around fewer pupils, with scant opportunity for mainstream schools and other services to integrate their ways of working. On the other side of the coin, mainstream schools are well placed to offer a wider curriculum for those with SEN. Mainstream schools often employ a larger number of teachers, with expertise in a wider range of subjects at a wider range of levels than smaller special schools. Teachers in mainstream schools have ready opportunity for dialogue around how the curriculum for those with SEN can best be developed and integrated with the mainstream curriculum. It may be more problematic for teachers in special schools to find opportunities for discussion and collaborative work on the curriculum with their mainstream peers: both in terms of proximity to colleagues from mainstream education, and in terms of those in mainstream schools being willing to work with those in special schools. Support for children and young people with SEN, therefore, needs to be considered both as integration of service delivery across agencies and as integration of the educational curriculum with mainstream education. Ways need to be found to support special and mainstream schools to excel in both of these arenas. References BAKER, J. (2009). Special school headship in times of change: impossible challenges or golden opportunities? 191-197. British Journal of Special Education, 36, BILLET, S., OVENS, C., CLEMANS, A. and SEDDON, T. (2007) Collaborative working and contested practices: forming, developing and sustaining social partnerships in education. 637-656. Journal of Education Policy, 22(6),
around fewer pupils, with scant opportunity for mainstream schools and other services to integrate their ways of working. On the other side of the coin, mainstream schools are well placed to offer a wider curriculum for those with SEN. Mainstream schools often employ a larger number of teachers, with expertise in a wider range of subjects at a wider range of levels than smaller special schools. Teachers in mainstream schools have ready opportunity for dialogue around how the curriculum for those with SEN can best be developed and integrated with the mainstream curriculum. It may be more problematic for teachers in special schools to find opportunities for discussion and collaborative work on the curriculum with their mainstream peers: both in terms of proximity to colleagues from mainstream education, and in terms of those in mainstream schools being willing to work with those in special schools. Support for children and young people with SEN, therefore, needs to be considered both as integration of service delivery across agencies and as integration of the educational curriculum with mainstream education. Ways need to be found to support special and mainstream schools to excel in both of these arenas. References BAKER, J. (2009). Special school headship in times of change: impossible challenges or golden opportunities? British Journal of Special Education, 36, 191-197. BILLET, S., OVENS, C., CLEMANS, A. and SEDDON, T. (2007) Collaborative working and contested practices: forming, developing and sustaining social partnerships in education. Journal of Education Policy, 22(6), 637-656.
Rose_Partnerships_Support_for_Learning_Jan_2012.docx