Anyone working in education will be aware of the term SEN or SEND which is an an acronym for Special Education Needs or Disabilities. Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can affect a child or young person's ability to learn. Some children and young people need special or different arrangements. This might be for a short time, or sometimes it might be for the whole of their school life. Some children may have SEN because of a medical condition or a disability such as Down’s Syndrome, Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder for example. Other children may have SEN without a diagnosis or a disability. Specific Learning Difficulties do not affect a person’s general intelligence. The vast majority of individuals living with a learning difficulty lead an independent life but might struggle with basic reading, writing, or maths skills, for example. They may find it difficult to understand information or they’ll process, store, or analyse it in an entirely different way.  Just because a person struggles in one area of learning does not mean they are in any way deficient in all areas, and so a learning difficulty should not be a barrier. It is essential that we, as educators, focus on the abilities of young people with SEND’s, rather than using derogatory labels and setting lower expectations. How do Special Education Needs affect learning? SEND and Additional Needs are terms that cover a wide range of need across various areas of a child’s life in relation to the following four areas: Communicating and interacting Children may have speech, language and communication difficulties which make it difficult for them to make sense of language, or how understand how to communicate effectively and appropriately with others. Cognition and learning Children may: •learn at a slower pace than others their age •have difficulty in understanding parts of the curriculum •have difficulties with organisation and memory skills •have a specific difficulty affecting one particular part of their learning performance such as in literacy or numeracy Social, emotional and mental health difficulties Children may: •have difficulty managing their relationships with other people •are withdrawn •behave in ways that may hinder their and other children's learning •behave in ways that have an impact on their health and wellbeing Sensory and/or physical needs Children may: •have a vision impairment and/or hearing impairments •have a physical need that means they must have additional ongoing support and equipment Anti-Ableism  The standard definition of special education needs or disabilities state that SEND pupils have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age. But these definitions don’t make it clear what these difficulties are. SEND is a huge spectrum and it doesn’t follow that people with additional needs in some areas of learning are inferior in all of them.  For example, some people with autism have a greater capacity for arithmetic skills and number sense. And, autism is linked to intense focus and excellent pattern recognition. People with other diagnosed conditions might easily excel in one area of learning whilst struggling with others. So, these narrow definitions of special education needs and disabilities are problematic, because they provide negative labels, and stereotype young people. And, if our intention is to improve education for SEND children in our schools, then we have to break down the barriers that hold them back.  The word neurodiversity is often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD or various learning disabilities. Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; and so there isn’t a "right" or “wrong” way of thinking, learning, or behaving. In the neurodivergent model, special education needs and disabilities are differences not deficits.  We see this in the superb work; Great Britain from a Wheelchair by Paul Kenny in 1994. A map of Great Britain has been assembled from two ex-NHS wheelchair parts. The piece challenges assumptions of disabled people as ‘pitiable objects’, or people who are invisible in society. Another sculpture by Tony Heaton for the Baltic Gallery Gateshead, filled a lift with empty wheelchairs, forcing people to use their privilege to climb the stairs, thereby inverting an issue able-bodied people take for granted every day.  This is where anti-ableist pedagogy comes to the fore. It makes learners active participants in a person-centred framework. The arts have the flexibility to do this; perhaps much more so than most curriculum areas. We can form learning around the learner’s specific needs and to what they find engaging and motivating. Anti-ableism can liberate learners with SEND. It can empower them and break down the concept of normalcy. Using artists such as Yinka Shonibare, Nnena Kalu and Linda Bell as starting points for projects can produce non-hierarchal, equitable art and promote positive identities. Surely, this aspirational thinking is what we want for pupils who may find some aspects of life and learning more difficult.  