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Written Evidence from Dr Elizabeth Nassem

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

  1. Written evidence is submitted by myself, Dr Elizabeth Nassem who is a consultant and researcher for Bullied Voices which I am the founder of.  Bullied Voices provides advice, research, resources and services to individuals, schools and workplace organisations to resolve bullying. I have a doctorate in school bullying and my thesis examined where bullying exists in children’s everyday experiences of school. In this research issues of disability and the experiences of children with special needs have been examined extensively.  In my post-doctoral research, I have researched and developed pupil-led approaches to tackle bullying with a high proportion of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).  I am an experienced teacher and lecturer and also have an MSc in Applied Psychology of Learning Disabilities.

 

  1. My research has published in peer reviewed journal articles, educational magazines and I have recently written a book ‘The Teacher’s Guide for Resolving School Bullying: Evidence-based Strategies and Pupil-led Interventions’.  My research has frequently featured in the media such as The Guardian, BBC Radio 5 Live and The Telegraph.  I specialise in qualitative research and my research and anti-bullying interventions have involved observations, focus groups and individual interviews with pupils aged 9-16 and school staff across the North of England and Midlands.

 

  1. I am submitting evidence because I am concerned that too many pupils with SEND are marginalised and victimised on a daily basis at school.  I hope that the evidence submitted in this enquiry will help bring about a more inclusive educational experience with less victimisation so children with SEND can thrive and reach their full potential.

 

  1. Written evidence submitted here focuses primarily on the support of pupils with SEND in schools.  I will also cover, to some extent, the roles of, and co-operation between education, health and social care sectors. My written evidence argues that the SEND reforms 2014 do not adequately support SEND pupils to meet the challenges they are confronted with.  Neither do they thoroughly address social injustice.  The main reasons why I have reached my conclusions will now be outlined and recommendations will be made to make improvements.  

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

  1. The voices of pupils with SEND are still not adequately listened to, and responded to in school.  Much more needs to be done to implement child-centred systems in school.

 

  1. Many children with SEND are bullied in school which can destroy their confidence and ability to lead fulfilling lives. 

 

  1. The SEND reforms need to consider in more depth what contributes to children with SEND not fulfilling their potential, and examine the nuances involved, including   how and why children with SEND are more likely to be bullied. 

 

  1. There also needs to be a much more nuanced understanding into how children with SEND are marginalised in schools and develop effective strategies to resolve this issue. 

 

  1. It is important to consider what may contribute to disruptive behaviour in children with SEND including the influence of boredom.

 

  1. Some of the barriers to achieving social justice for SEND pupils are explained and areas which need to be considered in more depth are outlined such as the experiences of children from economically deprived backgrounds. 

 

  1. Recommendations for action are summarised which includes details of how to implement a pupil-led approach and mentoring programme to ensure the voices of children with SEND are listened to and responded to, and that they learn how to overcome challenges to their development.

 

 

MAIN BODY

 

Child-centred Systems

 

  1. The Children and Families Act 2014 highlights the need to ensure that the views of children are of primary concern and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (SEND code of practice 2015) emphasises a child centred system.  However, throughout my years of researching bullying in schools I am aware that much more needs to be done to bring about a child-centred approach for all pupils, in particular for children with SEND.  I have found in my research that the child’s voice in schools is severely restricted and suppressed as many pupils do not feel listened to (Nassem 2012, Nassem 2017, Nassem 2019b).  In Nassem (2019b) when a child with dyslexia told her teacher that more should be done about bullying, her teacher was defensive and replied, ‘More; Sunita thinks we should do more; we take bullying very seriously.’  The restrictions pupils have in their voice can contribute to them feeling victimised and engage in bullying.  This is particularly pronounced for children with SEND who might have particular difficulties articulating their voice.  In Nassem (2019b) there two boys who were persistently having problems with one another, one boy was popular and succeeding academically who was not punished for his behaviour whilst the boy who had ADHD was being excluded from school.  The reasons for the aggressive behaviour of the boy with ADHD were not adequately addressed, instead his voice was suppressed and he experienced various forms of punishments.  I have also found this to be an issue in my earlier research where children with SEND were often punished for behaviours which children who were succeeding academically usually were not (Nassem 2012).  Although the SEND reforms pay attention to the child’s voice in planning support for children with SEND, my research shows that much more needs to be done to pay attention to the child’s voice in school, particularly for SEND children. 

 

 

Confident Individuals

 

  1. The SEND code of practice (2015) aims for individuals with SEND to achieve their best, become confident individuals and living fulfilling lives.  However, I have found that bullying was normalised and children with SEND were particularly victimised as children felt coerced into bullying them, for example, by marginalizing and ostracising them (Nassem 2012, Nassem 2017).  The bullying so many children with SEND experience can reduce their self-esteem and ability to achieve their potential.  The bullying of children with SEND, and the way their bullying is dealt with needs to be taken into account of more in the SEND reforms when addressing what contributes to them not achieving their potential.  Bullying can affect children’s ability to learn and level of concentration; the impact bullying has on the learning of SEND needs to be taken into account.  There needs to be more clarity in exactly how the SEND 2014 reforms can achieve their aims of supporting children and more guidance on how professionals and children can be supported. 

