Unravelling the Paradoxes of Self-Directed Education

The National Curriculum is not the only way to get an education, and some even think the alternatives are superior. Caitlin Harrison and Brenton Hague explain how Self-Directed Education is allowing their family to pursue an educational path of connection, compassion, creativity and innovation.

We have decided to not use school to educate our child, and instead, we serve as facilitators of Self-Directed Education (SDE).¹ In contrast to curriculum-dependent, teacher-led, evaluation-heavy schooling, SDE is an educational route in which children take charge of their education and the adults are responsible for curating an environment that supports everyone in their learning.² Our decision to pursue SDE as a family is inspired by informal observations, and it is underpinned by theory. It is both personal and political. It is an expression of privilege, and it invites an exploration of paradox.

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      string(5627) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.SOCIAL MOBILITY IN GREAT BRITAIN: FIFTHSTATE OF THE NATION REPORTKeywordsSocial Mobility,Great Britain,postcode lottery,social mobilityindex, hotspots,coldspots,geographicaldivide, deprivedareasSummaryThis report by the Social Mobility Commission shows that a stark social mobility postcodelottery exists in Britain today where the chances of someone from a disadvantagedbackground succeeding in life is bound to where they live.The report assesses the progress that Great Britain has made towards improving social mobility.It puts the social mobility index at the heart of the report and ranks all English local authorities intohotspots and coldspots, using a range of 16 indicators for every life stage from the early yearsthrough to working lives. It finds that there is a stark social mobility geographical divide within ournation.The report uncovers a striking geographical divide with London and its surrounding areas pullingaway from the rest of the country, while many other parts of the country are being left behindeconomically and hollowed out socially.It warns that Britain is in the grip of a self-reinforcing spiral of ever-growing division and calls ongovernment to increase its proportion of spending on those parts of the country that most need it.Estimates suggest that the North is £6 billion a year underfunded compared to London.The report explains that wealthy areas can see high levels of low pay, with poorer young people atrisk of being “somewhat neglected”, particularly if they are scattered around isolated rural schoolsConversely, some of the most deprived areas are “hotspots”, providing good education, employmentopportunities and housing for their most disadvantaged residents.The Social Mobility Index, which ranks all 324 local authorities in England in terms of their socialmobility prospects for someone from a disadvantaged background, finds that the worst performingareas for social mobility are no longer inner city areas, but remote rural and coastal areas, and formerindustrial areas, especially in the Midlands.Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds living in these areas face far higher barriers thanyoung people growing up in cities and their surrounding areas – and in their working lives, face lowerrates of pay; fewer top jobs; and travelling to work times of nearly four times more than that of urbanresidents.There is also no direct correlation between the affluence of an area and its ability to sustain highlevels of social mobility. While richer areas tend to outperform deprived areas in the index, a numberof places buck the trend. Some of the most deprived areas in England are hotspots, including mostWeek Commencing 4th December 2017https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/662744/State_of_the_Nation_2017_-_Social_Mobility_in_Great_Britain.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/662744/State_of_the_Nation_2017_-_Social_Mobility_in_Great_Britain.pdfLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.London boroughs – such as Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham. Conversely, some affluent areas– such as West Berkshire, Cotswold and Crawley – are amongst the worst for offering good education,employment opportunities and affordable housing to their more disadvantaged residents.The report highlights that local policies adopted by local authorities and employers can influenceoutcomes for disadvantaged residents. But it also warns that there is a mind-blowing inconsistencyof practice in how to improve social mobility outcomes, with little pooling of experience or evidence-based strategies.Key Finding:■ London accounts for nearly two-thirds of all social mobility hotspots.■ The Midlands is the worst region of the country for social mobility for those from disadvantagedbackgrounds – half of the local authority areas in the East Midlands and more than a third in theWest Midlands are social mobility coldspots■ Some of the worst performing areas such as Weymouth and Portland, and Allerdale, are rural, noturban.■ Coastal and older industrial towns – places such as Scarborough, Hastings, Derby andNottingham – are becoming entrenched social mobility coldspots.■ Some of the richest places in England, such as West Berkshire, Cotswold and Crawley, deliverworse outcomes for their disadvantaged children than places that are much poorer such asSunderland and Tower Hamlets■ Apart from London, English cities are punching below their weight on social mobility outcomes. Noother city makes it into the top 20%■ Early years – disadvantaged children are 14 percentage points less likely to be school ready atage 5 in coldspots than in hotspots: in 94 areas, under half of disadvantaged children reach agood level of development at age 5■ Schools – 51% of London children on free school meals achieve A* to C in English and mathsGCSE compared to an average of 36% of children on free school meals in all other Englishregions: in the best place (Westminster), 63% get good English and maths GCSEs whereas inthe worst (Isle of Wight), only 27% do■ A critical factor"
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Leadership

