Aberdeen EIS Survey on Inclusion EIS members surveyed

Aberdeen EIS Survey on Inclusion EIS members surveyed December 2016 – Jan 2017 Powered by

464 Total Responses Complete Responses: 457

Q 1: Please select the sector you work in. Answered: 464 Skipped: 0

Q 2: Please indicate your role. Answered: 463 Skipped: 1

Q 3: Pace Consider the pace of implementation of mainstreaming. Please indicate your opinion of this on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being too slow and 5 being too fast. Answered: 460 Skipped: 4

Q 3 Consider the pace of implementation of mainstreaming. Please indicate your opinion of this on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being too slow and 5 being too fast. - Comments The range of resources needed are not in place before changes are made. Resources actually withdrawn from provision. Nowhere near enough training provided for mainstream school staff on how to meet the needs of individuals with special learning requirements. Children who may not be ready to handle mainstream schooling have been thrown into already understaffed schools causing serious difficulties for all. For the majority of pupils and staff it’s too fast as schools were not ready and many schools don't have the facilities required in place. Staff don't have the training or time to do the training. Resources, alterations to accommodation, appropriate accommodation and extra staffing not sufficiently prepared prior to introduction of mainstream placements. Despite audits of need and the assurance support would follow need, we have struggled to offer appropriate levels of support to include those with complex, ongoing high levels of need without detriment to others and without excluding other pupils. This has put a strain on the provision for other pupils and a strain on staff to juggle the support for any who may need short-term, targeted support. The inclusion review seems to have been implemented backwards, with the existing provision being dismantled before anything else was in place. There has been a huge strain on staff in school and on some parents and pupils to suddenly magic up a full-time education for pupils who have not been in mainstream for many years throughout primary and yet had to be in secondary mainstream classes full-time. We have set several youngsters up to fail. The pace has been governed by a desire to remove valuable resources and save money rather than a desire to create truly effective inclusion. There have been only minimal opportunities to provide ongoing CPD for staff who now need to meet a more diverse range of needs.

Q 4: Meeting Needs With the presumption of mainstream education for all pupils now underway is your school better able to meet the needs of children who require support? Answered: 458 Skipped: 6

Q 4 With the presumption of mainstream education for all pupils now underway is your school better able to meet the needs of children who require support? - Comments I think we were doing quite well previously. Our difficulty continues to be meeting the needs of young people who are challenging in terms of their behaviour and those who have more complex needs including mental health issues which make attendance at any school a challenge for them and their family. Thresholds for accessing support from health care colleagues are complex and appear to have changed over time and we are not fully aware. I totally understand that this is a matter of resource and staff are not available to work with young people unless they are at the top of the threshold for support and intervention. But we have a number of desperate families with parents who don't' know which way to turn. It is not a matter of an appropriate curriculum or differentiation for these young people it's a matter of appropriate health care. The inclusion of pupils with a high level of specialist need has put a strain on resources that normally provide support for those with a lower level of need despite restructuring within schools and more targeted approaches to support. Children with severe ASN are being placed in mainstream classes with minimal support. Many ASN children are being placed in environments which are totally unsuitable for their needs, they can't cope and so react in a disruptive way which impedes their learning and that of the rest of the class. Yes, to some extent. There is certainly a higher degree of awareness of inclusion and inclusive practice within the mainstream teaching group. However, adaption/differentiation and reasonable adjustments can often be difficult to achieve. In no shape or form. Despite training and support from various agencies including Autism Outreach and Speech and Language, being in mainstream school has not helped at all and in fact been a hindrance to their progress. There are not enough adults in order to support each child with ASD needs. Despite the best efforts from all involved the classroom has not been the correct environment (it is too busy and noisy) and has had adverse effects. There is not a quiet area or space where it is safe in our school.

Q 5: What level of support is available within your establishment? Please indicate on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being support unavailable and 5 being wide range of support available to meet needs. Answered: 459 Skipped: 5

Q 6: What level of support is available from ACC? Please indicate on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being support unavailable and 5 being wide range of support available to meet needs. Answered: 460 Skipped: 4

Q 7: What level of support is available from Third Sector partners? Please indicate on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being support unavailable and 5 being wide range of support available to meet needs. Answered: 455 Skipped: 9

Q 8 Where you have indicated that support is unavailable or poor please indicate the support you feel would better allow you to meet need flexibly. - Comments We need more staff to ensure that children with additional needs are not excluded by inclusion i. e. aware of their difference and anxious about not being able to follow what is happening through the school day. Shared placements or more support staff in schools, better training for teachers both pre and post qualification. Third sector , like everyone else, are overstretched and under-resourced. Areas generally considered affluent are low priority for support. All schools need to be adequately resourced to provide a flexible range of support to meet the needs of all their pupils, with access to advice and support from central specialist services as required. Other agencies too are similarly challenged re resources, which has an impact on schools. Extra staff are clearly needed to meet the needs of pupils who would otherwise be in a 1: 1 situation or part of a very small group. Staff require adequate training to meet what are often very specific needs and time needs to be laid aside for this to happen. It is unrealistic to expect a policy of inclusion to work when staff in mainstream schools are not thoroughly trained, prepared and supported to provide the quality of education which I believe is expected of them. Currently I feel many pupils are being' disabled' by the system of inclusion when in fact it is the opposite which I believe is the vision of ACC. Feedback from schools who are struggling to meet the needs of pupils needs to be listened to carefully. High attainment will never be achieved where teachers are struggling to cope with behaviour and social issues and this is fundamental to the process of providing a great education for all. We continually hear of pathways but see no evidence even following meetings where the inclusion team are present. Services such as PSS or Autism Outreach are so stretched they cannot support the number of children who need them and whatever has happened to ESWs? I currently work in pupil support and there is no way that the needs of all pupils are being met. Demand outweighs resources. Fire fighting most of the time. Have been told that Bases no longer exist. Absolutely ludicrous! Many children cannot survive in the mainstream classroom and it is no fault of the teacher. The specialist support which was available in the City has been diluted so much over the years that some of our children are totally disadvantaged. They cannot cope in school and as a result stop attending. Working in bases within the mainstream setting is inclusion.

