2014 Code Of Practice Essay

Great Essays
The aim of this task is to assess whether my school fully adopts the 2014 Code of Practice (CoP) (DfE, 2014) to meet the needs of all learners. The school I work in as a teaching assistant (TA) has Pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream classes and some in the Additionally Resourced Provision (ARP) Unit. I will analyse the school’s inclusion policy which like most mainstream schools in England has been updated by the guidelines of the national policy and carefully look at how it supports the SEN provision. I will argue that the schools behaviour policy and how it is implemented impacts negatively upon inclusive practice. I will analyse how it undermines inclusion policy. I will further argue that leadership needs to develop and allow for shared expertise across various school teams. The analytical tools that will be used for this essay are the policy, legislation and reports that has been endorsed to ensure learning without barrier. The 2014 Code of Practice expects schools to embrace inclusion (DfE, 2014) and the teachers to be responsible for removing learning barriers for their pupils with SEN by providing a balanced curriculum even if the pupil is supported by a teaching assistant (TA) or specialist staff (DfE, 2014). This is aimed at promoting better learning and education. My school’s adoption of the inclusion policy follows the guidelines outlined by the Government’s code of practice where the teacher is meant to address the learning problem and set an Individual education plan (IEP) which is to be reviewed once per term, then if further steps need to be taken, they consult the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). According to Hodkinson & Vickerman (2009), inclusion as a term has been difficult to define. However, one of the definition is the assumption that inclusion is the eradication of social exclusion that is a result of state of mind and reactions to different qualities in race, social class, ethnicity, religion, sex and ability (Mithaug, 2013). This definition views inclusion from the perspective of human right. Another definition looked at inclusion as a radical process where schools makes changes to cater for the learning needs of all children (Frederickson & Cline, 2009). This corroborates that schools are expected to fully accommodate the learning needs of all pupils (DfES, 2006). However HMI report shows only a minority meets such needs adequately (HMI, 2004). This is as a result of so many factors like the classroom practice, the school as a whole, the training of the teacher and all those involved in teaching. For instance, TA and SENCO, the leadership practices and the approach to change. The new CoP expects the teachers to identify the pupil’s SEN (DfE, 2014), but this might be overwhelming (Bartram, 2014) because teachers might not be well trained and equipped with the knowledge of SEND and may not be provided with enough resources or skills on how to deal with SEND (NASEN, 2014). Ideally a teacher attitude would be to commit to inclusion, but the attitude may change in practice, based on how the teacher makes it through the day, the support they get from senior leadership team, the pressures and constraints set by the school and OFSTED. As a consequence, the TA becomes the closest link to a pupil with SEN (Maddern, 2013). Which is what happens in my practice. As a TA in mainstream class I worked as one to one with a pupil with …show more content…
The teacher had a subtle behaviour policy for her class, which I interpreted as: “if you are not going to behave like all the other children, then you should leave my class”. Yet again, I had to consider the responsibility of the teacher to the other children in the class and how inclusively they are being considered as well. According to Kunc, (1992, pp. 38-39)”The fundamental principle of inclusive education is the valuing of diversity within the human community…. When inclusive education is fully embraced, we abandon the idea that children have to become “normal” in order to contribute to the world…. We begin to look beyond typical ways of becoming valued members of the community, and in doing so, begin to realize the achievable goal of providing all children with an authentic sense of

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    HLTA Reflection

    • 1675 Words
    • 7 Pages

    P22 I agree that Inclusion is not always positive for everyone and can cause disruption to the majority. (Rix et al,2010 p 179) However, as educators should we not be more creative with ways to include the children at every level to ensure their full inclusion not just partial inclusion p129 bk 1 the introduction of the National Curriculum in England and Wales in 1988 under the Education Reform Act was intended to bring everyone together, regardless of where children were taught, everyone was taught the same. However the children have to fit the curriculum, it is not the curriculum that fits every child or meets all of their needs. P299 bk 1 As I have progressed through the E214, I have tried to become more creative in my teaching and tried to fit the curriculum around the children I work with, differentiating through using Communicate in Print to support language and making each lesson as practical and fun as possible, however, this approach has caused tension with some staff and is not widely accepted across the…

    • 1675 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    TA 2.3 Essay

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This policy requires educational practitioners to work together and support children with special educational needs and disability in order for them to learn effectively alongside other students to ensure they receive the best education. Although, this needs to be done through effective teaching strategies such as, ‘early identification and intervention as early intervention is key to implementing successful and appropriate teaching strategies’ (Fraser, 1998). In some cases, depending on what the disability of special educational need is, teachers need to take a different approach to teaching such as using visual reinforcement to support verbal instructions, specifically for those who have difficulty reading or taking on writing tasks as they struggle to sustain attention. The SEN Code of Practice emphasises the need for these teaching strategies to be implemented to ensure equality and inclusion for all students. Inclusion is a significant issue for students with SEN and disability and educators need to work alongside additional support staff as well as parents and other agencies in order to provide inclusive…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In all cases, students were displaying shy, detached behaviors that concerned parents. Of course I was able to assure parents that in my classroom students are treated with respect, bully is not tolerated and each child’s experiences and culture are valued. However, this issue is not one that can be addressed solely by the classroom teacher.…

