The changing face of SEN in the international sector
The 2018 COBIS conference was held at the InterContinental London O2 hotel between 12-14 May with a theme of Leading Learning.
Within the programme of high profile keynote speakers was an engaging session on SEN led by Samantha Garner of Garner Education Services who is a renowned trainer and speaker on Mental Health, Behaviour, SEN and Access Arrangements.
With an audience of Heads, Governors, Proprietors and Senior Leaders from schools around the world, Sam quickly engaged the room and asked for contributions for what SEN attitudes are like in their school and country and then covered how and why international schools are having to adapt to accommodate an increase of children diagnosed with SEND.
Is SEN a stigma?
In many countries, children and young people with SEN are a source of shame to their families. Many international schools attract a wealth demographic of students and it can be felt that SEN is a poor reflection on the family’s status and standing.
Conversely, in some cultures, a diagnosis of SEN is highly sought after, with specialists paid large sums to provide a diagnosis that will allow the families to have an explanation of the child’s
International schools report that many families will hide any SEN diagnoses until a child has been offered a place, rather than be upfront and honest and ensure their child can be supported but perhaps this is because schools have previously been reported to have refused places to children with SEN.
The changing face of SEN in the international sector
The audience in the seminar all agreed that the prevalence of children in international schools is increasing, and attributed this to an increase in diagnoses.
With competition in the international sector increasing all the time, it was
Where local state education is failing in support, local families are turning to private international schools to help their children, for example, in Belgium children with SEN are simply held back in the academic year until the desired standard is reached, this obviously negatively impacts the child both socially and academically, and can also have negative implications with regards to the child’s mental health and
Inclusive education
What international schools are now discovering is that to support children with additional needs, SEN support needs to be embedded throughout the school and not seen as an add on. This can be achieved by ensuring the head and SLT are advocates for SEN. But this isn’t an easy fix; training and education are necessary to ensure that an inclusive approach is taken to support pupils. Sam gave evidence that showed that inclusive teaching helps ALL pupils, and not just those with SEN and argued that segregating and labelling children with SEN can have a negative effect and by making simple adjustments to teaching styles and methods, the children who have additional needs will be supported and the whole class will benefit.
SEND Awareness training
EduCare provide the online safeguarding training courses that the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) members access as part of their membership.
COBIS members are also eligible for a 10% discount off EduCare's complete e-learning service for international schools, EduCare for Education: International, which includes over 20 Safeguarding and Duty of Care training courses, many of which have been tailored to reflect the unique needs of international schools. Our SEND Awareness training package is available to purchase in addition to the service, also at a discount, and offers strategies to support children with Autism, Dyslexia and ADHD.
Get in touch to find out more.
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