Countering the Failures of the School System for Autistic Students

There is often a sense that children with complex needs are unable to make progress, but Michael Bogg shows how by addressing students’ individual situations and developing their well-being and self-esteem, real progress is not only possible, but inevitable.

Excellent progress is the goal of all teachers. The way to achieve it is the million-dollar question. I work in a Resource Centre, which is attached to a mainstream school, for children with a diagnosis of Autism. There are currently 23 children and three classes, broadly in the following groups: EYFS/KS1, lower KS1/KS2 and upper KS2. Some children take part in sessions in the mainstream school, but most of our children spend the majority of time with us in the Centre.

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      string(5576) "would enable police,prosecutors and councils to have a better understanding of the prevalence of anti-Muslim hate crime and allocate resources accordingly.And in January, Education Secretary Nick Morgan launched an ‘Education againsthate’ website as part of a renewed drive against all forms of extremism.News stories frequently trigger anti-Muslim incidents. Now it’s to the pointwhere we ask: what’s it going to be today? It’s a constant cycle, and such anti-Muslimsentiments can’t help but trickle down into our school system – with a profound impacton Muslim students nationwide.What can schools do?We know the media – and parents’ discussion of it at home – impacts even youngchildren. In 2014, a sharp increase in racist bullying in schools coincided with heatedpublic debate on immigration. Young Muslims in particular report that they are called‘terrorists’ and ‘bombers’ by classmates.http://www.educateagainsthate.com/teachers/http://www.educateagainsthate.com/teachers/http://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/racist-bullying-immigration11Vol 7.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsReligionKnowledge trails1. Could better RE in schools combat radicalisation? – A worrying number of young men andwomen have left the country to fight with extremists abroad. Does the problem find its roots inschools? And if so, could a great focus on religious education help?library.teachingtimes.com/articles/could-better-re-in-schools-combat-radicalisation2. What is Britishness? – It’s been more than a year since the government instructed schools topromote ‘fundamental British values’. But what, precisely, are they?library.teachingtimes.com/articles/what-is-britishness3. 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At Parkfield, all teachers promote diversity withthe aim that pupils will recognise the benefits that come from living in harmony withthose different from themselves.‘I chose the books very carefully to talk about characters that were different sothat children were taught to not be scared of difference,’ he explains. ‘In Reception, thebook Red Rockets and Rainbow Jelly shows that we can like different things but still befriends. In Year 1, the book Max the Champion shows a child with a disability who is madabout sport. King and King is used in Year 4 to talk about gay marriage and in Year 6, TheIsland has the purpose to challenge the causes of racism, as the book gives childrenan opportunity to talk about refugees and to understand how racism occurs and whatactions they can take to stop it.’Alongside careful consideration of the books, Moffat also ensures his pupils havethe opportunities to mix with other children different to them, and that they are awareof global events. He says: ‘I have talked about the Paris terror attacks with students andtold them that the terrorists don’t believe in our ethos of “No outsiders”. The childrennow want to spread our message across Birmingham.’For teachers, there are compelling reasons to enforce fairness, as there is a strongcorrelation between a child’s sense of inclusion and academic success. Children whoexperience bias are not going to do well academically, because if a child is excluded byhis or her peers, they don’t really want to be at school.But developing that mindset is made much harder by constant exposure toinflammatory news stories. 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Leadership

