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Findings and recommendations

Young people with learning difficulties, disabilities and/or special educational needs agreed with staff that it was important to have flexibility in determining appropriate approaches to teaching and learning.

Both the young people we spoke to and the adults felt very strongly that how teachers and tutors teach is crucial. They told us that different young people might need to be taught in different ways.

Young people felt more secure when they could trust the adults to treat them respectfully and show them how to improve their behaviour. They told us about some teaching they particularly enjoyed in which the young people were involved in making rules and decisions in their lessons. The young people learnt about taking responsibility for their actions and understanding the consequences when they got things wrong. They also learnt that their efforts could be rewarded, even if they had not been completely successful. They were rewarded for trying hard. In one school, one teacher offered young people some free time or allowed them to choose other activities when they had worked hard. These young people wished other people would treat them in the same way.

Some young people told us that other students in school or college were rewarded or acknowledged if they performed well in a few lessons, tests or examinations. Some of the students with learning difficulties, disabilities and/or special educational needs thought this was unfair, because they behaved well and worked hard a lot of the time but got no recognition. We also heard that some young people with learning difficulties, disabilities and/or special educational needs were not sure how to behave with other people or how to deal with people when things went wrong. Some young people got upset when this happened and even got into trouble. The staff felt it was important to help young people learn about the best ways to get on with others. One of the ways they did this was by treating the young people with respect – and by recognising and acknowledging their achievements. Staff also wanted to be able to devote time to developing and implementing practices and procedures focused explicitly on helping young people to become more aware of and responsible for their own behaviour.

We suggest:

  • Schools and colleges making provision for students with learning difficulties, disabilities and/or special educational needs should have the flexibility to develop and implement alternative ways of working that help to promote positive social and emotional outcomes including confidence, self-reliance, inter-dependence and resilience
  • Young people with learning difficulties, disabilities and/or special educational needs should be involved in determining approaches to teaching and learning.
  1. University of Cambridge
  2. Big Lottery Fund
  3. Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities
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