Ulverston Victoria High School has worked to fully include Adam, a student with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair and assistive technology, by providing him access to the curriculum, technology solutions, and social inclusion. A team was appointed before his arrival to learn about his needs and plan support. He is provided a portable keyboard, joystick, and tablet to access textbooks. A circle of support was also developed among his classmates. As a result, Adam is progressing well academically and socially integrated in the school community.

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A Case Study of Inclusion at Ulverston Victoria High School.
Adam is a thirteen year old student currently in year 8 at Ulverston Victoria High School. He has
athetoid cerebral palsy which results in him needing to use an electric wheelchair and alternative
means of communication to speech. He also has motor skill issues that mean he needs an alternative
for writing and accessing text books.
Working together with CandLE Limited, the local provider of Augmentative and Alternative
Communication (AAC) support, local speech and language therapy, advisory teachers and Adam’s
family, UVHS has provided Adam with access to the curriculum and, more than this, has worked
actively to ensure his inclusion in all aspects of school life so that he can be a full member of the
school community.
Adam on his first day at UVHS
The challenge was not underestimated and Adam’s inclusion began well before he started at UVHS.
A team of Teaching Assistants and a Coordinator for that team was appointed in the term before his
arrival so that they could learn as much as possible from the Adam’s primary school as well as his
family and play an active part in transition arrangements. Although access to the curriculum is
essential it was recognised very early on that there is much more to inclusion than the learning that
takes place so resources from the Person Centred Planning Framework have been utilised to ensure
that Adam’s views and aspirations are heard. A meeting was held with staff from his primary and
prospective secondary school, Adam, his parents and other people involved with Adam where his
future was discussed. The focus of the meeting was very much on what Adam hoped for.
It soon became clear that Adam would need to make significant use of technology for both his
curriculum access and his interaction with others. At primary school he had used a computer with a
large screen and a large keyboard. A large computer was not going to be an option in secondary
school because of the travelling from class to class that would be needed. Whatever Adam used was
going to need to be portable. He already had a communication device called a Tellus which enables
him to talk using an electronic voice. He also had a low tech communication book in which he can
point to letters and words.

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Pages from Adam’s low tech communication book
Adam using his Tellus communication device.
In order for Adam to have the best possible access to the curriculum a number of innovative
solutions were arrived at. The large keyboard Adam sometimes uses was not traditionally mounted
for use in a wheelchair but we were able to involve Medical Physics to make us a bespoke mount for
the Intellikeys keyboard. At home Adam has a unique arrangement using a games joystick as a
mouse. Again, Medical Physics assisted us by making a mount for a similar joystick so that the
arrangement can be reproduced in school in a portable fashion.
Setting up in ICT with joystick and keyboard in place.
The final piece of equipment was the introduction of a touch screen tablet computer which can be
mounted either on the wheelchair or on a table with specialist software called Grid 2. This has
enabled us to effectively load Adam’s text books and worksheets onto the computer so that he can
independently access the information and do his work. For this to work his teaching assistants are
provided with planning and preparation time each having a laptop with his specialist software on it
so that they can programme on their own laptops and then transfer the work to Adam’s for his use.
Having the technology working smoothly for Adam with word prediction helping him to speed up his
writing is vital to his access to the curriculum.

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Examples of
how the text book is made available via technology.
Using a document reader to access the reading book in English.
Thanks to the arrangements we have developed he is accessing much more of the curriculum than
might have not otherwise been possible and is looking forward to taking GCSE’s and A levels which
might have otherwise been out of his reach.
Looking at circuits in science.
A circle of support from amongst the members of Adam’s form was developed and meets once a
week. It started out with seven young people but now consists of most of the students in his form.
These young people have become a mutually supportive group where the benefits are felt by all as
students ponder on difficulties and seek solutions. Adam also enjoys very positive relationships
within the special needs department where young people can enjoy smaller group activities at lunch
times.

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The circle of support.
To ensure that disability equality is embedded throughout the school a disabled trainer visits on an
annual basis to provide disability equality training to all pupils and staff. We also have an annual visit
from a young adult who uses a communication aid who acts as a role model for Adam and is an
inspiration to us all.
We are really pleased with the success of Adam’s inclusion at UVHS. He is doing particularly well in
drama and we plan to have some of his performances available on the UVHS website in the near
future. He also enjoys French and maths and is making good progress in science and English as well
as ICT and Design and Technology. CandLE and UVHS are planning to develop a day training course
where we can share the knowledge gained through the inclusion of Adam with other mainstream
schools planning to go on a similar journey.
Adam and a friend rehearsing in Drama.