Investigating the Provision of Special Education Needs in Primary School - Essay Example

INVESTIGATING THE PROVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL By Location Investigating the provision of special education needs in primary school Establishment of special schools begun back in the nineteenth century with the aim of providing education to children with impaired sensory functioning. The government has also been in the forefront in the provision of education to the special need children in primary schools. The government’s policy is that all children should release their potential. According to the special needs education code, which states that a child or young person has special needs if they have trouble in their learning which calls for special educational provision (Moonie 2005, n.p). The code also promotes an effective approach in meeting children’s needs and puts the rights of children at the heart of the process hence allowing them to take part in decisions concerning their education (Cumming 2012, p. 52). The code of practice also sets out effective school based support with little paperwork for teachers and mainly emphasizes on monitoring the progress of children with special needs to reach the identified goals. Special education needs provision has been categorized into four broad areas of need that include communication and interaction, social, mental and emotional health and sensory (Hallet F & Hallet G 2010, p. 78). Communication and interaction is impaired when a child has difficulty in talking and expressing ideas and also got difficult to understand what is been said to them and still this makes them to have difficulties in social interaction with others. Cognition and learning is impaired when anindividual learns at a slower pace than the peers do (Atchinson & Dirette 2007, p. 52). Social, emotional, and mental health difficulties are manifested when a person becomes withdrawn or isolated and displaying disruptive and disturbing behavior. In order to promote special education, a committee was set up in 1993 which its main aim was to make recommendations for identification of children with special needs and for future advancement of special education services, special schools and classes according to the child’s need (Butler 1994, p. 145). Guidelines were put in place which even to date promote the provision of special education. These include, all children with special needs have right to proper education, and in provision of education to a special child, the needs of a specific child should be the paramount consideration. Active participation of parents with children who require special education and their wishes should be taken into consideration also, provision of adequate resources by the state is important to ensure that children with special needs have education appropriate to their needs. Individuals with special needs are human beings like any other person but since there is some capacity of difference in their understanding and way of doing things, discrimination can arise. It is out of this reason why scholars came up with the Equality Act 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act. Both were to work in harmony in search of equality for the disabled children in the society (Scales & Kelly 2012, p. 73). This would make schools aware of their responsibilities concerning advancement of quality and diversity. The acts stated that, schools should be in the look out to influence good relations among pupils, eliminate discrimination, any form of harassment, and victimization so as to promote equality of opportunity. The Equality Act 2010 also clearly gives instructions on professional responsibilities of schools and staff that disabled children in some instances may need to be treated more favorably than their peers are in order to promote equality of opportunity (Sewell 2013, p. 181). Disability Act 2001 has also been out to help in strengthening the right to a mainstream education and delivering of comprehensive civil right for disabled children (Tassoni 2007, p. 508). The act ensures that there is access to school education for the special children. In the quest to promote equality, rules were put in September 2002, which stated out clearly how to handle the disabled child. These included avoidance of mistreatment of any disabled child without justification, for a reason that relates to their disability. Reasonable steps made to ensure that no disabled child is placed to any disadvantage as compared to other children who are not disabled and finally, strategic plans made for progress in improving the physical environment of schools for the disabled, improving participation of the special need children in the school curriculum (Carpenter & Burnham 2004, p. 211). Promotion of equality in special need children has been seen to impose development of sense and identity among the disabled since they are able to participate fully both in school and at home since they feel valued for who they are and the contribution that they make. Documentation on numerous studies has been made to show how strain on parents with children with special needs promote inequality (Blas & Sivasankara Kurup 2010, p. 133). Parents with these children often report a feeling of stress, isolation, and depression (Atherton & Gates 2007, p. 580). These largely impairs parental functioning whereby pressure is exerted on parental well-being, the other children and on relatives. It is for this reason that parents should be actively involved in their children care and any recommendations they deem of importance put in consideration (Chambers & Licence 2004, p. 153). In addition, the society should be of encouragement to them by avoidance of isolation in order to promote parent’s acceptance of their children special needs. If this is put in consideration, equality will be promoted. Provision of special education to children with disabilities have posed a great impact in their learning and developmental capabilities. According to researchers, learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects the part of brain concerned with receiving, processing, storing, and responding to information (Rief & Stern 2010, p. 5). When one has this disorder, skills like writing, speaking, and reasoning are affected (Reid, L & Lienemann & Hagaman 2013, p. 3). It is through the availability of special education that a positive impact is posed on learning. Availability of educational opportunity for the disabled has proved to be of great importance, though the children’s speed of learning is slow, it has given them some sense of understanding on the basic things of life (Davis & Broitman 2011, p. 17). Some of these basic things include bathing, washing of clothes, and playing with other peers. Teachers have also proven to be of great importance since they pass important information in the part of learning and this leads to improved understanding of the special need children as compared to if they were to stay at home without education (Burham & Jones 2002, p. 143). In addition, special education has had a positive effect on learning since these children who were viewed as unable in all aspects of life have proven to be of great impact because through learning each individual is able to realize his or her goal in life and with this they become trusted people in the society (Siegel 2009, p. 119). Children with disabilities obviously have delayed milestones, which to their parents is a demoralizing factor (New & Cochran 2007, p. 291). With the development of education for the disabled, it has improved their development. According to some studies, learning improves both brain and body development, hence learning has shown to greatly improve children’s milestones. From the study it is clear that equality and diversity is not about treating everyone equally, it’s more on embracing diversity and difference to develop individuals towards their own best. Reforms from current studies support this analogy where teachers are now mostly answerable for the progress of the special need children. On achievement of this, the expectation is that teachers can spend more time teaching, addressing the diverse needs of the pupils in order to ensure equality of opportunity and provision (Price & Nelson 2014, p. 228). In conclusion, the above study has shown that provision of special education to the challenged is of great importance since children are able to learn in special schools and at their own pace (Price 2009, p. 5). It has also improved parents view on the children who have special needs since their involvement in the care and knowing clearly, what is expected of them improved understanding and acceptance. It is clear from the study that if equality is practiced special needy children will enjoy life like any other child and help in realization of their goals. 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