UNIT 7: Summary
UNIT 7: Special Needs and Inclusive Education
In this unit we talked about Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Education. This is a big subject and we have just introduced it to you here. There is a lot more to learn about this topic, but the main principles are:
- Every child deserves a fair education no matter who they are, where they come from or what their needs are.
- Every teacher must try to cater for all their children’s needs, even though this is not always easy!
We introduced some ideas for how to start to think about this, showing how differentiation can make a difference. We can differentiate by giving:
- different resources / activities
- different support or
- by having different expectations of outcomes.
This is challenging in large classes and we often feel we need more support. This network can support you by sharing ideas, challenges and solutions between teachers.
We also introduced the strategy of creating Individual Education Plans (IEPs) which can be used by all teachers of a learner with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities, to support him/her with the right activities, strategies and approaches that will make learning better.
We look forward to hearing from you as you try out the differentiation strategies. Share your successes and challenges on the WhatsApp group!
Sources:
- Alison White: https://schools.magoosh.com/schools-blog/inclusion-helping-all-students-belong-in-your-classroom.
- ‘’Index for Inclusion: a guide for school development led by inclusive values”, Tony Booth & Mel Ainscow, 2017.
- Natalie Contreras: How to write an effective IEP: https://www.nwea.org/blog/2023/how-to-write-an-effective-iep/
- Leila Pullum: https://everfi.com/blog/k-12/inclusive-classroom-strategies/