 

Marginalisation

 

  1. In my doctoral (Nassem 2012) and post-doctoral research (Nassem 2017, Nassem 2019b) children with SEND were often marginalised and excluded. In secondary schools, children were streamed in sets such as top, middle and bottom, Children in the bottom stream, particularly those with SEND were often called ‘thick’ by their peers, and some even called themselves ‘thick’ and suffered partly because of the stigma associated with having SEND and/or being in the lowest group.  It is also important to consider issues of social class which can impact the experiences of school for SEND children.  I have found working-class males from particularly economically deprived areas with learning difficulties, were subject to more frequent and severe experiences of punishment that children who were not SEND (Nassem 2012, Nassem 2017, Nassem 2019b).  They were often subject to punishments such as having detention, having to miss their play time and being placed in isolation.  My research shows that the punishment SEND children experience suppresses their voice, increases their anger and they are more likely to engage in misbehaving because their needs are not adequately being met.  Furthermore, being placed in isolation can have adverse side-effects on the mental health and wellbeing of children.

 

  1. Conversely, children who were succeeding academically who misbehaved or engaged in bullying were not usually punished for their behaviour (Nassem 2017, Nassem 2019b).  Children who reinforced the marginalisation of those who were not succeeding academically or in sport were often admired by their peers and approved of by their teachers.  These children felt that were pressured to reinforce the ostracism of those who were struggling, for example, by not speaking to those who were not in the football team.  The SEND reforms need to go further to examine and address the marginalisation of SEND children in schools. 

 

  1. It is also worthwhile to address the practices of managing behaviour which teachers are obliged to instil in their schools.  Some of these practices may discriminate against SEND children and constitute systemic bullying whereby societal and institutional norms in school such as the strong value of academic capability and marginalisation of children who do not conform to these norms can contribute to certain children with SEND feeing victimised.  In my research of children in a pupil referral unit (Nassem 2012) the majority of pupils had special needs and rather than their special needs being addressed, they had been placed in a PRU because of their bad behaviour, and being around other children with behavioural problems often made their behaviour worse.

 

 

Disruptive Behaviour

 

  1. In the SEND code of practice (2015) it is stated that ‘Schools and colleges should have clear processes to support children, including how they will manage the effect of disruptive behavior so it does not adversely affect other pupils’ (6.33).  However, the use of punishment methods in school such as detention and isolation tend to target children with special needs and do not address the underlying reasons behind the behavior, which contributes to the negative behaviour escalating (Nassem 2012, Nassem 2019b).  The SEND Reforms need to examine what forms of dealing with negative behavior would prevent children with SEND being unfairly targeted for punishment and how to deal with the underlying reasons behind the behaviour.

 

  1. I have found that many children engage in disruptive behaviour because they are bored.  Children’s experiences of boredom contribute to them feeling entrapped and their sense of morality switching off.  Furthermore, children with SEND are more likely to be bored as they are more likely to be disengaged with the lesson if they cannot understand what they are being taught about, and if their opportunities of achieving academically are severely restricted.  One boy who I interviewed aged 15 could not even read the writing on the board and felt bored as a consequence.  Boredom in school was more of an issue for him than the children who had a better understanding of what they were being taught, could engage in the lesson and had a good chance of achieving academically. 

 

  1. Feeling victimized and unfairly targeted for punishment by teachers is another reason why children behave disruptively so it is important that measures are put into place to prevent children with SEND feeling ‘picked on’ by their teachers.  To reduce feelings of boredom and being targeted by teachers contributing to disruptive behaviour children need to feel more control, able to articulate their voice, reflect on their behaviour and learn how to behave more appropriately.

 

 

Co-operation between Education, Health and Social Care Sectors

 

  1. In my experience I have witnessed a fragmented sense of education, health and social care sectors consistently working together.  In school, although professionals meet with pupils and staff, and provide reports and recommendations, I have observed a lack of school staff and external professionals working together on a regular basis to support pupils and improve their experiences.

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION

 

A Child-centred Approach

 

  1. Much more attention needs to be paid to the child’s voice in school, particularly for children who are SEND.  There needs to be a clearer model on how to ensure that children with special needs are supported to fully participate in their education.  A holistic approach needs to be implemented where school staff and professionals are more involved in working together to learn about what support children with SEND need, and brining these changes into place.  A child-centred approach has been successful in significantly reducing bullying, encouraging children to understand the perspectives of others and build the self-esteem of children with SEND (Nassem 2015, Nassem 2018, Nassem 2019b).

