Key workers and schools: meeting the needs of children and young people with disabilities

Across the world countries are advocating the education of children and young people with disabilities in mainstream schools. There is also increasing interest in developing effective coordination of the specialist services pupils with disabilities receive from different agencies. This is accompanied by growing recognition that such care coordination can positively influence the experience of inclusion for children and their families. However, while the literature of care coordination generally includes education as a core provider, there is little evidence on involvement of education professionals and the outcomes for children and schools. These issues are addressed by the findings reported here on the role of key workers in care coordination and their relationship with schools. The findings draw on interviews with professionals from seven key worker services across England and Wales, parents and carers who were recipients of these services and teachers in schools serving children supported by key workers. These interviews are part of a wider multi‐method study exploring the effectiveness and costs of different models of key worker services for disabled children. The data reveal the range of education and school issues addressed by key workers and the factors influencing their work with teachers. The benefits for children, families and schools of key worker involvement are identified and the implications for schools explored. Consideration is also given to the advantages and disadvantages of teachers themselves taking on the role of key workers. It is argued that key workers can improve home–school relationships, facilitate the contribution of teachers in inter‐agency working, enable mainstream schools to better meet the individual needs of pupils with disabilities and improve their inclusive practice.     

The hidden voices of children and young people with a parent in prison: What schools need to know about supporting these vulnerable pupils

This paper reports on a study with children and young people who have a parent in prison and identifies ways in which schools might better support these pupils. The paper is based on research and practice with 23 individuals from ten families. It first ‘sets the scene’ for these pupils’ lives by drawing on interviews with parents and carers. This helps to illuminate the context within which these children and young people are growing up. The paper then presents the views, and selected drawings, of the ten children and young people involved. The paper describes the forms of social isolation that families experience when a parent is sent to prison and the dilemmas and difficulties children and young people face at school. The recommendations focus on how individual teachers and schools might respond to the needs of this group.     

Healthy meals,better learners? Debating the focus of school food policy in England

Abstract

Policy makers in the UK are trying to improve school meals, by focusing on eating well. This article explores the way policies are framed by academic performance and health as a reason for providing school lunches. Using Nussbaum’s capability approach we argue that the purpose of schooling should be to provide young people with the ability to lead a life of choice. We argue that school meals are an important social good, which allow young people to develop critical skills around food which they can then use throughout their lives. We draw on evidence from two ethnographic research projects on food in schools, conducted in England. We question whether the collocation between healthy eating and learning should be the focus of school food reform and contemplate the role of society and government to provide children with healthy meals, irrespective of learning outcomes. School meals are more than good exam results.     

Adolescents’ Perceptions of Young People with Severe Learning Difficulties: the effects of integration schemes and frequency of contact

Educational integration schemes for children with severe learning difficulties are based partially on the assumption that the presence of these children in schools will increase the extent to which they are accepted by their peers. However, psychological theories of intergroup behaviour suggest that physical presence alone is unlikely to have this effect. In the present study, the intergroup and interpersonal attitudes towards young people with learning difficulties of 128 adolescents in integrated and nonintegrated schools were examined. Results showed no clear differences between the attitudes of children in the two types of school. The frequency of participants’ contact, not the type of school attended, led to more positive expectations about meeting a young person with learning difficulties. In addition, females were found to be more positive than males on several measures. The implications of these results for the methods and content of future research that could inform the process of educational integration are discussed.     

Learning from children’s voice in schools: Experiences from Ireland

In Ireland there is progressive legislation on children’s participation in the education system. The Education Act 1998 advocates that school boards should involve students in the school and establish student councils in second-level schools. Since the publication of this legislation progress on realising students’ participation in schools has been slow. In 2006 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that Ireland strengthen its efforts to enable children to express their views in schools and other educational institutions. The National Strategy on Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-making (2015), the first to be produced internationally, commits to facilitating children and young people’s voice in the development of education policy, the running of schools and in other areas of school policy. This paper presents and discusses the results of qualitative participatory research with children and young people aged between 7 and 17 years, teachers and school principals, and parents, on their attitudes towards and opportunities for participation by students in schools in Ireland. The data reveal that students are keen to participate in school but recognise that their opportunities to do so are inadequate, that teachers understand participation very differently from students, and that parents have little knowledge of their children’s participatory experiences in school. It concludes that effective participation in schools requires policy, practical and cultural change.     

