Improving inclusion: getting inclusive education right for children with autism

Improving inclusion: getting inclusive education right for children with autism written and researched by Robbie de Santos and Sasha Daly, TreeHouse

September 2008

Improving inclusion: getting inclusive education right for children with autism

Introduction TreeHouse is the national charity for autism education. Our vision is to transform through education the lives of children with autism and the lives of their families. Established in 1997 by a group of parents, TreeHouse campaigns for better autism education nationally and runs a school for children and young people with autism. We undertake policy and parliamentary work and research to ensure autism is a national priority, support parents to campaign locally and offer training and consultancy on autism education.

Through our direct educational provision and our Constructive Campaigning Parent Support Project, which supports parents as local campaigners and service-builders throughout the country, we have developed extensive knowledge and expertise around the issues facing parents of children with autism.

One in one hundred school aged children have autism. The vast majority of these children are educated in mainstream schools but many are also educated in special schools or other educational settings. This means that all teachers can expect to have a child with autism and will be required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in their practice. We support recent developments in the debate about inclusion with the publication of RNID’s ‘Beyond Bricks and Mortar’ report, and the Council for Disabled Children’s Inclusion Policy, which moves the inclusion debate on beyond a focus on location.

Despite the many disheartening stories we hear of inclusion not being practiced and the severely negative impacts this has on children and families, we do also hear of many examples where inclusion works. TreeHouse believes that an inclusive education system can be achieved and that this is essential for the sustainable promotion of an inclusive society. Inclusive education not only benefits children with and without special educational needs – it is a benefit for society as a whole.

In this paper we present parents’ and children’s experiences and views of inclusive education and recommend ways in which inclusion can continue to be improved.

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Improving inclusion: getting inclusive education right for children with autism

A survey of parents We asked parents about their views on inclusive education, their experiences of inclusion in a school setting, what practices they have found helpful and what they would like to see more of. Fifty-eight parents responded from six English regions. They told us that inclusion is important to them, that inclusion can work and is happening, but there are still too many cases where inclusion is not working and could be improved.

Parents’ views of inclusive education Parents told us that inclusive education means:

‘Providing children with an educational environment that meets their needs in an holistic way, not just academic’ ‘Letting a child be themselves, while teaching them to cope in a wider world’ ‘Education which is tailored to the needs and abilities of each child’ ‘Working with mainstream peer group whilst still having special needs met individually’ Parents told us that inclusion is important because it could: help prepare some children with autism to live more independently as adults help children with autism become more widely valued and recognised enable children to feel part of a peer group and the wider community inspire confidence and happiness and reduce anxieties grant children with autism access to an education

‘My child knows he has difficulties which make him different in dealing with the world around him and he needs to feel accepted and supported’ ‘To be part of the community and help prevent ignorance of disability in the general public’ These responses show that parents see the many benefits that successful inclusion can bring. For them, inclusion is important not only for the experiences of their children while at school, but also for their children to go on to live more independent lives.

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Improving inclusion: getting inclusive education right for children with autism

Parents’ experiences of inclusive education Parents reported positive experiences of inclusion in all kinds of school, whether mainstream or special.

‘My son is at a school which places more emphasis on caring than academic results for young children. They challenge him but also ensure that he feels reassured and safe’ ‘The Head tries very hard to educate his staff to help them understand Asperger syndrome and how it affects a person’ The majority of parents reported that their child’s school facilitates some inclusive practices. These include: one-on-one support small classes and a calm environment good peer awareness lessons and play with mainstream children flexible approach to schooling and timetabling a positive school ethos an engaged headteacher and influential SENCOs Although many parents reported that their children are able to benefit from some good inclusive practices most schools only provide a handful of these.

Difficulties encountered with inclusion Some of the difficulties that parents reported were: schools are too target focused schools do not appropriately manage their children’s behaviour schools do little to prevent bullying Indeed, some parents suggest that inclusion is not important for their children because their experiences have been so negative.

‘Things have improved, but only after a long battle did the school finally start to do something to identify the problems my son was experiencing’

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Improving inclusion: getting inclusive education right for children with autism

‘It depends on the attitude of the Head, which filters down to the staff. One bad teacher can break you. There isn’t enough education for teachers’ It is clear that there is still a long way to go in ensuring that all children with autism can benefit from an adequate range of inclusive practices.

Factors contributing to good inclusion Parents feel that inclusion works well when: teachers and other school staff have autism training the individual child’s needs are catered for there is close involvement with a mainstream school there is a calm environment there are small class sizes parents are listened to and involved there is a positive school and staff ethos buddying and mentoring schemes are used the child has help building social skills and confidence All of these factors make a huge difference to making inclusion work in schools. Overall, parents’ experience suggests that trained staff, a good school ethos and provision based around the unique needs of each child are what make inclusion work.

