Access to the curriculum for pupils with a variety of special educational needs in mainstream classes – An exploration of the experiences of young pupils in primary school

Research update

This study, led by Dr Jean Ware at Bangor University, explored access to the curriculum among young pupils with a variety of special educational needs from junior infants to second class. Using a combination of classroom observations and interviews with pupils, parents, teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs) and other relevant professionals the study focused on 46 children in eleven case study schools.

The study found that teachers used a range of strategies to differentiate the curriculum for young children with SEN and that for the great majority of the case study children, these strategies were successful in facilitating access to the curriculum at a level appropriate to their needs, most of the time. Strategies used by teachers included adapting their classroom organisation, using additional or different resources, modifying the content of the lesson and occasionally modifying their expectations of pupils or using some form of specialist pedagogy. However, it also found that support from a special needs assistant (SNA) was overwhelmingly the most common form of differentiation.

The researchers identified a number of factors as important in facilitating curriculum access. These included:
• Support for the class teacher from: other teachers within the school with expertise in SEN; visiting teachers and other outside professionals; and parents.
• Support for children with SEN from the resource/learning support teacher and visiting professionals.
• The role of the SNA, both in working directly with the child with SEN and in carrying out other tasks.
• Leadership within the school from the principal and (where such a role existed) from the SEN co-ordinator, as well as a co-ordinated approach to planning of SEN provision within the school.
• Collaborative planning and implementation of the IEP between parents, class teachers and school SEN staff.

Factors identified by the researchers as barriers to access were mainly the converse of those acting as facilitators. They included: lack of support; lack of time for collaborative planning; and no clear leadership in relation to SEN issues. In addition, three other factors emerged the study. These were:
• Lack of appropriate training opportunities: Teachers felt that their initial training had not equipped them to provide appropriately for pupils with SEN, and that continuous professional development (CPD) which would enable them to gain relevant expertise was not accessible to them.
• Child-related factors: The nature of the child’s SEN (such as sensory impairments or moderate GLD) was perceived by teachers to provide a substantial barrier to access, either to the curriculum as a whole or to the curriculum at the same level as their peers.
• School-related factors: Missing particular curriculum subjects either through exemptions, or while being withdrawn for resource teaching, emerged as another obstacle to curriculum access.

Key issues which the researchers noted as arising from the study included:
• the role played by SNAs
• teachers feeling they lacked appropriate preparation to deal with pupils with SEN and access to CPD which would meet their needs
• lack of time for co-ordination between resource and class teachers and SNAs
• the differences between schools regarding the extent to which there was support for class teachers in facilitating access for pupils with SEN
• differences between schools regarding levels of overall planning in relation to SEN.

The study also found that the school experience of these pupils and their parents was generally a positive one. Almost all pupils liked school; relationships with other children, both in the playground and in the classroom, were generally positive and regarded by teachers and parents alike as an important aspect of being in mainstream education. Parents were generally very positive about their experience of school, though they were less positive about their experience of the formal assessment of SEN where lack of information to guide them through this process was a key issue. Relationships with staff were also generally positive, although the researchers found that a close supportive relationship with the SNA could become a barrier to full participation with peers.

Access to the curriculum for pupils with a variety of special educational needs in mainstream classes. An exploration of the experiences of young pupils in primary school, NCSE Research Report No. 8, by Dr Jean Ware, Bangor University, Dr Cathal Butler, St Patrick’s College (now at Bangor University), Christopher Robertson, Birmingham University, Dr Margaret O’Donnell, St Patrick’s College and Magi Gould, Bangor University.

Click here to download the report.