    • 1579 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Explain how the processes used by own work setting or service comply with legislation that covers data protection, information handling and sharing. TDA3.1: 3.1. Summarise the main points of legislation and procedures covering confidentiality, data protection and the disclosure of information Working together to safeguard children (2006-2010) A Guide to Inter-agency Working to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children.…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    By addressing the social, emotional, and education needs of children we allow them to use and discover the God-given gifts and talents each of them has inside.…

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Inclusion and inclusive practices means that the school building, curriculum, activities (both educational and social) is open and accessible to all. It means positive actions will be taken to remove barriers, physical or otherwise so that disabled, disadvantaged and no-disabled children can participate equally at all times.…

    • 47 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Code of Practice/conduct Safeguarding laws such as: Children’s Act 2004 Education Act 2002 Sexual Offenders Act 2003 Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Data Protection Act 1998 United Nations Convention as the Right of the Child 1989 Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2008 4.2 5.1 The laws and codes of practice stated in 4.1 are there to promote pupil wellbeing and achievements; they do this by enabling positive and safe environments and positive relationships and behaviours. By proving a safe environment for pupils this will encourage learning and achievements thus helping them further develop in all aspects of developments.…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Level 2 Supporting Teaching & Learning in Schools Unit 204 Equality, diversity and inclusion in work with children and young people Name: Date: 7th February 2014 This assignment covers all outcomes for Unit 4 1.1 What are the laws and codes of practice that relate to the promotion of equality and the valuing of diversity? (Make a list). Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 & 2005 Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 Human Rights Act 1998 Children Acts 1989 & 2004 Education Act 1996 Equality Act 2010 Carers and Disabled Children Act 2001…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Through the consultation of direct and indirect service delivery models within an educational context, collaboration has become an important part of schools to assist with inclusive education (Stanovich, 1996; Education Queensland Government, 2015; Booth & Anisow, 2002). Inclusive education is encouraged through the use of indirect service delivery models such as Special Education Teachers, Guidance Officers and other in service administrators which were once considered direct service delivery models. However, due to collaborative consultation roles within inclusive schools direct service delivery models are diminishing (Hughes, 2015 module 1). These indirect service delivery models are seen as consultant roles and are more sought after in…

    • 1631 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Task 16. Explain different types of bullying and the potential effects on children and young people. Bullying is use of superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), and force them to do something against their wish/will. Stating difference of opinion, debating over contentious topic and some confrontations among children is not bullying. The power imbalance which result in more than one children ganging up against one child or targeting a group based on colour, race, culture, etc. is bullying.…

    • 1637 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    1. Different stakeholders define “inclusive education” and “least restrictive environment” differently. Having developed an inclusionary model, Lipsky and Gartner (1996) showed full support for school restructuring that does not exclude students with special needs. Their definition of inclusive education include “quality education that is both individual and integrated” in the same classroom regardless of student abilities (Lipsky & Gartner, 1996). To them, a least restrictive environment meant a general classroom that is adaptive to students with disabilities rather than segregated environment.…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The idea of the community of practice (CoP) is that in social settings, learning occurs in which it comes into view when people who have common goals that interact as they strive towards those goals. The community of practice’s concept is commonly attributed to Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger who started in the participation in their studies of apprenticeship situations. From their participation development, they created the term "community of practice" to refer to the communities of professionals into which the novice would enter and attempt to absorb the sociocultural practices of the community. In the year 1998, Wenger utilizes and widen the concept in his description of specific human cultures and societies.…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    ne of the key roles of an early years practitioner is to ensure that you are supporting equality and diversity at all times. With parents, other practitioners and children, this can be done by getting to know them individually, and taking their personal circumstances into account. Be it their religious background, their gender, their cultural background, their financial situation or a disability. Anti discriminatory practice should be routine, challenging any discrimination, if and when you see it. Policies such as the Equality Policy and the Special Educational Needs Policy, influence and define practice, ensuring practitioners always plan activities to allow all children to take part and feel valued and be prepared to adapt the activity…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Observation: As part of my research paper for three days I observed an inclusive classroom for two hours each day. During this time I was able to see how the general education teacher handles real life teaching situations in a classroom that has students with different abilities and six whom have IEP’s for numerous reasons such as emotional disorders. During my observation I took notes on both the students behavior and the strategies implemented by the teacher. The observation helped me to further evaluate the importance of inclusive classrooms and the influence an educator has on these students.…

    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Among the advantages of inclusion system, let's consider the disadvantages the most. To the point that every children with disability needs an extra care and attention to an adult or even to a teacher for the reason that they manifest things different from the normal beings. They may manifest behaviors that will require attention and will result into behavioral difficulties (Comfort, 1988; MacCoby, 1983; Roedell 1984). Each student have their extraordinary behaviors which makes a teacher's mind divided into two portions, (1) to understand special children and (2) to manage normal students. These things may tolerate teachers when they hear about "Inclusion System".…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays