INCA Education around the world
England : Curricula (age 3-19)
5.5.1 CONTROL
5.5.2 COMPULSORY SUBJECTS
5.5.3 OPTIONAL/ELECTIVE SUBJECTS
5.5.4 FORMULATION OF CURRICULUM
5.5.5 KEY SKILLS
5.5.6 CURRICULUM MATERIALS
5.5 SPECIAL PUBLICLY-FUNDED PROVISION WITHIN OR OUTSIDE MAINSTREAM EDUCATION [see 3.2.5]
5.5.1 CONTROL
Entitlement to the National Curriculum
All maintained schools, including special schools, are required to follow the statutory National Curriculum. The National Curriculum is intended to provide a balanced, broadly based and relevant curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, intellectual and physical development of all students. Wherever possible, children with special educational needs (SEN) must follow the National Curriculum. However, legislation permits modification of some or all of the National Curriculum and the related assessment arrangements, or exemption from the National Curriculum, for an individual child who has a statement of special educational needs. In addition, legislation also permits the headteacher of a maintained school to make temporary exceptions from some or all of the National Curriculum, for individual students, for a period of up to six months. If parents disagree with the headteacher's arrangements, they may make their views known and, if necessary, appeal to the school governing body.16
All schools, in their published information on their special educational needs policy, must state how they are planning for access to the curriculum for all children.48
It is also recommended that the National Curriculum is followed in publicly-funded hospital schools, special schools which are not publicly-funded and independent schools. However, this is not compulsory.19
The National Curriculum applies to all students aged 5 to 16 in maintained schools. Students with special educational needs (SEN), whether in mainstream schools or special schools, should have the greatest possible access to a broad and balanced education that includes the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum offers the flexibility to enable teachers to provide appropriate work for all students.50
In other words, all children have an entitlement to participate in the National Curriculum and the National Curriculum should be accessible and relevant to students with special educational needs. Students should receive a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum which includes the National Curriculum.41
The whole curriculum is broader than the National Curriculum and religious education (see sections 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.3.1 and 5.3.2 of the mainstream England Archive) and must reflect priorities for students with special needs. The National Curriculum has been developed within a broad set of principles, which require the curriculum for maintained schools to be balanced and broadly based and to:
- Promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of students at the school and of society
- Prepare such students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experience of adult life.12
In planning to meet these requirements, schools are expected to recognise that curricular breadth and balance are an entitlement, but that the precise definitions of balance are a matter for debate between those determining the priorities for each individual child with a special educational need. In defining the whole curriculum, schools usually wish to:
- Identify the range of curricular provision
- Reflect the school's aims and policies
- Decide on priorities.43
Schools need to consider:
| Statutory curricular provision. | The National Curriculum subjects (see 5.2.2 and 5.3.2 of the mainstream England Archive), religious education, sex education and careers education and guidance (statutory at key stages 3 and 4). National Curriculum school entry and end of key stage assessment (see sections 6.2.1 and 6.3.1 of the mainstream England Archive). |
| Areas in which they have chosen to develop policies that may lead to additional curricular provision being made. | For example, health education, personal and social development, environmental education. |
| Particular school priorities within the curriculum. | For example, physiotherapy. |
When defining the specific curriculum (individual education plan) for individual students with special educational needs, teachers may select material from earlier key stage programmes of study taught in age-appropriate ways for some students. The individual education plan (IEP) defines priorities for the individual student, strategies to meet their needs, and acts as the process by which progress is reviewed.44
Within the whole curriculum, the National Curriculum provides a broad curricular context for all students but, in order to be relevant for a specific school, class or for an individual student with SEN, planning must be based on individual needs. Identifying needs is part of the process and involves assessment, target setting, reviewing and reporting. Teachers identify aspects of the National Curriculum programmes of study most relevant to a student's needs,45 and adapt these programmes to the wide spread of abilities and special needs of the children in their care.16
Further information is available via the National Curriculum website at: http://curriculum.qca.org.uk.
5.5.2 COMPULSORY SUBJECTS
General entitlement to the statutory National Curriculum
See section 5.5.1.
See sections 5.1.2, 5.2.2, 5.3.2 and 5.4.2 of the mainstream England Archive also.
5.5.3 OPTIONAL/ELECTIVE SUBJECTS
See section 5.5.1.
See sections 5.1.3, 5.2.3, 5.3.3 and 5.4.3 of the mainstream England Archive also.
