Special education in the United Kingdom

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'Special Educational Needs' is an umbrella term for an aspect of UK school education focusing on students primarily with learning difficulties and/or disability.

In school documents, it is abbreviated to 'SEN' (special educational needs)/ 'SEND' .The term covers specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and ADHD, pervasive disorders such as autism and physical disability such as visual impairment and hearing impairment.

Each of the countries(area,district) of the United Kingdom haveseparate systems under separate governments: the UK Government is responsible for education in England, the Scottish Government is responsible for education in Scotland, the Welsh Government is responsible for education in Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive is responsible for education in Northern Ireland.

Across the UK school education systems, provision for SEN is widely varied.

However, there are common practices found across the country. All schools are legally obliged to maintain an SEN Coordinator post or equivalent position. It is the only mandatory position other than the headteacher / principal position. There is also an SEN Code of Practice, which provides non-binding guidance on how provision should be shaped and maintained. Since the publishing of the SEND Green Paper in 2011, current common practices are being reviewed and reformed with a small number of authorities acting as 'pathfinders'.

Special education in England is the responsibility of the Government of the United Kingdom. The term "special educational needs" is used to describe the needs of children who need additional provision in order to make progress. This includes children with moderate or severe learning difficulties and physical, neurological or sensory disabilities (such as hearing, motor and visual disabilities) as well as needs such as dyslexia, developmental coordination disorder, autism, Asperger syndrome and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Children who face barriers to their learning will often require additional educational intervention to support their learning. This support is provided, within the classroom, with the view to accelerate progress and address misconceptions that may have developed.

If a child or young person has not made progress despite such differentiated teaching, he or she would usually be supported by a staged method of support outlined in the 2001 SEN Revised Code of Practice. Key learning objectives would be agreed and a plan made for the provision necessary to achieve these.

The Code of Practice recommends an Individual Education Plan as a means of recording and reviewing this. That level of support is known as School Action and would usually result in additional support being made available for a child, such as a few hours working with an adult each week.

If a child's needs are greater or (s)he has not made sufficient progress in response to a School Action level of support then a School Action Plus level may be appropriate.

If a child or young person's parent(s) or educational setting believe that his or her needs cannot be met by the school's resources they can apply to their local authority to carry out a Statutory Assessment of Special Educational Needs. If this is agreed the Statutory Assessment can lead to a Statement of Special Educational Needs. This is a document which summarises the child or young person's needs; what learning objectives need to be addressed and what provision is necessary to achieve this. The local authority is responsible for the provision on the Statement and will provide funding and advice to the educational setting to ensure this happens.

Figures published in 2009 showed that 17.8% of pupils in English schools have special educational needs (SEN), a proportion that has steadily grown over the last four years, from 14.9% in 2005.

In spring of 2011, the Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition released a new green paper entitled "Support and aspiration: a new approach to special educational needs and disability." It looks to change the way that special needs provision is assessed.

Special education in Scotland, being an aspect of education in Scotland, is a devolved matter with Scotland having its own arrangements.

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 redefined the law in Scotland relating to the provision of special education. The Act is an attempt to broaden the narrow definition of Special Educational Needs (SEN) which has typically been used to define children with special needs.

LEARNING DISABILITY

Learning disability is a classification including several areas of functioning in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors.

When the term "learning disabilities" is used, it describes a group of disorders characterized by inadequate development of specific academic, language, and speech skills. Types of learning disabilities includereading disability (dyslexia), mathematics disability (dyscalculia) and writing disability (dysgraphia).

The unknown factor is the disorder that affects the brain's ability to receive and process information. Individuals with learning disabilities can face unique challenges that are often pervasivethroughout the lifespan.

Depending on the type and severity of the disability, interventions and current technologies may be used to help the individual learn strategies that will foster future success. Teachers, parents and schools can create plans together that tailor intervention and accommodations to aid the individual in successfully becoming independent learners. School psychologists and other qualified professionals quite often help design the intervention and coordinate the execution of the intervention with teachers and parents. Social support may improve the learning for students with learning disabilities.

Management

Interventions include:

Mastery model:

Learners work at their own level of mastery.

Practice

Gain fundamental skills before moving onto the next level

Note: this approach is most likely to be used with adult learners or outside the mainstream school system.

Direct Instruction:

Highly structured, intensive instruction

Emphasizes carefully planned lessons for small learning increments

Scripted lesson plans

Rapid-paced interaction between teacher and students

Correcting mistakes immediately

Achievement-based grouping

Frequent progress assessments

Classroom adjustments:

Special seating assignments

Alternative or modified assignments

Modified testing procedures

Quiet environment

Special equipment:

Word processors with spell checkers and dictionaries

Text-to-speech and speech-to-text programs

Talking calculators

Books on tape

Computer-based activities

Classroom assistants:

Note-takers

Readers

Proofreaders

Scribes

Special Education:

Prescribed hours in a resource room

Placement in a resource room

Enrollment in a special school for learning disabled students

Individual Education Plan (IEP)

Educational therapy

Sternberg suggested that the focus on learning disabilities and the provision of accommodations in school fails to acknowledge that people have a range of strengths and weaknesses. He places undueemphasis on academic success by insisting that people should receive additional support in this arena but not in music or sports.

CONVERSATIONALTOPIC.

«English in the Modern World».

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