Special educational needs and inclusion - an overview

How might schools manage inclusion in ways that are compatible with raising all pupils’ achievements?

Why is the issue important?

Practitioners at both primary and secondary level face the dual challenge of being inclusive and raising achievement.  It is important that schools are able to manage inclusion in ways that address parents’ concerns about SEN pupils depressing the achievement of other pupils

What did the research show?

By and large, inclusion did not appear to significantly depress the achievement of other pupils, although the overall figures suggested this was a risk in some schools. The effect of inclusion on pupil achievement was less than that of other factors, such as entitlement to free school meals or English as an additional language.

How was this achieved?

Highly inclusive schools appeared to manage inclusion in broadly similar ways and in ways which seemed likely to reduce any negative impact inclusion might have on attainment. The strategies included:

• a commitment to inclusion
• careful individual monitoring
• flexible grouping and provision customised to individual circumstances
• high quality teaching
• strategies for raising achievement levels generally.

How was the research designed to be trustworthy?

The researchers analysed data from the National Pupil Database obtained in 2002, which included information on over 500,000 pupils in mainstream schools at each key stage.  The researchers used multi-level modelling techniques to explore the effect of different variables (such as gender, pupils’ ethnic group, and entitlement to free school meals) on pupils’ average points scores in national assessments and examinations. The researchers also made an in-depth study of sixteen highly inclusive schools – schools with a high proportion of SEN pupils (16% – 50% with and without statements). Twelve were high performing schools; four were lower performing. The researchers collected interview and questionnaire data, made lesson observations and collected documents at each school.

What are the implications?

The study’s findings suggest that it is possible to see inclusion as an opportunity to improve the education for all children, rather than a hindrance for educating children without SEN.  It showed the importance of:

• flexible grouping and timetabling to enable all pupils to get the help they need to achieve
• TAs being involved in planning SEN pupils’ work
• monitoring particular groups of students who seem to be falling behind, and
• enhancing the social acceptance of SEN pupils to reduce the risk of social isolation.

What do the case studies illustrate?

The case studies illustrate some strategies for managing inclusion identified by the main study, such as:

• training teaching assistants to work with SEN pupils
• helping SEN pupils make friends
• raising the attainment of groups of low attaining pupils.

Read the RoM