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29 Nov 2017

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      string(5717) "input.  What has happened in reality is not what many had hoped for.  A pessimistic response to the situation that is faced would be to complain about the SEND reforms and the introduction of EHCPs.  An optimistic response would be to look at how EHCPs can be further developed into documents which truly reflect the principles they are based upon.  EHCPs are being converted quickly in many situations, with agencies contributing one at a time rather than in a coordinated fashion.  This is a pragmatic response to the pressures, including but not exclusively finance and time, which each agency faces.  However EHCPs are documents which may last until a young person is 25.  There will be many reviews over the years that the EHCP is in force, many years for improvement.  This is not providing an excuse for present EHCPs.  It is suggesting a change in the way the implementation of the reforms is viewed.  Rather than bemoaning the fact that EHCPs in their first iteration have not achieved what they set out to do, it would be better to view these SEND reforms, including the introduction of EHCPs as the beginning of a journey.All Statements should be converted to EHCPs by 2017.  This puts pressure on the conversions and in many cases will significantly impact on their quality and adherence to founding principles.  However if the focus is on the principles which underpin the new documents rather than the act of producing the document, then there is still an opportunity for EHCPs to have a significant impact on pupils, parents, schools, other agencies and the system as a whole.It may need to be accepted that the first documents issued are not perfect and have not been produced by the best possible consultation with pupils and parents and collaboration between agencies.  This is not providing an excuse, but it acknowledges that in many cases this may not be able to be achieved as well as hoped.  But there are reviews.  There will be many reviews.  If a focus is placed on the principles of involving pupils in oversight of their education, health and care, valuing the contribution parents make to decisions that impact on their child and the integration of agencies to best support the achievements of an individual then the best practices which exemplify these can be developed and celebrated over time.What is needed is a clear steer to the principles not the product and an opportunity to celebrate practice which supports these principles.  Forums are needed where practice can be shared and applauded across the country not just within Local Authorities.  One such forum should be journals such as Every Child.  There needs to be an acceptance that we are not in a perfect place at present but we are at the beginning of a journey.Penny Barratt is Executive Headteacher of The Bridge School in London and The Bridge Integrated Learning Space; a school which caters for students with autism and/or severe learning difficulties or profound and multiple learning difficulties.  References1Agran, M., Blanchard, C., & Wehmeyer, M. (2000). Promoting transition goals and self-directed learning model of instruction. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 35, 351-364. Agran, M., Blanchard, C., Wehmeyer, M., & Hughes, C. (2002). Increasing the problem solving skills of students with severe disabilities participating in general education. Remedial and Special Education, 23, 279-288. Agran, M., Cavin, M., Wehmeyer, M., & Palmer, S. (2006). Participation of students with moderate to severe disabilities in the general curriculum: The effects of the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction. Research & Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 31(3), 230-241. Agran, M., Wehmeyer, M., Cavin, M., & Palmer, S. (2008). Promoting student active classroom participation skills through instruction to promote self-regulated learning and self-determination. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 31(2), 106-114.Agran, M., Wehmeyer, M., Cavin, M., & Palmer, S. (2010). Promoting active engagement in the general education classroom and access to the general education curriculum for students with cognitive disabilities. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 45(2), 163-174.Burrell TL and Borrego J Jr (2012) Parents-involvement in ASD treatment: what is their role? Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 19: 423-432Cheatham, G. A., & Ostrosky, M. M. (2011). Whose expertise?: An analysis of advice giving in early childhood parent-teacher conferences. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 25(1), 24-44.Crown copyright (a) (2014) The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014  HMSO: LondonCrown copyright (b) (2014) Children and Families Act 2014 London: HMSOCURTICE, L., STEWART, A. and PETCH, A., 2003. Moving towards integrated working in health and social care in Scotland: from maze to matrix. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 17(4), pp. 335-350. Department of Education and Department of Health (2014) Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years Statutory guidance for organisations which work with and support children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities.  HMSO: LondonDICKSON, K., MARSHALL, M., BOYLE, J., MCCARTNEY, E., O’HARE, A. and FORBES, J., 2009. Cost analysis of direct versus indirect and individual versus group modes of"
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Behaviour

Are we getting Education, Health and Care Plans right?

