Observation Task 2: Identifying Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Focus: Identifying types of learning support needed for SEN students

Objective: To encourage student teachers to support and included the learning needs of
identified SEN students in the classroom
Procedure: Identify two children who have SEN and complete table 2 to highlight their needs
and identify support that is offered which facilitates their learning. If your class has no SEN
students you will need to go to a class that has SEN students in order to complete this task.

Table 2: SEN Support for Students

Name Age IEP Area of Focus Type, range and frequency of support
provided / needed.

Yousef 4 years x Target: to sit on the carpet
& with concentration with the
? months teacher while she is
explaining the lesson and
the activities. Interact with
the teacher when she asks
questions and participate in
the class especially in the
circle time.
Zayed 4 years x Target: to sit on the carpet
&4 with concentration with the
months teacher while she is
explaining the lesson and
the activities. Interact with
the teacher when she asks
questions and participate in
the class especially in the
circle time.
I think he has an ADHD,
because he cannot focus to
the teacher in the circle
time, and he cannot sit in
one place without moving.
Daily Teacher Support with advice from
Learning Enhancement Teacher:
- Use the reward system
- Talk with the student after each lesson
and give them an encourage and positive
words.
- Provide more different activities to
enhance his learning.
- Give him more activities to be busy
and exploit the time (for example: when
it is time to go and to come bake to
home, while he is waiting his mother we
will give to him some activities that
enhance his learning.
Daily Teacher Support with advice from
Learning Enhancement Teacher:
- Use the reward system
- Talk with the student after each lesson
and give them an encourage and positive
words.
- Provide more different activities to
enhance his learning.
- Give him more activities to be busy
and exploit the time (for example: when
it is time to go and to come bake to
home, while he is waiting his mother we
will give to him some activities that
enhance his learning.
Reflections on Observation Task 2: Identifying Children with Special Educational
Needs (SEN)
Read the questions below and write your answers

1. What is the school policy for inclusion for SEN students in the school?
Introduction:
Education is the process of learning and changing as a result of schooling and other experiences.
Special education is instruction designed for students who have special learning needs. There is
considerable variability in how different countries define SEN. However, in general SEN tends
to refer to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to
learn than most children of the same age. According to the UNESCO, 2011 the SEN refer to
students with disadvantages in physical, behavioral, intellectual, emotional and social capacities
that can make it more difficult for them to learn and who therefore need additional support and
adaptations in content and methods.
Ministry of Education Dubai (MOE, 2010, P. 58) identified SEN as students from 9 categories.
specific learning disabilities,
physical and health related disabilities,
visual impairment,
hearing impairment,
speech and language disorders,
Autism Spectrum disorders,
emotional and behavioral disorders,
intellectual disabilities
Gifted and talented students who require special teaching approaches, equipment, or
instruction within or outside of a regular classroom.

School vision
Our vision is to uphold and fulfill trust of providing our students with a unique
educational experience, inspiring a passion for seeking knowledge, and challenging
students to reach and maximize their academic and social potentials. The foundation of
our mission is built upon ensuring that our curriculum is developed appropriately,
student-centered, resource plentiful, and reflective. Thus, our students will be equipped
with the necessary skills and guidance to assume their role as productive citizens in the
local and global community.

School Mission
To prepare students for college and career readiness, and to enhance and advance
teachers practices to the highest international standards.
School SEN Vision
In Al Resalah we believe that every child is special and having different educational
needs. In school, the students who have been identified as academic difficulties are
referred as special educational need (SEN) student. The SEN department provides
maximum educational help and guidance with the collaboration of family for community
development.

School SEN Aims:

Describe the process of initial assessment to identify the childs specific problem and his
learning style.
Describe the identification of students with special needs (SEN).
To develop individual educational plan IEP for students to meet their needs.
To implement different teaching and learning strategies to maximize achievement
Manage favorable class room environment for learning and can organize learning
activities per the individual differences.
Select appropriate teaching techniques as per the student capabilities
Adopt the curriculum as per the specific needs of student
To identify the roles and responsibilities of all staff to work with student with special
need (SEN)
Explain the way INCLUSION is implemented.
Describes arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the effective provision for student
with (SEN)
To maintain good work relationship with parents and outside agencies to ensure
education provision for students with SEN.

School SEN Mission

Through Assessments and well planned strategies, the SEN team intervene and
accommodate the need of students having different difficulties.

Definition of Persons with Special Needs:

Special educational needs' refers to all those children and youth whose needs arise from
disabilities or learning difficulties.
Federal law no. 29 of 2006, In Respect of the Rights of People with special needs
(UAE) describes a Person with Special Needs as:
Every person suffering from a temporary / permanent, full /partial deficiency or
infirmity in his physical, sensational, mental, communicational, educational or
psychological faculties to an extent decreasing the possibility of satisfying his ordinary
requirements in the conditions of people without special needs.
 2. What accommodations were made for the identified SEN students in the
classroom?
Modification of content
Reduction of content
Collaboration of class teacher and SEN teacher
Follow IEP objectives in classroom
Provision of shadow teacher if needed
Separate assessment for SEN students
Moreover, daily or weekly reports
Differentiated activities
Counsellor

3. Was there any assistive technology, other equipment or materials used

with the identified SEN students? If yes, please describe the equipment that
was used and what it was used for.
Yes, they were using equipment for identified SEN students but it was according to the
schedule of SEN students. As the school was following inclusion strategies so they used
different strategies with in the class and for used different intervention once in a week in
rehabilitation room.

Within the classroom are:

Extra work sheets according to the topic studied in the class
Reduced content worksheets
SEN teacher helps to understand the student

Within the Rehabilitation room are:

Writing practice work sheets according to the class content
Assistive tool to develop fine motor skills
Blocks
Coloring
Cutting pasting
Repetition of concept
The equipment used for intervention are:
Charts
Worksheets
Paint Colors
Color papers
Blocks
Alphabets cards
Pictures
Matching activities sheets
Assessment tools
Puzzles
Sand for writing
Videos
Toys for development skills

4. What teaching strategies did your MST use with the identified SEN
students?
Different teaching strategies were used for SEN students.
Observation
Report writing
Reduction of content
Worksheets development
Quiz for assessment
Moreover, differentiation
One on one (independently)
Short activities

5. Were there any other school staff that worked with the identified SEN
students? If yes, please explain their role and what they did with the
identified SEN student.
Yes, and they called them a counsellor. They have to write reports about the
SEN students every day or weekly. The special teacher or the counsellor
take the students out of the class and teach them, and then they go to the
teacher and told her about the students and about their progress. (that I
understood from my MST when she answered this question).
6. Do you think that SEN students should be included in the classroom or
taught in class specifically for SEN students? Why / Why not?
My MST think:
It is depending on the ability. For socializing it is better to be included, but
for learning it is better to have a class specifically designed for SEN students
that will be equipped with the appropriate resources and materials to teach.
So, it will not disturb other children and for SEN students it will be able to
learn better.

My think:
I agree with my MST completely, and I think that SEN students should be
included in the classroom so they can learn from the normal students and
copy/ imitate them in how they should sit in the carpet and do the activities
in the centers. If we put the SEN students in a specifically class then it will
be difficult for the teacher to manage all the students behavior.
It depends on the students abilities, if they only hyperactive/ hyperactive
with low level then they can attend a normal school with normal classes.
They will learn by the time.