Sharing Good Practice
HOW SHOULD INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS ADAPT TO
THE INCREASING CHALLENGES OF SEN PROVISION?
By Gráinne Boyle
Identification should be organised and
systematic. Every school has its own
policy for identification of children
that need support at wave two and
three. In Dubai, new policy ensures
that whole year groups are screened
with international benchmarking tests
for cognitive and academic skills at
certain checkpoints. This allows us to
analyse data at whole school level and
identify individuals that may be at risk.
Recently, many international schools
have hired their own qualified
educational testers in-house to
conduct further tests in identifying
barriers to learning and potential
evidenced-based interventions for a
student. From this September, every
British Curriculum exam centre is
required to have its own educational
tester on site. As well as conducting
assessments that inform interventions,
this person can conduct testing that
may inform exam concessions for
secondary school students within their
own school.
W
hen I first moved to
the Middle East in
2009,
mainstream
schools were focused
on quality provision, at whole school
level and SEN was yet to become a
priority for many schools. Since then,
government mandates and support,
greater availability of NASCO qualified
SENCos and increased access to
quality resources for assessment
and intervention for children with
special educational needs (SEN), is
transforming the culture of education
in the region.
Today, I have the privilege of working
with some of the most innovative and
forward-thinking education bodies that
I have encountered in my career as a
teacher and educational psychologist.
Although we are not all there yet, here
are some of the important successes
that have enabled schools to adapt
to the increasing challenges of SEN
provision.
experienced SEN teachers managing
the needs of students with individual
differences.
When it comes to the SEN department
leader, it helps when they are a
member of the school leadership
team. This allows the SEN department
to contribute to policy and support,
at whole school level, therefore
impacting more effectively on whole
class differentiation for teaching and
learning. Most children with SEN
should be accommodated at wave
one, within the classroom setting,
allowing for children with higher needs
to be supported by wave two and
three.
A recent survey by GL Education
found that 38% of teachers in
international schools believe that SEN
is under-identified in their school*.
Educational research indicates time and
time again that excellent teachers are
the basis for an excellent educational
system. The SEN department is no
different. We need qualified and
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Class Time
In addition to the obvious advantage
of cost saving for parents and schools
at British International Schools, this
also enables any school to conduct
sophisticated testing on site. Most
importantly, this means that we can
match evidence-based and early
interventions for a child within the
school setting.
Leading an international school
SEN department can be both a
challenge and a delight. Innovation,
collaboration
and
sharing
of
evidence-based practice relevant to
our unique region is absolutely key.
We have come a long way, in a short
time, but I look forward to seeing the
continued and positive results that
our efforts make for the students in
our care.
Gráinne Boyle is a Licensed Educational Psychologist with the Community
Development Authority (Dubai), and she is registered with the Health and Care
Professionals Council (UK). She is a passionate professional that believes in
education as a human right, and she is dedicated to the promotion of delivering
quality support services to people of all ages and abilities. Contact Gráinne at
[email protected].