Additional Support for Learning Act Essay Example

or siblings, and other factors may cause additional support needs, but it may not apply to all pupils in similar situations. The category of disability and health needs includes more traditional factors that give rise to additional support needs. The final category considers social and emotional factors and highlights that pupils are considered as a whole person and not only in terms of educational issues.

Factors that may contribute to additional support needs include bullying, low self-esteem, and child protection concerns. As a part-time support for learning teacher at State Secondary School X, a non-denominational, coeducational, comprehensive school for pupils aged 11 to 18, I have observed the school's exceptional academic achievements, having accommodations for 1455 students. To date, no pupils have been evaluated as requiring additional support under the new Act. However, there is still a lot of work needed to raise awareness among teachers and pupils to include not only traditionally assessed special educational needs but also those who may be considered to require additional support under the new Act.

Investigation: To evaluate pupil Y's additional support requirements, I selected him/her as my frequent working student every week. Furthermore, numerous teachers of pupil Y expressed worry regarding his/her limited progress over the past year. In particular subjects, his/her behavior began to decline again, and he/she appeared to get into altercations with older students. Not only was his/her lack of progress observable in specific subject areas, but it was also evident in personal and social development. This included instances such as not utilizing a homework planner, never completing homework assignments, and frequently attending school without any necessary materials.

Upon reviewing the IEP crafted by the principal teacher

of Learning support, my initial impression was that pupil Y was a likable student who struggled with literacy, numeracy, and concentration due to being diagnosed with dyspraxia. Based on my prior experience with dyspraxia students, I mistakenly anticipated similar challenges. However, when observing Y in a classroom setting, I noticed that oral tasks came easily to them but they were sometimes resistant to receiving support and did not want certain teachers or assistants near them in specific situations.

Although I was aware that pupil Y received assistance from a teacher specialized in Maths, I aimed to investigate four specific categories in order to gather information and determine his/her additional support requirements. These categories are established in the Code of Practise (Scottish Executive, 2005) and include the learning environment, disability or health needs, family circumstances, and social/emotional factors.

My plan for assessing the factors contributing to pupil Y's support needs is as follows: I will observe pupil Y in various subjects as a visitor in the classroom, using observation schedule Table 1 found in the Appendix. This will allow me to understand the importance of factors such as ethos, relationships, inflexible curricular arrangements, inappropriate approaches to learning and teaching, and disrupted learning. To further understand pupil Y's needs, I have modified the observation schedule from the National Training Project for Special Educational Needs. Specifically, I will now record where pupil Y is seated in the classroom, as well as their interactions with the teacher as personal relationships are crucial to their learning. I have decided against a timed interval observation, given my expectation of an unsettled pupil.

By observing pupil Y in different situations, it is possible

to determine their support needs as well as the impact of teaching strategies and attitudes on their learning. To evaluate pupil Y's progress, the Support for Learning PT administered a questionnaire to subject teachers last year, and the results are recorded in Table 2 in the Appendix. I reviewed these responses to assess the overall outcomes of the exercise. Before this study, I proposed that pupil Y receive tutorial lessons on basic skills in place of attending French lessons, given their significant difficulties with French and lack of progress over the previous two years. During these tutorials, I observed pupil Y's behavior while they completed concentration exercises. Afterward, they answered questions related to a listening exercise to assess their comprehension of the story.

The personal pupil record (PPR) should contain information about pupil Y's health and any diagnosed disabilities. The individual educational plan (IEP) and PPR can provide further details about disabilities. Family circumstances can also be investigated by reviewing the PPR and consulting with the learning support principal teacher and guidance teacher to determine if they contribute to any issues.

To obtain a general overview, I would follow the suggestion given by Mrs F. Ross-Watt during the lecture on 07.11.2006 on 'Information gathering including classroom observation' by utilizing Table 3 in the Appendices. In addition, I would gather data regarding the student's attendance record.

When assessing the support needs of a student, it is important to consider any social and emotional factors that may be contributing. This information can be obtained by reviewing the PPR and speaking with the student's guidance teacher. Additionally, classroom observations can provide valuable insights into a student's behavior, but it may be

necessary to adjust the observation schedule if unexpected behaviors arise.

After observing the student exhibit off-task behavior by talking to others, I reverted back to 15-second observational intervals for 10 minutes. I was concerned that I wouldn't have enough data points, but Figure 1 (with filled-in schedules in Tables 4 to 7 in the Appendices) provides an overview of the student's behavior in various subjects. With the exception of Mathematics and Home Economics, where the student worked with a classroom assistant on a practical task, the student showed more off-task behavior than on-task behavior in all observed subjects over the observed period. In English, factors such as friendship grouping, lack of eye contact with the teacher, materials focused on writing summaries and identifying verbs, and a chatty classroom atmosphere could be attributed to the high percentage of off-task behavior. The graph for Home Economics only covers the time during initial instructions because most students were off-task due to the excitement of making muffins.

