“Everyone knows me …. I sort of like move about”: The friendships and encounters of young people with Special Educational Needs in different school settings

This paper examines the peer-related social experiences and friendships of young people (aged 11–17) diagnosed with Special Educational Needs in four different school settings: two mainstream schools with special units and two special schools in Southeast England, UK. Findings from qualitative research involving young people with Special Educational Needs and adults, and participant observation, are presented. The young people had one or a combination of the following diagnoses of Special Educational Need: ‘Moderate Learning Difficulties’, on the ‘Autistic Spectrum’, and ‘Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties’. We use the term ‘differences’ rather than ‘difficulties’ to express the interconnected socio-spatial construction of, and corporeality of, the experiences of these differences. There has been limited scholarship about the social experiences of young people with these diagnoses. In our study, young people’s experiences of friendships, exclusion, inclusion and bullying were socio-spatially shifting. Young people had varying experiences in the different school settings. In all settings, most had friends within the school, although those in special schools and units tended to have more friends within the school. However, bullying and ‘othering’ were also experienced in all three settings based on a variety of perceived ‘differences’. All young people needed opportunities for ‘encounter’ to forge friendships. Encounters are risky and can reproduce and reinforce difference as well as generating social connections and friendships. In many spaces, young people’s opportunities for encounter were constrained by the socio-spatial organisation of schools.

Download Full-text

The new special educational needs (SEN) legislation in England and implications for services for children and young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties

Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties ◽

10.1080/13632752.2014.989056 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 117-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Brahm Norwich ◽

Andrew Eaton

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Educational Needs ◽

Special Educational Needs ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Children And Young People ◽

Behavioural Difficulties ◽

Emotional And Behavioural Difficulties

Download Full-text

Right to education – young people with disabilities and children with special educational needs

10.13166/wsge/jjzg4395 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 304-313

Author(s):

Ildiko Laki

Keyword(s):

Public Education ◽

Young People ◽

Educational Needs ◽

The Other ◽

Special Educational Needs ◽

The Public ◽

Other Hand ◽

Educational Need ◽

Complex Forms ◽

The One

One of the biggest educational challenges of the past decades is the question of the social and educational integration of young people with special educational needs (SEN) and/or youth and young adults with disabilities. The importance of the topic is provided by two factors; there is a clearly rising trend in the increase in the number of children with special educational needs, which can be identified almost immediately among the children due to the methodological results, on the one hand, and it has become a feature of the public education that was able to launch many segments of the market – developments, movement therapy, complex forms of education based on special needs – and, as a result, industries are slowly beginning to emerge to create opportunities for them to enter the system, on the other hand. In the case of the public education, the SEN category also represents a kind of set of problems, because in the case of students who study at a normal pace, those belonging to the SEN group only experience disadvantages. The purpose of this summary is, on the one hand, to describe the concept and the framework of the content of the special educational needs used in the public education, and, on the other hand, to summarize the types of disabilities in the light of such data. The study also seeks to give an answer to the question how the determination of the disability is able to reflect a specific educational need, and shed light on the usable, more relevant concept from the perspective of the interested persons.

Download Full-text

Whole School SEND (WSS) Review: study protocol for a two-arm pragmatic parallel cluster randomised controlled trial in 160 English secondary schools

Trials ◽

10.1186/s13063-021-05280-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Stephen Morris ◽

Andrew Smith ◽

Cathy Lewin ◽

Peter Hick ◽

Jordan Harrison

Keyword(s):

School Change ◽

English Language ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Educational Needs ◽