13 Mar 2017

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      string(5652) "68creative support   www.teachthinking.comTeaching Thinking&Creativity  Winter 2005Charlotte Yonge explainsher use of art and drama tohelp the education of a childwith Asperger’s SyndromeCartoons,computersand silly walksFrom 1998 to 2002 I supported Sam, a child withAsperger’s Syndrome. Sam attended a primary schoolwhere I worked with him using non-directive playwith soft toys and puppets.Sam’s parents felt that he wasn’t flourishing at school.He hated going to school so his parents arranged toeducate him at home for two years. In this more adaptableenvironment, he was able to use his artistic skills and followhis love of drama. The education was provided by his family,myself, and two other artistic support workers.Sam and I constructed together little dramatisations ofcharacters, which were filmed by Sam on a home video. Imirrored and reflected his thoughts and feelings, becamecharacters as instructed and consistently asked him to tellstories, framing questions such as: ‘What is Bob feeling andwhat is he saying?’ or ‘What will happen next I wonder?’As he was also very keen on TV cartoons and comedy, wewould have conversations about programmes like TheSimpsons. I would ask him which was his favourite episode,and he gradually became curious about which were myfavourites. Then we would enquire about children’s filmssuch as Monsters Inc, Toy Story, Shrek or Nightmare BeforeChristmas, which often had fascinating themes. Sam hadtaught me much, I discovered, and so we developed a realsense of companionship.Our main line of enquiry was into comedy – thedifferences between children’s humour and that of adults.Why were there differences? I introduced him to BasilFawlty and, before long, he wanted me to imitate JohnCleese’s Minister of Funny Walks. From this, we developedadult characters who were dysfunctional – with badtempers and juvenile habits. What a wonderful time wehad, saturated with drama and conversation.A BIT OF DRAMA: Me, playing out events for Sam to draw later69Teaching Thinking&Creativity  Winter 2005www.teachthinking.com   creative supportAfter some months of home education, Sam’s parentsdecided to help him learn to edit digital films. They boughtsoftware and elicited the help of a friend who was doing anMA on animation. A new era dawned for Sam. In two years,he learned to edit digital films, create DVDs with menusand clips, produce photo galleries and select out-takes. Healso used the animation programme to produce his ownfilm. In 2005 he entered key stage three and started at aspecial school. Now he had proved, at home, that he couldinitiate his own projects, the school allowed him to take inhis own work to do. This was much more satisfying for himthan the situation at his previous primary school. He nowhappily fits in, drawing caricature portraits of his teachersand peers. His latest video dramas also portray the classictensions between teachers and pupils.After starting at the special school, Sam became very keenon a music-making project with the computer, as he hadto find out how to develop his creativity on his own. Fromtime to time I came to listen to his excellent compositionsuntil one day he asked me to improvise a song with himabout school. I asked him what the words were, and hegave me them: ‘I hate school…’ a whole verse of deeply feltresponses to school life. Together, we put a theme tune toit and later he added sound effects, percussion and tempo.I was delighted we had done something together like this.The result was, to me, a truly inspired bit of collaborativecomposition that also conveyed Sam’s authentic feelingsand thinking about the inequalities of life.The home-education programme evolved organically,from self directed play, mirroring and questioning, tomore intricate language use and conversation. It centredon Sam’s creative interests and included two other artisticadult support workers as well as members of his family. Iconsidered Sam to have learned some emotional skills suchas collaborative talk and a willingness to accommodatesomeone else’s feelings and dispositions. These importantsteps were achieved more effectively than would havebeen possible in a more formal, didactic educationframework.  The interactions we shared were complexand used multi-media. They relied on visual, dramatic andauditory skills as well as forms of collaborative creativity.The results of our home-education programme were thesubject of a case study I wrote for the School of EmotionalLiteracy Diploma course.The dataThe table below shows lists of visual arts and conversationalactivities covered by the data. I drew on Gardner’s workabout multiple intelligences. With conversational support,Sam has been able to verbalise his visual thinking to thepoint where he now provides storyboards with clearly-written speech and a logical storyline composed in avisual format. His written work develops on the back of hisvisual narratives, which address actual emotional issues inhis life and are rich and meaningful. These become videodramas and, subsequently, DVD compilations. As a result,a spatial-visual skill becomes progressively integrated withhis immediate socio-emotional concerns – his involvementwith others in collaborative projects. I have therefore listedthese two modes of communication in terms of theirrepresentative activities below, together with an indicationof the creative and cognitive skills involved.70creative support   www.teachthinking.comTeaching Thinking&Creativity  Winter 2005Visual and mediaAesthetic and dramatic enquiryl"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