The only news is bad news

29 Mar 2016

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      string(5661) "45SPRING 2009SENComputers are an autistic child’s dream friend – they have no ambiguities, theyremember every detail and they only focus on one thing at a time! Amanda O’Neilland Marianne Beamish share how IT helps their students.(STEPS) course, offering flexible learning toyoung people with a range of abilities andneeds, working from pre-entry to Level one.This article is based on a seminar which theauthors delivered at the BETT IT fair 2009and on strategies they have both applied intheir teaching.There are a range of terms related to ASDs– autism, high functioning autism, Aspergersyndrome and pervasive developmentaldisorders. The spectrum covers the completeIQ range – autism is a lifelong condition andthe diagnosis is medical.Fight ASDswith ICT!Psychiatrist Lorna Wing has identified threemain areas of impairment. There needs to bedifficulty in all of these areas for a diagnosis ofautism.  Learners will have: Difficulties in communication – verbaland body language may be misunderstood.Levels of comprehension will be lower thantheir use of language. Problems with social communication suchas understanding how, when and why wecommunicate – as well as difficulty withdecoding and applying social rules.●●Young people with ASDs face many difficulties. This is counteracted in the classroom with a focus on clear structuresand routines, the use of visual supports and withan attention to effective communication andmeaningful choice. This article provides ideason how ICT can be used as a tool to meet thelearning and communication challenges facedby ASD students. The School of FoundationStudies at the West Suffolk college, Bury StEdmunds, is a rural further education collegewith 19,000 students. 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The computer is predictableand its rules never change.Many people with ASDs are visual learnersand computers offer a wealth of visualrepresentations: Words and icons can be used to helpautistics navigate their way throughprogrammes Images, videos and animations are readilyavailable Data can be interpreted in spreadsheetsoftware Every time the learner presses a key orclicks a mouse, there is an effectThe computer offers great potential for findinga visual representation that has meaning forthe individual.Most learners with ASDs find it difficultto organise their ideas and thoughts on paperwhen completing assignments. The editingfacilities on a computer create is a safe placeto make mistakes as they can be easily rectified.Programmes like Microsoft Word and Publisherallow the user to achieve professional resultswith minimal technical skills.●●●●●Students with ASDs have difficulties inremembering events and experiences and howthey relate to themselves. 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Digital Learning

Fight ASDs with ICT!

24 Jul 2009

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Able. The Missing
Middle: The
case for school
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      string(392) "... their aims and intended outcomes ofany change process.Giving teachers ownership of aspects of the change process.Involving the whole school community including administrators and students, aswell as parents and outside partners.Practice development:Commitment to practice development is important and can be viewed as acharacteristic of an innovative school ..."
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      string(5681) "Leadership Briefing is a weekly online summary of all that’s new and relevantto education, linked to original source documents that can be downloaded orviewed on screen, and available to everyone in your school leadership team. Thebriefings here give a sample of what’s on offer.Leadership BriefingReport update14Vol 4.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comReportsLeadershipBriefingThis NFER report is one of a pair of studies that collectively consider creating change inschools through workforce development and maps the key research evidence aboutwhat leads to positive change in teaching practice in schools. A number of recentreports have emphasised effective teaching as a crucial element in securing positiveoutcomes for young people.This study aims to review the huge body of evidence that is available about thefactors that lead to positive change in teaching practice, in order to draw conclusionsabout:The different forms of support that are most likely to encourage teachers to changetheir practiceIf there is evidence about how changes in practice impact on pupil outcomesWhether there are forms of support that represent particularly good value formoneyA range of different factors were found that impact on changing practice, which canbe grouped into four main themes: leadership; planning and preparation; practicedevelopment; and monitoring and evaluation.Key findings:Leadership:Set out a clear and realistic vision – it is important for teachers to understand whatthe aim of an innovation is if they are to contribute to achieving that aim.Be based on a well-evidenced rationale, and also adapted to the local context.Allow teachers to take ownership of the issue, whilst also providing guidance andsupport where it is needed.Create the right culture for change, in which innovation is encouraged andsustained.Develop a climate for learning, in which leaders manage and organise appropriate,in-depth learning opportunities for teachers, over a number of different occasions.It is important that head teachers have an overview of the potential change, but arenot the sole drivers. They should ensure that they enable others to also be agentsof change.Planning and preparation:Effective planning and preparation provides a structure and context for teacherswishing to implement change, as well as a framework for their reflection andevaluation.The wider school community needs to be involved in planning and preparation if■■■■■■■■■What leadsto positivechange inteachingpractice?LeadershipBriefings area weeklyservice.Do yousubscribe?http://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/RCTL01/RCTL01.pdfhttp://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/RCTL01/RCTL01.pdfhttp://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/RCTL01/RCTL01.pdfhttp://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/RCTL01/RCTL01.pdfhttp://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/RCTL01/RCTL01.pdfhttp://www.teachingtimes.com/publications/leadership-briefings-emailed-subscription.htm15Vol 4.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comReportsLeadershipBriefingpositive change is to arise and be sustained. This should include:Engaging the teachers to ensure that staff are on board with the planned changes– leaders can avoid criticisms by making clear their aims and intended outcomes ofany change process.Giving teachers ownership of aspects of the change process.Involving the whole school community including administrators and students, aswell as parents and outside partners.Practice development:Commitment to practice development is important and can be viewed as acharacteristic of an innovative school. Informal and formal learning opportunitiesshould be backed up with time and funding. It is also important that professionallearning experiences focus on the links between teaching activities and valuedlearner outcomes. 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Leadership

