Successful inclusion in a mainstream primary school
What did you do / what are you doing?
Isaac is a bright happy boy who has Asperger Syndrome. Aged 9 we moved Isaac from a school that, despite his Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN), said they couldn’t deal with him and had labelled him naughty. I approached Hampton Hill Junior School because I had heard that they’d had success with another child with Asperger’s and that this was a nurturing school.
What was evident from the beginning was that Hampton Hill Junior School are very interested and supportive of all the children in the school. When faced with challenges, there was no sense of ‘oh my god what do we do?’ it’s ‘how do we do this?’ they are open minded and want to enable all their children to achieve.
Because of his previous experiences Isaac had developed very challenging behaviour in school and was also school phobic. It was therefore difficult for him to be at school and for the school to accommodate him for more than a few hours a day.
Initially I needed to be very flexible, mainly to allow the school to dictate which 3 hours per day Isaac was in school.
Hampton Hill Juniors were also very clear that they were bringing him in at a pace that would work for everyone. They built up his tolerance and his capability to behave appropriately; not getting angry, not throwing books to get himself removed but to communicate in words ‘this is too much for me please can I go out now.’
It took a full academic year for Isaac to move from 3 hours a day to full time school.
What age groups do you work with?
Key stage 2 (7-11)
What did you want to achieve?
Isaac joined Hampton Hill Junior school in the last term of year 3, it was his second school.
Isaac’s first school struggled with him from very early on, with Isaac being in school part time in Year 1, taken out at lunchtimes in Year 2 and in Year 3 being in school most days but being left alone to read in a corner. From this, I learnt that a Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) alone isn’t enough to ensure your child gets an appropriate education.
You need more than ‘training and reasonable adjustments’. You need a holistic approach with the parents, school and associated professionals working together - equally the school needs an open minded approach that focuses on the individuality of the child. We found that at Hampton Hill Junior School.
What I wanted to achieve was an education that worked for my son. Success in the mainstream will help him achieve success as an adult - it will help Isaac to cope in an environment where he has to work with other people. I can’t reproduce a similar environment at home and it’s an experience that will help him throughout his life.
Isaac is doing fine academically and is now keen to develop his skills and learning himself. He wants to learn!
To what extent did you meet these outcomes?
Isaac has made huge strides. He’s now in school full time, is keen to learn and doesn’t need the kind of exceptions that were originally made for him.
For instance a year ago he was still going into school through the school reception area. Now he walks in through the noisy, bustle of the playground. That’s fantastic!
It sounds simple, but he can now ask for help in an acceptable way – and can often manage any internal panic he may be feeling.
Originally, because of Isaac’s sensory processing needs, he would hug (squeeze rather too tightly) other children. Isaac asked if Fluffy, a very large cuddly penguin could come to school with him. Fluffy met his sensory needs. Nowadays Fluffy is able to stay at home and Isaac can manage himself better.
Initially Isaac had his own room to work in; when it all got too much for him in the classroom he could go there. But he didn’t need it for very long; just knowing the room was there was almost enough.
For Isaac, being in school is one of the things that disables him the most. He’s fine at home and in lots of other environments. So the fact that he now goes to school, he’s happy and he succeeds that is wonderful.
What is the impact on the Children / Young people?
Isaac is so much calmer and more confident now. He has got his old joie de vivre back. He was always a very happy baby and young child and now that has returned (his early school experiences took their toll). As a parent, that is a wonderful thing to see. I told the school they’d given me my child back.
People who haven’t seen him for a while say how calm he is and comment on how he now makes eye contact with them.
Also, Isaac’s ability to concentrate and focus on things that aren’t his agenda and to follow instructions has increased immeasurably.
At the worst point he was very clingy. I was the only person who could manage him, now he does trust other people.
Isaac looks forward to going to school, there are lessons he doesn’t like, but there are days when he says “Friday is my favourite day because we do this, this and this”.
Also, whilst sometimes adults find Isaac difficult to understand, in general I’ve found that other children do understand why exceptions sometimes need to be made.
What difficulties did you need to overcome?
From my point of view, with regard to Hampton Hill Juniors, none. The school talked to me and met Isaac and then worked out what they needed to do to support him. There were ups and downs, but by continually re-evaluating what worked and what didn’t, we’ve achieved so much.
That said, I didn’t appreciate that Isaac’s file had not been transferred from his previous school. So Hampton Hill didn’t have as much information as they could have done initially. Really, I should have made sure the file was transferred instead of assuming it would automatically happen.
Hampton Hill Juniors took responsibility for my son’s education. They didn’t take it away from me - but accepted their own role in educating him, making him happy in their school environment and making sure everyone was happy to have him there.
Is the impact/ outcome sustainable?
Yes, this success can definitely continue.
But it’s the ethos and attitude of the school that makes the difference.
Simply to have a Statement of SEN and providing training is not enough. It’s about a willingness, an openness to parents and children that enables success.
Everyone involved in working with a child needs to want the same things, and to be clear on what is working and what needs doing differently.
What are you most proud of?
That Isaac is in mainstream school. That is he happy to be there, is learning and becoming an ever more confident child who believes he can succeed.
What would you like to improve?
Although Isaac’s statement says he should have x, y, z, there isn’t always the provision. The resources may be allocated in terms of money but not service, For instance, we had to find someone who could come in to meet the Speech and Language Therapy objectives. Fortunately our Local Authority are very supportive and fund this provision which comes from the private sector. However I think we all would like to see the human resources available within the PCT.
Really I would like to see every school as open minded, as kind and as co-operative as Hampton Hill Junior School – a nationwide improvement! It’s amazing what you can achieve this way.
What aspects of what you achieved can be passed on to others?
Flexibility, looking at the individuality of the child, and thinking ‘how do we work with this?’
Looking at the positives. Marking the successes and building on those to achieve ever more successes. Isaac has had various reward schemes, including a Success Book, and now has a sticker galaxy. We all applaud his achievements – this really helps to build confidence and build more success.
Making those unreasonable adjustments:
- Starting Isaac part time.
- Letting him take Fluffy in.
- Giving him his own room to work in when it got too much. Now he just has a desk that’s empty that’s next to him.
At playtimes, he was allowed to stay in the school hall and played with children who had elected to be with him. Over time he’s needed this less and now he plays happily in a quieter part of playground. He’s now in the playground more or less full time, although it still gets too much for him sometimes.
Supporting Quotes
It’s almost as though Hampton Hill didn’t treat Isaac as though he was autistic, they treated him as a child with particular needs. There is a disability there, but they didn’t approach it as a disability. I think, in many ways, that’s what made such a difference.