‘In most supermarkets food does not cost £3 per day …’ The impact of the school food voucher scheme during COVID-19

Households with children eligible for Free School Meals are at risk of food insecurity. This paper reports on a rapid-response study that investigated the impact of the school food voucher scheme during the COVID-19 crisis on young people, families and schools. It pays close attention to the reliance of the state on the goodwill of society and its citizens in feeding those most in need. The Capabilities Approach is used to highlight factors that inhibited and restricted the use of the vouchers to produce the capability of having good nutrition for children in need of Free School Meals. The approach moves towards creating a society where children and young people are able to lead a life of their own choice and contribute to key policy decisions. This qualitative study funded by the British Education Research Association was conducted between September 2020 and March 2021. The study posed two research questions: (1) how have schools responded to COVID-19 in relation to food during holiday provision; and (2) what have families identified as barriers to accessing the school food voucher scheme? Data collection involved online interviews with young people, schools and organisations (i.e. public health, director from the food industry. etc.). The findings highlight the difficulties with accessing and using the school food voucher and implications for future policy directions. Owing to this being a small-scale study, it is not generalisable to the wider population but does highlight localised issues.     

Personal character and tomorrow's citizens: Student expectations of their teachers

Research evidence from UK primary and secondary schools suggests that students expect teachers to engage in character development and values education and that this assists in their holistic learning. This article is based on a major UK research study which indicates that explicit and implicit attention to values in schools is positively welcomed by students. Students of all ages believe that the teacher can make a difference in contributing to their personal moral development. According to the students in this study, a successful values education program relies on the teacher as model and mentor, as well as pedagogue. This article considers the role of teachers on the character development of young people aged 10-19, largely based on the perceptions of over 5000 students in England. The data includes documentary analysis, interviews and surveys with teachers and students.     

An exploratory study investigating the viability of a communication and feedback intervention for school children at risk of exclusion: analysis of staff perspectives

Every day nearly 900 children will be excluded from UK schools for disruptive behaviour and almost one-third of this population has a diagnosed mental health disorder. Exclusion from school is the endpoint of most schools’ sanction-based behaviour management policies. This exploratory study investigated staff opinions for using a communication and feedback intervention for children at risk of exclusion from school. Workshops to demonstrate the model were facilitated for staff participants followed by group interviews. The interview data were analysed using Template Analysis. Staff considered the intervention as viable both for themselves and for children at risk of exclusion. The analysis highlighted two broad categories: Communication Skills Training; weighing the potential, and Adapting to the Population. Sub-categories encompassed a range of factors related to the viability of the model and potential outcomes for both staff groups and young people. Due to ethical considerations, children were not recruited at this exploratory stage, but further investigation is warranted with child participants to ascertain their views. Psychologists working within schools are in a good position to utilise the model for both staff training and interventions.     

Adding value to education through improved mental health: A review of the research evidence on the effectiveness of counselling for children and young people

This paper is set against the backdrop of an increasing number of strategies and policies developed by the Department for Education and Skills in the U.K. regarding the promotion of positive mental health in schools and the recognition of the value of improving mental health in relation to children’s learning, achievement, attendance and behaviour. The aim of the paper is to present the results from a systematic review of the research evidence on counselling children and young people and discuss these results in relation to the educational context and the added value to be gained in addressing the mental health needs of children and young people. A systematic review methodology is used to assess the outcome research literature. The review is structured around a range of counselling issues and four groups of counselling approaches: cognitive-behavioural, person-centred, psychodynamic and creative therapies. Results indicate that all four approaches to counselling are effective for children and young people across the full range of counselling issues. However, more high quality published research evidence was located for the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural counselling than other approaches, identifying significant gaps in the evidence bases for these approaches. Other gaps in the evidence include research into counselling for school related issues and self-harm.     