5.5.4 FORMULATION OF CURRICULUM
General
The National Curriculum is defined in terms of:
- Core subjects and foundation subjects and other aspects of learning.
- Four key stages of learning and assessment.
- Programmes of study, which set out what students should be taught in each subject and in each key stage. Programmes of study set out the minimum statutory entitlement to the knowledge, understanding and skills for each subject at each key stage. Schools are free to teach subjects and subject material other than that specified in the programmes of study. Teachers use the programmes of study as the basis for planning schemes of work. Particular teaching methods and textbooks may not be prescribed as part of a programme of study; these are chosen by the teachers.23,24 The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) does produce optional schemes of work for most subjects across all key stages. These are available online at http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes/
- Attainment targets, which set out the expected standards of students' performance. They identify distinct elements within the different subjects so as to assist teachers in planning, teaching, assessing and reporting students' work.
- Eight level descriptions of increasing difficulty, which set out standards of students' performances at the end of key stages 1, 2 and 3 in all compulsory curriculum subjects. There is an additional description above level 8 to help teachers in differentiating exceptional performance. Level descriptions do not apply at key stage 4.
At key stage 4, the curriculum content is also drawn from syllabuses for General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations and other approved examinations.
Individual education plans
Individual education plans (IEPs) are often expressed in terms of individual learning outcomes. For students with severe special educational needs, such as regressive conditions, the maintenance of certain skills may be established as a learning outcome to be achieved.47
5.5.5 KEY SKILLS
See sections 5.1.5, 5.2.5, 5.3.5 and 5.4.5 of the mainstream England Archive.
5.5.6 CURRICULUM MATERIALS
General
Teaching methods and learning materials are usually decided by class teachers and curriculum managers in consultation with expert colleagues (SENCOs), who have a particular responsibility for special educational needs.18
Materials for teachers of children with special educational needs
The Government has published guidelines aimed at helping professionals with early identification and support for children with special needs. Together From the Start, available online, is aimed at education, health and social service professionals. The guidelines cover:
- Assessment and early intervention
- The coordination of service provision
- Working with children and families
- Planning a family-centred approach.
Information technology
Information and communication technology (ICT) equipment can provide the key to curriculum access for many students with special educational needs. Keyboards and voice recognition systems, for example, can be invaluable tools for learners with handwriting problems or visual impairments.19
Information technology equipment, specifically computers running relevant educational programmes and with Internet and e-mail access (and perhaps even video-conferencing facilities) are also of particular use to students who spend long periods in hospital. Such equipment is particularly relevant, not only because hospital teachers often do not have enough time to provide individual students with much personal attention, but also because it can be accessed at any time and because it enables sick students to keep in contact with their peers and teachers. Much of the equipment in this field is provided by charities or private organisations.30
ICT is being used increasingly to open up the curriculum for a whole range of learners who might otherwise be excluded, such as those students with sensory or motor difficulties. The special needs team at the British Educational Communications Technology Agency (Becta) (http://www.becta.org.uk/) provides a national focus for this work.11
The Communication Aids Project (CAP) (now ended)
In March 2001, the Government introduced a programme to provide hi-tech communication aids to students with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. CAP was targeted specifically at children with difficulties in speaking or writing. Examples of the equipment provided under the programme included:
- Dedicated communication aids such as voice recognition systems, sophisticated speech synthesis systems or mouth- or eye-operated devices to assist disabled students in accessing communication systems.
- Hand-held spell checkers.
- Laptop computers. 66
The equipment was intended to help such students access the National Curriculum and to help ease transition to employment or further and higher education.66
In April 2003, CAP, which was managed by Becta (see above) on behalf of the, then, Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (now the Department for Children, Schools and Families, DCSF), was extended for a further two years. This extended funding aimed to assist more individuals with special needs and to create a longer term approach to support and training for students, their teachers, parents and local authority (LA) support staff. CAP funding covered an assessment of the student, provision of hardware and software, training for school staff, the student and his or her parents, and an ongoing review. CAP ran until 31st March 2006 and has now ended.
Online resources
There is a government website which provides advice and information for teachers on issues relating to special educational needs and inclusion. The site, which also provides access to a catalogue of resources to support individual learning needs for teaching professionals, parents, carers and learners is available at http://inclusion.ngfl.gov.uk/.
See sections 5.1.6, 5.2.6, 5.3.6 and 5.4.6 of the mainstream England Archive in addition.
