Theme 1: A dditional special educational needs

T he m ajority o f pupils w ho transferred from m ainstream sch o o ls w ere reported as having SE N additional to M GLD. This w as consistent across alm ost all cases although in case B there w ere a sign ificant m inority in the sch ool w ho did not h a v e an additional need. T he principal o f case B indicated that up to 30 out o f 9 0 pup ils in the sch ool had no additional need. T yp es o f additional needs reported across the four ca ses included:

A u tism spectrum disorder Speech and language d ifficu lties M otor difficu lties Physical disabilities

Sensory impairments SE B D

S ocial disadvantage Cerebral palsy D o w n syndrom e M edical needs

m otor d ifficu lties, m ed ical needs and autism spectrum disorders were also referred to as additional needs across all cases. The principals in all cases, w ith the excep tion o f case D, stated that m any pupils in the schools cam e from so c ia lly disadvantaged backgrounds. The prevalence o f social disadvantage am ong pupils w ith M G L D has been docum ented in the literature and has been identified as a dominant feature o f this group (N orw ich & K elly, 2005; T om linson, 1982). It is also w id ely recognised that M G L D is associated w ith other SE N (Fletcher-C am pbell, 2005; M ale, 1996). M a le ’s (1 9 9 6 ) study o f special sch oo ls for pupils w ith M G L D in the U K found that the two m ost frequently associated difficu lties w ere speech and language d ifficu lties and SEBD. In the current study, S E B D w as m ore frequently reported than any other additional need as a reason for the transfer o f pupils from m ainstream schools. T his finding is supported b y that o f N orw ich and K elly (2 0 0 5 ), w ho also found that pupils w ith M G L D in special schools w ere recorded as having additional areas o f difficulty.

5 .2 .1 S o c ia l, e m o tio n a l a n d b e h a v io u r a l d iffic u ltie s

S E B D em erged very strongly as a reason pupils had transferred from m ainstream schools. T his w a s referred to by all groups o f participants and across all cases. B ecau se not all pupils w ere described as having social a n d em otional and behavioural d ifficu lties, they are addressed separately here.

5 .2 .7 .7 E m o tio n a l a n d b e h a v io u r a l d iffic u ltie s

Principals and teachers in mainstream primary and post-prim ary sch oo ls highlighted behavioural d ifficu lties, in particular, as one o f the m ain reasons pupils had transferred from the sch o ols. S om e stated that they could not co p e w ith the lev el o f disruption caused in m ainstream cla sses b y pupils w ith behavioural problem s, particularly w here behaviours w ere

considered aggressive and threatening to other pupils in the sch o ol. A s one teacher in a m ainstream primary sch o ol remarked:

We c o u ld n 't a c tu a lly p h y s ic a lly r e m o v e h im f r o m th e r o o m s o e v e r y d a y w a s b e c o m in g m o r e p r o b le m a tic f o r him a n d h e k n e w w e c o u ld d o n o th in g a b o u t i t s o I th in k in th e e n d up, it w a s th e b e s t d e c is io n ... (Teacher m ainstream primary C)

Teachers and principals in special schools indicated that m any o f the pupils w h o transferred had difficu lties controlling their behaviours and/or had a diagnosed conduct disorder. There w as also a su g gestio n that som e pupils had learned behaviours w h ich m ay have been tolerated in a primary sch ool because o f the p up ils’ SEN. The fo llo w in g com m ents from Teacher 2 B highlights the behavioural difficu lties experienced b y som e o f the pupils w ho transferred from m ainstream schools:

..c o n d u c t d is o r d e r , te m p e r issu es. T em p e r is s u e s w o u ld b e o n e th a t d o e s s ta n d out, d iffic u lty w ith s e lf- c o n tr o l a n d a lo t o f issu e s th a t h a v e n o t b ee n r e s o lv e d w ith th e s tu d e n ts th a t th e y a c t o u t.... (Teacher 2B )

Parents described h ow behavioural difficulties b ecam e w orse as pupils progressed through the primary sch ool. S om e parents attributed the behaviours to the difficu lties pupils w ere experiencing accessin g the curriculum and the grow ing frustration that resulted from these difficulties. Parent 2 A described h ow her child’s behaviours progressively w orsened in the mainstream schools:

I t g o t to th e s ta g e th a t L u s e d to th ro w h im s e lf on th e f l o o r o v e r f r u s tr a tio n a n d te m p e r a n d I w a s h a l f a fr a id to b r in g him o u t a n y w h e r e a t o n e p o i n t h e w a s s o b a d w ith i t . . . .(Parent 2A )

W hen asked w h y pupils cam e to the special sch o ols from m ainstream sch o ols, Pupil 2, Group 3 B , referred to behavioural difficulties in a post-primary sch ool as a reason for transfer.

R : W hat k in d o f s p e c ia l n e e d s d o p e o p le h a v e ? P 2 : A D H D

P 2 : I j u s t k n o w i t ’s c a lle d that.