Teaching pupils with SEND Most children with SEND will be able to participate in an ordinary setting and make progress through high quality provision, referred to as Quality First Teaching (QFT) which includes effective differentiation. ‘Quality First Teaching’ means appropriately planned, quality experiences and provision, built on observations of children’s starting points and interests in order to develop their learning. Sensitive interactions are essential to support this. However, children with SEN educated in mainstream schools generally have very poor outcomes, including those with less severe needs. The reasons behind this are varied and complex, but a key factor is how much support they receive from school. Where funding is limited, it makes sense to ensure that teachers are as knowledgeable as possible about the most effective strategies for teaching pupils with SEND. Crisis of Confidence Despite all your efforts, learning skills in this way results in some pupils adopting them more quickly, and those with additional needs can suffer a crisis of confidence that they aren’t good enough. It’s easy to compare ourselves to others. If you’re struggling and you see someone who is doing it effortlessly, it compounds your frustrations and leaves you feeling inadequate. These feelings are compounded even further when pupils with additional needs compare themselves to an expert demonstration. If they look at the teacher’s example and think; ‘mine isn’t anywhere near as good as that,’ they can easily think they’ve failed. So be very careful that your demonstration isn’t so skilful that it puts pupils off. It’s good practice to get the pupils who have struggled initially into a small group and do a repeat demonstration with them, constantly reinforcing the stages of learning the skill and repeating it over and over. It’s important also, to contextualise the learner’s current ability to their starting point. Make it clear to them how much progress they are making, highlight their personal development and make it clear that they aren’t competing with any other learners in the group. This mindset is hard to break, because almost all of their experiences of school are based on ‘being the best’, getting top marks, finishing first and being rewarded for exemplary performance. It’s no wonder then that those who struggle to keep up with the pace of the lesson feel inferior. They need to know then, that this isn’t a competition, it isn’t a race, there are no prizes for finishing first, there is no best work, or worst work, just your own work; and that sometimes we perform well and other times we don’t. Those that appear to have natural ability and excel at a particular skill have usually practiced a lot because they enjoy it. These messages need to be repeated in almost every art lesson, every week and in every year group, because they quickly compound themselves into lifelong negative schemas. It’s important therefore, to clarify to learners that skills take time, patience and practice to learn. SEND pupils may want to give up, they may become very negative, even unruly, and so you’ll need to try to create a whole class positive mindset, a sense of belief that everyone can learn this, that high achievement is within their grasp with effort.  Supporting learners with communication and interaction Evaluate the text-based materials you are distributing to students. I’ve seen countless numbers of assessment sheets and handouts in secondary art departments that are completely unsuitable because their literacy level is way too high. You must check the reading age of everything you give out or expect pupils to read and that includes your board presentations. Then you must know the reading age of every pupil in the class and ensure your teaching materials correspond. If they don’t correspond- change them. Honestly, I see so many elaborate, sophisticated assessment rubrics jam-packed with information about different levels of performance and I think; ‘This is really good. What a shame the pupils won’t be able to read it.’  That said, text shouldn’t always be too easy. You have to get the level of difficulty between legibility and challenge just right. So, if you’re creating resources for an 11-year old reader, make sure you know what texts at this age look like. Devise the text in such a way that it is predominantly suitable, with some additional challenging words that will be unfamiliar. Where there is a huge gap between your lowest and highest readers, you may need to provide alternative easier and harder texts.  Consider your own use of language. I’m guilty of this. I’m an artist. I go to galleries, I discuss art to high levels with like-minded professionals. I love my subject and so I can so easily go off on a passionate lecture about a piece of art we are studying. But you can’t do this if half the class haven’t a clue what you’re talking about; if the language your using is too sophisticated and complex. In art, we aren’t discussing tangible, quantifiable things. We are discussing the nature of emotional, ephemeral instincts and intuitions. They are harder to pinpoint and articulate, especially if you struggle with language already.  