EDUCATION EDITION
aren’t massive changes… it’s about giving everyone better opportunities and access to the curriculum.” Additional support While many children with special learning needs are educated in mainstream schools, some require a greater level of therapeutic support. For these students, specialist schools – state or independent – can be a nurturing and effective option. One of our area’s star special schools, Gretton School, was rated ‘outstanding’ when inspected earlier this year and offers GCSE and A-level qualifications, sending some of its school leavers off to college. The school supports children with what headteacher Beth Elkins describes as ‘the sharp end of autism – young people who are clever but challenging in some ways’. Beth stresses the importance of building relationships with pupils. “You can’t teach a child unless you know them and understand how they learn.” Getting to know their interests and wishes is vital. So is understanding “all the things that can inform us they’re having a difficult time, then working hard to redirect that energy and support them to be able to make good choices and be regulated enough to thrive and learn.” Exceptional staff Recruiting the finest staff is a must. “It’s about having the right values, including the ability to see behaviour as a language and see what students are communicating,” explains Beth. “Staff need a professional curiosity to understand their behaviour.” Classes are tiny – no more than seven pupils each – and teachers are supported by ‘a fantastic team of speech, occupational and language therapists who teach the way pupils learn rather than expecting them to learn the way we teach’. In a lesson, students might be in rocking chairs, on trampolines or sitting at or underneath a desk. For the teachers, that’s not important – what matters is that the child is listening. What comes across – mainstream or specialist, state or independent – is the dedication to ensuring schools care for those who need additional support. “As awareness, acceptance and accessibility to assessment become more available and understood, identification of neurodiversity is increasing,” continues Julia. “Every individual is capable of learning through their identified primary neural pathway or combination of pathways. The role of educators is to unlock potential and provide tools for approaching learning.” BALANCING WORK AND PLAY At Stoke College (bottom left), teachers are encouraged to employ visual, auditory and kinaesthetic ways of teaching, while Gretton School (left and below) makes allowances for students to move while learning
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK DECEMBER 2024 63
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