Special Educational Needs ◽

Whole School ◽

Cluster Randomised ◽

Educational Need ◽

Randomised Controlled

Abstract Background The trial will study the effects of the Whole School SEND Review on secondary school pupils in English mainstream education, to understand the impact of the intervention on academic attainment, wellbeing, and school attendance. The Review is designed to facilitate whole-school change through providing enhanced, intensive and sustained support and training in inclusive education for school special educational needs coordinators and leadership teams. The trial will have a specific focus on pupils designated as having special educational needs or disabilities. Methods We recruited 160 English secondary schools (approx. 58,000 pupils across two cohorts) to a two-arm pragmatic parallel cluster randomised controlled trial, with allocation at the school level. Randomisation will be stratified by school region. The primary outcome is attainment in English language (using standardised national test results at 16 years) for pupils designated as having a special educational need (approx. 4000 pupils). Secondary outcomes will be measured for pupils both with and without a special educational need designation and include pupil wellbeing (measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), absences and exclusions, and attainment in Mathematics and English language at 16 years. The intervention will be implemented from July 2021 and analysis of outcomes (for the year 9 cohort) will take place in September 2023, with further analysis (for the year 8 cohort) in September 2024 if the evaluation shows that acceptable implementation fidelity has been achieved. Discussion Pupils with special educational needs represent a significant and often vulnerable part of the secondary school population, are disproportionately likely to be excluded from school, eligible for free school meals, or supported by children’s social care. Despite these multiple important areas of need, school leaders report substantial challenges in making additional provision for this group. Previous research has highlighted the development of inclusive school cultures (rather focusing primarily on targeted individualised approaches) as being important. This trial will investigate how an intervention designed to drive whole school change may lead to outcomes for pupils with and without a special educational needs designation. As such, this trial is expected to make an important contribution to research evidence and to UK educational policy. Trial registration ISRCTN registry ISRCTN11339306. Registered on 12 March 2020 (retrospectively registered).

Download Full-text

Impact of lockdown and school closure on children in special schools: a single-centre survey

BMJ Paediatrics Open ◽

10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000981 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. e000981

Author(s):

Tapomay Banerjee ◽

Amjad Khan ◽

Piriyanga Kesavan

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Significant Role ◽

Well Being ◽

School Closure ◽

Special Educational Needs ◽

Single Centre ◽

Special Schools ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Children And Young People ◽

The Impact

Special schools play a significant role in the daily lives of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We explored the impact of the COVID-19-related first lockdown and resulting school closure by surveying parents whose children attended three special schools in Bedford, UK. We asked about anxiety and impact on emotional well-being and education. We received 53 responses from parents: 31 felt their child was more anxious during the lockdown period/school closure compared with beforehand and 42 felt their child’s emotional well-being had been affected. Children and young people attending special schools may have struggled both academically and emotionally during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download Full-text

Validation of the Wider Outcomes Survey for Teachers (WOST): a measure for assessing the behaviour, relationships and exposure to bullying of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs ◽

10.1111/1471-3802.12030 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 3-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Michael Wigelsworth ◽

Jeremy Oldfield ◽

Neil Humphrey

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Educational Needs ◽

Special Educational Needs ◽

Children And Young People

Download Full-text

Perspectives of Parents of Children with Special Educational Needs: Self-Efficacy and School Supports During COVID-19

Exceptionality Education International ◽

10.5206/eei.v31i1.14097 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Whitley ◽

Ian Matheson ◽

Jacqueline Specht ◽

Jeffrey MacCormack

Keyword(s):

Self Efficacy ◽

Online Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Educational Needs ◽

Special Educational Needs ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Academic Supports ◽

Role Of Parents ◽

Emotional Supports ◽

Remote Learning

The role of parents in supporting at-home learning increased dramatically in the spring of 2020. Schools in most Canadian provinces closed physically due to COVID-19, and remote-learning options were quickly developed to ensure continued education for students. Many students with special educational needs, who typically benefit from a range of supports from school, became reliant on parents to provide means of access to and participation in remote learning. Using an online survey, we explored the perceptions of 263 Canadian parents of children with special education needs with regard to their self‑efficacy and supports from schools. We conducted multiple linear regression analyses for each of three dependent variables (academic supports, parent self‑efficacy, and social-emotional supports); independent variables included student grade level, education placement, and total school-provided supports prior to the pandemic. Findings indicated that most parents engaged in remote learning and lacked confidence in their ability to support the learning of their child. Parent self-efficacy was related to social-emotional supports from schools and not to academic supports. Parents of children in elementary grades, and of those who had received more supports from school prior to COVID‑19, reported feeling better supported in social-emotional areas by the school. Schools should explore ways of building strong collaborative relationships between educators and parents, as well as continuing to find ways of supporting families and students in both in- and out-of-school places. The pandemic, and school-building closures, have reminded us how partnerships between parents and schools are crucial for the well-being of all involved.

Download Full-text