A Different View of Curriculum & Assessment for children with global learning disabilities (with or without autism) in mainstream schools

For a variety of reasons, mainstream schools across the UK are being increasingly required to enrol pupils with severe learning disabilities who are working at cognitive levels considerably below their neuro- typical, conventionally developing peers. The depth, multiplicity, complexity and permanence of the learning difficulties being experienced by these children, makes a conventional mainstream education (in the same class, working on the same curriculum) extraordinarily problematic, irrespective of the level of one-to-one TA support.

There are no easy solutions, but there are solutions.

Equals, a UK based not-for-profit charity working in the interests of those with severe and profound learning disabilities, has spent over four years writing a multi-tiered series of curriculums that are different (rather than differentiated) from the National Curriculum. These are the first of their kind in the world and recognise that those with global that is, all encompassing, learning disabilities, learn differently to neuro-typical children. It logically follows that such children need to be taught differently and taught different things.

The day is an explanation of what this means for schools, school leaders, teachers, TAs, parents and other stakeholders.

The day will be spent looking at:

• • what the research tells us

• • the pedagogical logic recognising ‘difference’ which in turn, drives change

• • what it looks like in practice

• • what Ofsted says

• • the benefits, the challenges and the options.