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Improving inclusion: getting inclusive education right for children with autism

Case studies of children involved with inclusive practices Buddying in Middlesbrough ‘Tim’, age six, started on a part-time basis at his new mainstream school. During the first two weeks Tim didn’t go out to play in the playground, and a buddying system was arranged where a child stayed in to play with him on the computer in the classroom. Gradually, at Tim’s own request, he ventured out into the playground at play times, knowing there was always an option to go to a quiet safe haven indoors.

At first Tim was asked to arrive just after the bell had gone to avoid him being worried about crowding in the corridor, and his parents could collect him five minutes earlier at home time for the same reason. Such considerations paid dividends as he was soon happily coming and going at the same time as his classmates.

Tim is now far more confident and happy due to the dedication of the staff at his school to facilitate inclusion. He is now fully integrated into the school, has started having school dinners at his own request and his most recent milestone has been gaining the confidence to go swimming with his class.

TreeHouse pupil’s inclusion in a mainstream primary ‘Jenna’ is a pupil at TreeHouse School and regularly attends a local mainstream primary school. Jenna is non-verbal and is five years old. Jenna’s teacher showed her photos relating to her mainstream school placement to find out about her experiences of inclusion.

By pointing at the correct photos when asked, Jenna showed that she was aware of the two different schools and the people that support her at the mainstream school.

She also correctly identified activities that she only participates in at the mainstream school.

Making choices from a series of pairs of photos of activities, Jenna showed that she enjoyed the slide, the rabbit and the chickens the most. Jenna spontaneously commented on pupils in the photos – she chose two peers as her favourites and continually tried to access the pictures and giggled each time, illustrating that she likes these pupils.

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Improving inclusion: getting inclusive education right for children with autism

Reverse inclusion at TreeHouse TreeHouse runs a successful programme of ‘reverse inclusion’ with neighbouring Muswell Hill Primary School. Reverse inclusion is when children from a mainstream primary school visit a special school or unit to participate in play with disabled children.

A group of Year 6 pupils from Muswell Hill Primary School visit TreeHouse School each week to play with a group of TreeHouse pupils whose teachers think they will benefit from contact with mainstream peers. Relationships develop over the course of the school year as the mainstream school pupils gain a better understanding of autism and of each child’s strengths and needs, while the TreeHouse pupils build their confidence in social interaction.

The programme depends on a close partnership between the special and mainstream schools and on the dedication and enthusiasm of the staff.

Comments from their weekly evaluation forms show how much both the mainstream and special school children benefit from reverse inclusion:

‘[My favourite part was] finding out what ‘Sammy’ likes to do and he even taught us bits of Makaton! I liked watching him laugh and he gave us all a hug in the end!’

‘I’ve learnt how to communicate with different TreeHouse children’ The success of the many and varied inclusive practices at TreeHouse is due to: positive partnerships between schools that have a strong inclusive ethos the commitment of staff to make it work the mainstream staff receive training on autism and the needs of the individual child they will be working with Tailoring inclusive practices to each individual child is instrumental in helping pupils to benefit from the experiences.

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Improving inclusion: getting inclusive education right for children with autism

Improving Inclusion Parents see the benefits that inclusion brings, and positive experiences have increased parents’ confidence in the education system to meet the needs of their child. On the other hand, many parents continue to struggle to access an appropriate inclusive education for their child.

We know from parents’ and our own experience that successful inclusion relies upon: a positive school ethos towards inclusion teachers and school staff with a sound knowledge and understanding of children with autism provision centred around the unique child All schools can get inclusion right for children with autism; it is crucial that all children with autism are able to access the range and quality of provision that is available in some settings.

In order to continue to improve inclusion in education TreeHouse calls on local and national decision makers to: support the development of a general education system that is inclusive of all children, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities improve training for teachers and all school staff about autism by providing regular autism specific training support the development of national core standards for education provision for children with autism improve school inspections by: ¶ prioritising the education provision for children with autism and other SEN ¶ ensuring that school inspectors have appropriate training to effectively inspect schools for their SEN provision ensure that the progress and achievements of children with autism are acknowledged in the education system TreeHouse thanks all parents, children and staff who have contributed to this paper.

For more information about our Policy work, telephone 020 8815 5441 or email policy@treehouse.org.uk For more information about TreeHouse visit our website www.treehouse.org.uk

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