Understanding of epilepsy by children and young people with epilepsy

There is a striking dearth of studies focusing sensitively and in depth on the mainstream educational experiences of children with epilepsy, as viewed by those children themselves. The one‐year project (2006–7) reported here addresses that gap. Children’s perceptions about mainstream teachers’ understanding of epilepsy and school‐based needs are particularly interesting and this work breaks new ground in that connection. The authors report findings from two complementary qualitative methods of data collection: (1) an e‐survey of 44 self‐selected children and young people with epilepsy, and (2) interviews (mainly individual) in mainstream schools with 22 children/young people with epilepsy. Overall, the children and young people (aged 7–18) were clear about the nature of their condition, including seizures. For many, there was an implicit reluctance in accepting epilepsy as a “part of them”; self‐reported feelings of secrecy, stigma and shame abounded. This had repercussions for how schools were seen to need to respond with sensitivity and knowledge‐based understanding. Taking a qualitative methodological approach revealed important insights into complex concepts like stigma in the school context. This was illustrated in children and young people’s readiness to talk about their feelings of “difference” in relation to others when given the opportunity to do so sensitively. The findings have important implications for how schools and services work in a genuinely fully inclusive way with children and young people who have epilepsy.     

A qualitative study of perceptions of bullying in Irish primary schools

This small-scale research examined young children’s, aged six to seven (n = 8), perceptions and understanding of bullying in Irish primary schools. It also included the views of the children’s parents (n = 8) and teachers (n = 2) on bullying. The participants’ views were obtained through semi-structured interviews which were analysed using the constant comparative method as per grounded theory approach. The results revealed the complexity of young children’s interactions in school and the difficulty that the adults around them have in accurately defining and addressing bullying behaviour. The data indicate the need for parents and teachers to listen attentively and sensitively to children’s accounts of bullying and to provide consistent advice on how to address bullying.     

Stress, Burnout and Workload in Teachers of Children with Special Educational Needs

Whilst stress in teaching has received much attention in recent years, for teachers of children with special educational needs (SEN) specific stress-related research is relatively rare. This study sought to address this issue by investigating stress, burnout and workload in teachers of children with special educational needs. A postal questionnaire was sent to 56 ordinary schools and eight schools for children with moderate learning difficulties (MLD), eight for children with severe learning difficulties (SLD) and eight for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). The schools were situated in inner city, urban and rural areas in the south-east of England. A total of 221 teachers responded. Results indicated that, whilst generalised claims for burnout may not be justified, within all three special school settings there was evidence of a high level of emotional exhaustion as measured by the education version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). In addition, all groups were subject to long hours of work, and work overload was high for ordinary school SEN teachers and teachers working in MLD and SLD settings. Reference to sources of intense stress indicated some differences according to setting but generally implicated workload and challenging behaviour. The conclusions are that further research into stress and burnout of SEN teachers is required if effective coping and preventative strategies are to be designed.     

Inclusive and exclusive aspects of diagnosed children's self-concepts in special needs institutions

Eight children between 7 and 11 years of age were interviewed about their understanding of their own diagnoses. The diagnoses in question were attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism and nonverbal learning disorder. They were from different special schools that are segregated from state schools. In addition to the interviews, a role play setting with dolls representing a school teacher, parents, peers, a school psychologist and a doctor was used as a basis for speaking about the children's understanding of the special school in relation to their diagnoses. The study revealed that the children use a simplified medical model for understanding their diagnoses and behaviour. Furthermore, they partly perceive the special school as a medical institution, as well as an educational institution. Finally, the study showed that the children consider themselves different from normal children and incapable of participating in shared learning communities such as state schools. This is of particular interest in relation to these children's future transition from special schools to public learning institutions, especially with regard to their inclusion in the latter.     

Different ways that secondary schools orient to lifelong learning

This article describes and discusses research into lifelong learning in secondary schools that was undertaken at the Australian Council for Educational Research. The project explored ways of helping secondary school students develop an intrinsic interest in learning, in the belief that such an approach will encourage young people to keep learning throughout their lives. Skills and values that help young people to develop characteristics of lifelong learners are outlined. The article suggests that development of these characteristics may be impeded by the strong influence of competitive end-of-school assessment in many schools, and the difficulty of changing the practices and attitudes of some of the people who play a significant role in a young person's education: parents and teachers.     

