Training materials for teachers of learners with severe, profound and complex learning difficulties

There are key differences between classrooms and learning areas in special schools and mainstream schools.

These differences relate to the range and level of pupil need.

Consider how you might teach English to a class in a mainstream school.

Think about pace, language, class size and amount of differentiation.

• There are differences between teaching English in a mainstream as opposed to a special school setting but there are also similarities.
• Most differences relate to 'how to teach' rather than 'what to teach'
• Both settings will use the National Curriculum and assess carefully where children's attainment is in relation to it. In special schools, some children will be working below national curriculum level 1.

• Both settings will plan for the range of children. In mainstream, children are often grouped according to ability. In a special school, children are more likely to be organised according to their needs.
• In a special school setting, planning will be more individual, particularly in classes where pupils have more complex needs.

The teacher differentiates by:

• Outcome (what is expected of the pupil)
• How pupils are grouped
• Task (adapting the complexity)
• Questioning (style and complexity), and
• Amount of support.

Children working at p-levels had symbols to support the language used. They sequenced the instructions and then went to the kitchen to make a jam sandwich following those instructions.

Children working at level 1 used a writing frame. They selected key words from a word bank at the bottom of the page.

Children working at levels 2A up to level 3 worked more independently. They were expected to use time connectives, to write in sentences and to read through their work to check that everything was in the correct sequence.