but also for children. In educational practices, it is important to ensure every child has access to learning, being able to build their skills to develop and grow and allowing them to talk about their experiences which will in turn allow us to learn what helps support children as they continue their journey through the education system. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (et al. 2016, pg 150) encourages this type of approach to a child's learning and states that “An important part of trying to achieve this is to talk to children about their experiences and to listen to their views.” Inclusion has a significant impact on children’s well-being in educational settings and every child has an equal right when accessing materials and other systems to help them learn, grow, and develop. What is inclusive practice?Inclusive practice refers to creating an environment where all children, no matter their background, ethnicity, or abilities, feel supported and encouraged in their learning and physical learning, such as during PE lessons. Richmond states, “Being inclusive means a school is working to ensure that all children who attend, whatever their background, do not experience barriers to their learning and participation.” (et
Lauren Jade LarkinsJ7757679Module E103TMA-03al. 2016 pg 150) This type of support involves accommodating the varied and diverse needs pf children and ensuring that all of them have equal access to educational opportunities and resources. Children who do not experience inclusive practice then come across barriers in their learning which hinder their ability to progress. An example of an inclusive environment would be where an education environment would be at my current school where we have put into practice visual timetables. This is where we have printed out images relating to every activity and lesson and then every morning, we put together the timetable to represent our day ahead. This allows children who struggle to absorb written information to easily access what they will be doing that day. We use these timetables for our SEN and EAL children, but we have also noticed that all the children in the classroom benefit from this as it is easily accessible for all learning levels which supports the idea of being inclusive to all levels of learning and abilities.By embracing inclusive practice, adults who work in educational settings can help create a more stable learning environment where every child has the opportunity to succeed. This idea of being inclusive not only benefits students with extra needs or disabilities but also supports the idea of being inclusive within the staff as well. Andy Howes suggests that “team working is not simply a relationship between the ‘leaders and the led’ but should also be ‘grounded in a notion of inclusive development beginning from what staff know’.” (et al. 2003, pg 154). This extends upon my development to provide an inclusive environment not only for the children but for my work colleagues as well. Who is supported and why?The setting I currently work in has been listed in the top 10% for poverty in the country. That means the children I work with on a daily basis are impacted by this and are working below the national average in most subjects. They have a low level of understanding when it comes to working in lessons, completing set tasks and when it comes to social situations such as playing in the playground at break and lunch.
Lauren Jade LarkinsJ7757679Module E103TMA-03The children I work with are in Year 6 and are the lowest-level learners in the classroom and this is due to a multitude of different factors. They have difficulties absorbing information and retaining it after the lesson is complete. The children also have poor social skills which means they find it hard to work together or communicate with each other in verbal tasks and activities. Out of the 5 children I support one has ADHD, another is on a reduced timetable due to being unable to cope in a school setting which leads to outbursts of behaviour including leaving the classroom and refusing to engage with both the work and myself, another has difficulties with writing due to dyslexia, another child is EAL and has recently joined us from Saudi Arabia and the last child has social anxiety which massively impacts their ability to be present in the classroom and being present while learning.The school has identified these children as needing extra support in the classroom from multiple academic tests and from one-to-one support in lessons to see where they would need the extra help in class. Due to being in Year 6, the final year of primary school, there is a lot of pressure in regard to testing and levels of ability, but my school makes it their priority to ensure that these children do not fall behind or become overwhelmed. Without the proper support and accommodations these children would fall behind and become discouraged. This will set good foundations for life after school, which experience has shown us can be an incredibly stressful and unsettling time for children with additional needs. This is supported by Tutt (et al. 2016 pg 216) who says, “Inclusion should be seen as a process by which children can be properly included in education to prepare them for life after school”.How is your focus group or focus child supported?To support these children with their learning, the school has undertaken many methods to ensure that each lesson and task is at a level that suits and is easily accessible to each of them no matter what extra needs they have or what level they are working at. These methods of support include taking their ideas and forming them into sentences and writing them on a whiteboard for them to copy, this support is to ensure all children have access to the work and are able to contribute ideas and
Lauren Jade LarkinsJ7757679Module E103TMA-03thoughts while still completing the task required. We also working in stages for problems that require multiple steps, this allows us to break down the problem and what it is asking the children to do into manageable sized pieces, by breaking it down the children are less likely to become overwhelmed or lost with that they are meant to be completing. Using visual aids so no matter the level of verbal ability they have they can all be involved in discussions, problem solving and everyday tasks such as what we are doing today and what they need to do throughout the duration of each lesson. Including brain breaks within learning time so they have an opportunity to decompress and not become overwhelmed, this has helped a lot with motivation to keep going and can be very rewarding for my group, such as communicating to the children “Once this has been completed we can have a brain break” gives the children something to work towards. By having different worksheets available for them we are able to better support their learning as they are learning the same topics as the rest of the class but it has been modified to ensure it suits their needs better, such as the worksheet may only have half the amount of questions or it will have lower ability work but still with the same topic. Working at a slower pace compared to the rest of the class to ensure that none of them fall behind on work and feel stressed or pressured to keep up with their peers. As staff we work hard to understand what our children need from us to thrive in the classroom. The approach is important for the children as they need a lot of patience and motivation to continue and complete certain tasks required of them. All of these combined methods ensure that the group of children are able to access the work and what is asked of them. The children in the group I support can become easily distracted so constant reminders of “No thank you” and behaviour reminders makes it easier to communicate with them and for them to recognise to refocus on what they are meant to be doing. There are many different pillars of support when it comes to the support of the group of children. One of the main types of support for my focus group is the staff in the classroom, which consists of myself and the teacher. We are the people who come into contact with the focus group on a daily occasion and work with them throughout the day. We provide all the supportive methods I mentioned above such as brain breaks and visual timetables. Another type of support that is offered to the
Lauren Jade LarkinsJ7757679Module E103TMA-03children is the role of the SENCO, this person is crucial to the day to day running of the school when it comes to the children with additional needs. The SENCO provides a safe space called ‘The Thrive Room’, where children are encouraged to work through their emotions in a controlled space to ensure the child and others remain safe. This space is also used to hold meetings with external agencies regarding children and what can be put in place to support them. Parents or guardians also play a key role in how SEN children are supported by ensuring they provide a safe and balanced environment at home. In my focus group I have noticed when the children’s home lives are unbalanced or stressful this can impact on the child’s behaviour in school negatively. Other staff members will help support the children when needed for distinct reasons such as intervention groups. These groups are aimed at the children who need extra time with an adult to go through things that may take them longer to absorb. I run six intervention groups each week ranging from math and literacy to phonics and spelling. The phonics intervention is across the school and is aimed at children who do not have English as their first language, and we work together on developing their understanding on words and spellings while also using their original knowledge from their first language. This is done by using flash cards with images so they can make the connection to what we are talking about without the stress and fear of not knowing. Reflecting on the supportConclusion
Lauren Jade LarkinsJ7757679Module E103TMA-03References