Voices of students with special educational needs (SEN): views on schooling

As important decisions are being made with regard to educational legislation, policy and provision for children with special educational needs (SEN), it is critical that the views of these key stakeholders are heard and considered. This article reports the perspectives of 38 children and young people with special educational needs on their schooling which formed part of a national review of the role of special schools and special classes in Ireland. Findings from the focus groups and individual interviews point to more favourable support for learning and social issues in special schools and special classes than in mainstream classes. Friendship is a recurrent theme in students' accounts and appears to mediate their enjoyment of school. The implications are considered with reference to research, policy and practice and the authors conclude that educators and policy makers should provide increased opportunities for students to play an active part in matters affecting them.     

Primary teacher education in England: 40 years on

Exclusion from school is a disciplinary sanction used in English schools to manage behaviour by limiting a young person’s attendance at school and the over-representation of Black pupils in national exclusions statistics has been a long-standing cause of concern. This paper reports on the findings of a small-scale, qualitative study that explored the opportunities that the student teachers in the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) departments of four English universities had to gain an understanding of this particular form of educational inequality and how it might be addressed. Despite a strong focus on diversity and social justice within each institution, interviews with the student teachers highlighted gaps and inconsistencies in their opportunities to learn about exclusion from school and its disproportionate impact on Black young people. Nevertheless, Initial Teacher Education programmes emerged as an important space from which to explore student teachers’ understandings of this issue, with a view to moving them beyond the sort of more individualised understandings that militate against recognition of this as an equalities issue.     

Judgement-based performance measures of literacy for students with additional needs: seeing students through the eyes of experienced special education teachers

This article describes the development of judgement-based performance measures to support the instruction of students with additional learning needs. The focus of the research was the design of assessment materials and protocols to help teachers recognise and respond to students’ proficiency in foundational literacy skills. It drew on the expertise of special education teachers to provide all teachers with an evidence framework against which to observe their students’ learning. The assessment materials were trialled in 53 schools and used to monitor literacy learning for 547 students, who ranged in age from 3 to 18 years and represented children and young people with a wide diversity and severity of disabilities. The article reports a new approach to judgement-based performance measurement which directs teachers’ observations to meaningful shifts and transformations in foundational literacy skills for students with additional needs.     

The inseparable role of emotions in the teaching and learning of primary school science

In this paper, we seek to explore the inseparable role of emotions in the teaching and the learning of science at the primary school level, as we elaborate the theoretical underpinnings and personal experiences that lead us to this notion of inseparability. We situate our perspectives on the complexity of science education in primary schools, draw on existing literature on emotions in science, and present arguments for the necessity of working towards positive emotions in our work with young children and their teachers. We layer our own perspectives and experiences as teachers and as researchers onto methodological arguments through narratives to emerge with a reflective essay that seeks to highlight the importance of emotions in our work with children and their teachers in elementary school science.     

Views of Schooling Held by Children Attending Schools for Pupils with Moderate Learning Difficulties

There has been little research into the views of the consumers of the special education service‐‐the children themselves. Social legislation (e.g., the 1989 Children Act in the UK) has emphasised the importance of discovering the views of the child when planning provision. Similar proposals have been put forward in recent UK documents concerning educational provision (DFE, 1993). This paper reports data based on individual, semi‐structured interviews with 56 children (ages 9 to 11) attending schools for pupils with moderate learning difficulties (MLD/MlD). Interviews probed views about special and mainstream schools and pupils, and perceived reasons for transfer from mainstream to special school. Two areas (teachers as a liked aspect of special and mainstream schools, and problems handling playground relationships) point to key areas of concern for children with learning or intellectual difficulties. Overall, MLD school children were supportive of their special schools. This is discussed in relation to categorization theory.     

‘If there's a dead rat,don't leave it’. Young children's understanding of their citizenship rights and responsibilities

Concerns about pupil disengagement from school and society have led to compulsory citizenship education in state schools in England. However, there is little evidence that the new citizenship education is meeting its goals. The research described here assesses a new approach to citizenship education that appears to overcome some of the identified obstacles in current practices. Hampshire's ‘Rights, respect and responsibility’ initiative is a rights‐based whole school reform of school policies and practices. Under this initiative the contemporaneous citizenship status of pupils is respected, pupils are taught about their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and democratic participation is made meaningful in classroom and school functioning. Of particular interest is that the initiative starts in infant schools. This research indicates that young children can understand their rights and responsibilities in ways that are meaningful to their everyday behaviour and that rights‐based whole school reform has the capacity to improve pupil learning and citizenship behaviours.