Ask the expert – helping pupils catch up

The way in which you structure support for pupils who are falling behind makes a crucial difference to their ability to close the gap with t

Q
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF TALK AROUND THE DRAFT NATIONAL CURRICULUM ABOUT ALL PUPILS GRASPING CORE CONTENT BEFORE MOVING ON, BUT IS THIS A BETTER WAY OF SUPPORTING CHILDREN WITH SEN OR MIGHT IT HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON PROGRESS?

A
In drafting the new national curriculum, the government has looked at successful practice in other countries that achieve high standards and do not seem to have as many children who fall very far behind their peers. Ensuring the majority of the class has grasped a core objective before moving on to a new area is one of the characteristics identified in these countries. It is important to note not all these countries have education systems that are as inclusive of children with SEN, as is the case in the UK. However, in many cases, these countries routinely provide a lot of additional support to ensure children ‘keep up’ with their peers – the additional support is closely matched to the current learning that is going on in class and is put in place for any child who is having problems with grasping the core objectives.

A current school example in the UK is the use of TAs trained in Letters and Sounds working every afternoon with small groups identified by the Y1 class teacher on short sessions that revisit and reinforce the content of the phonics lesson taught in the morning. Some of the children involved have SEN and others do not and the children receiving this additional support are not a ‘set’ group but rather are varied according to the problem being encountered or class sessions missed because of absence. This ensures good integration into overall class groupings and helps to prevent big achievement gaps developing.

The most important aspect for all children at risk of underachievement, including those with SEN, is to maintain high expectations and help them recognise their achievements in relation to these. Research shows that the majority of children identified with SEN have mild to moderate learning difficulties. When experiencing this kind of culture and given timely additional support – and/or more specific interventions closely matched to their individual needs – they should be well able to keep up with peers.

Q
I HAVE FOUR CHILDREN WITH SEN WHO ARE SIGNIFICANTLY BEHIND THE REST OF MY Y3 CLASS IN MATHEMATICS. THEY USUALLY GO OUT FOR AN INTERVENTION SESSION WITH A TA WHILST I AM TEACHING THE WHOLE CLASS. WHEN THEY RETURN, THEY WORK WITH THE CLASS TA, BUT THEY CAN’T WORK ON THE ACTIVITIES I HAVE PLANNED FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS BECAUSE THEY ARE SO FAR BEHIND. I FEEL THE GAP IS GETTING WORSE. IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP THEM WORK MORE EFFECTIVELY AS PART OF THE WHOLE CLASS?

A
Rather than the group going out of every whole-class session, you might want to look at whether the intervention could be more flexibly timed so that they don’t always miss this. Participation in whole-class teaching will enable the children to benefit from your modelling and demonstration, and from the contributions of their peers. It is also very beneficial to their overall self-esteem in terms of feeling part of the class. Look at linking in some activities at their level as part of whole-class teaching – for example, similar calculations using smaller numbers than those being worked on by the rest of the class.

Another way to help them participate in the whole-class session is to ask your class TA to do some ‘pre-teaching’ with the group so that they have practised and rehearsed the aspects in which you are planning to involve them in the next day. At other times, the TA could revisit and reinforce the activities they have encountered during the whole-class session. It is also important that the children work independently – both these approaches may work in terms of them being able to repeat an activity independently or apply it in a different context.

There should always be a clear link between the work being done in the additional intervention sessions and the classroom so that you can reinforce what is being covered with the children.