THE COSTS OF ‘INCLUSION’

THE COSTS OF ‘INCLUSION’
Louise Cuffaro (Newham NUT)
I am a primary class teacher working in Manor Park, Newham. Newham is a fully inclusive borough and has had no special schools for many years.
All the teachers in my school fully support the principle of Inclusion. However, we are increasingly concerned that the real needs of pupils with special needs are not being met due to: class size; lack of ongoing training for LSAs and class teachers; lack of timetabled time for teachers and LSAs to plan and prepare for Special Needs pupils; a lack of trained specialist teachers in the many different areas such as Autism, Downs Syndrome, ADHD etc. to support and work with class teachers and Special Needs pupils.
Class Size
This year I have an autistic pupil and a pupil with severe learning difficulties and epilepsy in a Year 3 class of 29 children. (This is not unusual in our, and many other, Newham classes.) They both have fulltime LSA support.
Our class size limit is 30 and there is no reduction to account for the extra workload entailed in planning and teaching a class that includes Special Needs pupils with very high levels of needs. Besides children with levels of Special Needs that mean they have fulltime LSA support, we all have children with special needs who are on school action plan but have little (½ a day per week) or no LSA support.
Class teachers in Yrs 2 and 6 also have the extra pressure and workload of preparing their pupils for SATs while still trying to provide an appropriate curriculum and experience for their Special Needs children.
At the same time, we also have a high turnover of pupils and about 97% of all our pupils have English as a Second Language.
We all feel strongly that overall class size should be reduced to 24 and reduced further for each pupil with high level Special Needs.
Training
My autistic pupil came to our school able to communicate using the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) at level 5 but unfortunately only 2 out of 4 LSAs, timetabled to be with him, and myself have had ½ a day’s PECS training and only to level 3! This is frustrating for the pupil and for all of us who want to communicate with him to the fullest extent possible.
Planning and Preparation
Many children with Special Needs present challenging behaviour that disrupts class lessons and routines but there is no timetabled discussion and planning time given to class teachers and LSAs. We need time to review and discuss day to day activities and develop strategies for behaviour management in the interests of both the Special Needs child and the rest of the class, not to mention the frazzled nerves of the adults involved.
Also there is no time to set up and make the many resources necessary to provide all the appropriate and fulfilling curriculum and life skills activities that our children with Special Needs need. Both teachers and LSAs do a lot of extra work at home or in their inadequate breaks (15 minutes morning break, but often not at the same time, and LSAs get only 30minutes lunch break). While teachers and LSAs do their best, management tends to exploit our goodwill and ignores the fact that all our efforts cannot compensate for the fact that our Special Needs children have no soft play area, no sensory area, no mentoring area and no space to practice life skills comfortably and with dignity outside of their classroom.
Specialist Teachers
At present we only see a Support Teacher about once a term when they visit to observe a Special Needs child and grab a quick chat with the class teacher.
We feel strongly that specialist teachers should be based on site in a special unit attached to every mainstream school so that Special Needs children can have access to soft play areas, sensory areas and some one to one teaching as well as being in a mainstream classroom.