SLT Leadership Briefing 4.3

30 Oct 2012

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      string(4128) "There seems to be a common belief and general consensus of sorts that young people, these ‘digital natives’, have a higher level of digital ability than the people teaching them. This stereotype of older people not being able to keep up with the times has been around for generations and has very little to do with the current state of affairs, as compelling a notion as it is. This viewpoint is problematic in education as it perpetuates a pernicious myth that the failures of the education system to suitably prepare students for their adult lives is the fault of the luddite teachers who can’t cope with changing times. Certainly, training and exchange of ideas about teaching techniques and schools must be ongoing, but the assumption that young people are somehow automatically digitally literate is problematic. It perpetuates the myth that it is a lack of gadgets, apps or games that are creating the barriers to access, rather than a pedagogical or institutional failing. Young people are great at using and manipulating technology for things that motivate them, which in the teen years, is often related to social connectivity and rewards. This means that they are masters at growing their social media following and mastering complex video games. They are also wired to learn quickly, which is why it’s such a crucial time for them to be educated to perform complex and challenging tasks and to develop the thought processes and problem solving abilities that will keep them in good stead once the pruning, myelination and remodelling stage of their brain development is over. At this stage of their lives, there is so much potential for education to either hinder their prospects or enable them to flourish and develop. The DfE’s recently announced tech strategy is certainly an improvement over not having one at all, but there is a critical feature lacking with it, and that is a focus on learning. There is a very prominent focus on reducing administrative tasks for teachers and developing partnerships with the tech industry, primarily for infrastructure and safeguarding needs. But learning is not addressed. Rather than revolutionising technology for learning by making advanced platforms available for personalised learning or creating interactive experiences that advance learning through knowledge sharing or community building, the strategy focuses on industry partnerships, anti-cheating software and increasing administrative capacity.The current problems relating to digital literacy being identified by employers are not that young people don’t know how to use a computer, but rather that they don’t know how to solve the problems the businesses are trying to address. The current generation is not used to building things or searching for answers to an unknowable question. They don’t understand the power of advanced coding and mathematics to create systems and allow people to build things. They are used to having answers given via Google and social media. Many people think the answer to a technology problem is ‘Did you restart it?’, instead of ‘how can we solve climate change?’ The more advanced the technology we use, it seems, the less care and attention are given to problem-solving and critical thinking. The UK is far behind the United States and China in its digital education strategy and from the looks of this current offering, they intend for it to stay that way. The strategy primarily focuses on infrastructure, but with only a £10 million backing (about £400 per school), we can expect it to have minimal impact. But it is not just the lack of financial investment. People have been asking why the UK doesn’t have its own version of Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, and they could equally ask why the UK doesn’t have its own version of Microsoft, Google or Apple for education. Maybe this is because tech leaders like Bill Gates see computers as tools of communication, creativity and collaboration, areas conspicuously missing from the DfE’s edtech strategy. Jory Debenham Editor"
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Digital Learning

Editor’s note: What does it mean to be digitally literate?

12 Aug 2019

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