So, consider how new vocabulary will build and sequence over time, which includes lessons, terms and key stages. Developing creative and critical thinking skills to pupils with SEND  It isn’t just reading or researching artists where you’d need to provide support for pupils with additional needs. You’d need to do it when generating ideas too. It’s common practice for teachers to scaffold projects every step of the way then, when it comes to the ideas stage, they just set a task to; ‘come up with four ideas’.  This is poor teaching in my opinion. For example, if I’m doing a mask project and pupils have done some lovely research in sketchbooks about masks from around the world, you can’t simply set a task to come up with four ideas of your own, because you haven’t demonstrated how they can do that. They will simply copy a mask verbatim, or they’ll draw one from memory, using crude symbols.  To do this task well, they need to be shown how they might utilise the research they’ve done, how they can pick out key features of several different masks from their research and combine them into new forms. This is the whole purpose of the research and it’s important they understand that developing ideas comes out of reformulating the things we’ve seen. For those with additional needs, it might be that you demonstrate how to do this and have them copy a worked example. I would take them through a demonstration of how to analyse a set of images I’ve collected, to extract features I like in sequence; such as face shape, eye, nose and mouth type, then encourage them to extract and combine alternative features in different ways to produce different designs.  You are now supporting the ideas phase, not simply giving a task they aren’t equipped to respond to. The skill comes out of offering creative choice within a scaffolded framework. Once pupils can do this automatically themselves, it cultivates self-confidence and can have profound effects on learners.  Creating an inclusive art room  Disorganised, messy classrooms, where resources and equipment are difficult to find will present additional challenges for learners with physical and sensory issues, as well as for those with self-regulating behaviours.  It’s important therefore, to carefully consider the room layout and the location of classroom materials. It’s not only a good idea to label things clearly, but to also take pupils through where things are, and also which materials they are able to access themselves. For example, where are paintbrushes kept? Are they free to get one if they need one? What are your expectations about looking after them? Are they free to get their sketchbook out to record an idea they’ve had? These things may seem trivial to us, but they can cause anxiety to SEND pupils who worry about rules and regulations.  Consider the practical layout of the room and seating. Could you create a space for learners with a physical disability to work? Perhaps you could create a resource base with adapted resources and aids to support pupils who struggle with fine motor skills or who have auditory or visual needs.  Working in silence is a common expectation in many classrooms, even in art, but consider how this affects learners ability to voice their needs or work in pairs or groups. Then again, some pupils need calm, quiet environments, so there isn’t a one-size fits all approach. It’s vital therefore, to talk to SENCo’s, parents and pupils so that you are fully informed and able create the most suitable learning spaces you can. Why not get pupils to design and draw their ideal reading space? My students were regularly involved in designing their learning environment. One school I’ve visited created a bat cave from an old office and pupils would read by torchlight under a canopy of model bats. One final piece of advice here is to try to limit unexpected events by pre-teaching sensitive pupils and forewarning them of what’s to come. Write things down for them and put them somewhere where parents and carers can see them, so they know what’s coming next. This will help those who may struggle to engage, in that they are prepared for the next learning experience.  Secondary Support Strategies Supporting learners with communication and literacy difficulties  •Check the reading age of the texts you are using. You can do this in Microsoft Word now. To do this, ensure ‘readability statistics’ is checked in Word spelling preferences. Then select Review then Spelling and Grammar to get the Flesch-Kinkaid reading age. The higher the score up to 100 the easier it is to read. •Use phonetics to break down difficult words. Highlight them and read them together as a class. For example, ‘Technique’ is a hard word to read phonetically. Using the English Alphabetic Code we can break it down into ‘Tech’ where the ‘CH’ is making a ‘K’ sound as in Chameleon; the ‘i’ is making the long ‘ee’ sound as in sardines, and the ‘Que’ is making a ’K’ sound as in plaque. •Create a Dyslexia friendly classroom by improving the visual clarity of information: Simplify it. Remove any clutter or irrelevant information. Break it down. Divide information into sections and stages. Good use of layout. Use a legible font with good letter spacing, set and aligned well. Don’t cram too much on a page.  