Q 9: ACC offers a variety of training opportunities for staff to access training to support children with additional needs. Please indicate below which you have been able to participate in (Tick as many as apply). Answered: 424 Skipped: 40

Q 9 - Please comment on the effectiveness of the training you have participated in: Online provides nothing more than a surface introduction and needs to be backed up with face to face meetings/workshops. Personal research is informative too but likewise is not always able to bring anything to the table when dealing with a particular child/circumstance. After school sessions are not always suitable for those of us with family commitments and I would question how much exhausted staff can take on board at the end of a busy working day. Many schools are currently being managed by inexperienced managers, some of whom have little teaching experience to fall back on in their own background, and are therefore unable to provide advice to their staff. I do not agree that ACC offers a wide range of CPD to support ASN children. There a limited number of suitable CPD sessions, most of which run during the school day when staff cannot attend due to the short number of supply staff to cover teaching commitments. The training sessions that take place are usually very good, however, with so many other elements to contend within the everyday teaching role (including the rising number of pupils with various needs), it is nearly impossible to retain and fully and effectively implement the knowledge gained on the courses. I have not been aware of such opportunities. I have been looking on the CPD page and there have been no courses that have been relevant or attendable - the courses which I have seen are during the day and there is no way that we can attend due to class commitments and the lack of staff means that there is nobody to cover classes. Furthermore, when there are courses they are often aimed at upper stages and there are next to none that support pupils in the early years - where we are meant to be hosting early intervention. I have relied on personal research in the main - in house provision has been provided during lunchtimes mostly so are difficult to access when teaching a practical subject on a full timetable.

Is there anything further that you feel would be useful for us to know about Inclusion in Aberdeen? - Comments In my opinion the inclusion of individuals with additional support needs has a negative impact on the entire school. Teachers are unable to deliver the curriculum effectively, they are being stretched to meet individual needs within a class setting and sadly the children who do not present a problem are left to coast. Many days it is a case of fire fighting to ensure a safe and positive environment. Some children with significant ASN are included in highly inappropriate settings to their needs and at best it is a case of babysitting whilst they are included. I have been teaching for over twenty years and am deeply saddened by the direction in which we are being led. I feel the immersion of inclusion has been far too quick, staff are ill prepared and there is not enough of the right kind of support. Staff are being assaulted and pupils put at risk because the environments are not fit to meet their needs. We do not have the teachers to support the pupils so they are working with PSAs who, despite their dedication and hard work are not teachers. Children are entitled to an education with a trained teacher and to be safe and sadly this is not possible due to staffing shortages. We are letting everyone down because we have rushed to remove specialised support and force children into mainstream classes that are not always appropriate for them. Although I agree with mainstreaming in principle I truly believe this can only be achieved if properly resourced and supported. Unfortunately we are in a time of austerity and so I don't think the council are in a position to or capable of supporting us which will greatly impact on all children. In the past year I have seen children who don't require additional support being ignored because children who do have it are not functioning well in the class and are draining valuable support. At points, some children have been shaking with fear because of one child's inability to cope. This is not GIRFEC. It makes me so disheartened to see. Children require stability and routine and despite a teacher and head teacher's best efforts they just aren't getting this. Children who just need that little bit of support from a learning support teacher are not getting it because of the presumption of mainstreaming. Support for learning isn't just for those with diagnosed additional support. It should be available for those who just need that extra bit of help

Is there anything further that you feel would be useful for us to know about Inclusion in Aberdeen? - Comments I just find it sad that the philosophy of the 3 -18 curriculum which is child centred does not extend to the children who need this the most. These children are being treated as a whole body and not as individuals with very specific individual needs. Inclusion works when a child is able to access it and that is great, but some children are unable to do this and it is disturbing and, in fact, cruel to see these children stressed and unhappy when they have to spend long periods of time in their mainstream class often without they support they need. Staff and children have been let down with promises that were never fulfilled. We are not "getting it right for every child" There are significant numbers of children who are not supported as well as they should be. Too many professionals in Education, Health, Social Work are stretched too thin with minimal resources. Pupils are struggling to cope in classes with some highly disaffected classmates who not only hinder their learning; some also pose a threat to their safety. I think inclusion is a wonderful thing but there just aren't enough resources in schools eg PSA support, spaces to allow small group/class teaching and interaction. Stop it now! Review where we are in light of the current staffing and resource crisis and produce realistic targets and timescales that will support staff and pupils to achieve success. Too many people driving this agenda are doing so without any real experience of the current issues facing staff in schools and until they start to work with staff and not 'do' things to staff they are unlikely to be able to really deliver this agenda in a successful way.