SEN in Wales: The Stats Are Back!!

Recently, the government looked to reign in disability allowance in the UK as it was ‘spending too much’ in that area. Partial claims as to why included the further inclusion of more mental health conditions and ALN in adults receiving disability support. This makes us ask about the picture of SEN in Wales and what ALN is like in schools. Are more people being diagnosed? Are kids just getting their diagnosis earlier with better medical care? Or, has there been a spike in the quantity or underlying causes for ALN?

We can’t answer these questions, but, we can tell you the results of the Nuffield Foundation Report!

What Do The Stats Say?

The report was part of a project overseen by the Nuffield Foundation, and it looked at the impact of SEN/ALN identification in Wales. It looked at how children received a diagnosis, who was more likely to, and at what age and environmental and socioeconomic factors there were.

The data collected from the SAIL Databank looked at 200,000 children in Wales born between 2002-2003 and 2008-2009. This data was used to determine what predictors there may have been for ALN. Additionally, it looked at factors that influenced the attainment over time, such as sociodemographic factors. Some of the factors that were considered included:

• Free school meals.
• Season of birth.
• Health service utilisation.
• Socio-economic standing (living in deprived areas).
• Weight at birth.
• Gender.
• Ethnicity.
• School attendance.
• Gestational age.
• Whether the child was a twin or triplet.
• Anomalies at birth.

The results of the report saw headlines such as Yahoo! News:

Why Does This Matter?

The reason this matters is mainly due to the attainment of these children. Attainment in this sense means academic prosperity and an ability to go on and achieve their goals. Statistics from the report showed a decrease in their odds of meeting national expectations the longer they spent having been identified with SEN.

One of the reasons this is a concern to the report is that findings suggest that it is possible during the period in which this report data was collected, ALN/SEN was somewhat interchangeable with socioeconomic factors. To say this, some of the influencing factors were possibly also partially due to expectations.

A great example from this report is that it was shown that children born in spring and summer had a higher likelihood of being identified with ALN. The report states that this could be due to expectations as they may appear underdeveloped compared to older peers – especially at KS1/ Foundation Phase. Similarly, those who were in more deprived areas were also shown to have a higher rate of identification with ALN. This could also be due to expectations. A deprived environment could reduce their resources and social-environment quality making them appear underdeveloped in comparison to their peers.

Is There An Issue Of Comparison?

While we are not social scientists able to lay any claims. The report does make statements that teeter on the edge of stating comparison could be an issue. Comparisons of children from different personal, social, and economic environments could lead to some being identified as having ALN. Similarly, expectations of schools and the education system could also be at fault.

So, what can we learn from this report?

Perhaps, much like stated in our previous article ‘Mastery Vs Tests‘ it is probable that education would benefit from tailoring to the individual.

SEN In Wales: Learning Style Significance

If you were in school in the 00’s, you may recall the introduction of education focused on learning styles. There were 3 notable learning styles.

• Auditory learning – From hearing it.
• Kinesthetic learning – From doing it.
• Visual Learning -From seeing it.

Back when this was first recognised, it was less implemented and more of a focus on children understanding how they learn and trying to revise using it. However, if a teacher is delivering a class that is based towards visual learners, and half their class are kinesthetic learners, they’re already at a disadvantage. These learners may even present as having ALN when in fact, they just need the lesson geared towards their learning style.

A lesson delivered in a learning style that does not translate to a student may make the student feel as though the lesson is being delivered in Ancient Greek.

While making lessons multi-lingual in the sense of learning styles, it is a lot to lump on teachers. And it is possible that all students could benefit from a curriculum that focuses on diverse learning styles. This is the same as communication and comprehension and understanding knowledge absorption as an educational language.

Now, we can see that learning styles have had an upgrade, and perhaps the utilisation of this more thoroughly in learning environments could see fewer children identified as ALN.

How Is This Related?

Learning styles and ALN may well be intertwined, however, we will have to wait for science to prove this for us.

But, just like how socio-economic factors can make a child present as an ALN student, a learning style that does not benefit them could also do the same. While a child won’t learn if they are a kinaesthetic learner in a class presented aurally, they may struggle to absorb or retain the information. This could make them seem behind, or make them appear as having additional needs to learn. Where the truth may be they just need the information presented in a way they can comprehend.

Learning styles are not ALN-specific, as they are well-rounded for everyone. It just depends on how your brain processes information best. And this begins at toddler age through parenting styles, all the way through schooling and into adulthood. It is not uncommon for individuals to do badly in school because the subjects were not delivered in a way that they could understand, but end up being geniuses in their field.

A BEST View Of Things

We cannot speak for the results. Nor can we say what they mean or interpret the data. However, we can say that we believe education benefits from an understanding of learning styles. Whether a child is identified as having ALN or not, learning styles can help progress. No child should have to see their attainment suffer due to ALN identification or struggles with learning styles.

Many of the graphs and data collected in this report show that ALN identification can damage attainment probability. While for some it may be understandable and unavoidable, a dramatic drop in attainment should not be the case. The above graph shows that by the time a student has spent 40% of the time in each key stage with ALN, they have an 80% reduction in the likelihood of meeting national expectations! (Figure 4). This massive reduction in opportunity may be showing a gap where education needs to be tailored. ALN should not mean a reduction in attainment, but perhaps a different route to attainment.

What Are Your Thoughts?

As a recent study, the Nuffield Foundation Report opens up room for discourse on the matter. Everyone may have a different perspective on it, and those with ALN may have a unique perspective and ideas on it. We would love to hear from some previous students from the time of the data collection who have ALN. How does the data compare with their experience, and do they have any takeaways that could add to the report?

ALN identification is key in ensuring students are acknowledged and given room to learn as they best can. However, it also shouldn’t reduce opportunities and prevent them from meeting future goals. As a country, education in Wales can use this report and find a way to utilise it.

Let us know your throughts in the comments below!