Inclusion: Introduction to Special Education Needs (SEN) for teaching assistants in mainstream education
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In recent years there has been a great increase in the number of non-teacher staff employed in school classrooms to support the learning of a wide range of children and young people. Although most teaching assistants (TAs) have undertaken a general professional development award to equip them to work in the classroom alongside teachers, some may not have received much formal training in working with children who have some disabilities and/or special educational needs. | SP |  |
This course is aimed specifically at TAs and learning support assistants who wish to extend their knowledge of special educational needs and disability in the mainstream classroom. It provides information on relevant equality, special educational needs and disability legislation, and explores specific conditions that affect learning such as dyslexia and ADHD, considers barriers to learning in the curriculum, reviews the contribution of TAs to the identification of individual learning needs and explores the roles of specialist learning support assistants.
The aim of the course is to raise the awareness of TAs (nursery nurses; learning support assistants; learning mentors; parent support advisors etc) of the wide range of pupils’ special educational needs resulting in additional learning needs and to help them identify and support these in an inclusive mainstream setting.
Course aims:
- to raise teaching assistants’ awareness of the wide range of pupils’ additional needs
- to help teaching assistants support these in a mainstream setting
Learning outcomes:
In this 10-hour course, a classroom TA will develop a knowledge and understanding of:
- legislation over the past 10 years that has impacted on provision for learners who may have SEN
- a number of factors that may lead to a learner experiencing barriers to learning
- some common strategies (including ICT) that might reduce barriers to learning in the mainstream classroom
- some of the methods and instruments in use in schools to identify individual’s SEN
- the specialised support for learners provided by partner agencies to meet SEN in the mainstream classroom
This course is presented in 5 sections (with Section 3 broken into smaller parts) - each of which may be completed in about 35–45 minutes online. Each section contains links to websites and video and provides extensive course materials, which enable the user to explore topics in greater depth. An interactive forum allows direct contact with the course tutors and other course members and there is a useful glossary where terminology may be checked.
There is a brief quiz at the end of each section to help course participants review progress and a longer quiz at the end of the course to enable users to reflect on what they have learned and to plan next steps.
(Course content covers HLTA Standard 15: Know how to support learners in accessing the curriculum in accordance with the special educational needs (SEN) code of practice and disabilities legislation and aspects of Standards 13 and 16).
Section 1 Course Overview
This short section provides a brief overview of the whole course to enable participants to plan their time and prepare for Section 2.
Section 2 Legislation and Implementation
This section introduces the recent legislation and national initiatives relevant to Inclusion, Equality, Special Educational Needs and Disability.
Section 3 Barriers to learning
This section, in 10 short parts with a brief introduction to barriers to learning, explores the impact on learning of:
dyslexia
ADHD
dyscalculia
dyspraxia
autism
challenging behaviour
physical and sensory impairments
EAL (bilingualism)
Speech, language and other difficulties
Each short part also considers some strategies to support these conditions in the classroom.
Part 10 concludes with a review of other barriers to learning and considers individualising the curriculum in an inclusive way – including the use of ICT.
Section 4 Assessment and Observation
This short section explores the role of the TA and Learning Support Assistant in the identification and diagnostic testing of the learning differences in:
dyslexia
ADHD
Dyspraxia/Developmental Coordination Disorder
It reviews the importance of classroom observation of barriers to learning to the identification and support of pupils’ SEN and individual learning needs.
Section 5 Specialised Support
This section reviews the individual support that may be required to meet the SEN and additional learning needs of specific groups of children and considers the specialised training required in order to deliver this type of support. Course participants are encouraged to explore this specialised support in the context of their own school and authority.
Next Steps
For those who wish to apply the knowledge they have gained in this course, the follow up course Developing a Pupil Profile (25+ hours CPD) is recommended. This course includes practical classroom activities and offers the opportunity for course members to submit the profiles they have developed to course tutors for comment.
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