This document provides guidance for teachers on teaching children with special educational needs (SEN). It defines SEN and different terms used, discusses teacher attitudes and experiences with SEN students, and strategies for differentiation, managing behavior, and addressing specific learning issues such as ADHD and dyslexia. The document emphasizes understanding students' individual needs, using visual and hands-on techniques, positive reinforcement, and focusing on students' strengths rather than weaknesses. It encourages teachers to reflect on their own learning preferences and ensure they teach in varied modalities to engage all students.

1. Teaching Children with
Special Educational
Needs (SEN)
Prepared by:
Khalid Barry
-Vice Principal Primary Section
December 2012

2. Understanding the Problem
“It must be recognized that the
area of pupil behavior is
highly emotive. It
challenges teachers’ sense
of their own professional
competence and both teachers’
and parents’ self-esteem.
emotions often get in the
way of constructive
planning”
Peter Gray and Sue Panter, Support for Learning, Vol 15, No 1.

3. Defining the Terms
 The term ‘special educational needs’
(SEN) covers a wide range of children.
Children have special educational
needs if:
 they have a learning difficulty which
calls for special educational provision
to be made for them.
 they have a significantly greater
difficulty in learning than the majority
of children of the same age or have a
disability which prevents or hinders
them from making use of general
educational facilities provided for
children of the same age
 Special educational needs can also be
used as a term for children who need
extra provision because they have
abilities significantly ahead of their
peer group.
o Learning need
o Retarded
o Feeble minded
o Educationally subnormal
o Defective
o Special educational needs
o Additional educational needs

4. Your experience – show of hands
1. My experience of interacting with people with
special educational needs is
• A. extensive
• B. average
• C. minimal.
2. When I have to deal with people with special
educational needs I feel
• A. confident
• B. not completely confident but okay
• C. unsure and a little anxious.
3. When I have learners with special
educational needs in my class I feel
• A. confident
• B. interested but don’t think I know enough
• C. unsure and a little anxious.

5. Teacher Attitudes Towards Learning
Vs.
Is optimistic
Thinks ‘ What is working, what
have I got right, where can I get
help with the other bits?’
Is pessimistic
Thinks ‘ I got so much wrong, I don’t
know anything about this, it’s not
for me, I should give up’

6. Learning to Control Yourself

7. Golden Rules

8. The kids
• Elena
• I hate English lessons. We always have to
look at the book. The words make no
sense to me. Sometimes the letters move
around or I cannot see them properly. I
get a headache. This happens in all
lessons but it is really bad in English. The
teachers say I am lazy. I am not. I try
really hard. I get upset and sometimes
angry.

9. The kids
• Kalim
• I want to be good at English. It’s important. I try
to listen in class but sometimes I cannot hear
the teacher because my friends are talking. I try
to concentrate but I like joking with my friends.
The teacher is always shouting at me. I sit at the
back and hope she cannot see me. She says I
don’t care about learning, but I do. I just find it
really hard to sit still and concentrate. She
doesn’t understand.

10. The kids
• Ahmed
• I like working on my own and on my project
about cars. I know all the names of English cars
and where they are made. I like working on the
computer or in my book. I don’t like working with
other children. They sometimes laugh at me
because I do not understand their jokes. They
think I am strange. The teacher gets annoyed
because I do not look at her when she is
speaking. I find that hard.

11. How do you learn?
• I can remember something best if
• A I see it written down
• B I say it out loud
• C I write it out myself or can move around when learning it
• I prefer to follow instructions when they are
• A written on the board
• B explained by the teacher
• C demonstrated and I try it out myself
• When I have to spell a word
• A I picture it in my head
• B I say the letters in my head or out loud
• C I get a feeling about the word

12. Processing information styles
• ‘I see what you mean’
• ‘It sounds right to me’
• ‘I get it’
• Our language and
behaviour gives an
indication of how we are
processing information

13. Do you teach as you learn?
• You might not be including some learners
because they do not learn as you do
• Be aware of your own preferences and
biases
• Include things you do not like!
• Let learners see it, hear it, feel it!

14. Differentiation
• The teacher adapts some part of the task, instructions ,
lesson, or materials to suit the needs of particular
learners and to ensure all learners are included in the
lesson.
• The teacher takes account of the learners levels,
interests and learning styles.
• All learners should achieve the same main aim but they
may do this in different ways. They may show their
understanding in different ways, for example, by drawing
instead of writing.
• Some learners will expand on the main aim and some
will achieve it in a more basic way, for example,
answering in complete sentences or with one word
answers.