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1 Jan 2005

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      string(5652) "68creative support   www.teachthinking.comTeaching Thinking&Creativity  Winter 2005Charlotte Yonge explainsher use of art and drama tohelp the education of a childwith Asperger’s SyndromeCartoons,computersand silly walksFrom 1998 to 2002 I supported Sam, a child withAsperger’s Syndrome. Sam attended a primary schoolwhere I worked with him using non-directive playwith soft toys and puppets.Sam’s parents felt that he wasn’t flourishing at school.He hated going to school so his parents arranged toeducate him at home for two years. In this more adaptableenvironment, he was able to use his artistic skills and followhis love of drama. The education was provided by his family,myself, and two other artistic support workers.Sam and I constructed together little dramatisations ofcharacters, which were filmed by Sam on a home video. Imirrored and reflected his thoughts and feelings, becamecharacters as instructed and consistently asked him to tellstories, framing questions such as: ‘What is Bob feeling andwhat is he saying?’ or ‘What will happen next I wonder?’As he was also very keen on TV cartoons and comedy, wewould have conversations about programmes like TheSimpsons. I would ask him which was his favourite episode,and he gradually became curious about which were myfavourites. Then we would enquire about children’s filmssuch as Monsters Inc, Toy Story, Shrek or Nightmare BeforeChristmas, which often had fascinating themes. Sam hadtaught me much, I discovered, and so we developed a realsense of companionship.Our main line of enquiry was into comedy – thedifferences between children’s humour and that of adults.Why were there differences? I introduced him to BasilFawlty and, before long, he wanted me to imitate JohnCleese’s Minister of Funny Walks. From this, we developedadult characters who were dysfunctional – with badtempers and juvenile habits. What a wonderful time wehad, saturated with drama and conversation.A BIT OF DRAMA: Me, playing out events for Sam to draw later69Teaching Thinking&Creativity  Winter 2005www.teachthinking.com   creative supportAfter some months of home education, Sam’s parentsdecided to help him learn to edit digital films. They boughtsoftware and elicited the help of a friend who was doing anMA on animation. A new era dawned for Sam. In two years,he learned to edit digital films, create DVDs with menusand clips, produce photo galleries and select out-takes. Healso used the animation programme to produce his ownfilm. In 2005 he entered key stage three and started at aspecial school. Now he had proved, at home, that he couldinitiate his own projects, the school allowed him to take inhis own work to do. This was much more satisfying for himthan the situation at his previous primary school. He nowhappily fits in, drawing caricature portraits of his teachersand peers. His latest video dramas also portray the classictensions between teachers and pupils.After starting at the special school, Sam became very keenon a music-making project with the computer, as he hadto find out how to develop his creativity on his own. Fromtime to time I came to listen to his excellent compositionsuntil one day he asked me to improvise a song with himabout school. I asked him what the words were, and hegave me them: ‘I hate school…’ a whole verse of deeply feltresponses to school life. Together, we put a theme tune toit and later he added sound effects, percussion and tempo.I was delighted we had done something together like this.The result was, to me, a truly inspired bit of collaborativecomposition that also conveyed Sam’s authentic feelingsand thinking about the inequalities of life.The home-education programme evolved organically,from self directed play, mirroring and questioning, tomore intricate language use and conversation. It centredon Sam’s creative interests and included two other artisticadult support workers as well as members of his family. Iconsidered Sam to have learned some emotional skills suchas collaborative talk and a willingness to accommodatesomeone else’s feelings and dispositions. These importantsteps were achieved more effectively than would havebeen possible in a more formal, didactic educationframework.  The interactions we shared were complexand used multi-media. They relied on visual, dramatic andauditory skills as well as forms of collaborative creativity.The results of our home-education programme were thesubject of a case study I wrote for the School of EmotionalLiteracy Diploma course.The dataThe table below shows lists of visual arts and conversationalactivities covered by the data. I drew on Gardner’s workabout multiple intelligences. With conversational support,Sam has been able to verbalise his visual thinking to thepoint where he now provides storyboards with clearly-written speech and a logical storyline composed in avisual format. His written work develops on the back of hisvisual narratives, which address actual emotional issues inhis life and are rich and meaningful. These become videodramas and, subsequently, DVD compilations. As a result,a spatial-visual skill becomes progressively integrated withhis immediate socio-emotional concerns – his involvementwith others in collaborative projects. I have therefore listedthese two modes of communication in terms of theirrepresentative activities below, together with an indicationof the creative and cognitive skills involved.70creative support   www.teachthinking.comTeaching Thinking&Creativity  Winter 2005Visual and mediaAesthetic and dramatic enquiryl"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Cartoons Computers and Silly Walks

1 Nov 2006