P I : I t ’s w h e n p e o p le ca n 't p a y a tte n tio n ....( Pupils 1 and 2, group 3 B , fem ales aged

16

)

T hese findings echo those o f W are et al. (2009), w h o found that pupils w h o transferred from m ainstream sch o o ls to special schools for pupils w ith M G LD w ere lik ely to have additional needs, including behavioural difficulties, as w ell as M G LD.

5 .2 .1 .2 . S o c ia l d iffic u ltie s

Participants referred to social difficulties experienced b y pupils w h o had transferred from m ainstream primary and post-primary schools. Teachers and principals described how pupils b ecam e isolated from their peers as they grew older as they lacked the social skills required to m aintain friendships. The principal o f one m ainstream primary sch ool described so m e o f the social difficu lties experienced by pupils w ith M GLD:

The d iffe r e n c e s a r e n ’t a s o b v io u s up s e c o n d c la s s b u t f r o m th ir d c la s s o n w a r d s in th e y a r d th e y h a v e th e ir o w n little s o c ia l n e tw o rk s a n d g r o u p s a n d c h ild r e n w ith m ild g e n e r a l le a r n in g d iffic u ltie s f i n d it h a r d e r a n d h a r d e r ... (Principal mainstream primary 2 A )

Instances o f teasing, particularly at post-primary lev el, w ere highlighted b y the principal o f post-prim ary sch o ol D:

T h ey u s e d to te a s e him b e c a u s e h e w a s k in d o f an o b v io u s ta r g e t f o r m a k in g fu n o f . . . (Principal m ainstream post-primary D )

Teachers and principals in special schools suggested that inappropriate behaviours and lack o f social sk ills w ere am ong the k ey reasons for the transfer o f pupils w ith M G LD to the special schools. A s the principal o f case A comm ented:

S o c ia lly it b e g in s to b r e a k d o w n f o r t h e m ....i f th e c h ild is n o lo n g e r a b le to k ee p u p w ith th e ir c la s s m a te s a n d c a n ’t j o i n in w h a t ’s h a p p e n in g in th e y a r d a n d y o u know, j u s t is s o r t o f g r a d u a lly s id e lin e d b y the o th e r k id s a n d it h a p p e n s n o t b e c a u se th e

o th e r k id s a r e b e in g c r u e l to them b u t b e c a u se th e y c a n Y c o tto n o n to th e r u le s o f th e g a m e a n d b e c a u s e th e y c a n Y k ee p u p .... (Principal A )

For m ost parents, social isolation in mainstream sch oo ls w as highlighted as a k e y factor in the decision to transfer their children to the special sch ools. Parent 6C described this social isolation in term s o f lack o f friendship in the m ainstream school:

S h e n e v e r e v e r m a d e a fr ie n d . S h e w a s a lo n e . S h e w a s a lo n e f o r m o s t o f h e r p r i m a r y e d u c a tio n ....(Parent 6C)

There were m ore references from pupils to social, rather than behavioural, difficulties. Pupil 2C described her feelin gs o f loneliness in her primary sch oo l w h ile Pupil 1, group IB , described his experiences o f teasing w h ile in the m ainstream school:

I t w a s o k b u t y o u k n o w I w a s n ’t g o o d a t ru n n in g a n d s t u f f th e y w e r e g o o d to m e b u t th e y d i d n ’t r e a lly u n d e r sta n d me. T h ey w e r e g o o d to m e b u t th e y d id n Y r e a lly u n d e r s ta n d e v e r y t h i n g ....{Pupil 2C, fem ale, aged 12)

T h ere w a s a lo t o f te a s in g a n d s tu f f a n d it w a s v e r y h a r d f o r m e to g o i n .... (Pupil 1, group IB , m a le aged 12)

5 .2 .2 S u m m a ry o ff in d in g s in r e la tio n to th e m e o f a d d itio n a l n e e d s

The find ings in relation to the them e o f additional needs are relevant to the first research question on factors w h ich influence the transfer o f pupils from m ainstream to special sch ools for pupils w ith M G LD. M any o f the pupils w ho transferred experienced additional needs and S E B D w as m ore frequently cited by participants than any other type o f additional need. Teachers and principals in mainstream and special sch o o ls em phasised the behavioural difficu lties experienced b y pupils, w h ile parents and pupils focu sed on the socia l isolation experienced b y pupils in m ainstream schools. The finding that m any o f the pupils w h o transferred from m ainstream sch ools to special sch o o ls for pupils w ith M G L D experienced additional SE N , ech oes that o f a number o f studies across different countries w h ich ha ve identified that pupils w ith SE N are m ore likely to experience social difficu lties and greater lon elin ess than their peers in mainstream sch o ols (e.g ., Cambra & Silvestre, 2003; Pijl, Frostad & Flem , 2 0 0 8 ).