15. What can we differentiate?
• Content
• Task
• Response required
• Environment

16. Content
• Abstractness – certain learners will need work with
concrete facts and objects before they are ready to deal
with abstract concepts. For example, it will be easier for
some learners to say what their favourite colour is than
to guess the colour of hair of a character in the book.
• Complexity – learners need to have reduced number of
facts and facts in context not isolation
• Eg If we are reading a book in class, some learners can
be asked to focus on one character to describe and
other learners can focus on all the characters.
• Variety – some learners will need shorter activities,
varied ways of presenting, accessing all learning styles,
interests and strengths .

17. Environment
• Layout of the classroom
• Is there room for moving around?
• Where does the pupils sit
• Who do they sit with?
• Psychological environment
• Trust, risk taking or not in an activity
• Working in smaller groups rather than bigger groups
• Making it safe by making rules clear
• Getting to know learners, taking their feeling into account
feelings, allowing them opportunities to express feelings
• Balance between support and encouraging
independence
•

18. Same aim, different exercise
Exercise aim : write some personal information about
yourself
• Write a paragraph about yourself.
• Write about your age, hobbies, family, hometown,
favourite colour, favourite food,
• Ex 1b Complete these sentences about yourself
• My name is…………………..
• I am ………….years old
• I live in………………………
• I have….brothers and…..sisters
• My favourite colour is………….
• My favourite food is…………………..

19. And some more
• Ex 1c Fill in the table with information about yourself
• Name
• Age
• Brothers
• Sisters
• Favourite colour
• Favourite food
• Ex 1d
• Write about yourself . Fill in the table about yourself .
• 1. Name
• 2. Age
• For questions 3, 4, choose words from the box below.
• 3. Favourite colour
• Blue green red yellow
• 4. Favourite food
• Chicken fruit hamburger

20. Mustafa
• Mustafa never seems to focus on his own
work. He is always looking around,
laughing with his friends, making jokes
and calling across the room when he
should be writing. Sometimes he just gets
up and goes over to another table. He
cannot sit still. He cannot concentrate on
one thing and usually does not finish his
work. He is always polite to me and can
be helpful but seems to never stop talking.

21. Mazen
• Mazan is always fidgeting, calling out
and can’t sit still in her chair. She always
wants the teacher’s attention and help.
He never starts her work on time
because she says she cannot do it on
her own. He often stays behind after
class and wants to help the teacher. She
gets angry when the teacher is helping
another pupil and not talking to her.

22. Strategies
• Use visual reminders e.g posters for classroom routines, symbols for
looking at board, symbols to show the order of today’s lesson.eg. a
symbol for look, read, talk, work together
•
• Build in time to express feelings. For example, show me how you are
feeling today from 1-10, stand up and then sit down when I say the word
for your feeling, show me with your thumb how you are, 5 mins personal
chat at beginning of lesson
•
• Make comments on the work, not the child. Eg ‘That’s a great story’ not
‘Well done, you ‘ve done that really well.’
• Set time limits. If you do not come back on time, name the feeling the
child might be having ‘ I am sorry I did not get back to you. Maybe you
thought I had forgotten you but I didn’t’
• Use short ,.competitive games to revise
• Sit pupil at the front near the teacher and away from windows, doors,
distractions

23. • Have non-verbal routines. Eg. Hand up for silence,
traffic lights to show if group are on task, going of task,
or off task. ,
• Think about the state you are creating. Pacing around
the room can create energy but can also stir up the
energy in the room. Some children need the teacher to
create calm. Don’t give instructions when you are
walking around or walking to the board.
• Instructions : Say what you want to happen. Avoid
embedded commands e.g Don’t turn round. Say
instead ‘Look at the board’
• Give instructions in chunks, on a need to know and
without sequencers such as ‘before’

24. Some specific issues
• ADHD – what does the child need ? Structure,
consistency, small chunks, focus on the positive,
safety
• Dsylexia – what helps them to remember?
Teach visual memorisation strategies, build self-
esteem, play to strengths,chunk information, try
different colours
• Behavioural difficulties – what do they need?
Notice them being good, acknowledge the
positive intentions, the need, see the child , not
the behaviour

25. And finally….
• 3 things you have learned
• 2 things you are going to try out
immediately
• 1 thing you would like to find out more
about

26. Want to know more?
• Marie Delaney
• The Learning Harbour, Crosshaven, Co Cork, Ireland
• Email : the learningharbour@gmail.com
• www.thelearningharbour.ie
• Teaching the Unteachable, October 2008, Worth Publishing,UK
• What can I do with the kid who….2010. Worth publishing,UK
• www.worthpublishing.com
• www.caspari.org.uk
• British Council CiSELT course and forthcoming online SEN course
• www.teachingenglish.org.uk/webinars
• www.pilgrims.co.uk ‘Dealing with Difficult Learners’