During the practical session, when a classroom assistant provided support to pupil Y, he/she displayed exceptional behavior and concentration. Pupil Y is capable of working independently with high motivation and interest in a task, even when the assistant is not present. However, in Geography class, despite the presence of a support teacher, pupil Y's behavior was often distracting. It was observed that pupil Y does not share a positive personal rapport with the support teacher, evident from his/her tendency to turn away, conceal work and pretend to manage on his/her own.

The observed off-task behaviour during the lesson was not due to pupil Y keeping themselves occupied, but rather because they were not engaging in

conversations with others. However, in contrast, pupil Y exhibited predominantly on-task behaviour during the observed time interval in both Maths and Home Economics, with the help of a classroom assistant during a practical task. The root cause of this increased on-task behaviour is markedly different. In Maths, pupil Y sits at the front of a small class of only 10 students, and at a single desk. As a result, the students are situated far apart from one another, which makes it harder for pupil Y to converse with their classmates.

Furthermore, pupil Y was given a Math task that was appropriate for his/her level and, though it was challenging, it was manageable. Pupil Y confirmed this during a tutorial. The teacher was able to provide help as needed due to the low 10:1 pupil to teacher ratio. In Home Economics, pupil Y exhibited enjoyment in the task, as evidenced by body language, and worked well with the classroom assistant and partner, resulting in intrinsic motivation. Figure 2 displays the off-task behaviors of pupil Y in various circumstances. If given the option and in the company of friends, pupil Y may choose socializing over a difficult task.

In summary, pupil Y showed very little interaction with teachers in subjects other than Maths. However, they displayed creativity in finding ways to mask not being on task. It is not uncommon for many pupils in the observed classes to have minimal interaction with teachers apart from Maths. In each class, responses were mostly made by a small group of five to eight pupils. The class teacher assessed pupil Y's general conduct and had the opportunity to express concerns

and difficulty through 11 questions.

Regrettably, the absence of space made it impossible to record pupil Y's strengths and needs, leading to a disheartening outcome. Most teachers expressed that any challenges faced were solely the student's fault. It is unfortunate that an opportunity to investigate the factors contributing to Y's successful learning was missed. The concerns and areas of difficulty raised by teachers can be found in Table 8 of the Appendix. Y was in S1 at the time of the survey, and a year later, many of the same issues persist. However, teachers appear to have given up on Y, as there is no expectation for them to bring materials or complete assigned homework.

During a tutorial lesson, I observed pupil Y while they listened to a 10-minute concentration thriller. However, during the lesson, pupil Y displayed off-task behaviour such as fidgeting, playing with furniture and the cassette recorder, and day-dreaming for 48% of the observed time interval. Despite this behavior, pupil Y was able to answer all questions with ease, indicating they had listened carefully and were capable of concentrating for the entire 10-minute duration. It is important to carefully interpret observational data in situations like this.

Although appearing disengaged, Pupil Y remained focused on the task and enjoyed listening to the stories, leading to high intrinsic motivation. Throughout the tutorial, Pupil Y demonstrated hard work and put in significant effort into tasks such as mathematics and basic literacy. However, completing tasks not of Pupil Y's choice and finding them challenging may require extrinsic motivation, such as the enjoyable science experiment at the end of the tutorial. The PPR for Pupil Y revealed unfortunate family

circumstances, as outlined in Table 9.

During my tutorials, I have come to know the pupil differently from what I expected. As the PPR did not provide much detail about their family circumstances, it appears that their family does not significantly affect their learning needs. While their mother was generally supportive according to the IEP review meeting minutes, some occupational therapist correspondence and other documents suggest that they sometimes become frustrated with the pupil's behavior and inability to do certain tasks, such as washing themselves when they were in primary school. Additionally, after reviewing S1 reports and a summary report from the Support for Learning Department, it is evident that the pupil Y does not utilize their planner, resulting in incomplete homework and lack of preparedness for lessons.

Pupil Y frequently forgets their PE kit and home economics equipment. It is surprising that their mother does not assist them in taking the appropriate materials to school, but it is possible that she believes they are old enough to take responsibility for it themselves. In terms of social and emotional factors, there are no major concerns about their emotional well-being, though they seem to sometimes get into fights due to difficulty controlling their temper with certain individuals. Overall, pupil Y is generally pleasant, and any out of control behavior may be due to immaturity.