Use of colour. Colour can help separate information into sections, but too many colours, or overly garish colours can distract.  Visit the British Dyslexia Association’s website and download their style guide. •Dual coding theory states that one can use both visual and verbal data to represent information. Provide alternative ways of presenting information. There are so many ways to present information - written text, audio only, visuals and pictures, video, computer generated or animated. As well as you presenting it, could other pupils present it? Might it be recorded for repeated playback? •Drawing. Get pupils decoding complex text by drawing each word or phrase using non-skilled techniques. Robust research in 2018 by Fernandez, Wammes and Meade has shown non-skilled drawing to be the most effective way to remember. Drawing gives us more time to process and absorb new information and provides strong visual associations to things that help us remember. It’s so effective, I wrote a book on it – Drawing to Learn Anything. Supporting cognition & Learning •Give more time. Don’t pace your lesson to the quickest 5%. It’s so easy for the teacher to spot when someone has finished, then move on to the next thing. Remember, whenever you do that, you’re preventing your slower pupils from properly learning a new concept. So slow down and give pupils time.  •Use as many mnemonic devices as you can. Some will be familiar to you such as mind maps, quizzes or spaced retrieval practice, but again, use drawing. •Provide additional one-to-one support in the hand-over of knowledge using the ‘I Do, We Do, You Do’ approach. •Collaborative learning. Pupils learn from each other, sometimes as an alternative to learning from a teacher. Supporting learners with social and emotional difficulties •Provide a secure environment with calm, consistent classroom expectations and routines. •Avoid sudden change to routines that might cause anxiety, such as changing seating plans or altering the layout of the room.  •Be mindful of potential clashes or disruptive interactions in practical tasks. When there is lots of movement around the room, some pupils can use this as an opportunity to disrupt. Maybe have a safe space where sensitive pupils can get on quietly without interruption.  •Get to know your pupils who struggle emotionally, build a trusting relationship. Let them know you care and they can count on you. Devise subtle ways they can signal to you when they are in distress or need some time out.    •To engage learners, who struggle to focus, capture their interest early and arouse their curiosity using novel, new and imaginative starting points. Natural forms is a common art room project, but it doesn’t have to be still life fruit and vegetables or pine cones. It might be microscopic organisms, insects, dissected organs or wet fish. It might even be living creatures if you can do it safely enough.   •Create open projects with the flexibility to relate the theme to their own interests, rather than focussing on a restrictive range of artists and outcomes. Does every student have to study Frida Khalo? Can you provide a range of alternative artists on the same theme for pupils to select? Providing choice really motivates learners.  •Make links to industry and real practice where possible. Boys especially, are highly motivated when they can see a real-world application of the skill you’re teaching, so even if you’re just doing a shading demonstration - show examples of professionals who use this skill such as tattoo artists, fashion or car designers.  •Link commercial products to artistic influences. Show examples of how current contemporary designers are influenced by historical artists. I’ve lost count of the number of products I’ve seen that have been influenced by Mondrian or Pop art. Contextualising art in this way increases it’s value in the eyes of pupils. In short, it gains street cred.  Supporting learners with physical disabilities  •Familiarise yourself with the learners needs prior to the lesson. You’ll no doubt get a list of SEND students from your SENCO at the start of Autumn term, but in my experience this wasn’t always ready in advance of the first lesson. However, you should expect to be notified of any any students with physical disabilities in meeting before the term begins, so make sure you find out as much as possible. Wheelchair users may need to have access areas and ramps, others may need hand or wrist supports or drawing boards.   •Focus on adapting what you already have, rather than devising new content. As I’ve mentioned earlier, your goal is to  enable learners to achieve the mainstream objectives; so you shouldn’t have to plan multiple lessons in the same space.  •Talk to the pupil. They know their needs better than anyone, and until you know them better, you should begin by trusting what they say about their ability. I’ve always found people with physical disabilities to be incredibly determined and resilient.  •Plan for a range of art activities that utilise both fine and gross motor skills in a variety of media. Think of fine motor skills as being activities that come from the wrist or fingers such as detail drawing, sewing or cutting. Gross motor skills come from the shoulder, arm or whole body and might be painting at an easel or making a sculpture.  •Speak to the SENCo, parent and pupil about any equipment they may need or use, such as adaptive or assistive grip aids for pencils and brushes. •Consider how pupils will be able to access your demonstrations. It may that they’ll need one-to-one demos, or be able to watch them via a visualiser or recording.   •Finally, create a curriculum that is inclusive. Ensure it is diverse and that it is representative of artists that have overcome physical disabilities such as Stephen Wiltshire or Yinka Shonibare.   Supporting learners with sensory needs •Provide clear verbal and auditory descriptions of teaching resources and artist images. Ensure any hearing devices are functional and that the student is seated in an optimal position to hear your instructions. Sadly, it’s all too common for pupils with hearing difficulties to be placed in a seating plan at the back of the room. If you are showing film or video, ensure subtitles are clearly displayed and check with the pupil that they are comfortable with the information being shown to them.  •Support students who have low vision or blindness by adding scents and textures to paint and materials. Use a Flexi-lamp to provide additional lighting when needed. Put materials out on trays with strong, contrasting colours, highlight outlines of images with a black Sharpie pen, create tactile borders to images using a dimensional pen. Students with colour blindness may or may not be diagnosed. If you notice these signs in one of your students, encourage their parent or guardian to have their vision tested for diagnosis. In class, use bright lighting, employ peers to help identify colours, especially in works of art and clearly label important tools and equipment such as paint colours.  •Some pupils are physical, tactile learners. They prefer to make with their hands where possible and look for constant physical stimulation. Try to plan lessons to accommodate their needs, drawing from observation using physical drawing techniques.  Planning an inclusive curriculum  Art and design is a form of visual expression that can raise self-confidence and give learners the opportunity to develop and communicate their personal ideas, and observations. Art and design themes can provide opportunities for pupils to express their thoughts and opinions about the wider world in ways that other subject areas cannot.  Curriculum planning should be ambitious and clearly identify what children will learn; but it must also consider how to make art and design accessible and inclusive for all learners. The National Curriculum doesn’t define art and design content, nor does it describe how to teach it. It is left for schools to decide themselves what the nature and theme of art and design curriculum activities will be.  What all this means is that schools are free to design activities that are relevant to their pupils and cater for their needs and disabilities. Projects you plan should be representative and aspirational. They should make pupils see that anyone of any gender, colour, physical need, race or background can achieve the highest levels. Young people will always have dreams. Pupils with SEND are no different.  A good art and design curriculum can help people formulate those dreams and make them seem more real. Art and design can be a platform to express opinions about the world they live in, articulate their fears and hopes. If art and design is solely about increasing skills, getting better at shading or learning about a narrow range of artists who died long ago, then it’s unlikely to reach the minds of the young people in your care.  Summary Teaching pupils with additional needs and disabilities is a specialist area, one that requires greater knowledge and understanding on your part. You shouldn’t go into any classroom without some training and guidance in how to do that. Nor should you feel isolated and alone in teaching pupils with complex needs. There must be a strong network of support in the school that you can tap into.  I’d summarise the teaching of SEND pupils into these five areas:  Communicate - find out what pupils, parents & other agencies expect of you  Anticipate - think and plan ahead for their learning needs Provide - ensure they have the materials they need at the time they need it  Support - be observant and mindful of them as they go through the learning process Check - you are both comfortable and secure that the lesson has been effective   You’ll do most of these as part of your daily practice anyway, but I think it’s helpful to be aware of the processes you’ll go through. I wish you well in your teaching of SEND pupils, and I hope this training will give you greater confidence and support in this extremely rewarding area of your practice. Looking back on my career, I can honestly say that some of my proudest moments are from teaching pupils who needed that little bit more from me.