In practice, it is important not only to recognise a child or young person’s specific pedagogical needs, but also to respond constructively to those needs. This regular section will provide a summary of common problems or difficulties with which children or young people may present in an educational setting and show how, through reflection (individually or in teams), appropriate interventions can minimise or even remove children or young people’s barriers to learning.
This Child File looks at Bullying: go through each of the bullet points and reflect on what you would do for each.
CHILD FILE 1: Case Study: An alternative view
“I can remember when I was in a mainstream school in London, after we’d moved from Nigeria. I used to get called peg leg and the kids would take the mickey out of the way I spoke. I was the only child with a disability in the school (my sister, who has Down’s Syndrome, went to a special school), and one of the few black children there. My parents were big on equality and respect, and we’d been taught to treat people how we wanted to be treated and to stand up for others. That gave me confidence, and a sense of purpose. When you have that confidence, you don’t want to bully, you don’t want to stand by and see others bullied. That has stayed with me.
Source: Ade Adepitan, MBE, Paralympic Champion, TV presenter and ambassador for the NSPCC
We know a lot of bullying comes from insecurity and ignorance. From a lack of understanding about differences. That goes beyond colour or disability. There are so many people who are marginalised and isolated and hurt because they are different. The biggest weakness of human beings is a lack of respect for difference, a lack of empathy for others. The best thing we can do for children is to tackle that. Then we can make a real change to the world they’re growing up in.”
Reflect on the above case study
- What would you have done if you had been the teacher?
- And what do you think of his view on bullies and the bullied?
- How could you help children to develop positive attitudes?
CHILD FILE 2: Building resilience in children and young people
Supporting children in becoming more resilient can be addressed both through the curriculum (for example, through problem solving skills developed through maths form the earliest years of education) and through provision of extra- curricular activities (e.g. focused clubs- sport, music, crafts, ICT, debating and more).
Consider the following statements/questions in the context of your extra-curricular provision and the extent to which your provision is meeting the needs of all children and young people.
- Carry out an audit of your extra-curricular provision (how many ‘clubs’ do you run/ are they after school/ lunchtime etc.)
- Have you given children/young people a ‘voice’ in the types of clubs they want?
- Do the clubs meet the ‘needs’ of all children/young people? (have you considered the aims/ outcomes of each club? what do you want each child/young person to achieve through the club?)
- Do you monitor attendance? (this is particularly important- children and young people with SEND are less likely to attend extra-curricular activities)
- Can all children and young people ‘access’ the clubs? (what do you need to do to ensure all children and young people can access them?)
- Make a plan of how you could improve your extra-curricular clubs