 

 

Diaries as an emotional outlet 

 

  1. To encourage children to express their thoughts and feelings who have difficulties articulating their voice they can be provided with diaries and might decide to share these with professionals, if they feel it is appropriate, otherwise they can remain confidential.  Children can write in diaries regularly about their interactions with others.  Diaries have been found to help children express their negative feelings rather than retaliating to feeling victimised (Nassem 2018, Nassem 2019b).

 

 

A Mentoring Programme for Children with SEND who Frequently Misbehave

 

  1. It has been explained how children with special needs are more likely to be punished in school for their behaviour, and these punishments tend not to address their behaviour or how to improve.  Instead a programme of mentoring should be implemented to address the reasons why children are misbehaving and teach children how to improve their behaviour.  Mentoring should be provided by a professional who has regular dialogue with the mentee to address and improve their behaviour.  A mentoring programme has been successful in improving the behaviour and communication skills of children who have special needs who are frequently in trouble for their behaviour (Nassem 2018, Nassem 2019b).  This is a more successful means of dealing with problematic behaviour in schools rather than traditional means of punishments such as detentions and putting children in isolation.

 

 

Address the Challenges of Children with SEND

 

  1. Since one of the primary objectives of the Education Committee is to address the challenges faced by children with special educational needs and disabilities, the SEND reforms would benefit from a more in-depth analysis into the experiences of SEND children in school, such as their experiences of bullying and being punished and from this develop strategies to address these issues.  The nuances involved also need to be considered in more depth such as the experiences of children with special needs from working-class backgrounds which are particularly economically deprived and the influence their class culture can have on their behaviour and experiences of school.

 

  1. There appears to be a substantial focus on what teachers and professionals can do to support children with SEND but it would be worthwhile to investigate how the school system and the behaviour of professionals can contribute to children with SEND feeling marginalised.

 

 

Empathetic Understanding

 

  1. There needs to be improved strategies of how educators listen to children, understand their perspectives, and respond to children.  I have developed an ‘empathetic understanding strategy’ in Nassem (2019b).  The ‘empathetic understanding’ strategy is for pupils, and pupils and staff, to enhance their knowledge of one another’s perspective and learn about the underlying reasons which are causing problems.  It involves pupils, and pupils and staff, having open and reflective dialogue with one another.  Conversations focus on why individuals are behaving in ways that can be perceived as hurtful and how this is making individuals feel.  The open and reflective dialogue can be used to enhance the voice of pupils, and help protect children vulnerable groups from bullying, such as working-class males with learning difficulties.

 

 

A Holistic Approach

 

  1. The SEND reforms need to emphasise the importance of the professional development of staff in terms of training and learning about how the behaviours they may engage in can contribute to children with SEND feeling victimised.  Staff, pupils, parents and professionals should work together to reflect on which practices in school might be problematic for children with SEND and seek strategies on how to resolve these issues.  This could be through facilitating an advisory board which specifically focuses on the perceptions and experiences children with SEND have of school.

 

 

Support for Schools Failing to Address the Bullying of SEND Children

 

  1. If schools are failing to address the bullying of children with special needs then an expert should be appointed to provide support to schools to deal specifically with these issues (Nassem 2019a and Nassem 2019b).

 

 

Develop Healthy Relationships

 

  1. It is important to consider the experiences different children with special needs might have, and which groups might be particularly marginalized such as working-class children from particularly economically deprived backgrounds.  Pupils who feel marginalised in school can develop hostile relationships with pupils and school staff.  I have developed a ‘healthy relationships’ strategy (Nassem 2019b) to help pupils, and pupils and staff interact with one another more respectfully. This involves embedding learning about respectful relationships into the curriculum, encouraging children to develop respectful social interactions, supporting pupils to have a positive outlet if they have negative feelings and teaching children to challenge normalized practices which can marginalize children with SEND.

 

 

REFERENCES

 

  1. DfE (2014) Children and Families Act 2014, London: DfE, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/pdfs/ukpga_20140006_en.pdf

 

  1. DfE and DoH (2015) Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 0-25 years, London: DfE and DoH, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf

 

  1. Nassem, E.M. (2012) Where Does Bullying Exist in Children’s Everyday Experiences of School? Doctoral thesis. Huddersfield: University of Huddersfield, http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/17516/1/THESIS_SUBMISSION_FINAL_2012.pdf

 

  1. Nassem, E. (2015) Why do children bully? School Leadership Today, 6 (5) pp.68-73, http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/24541/1/NaseemBully.pdf

 

  1. Nassem, E. M. (2017) The complexity of children's involvement in school bullying, Journal of Children's Services, 12 (4), 288-301, www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/5301/

 

  1. Nassem, E. (2018) Bullying is still rife in schools. Here's how teachers can tackle it. The Guardian Teacher Network: Lessons from Research, https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2018/jan/17/bullying-is-still-rife-in-schools-heres-how-teachers-can-tackle-it

 

  1. Nassem, E. (2019a) Bullying? A New Approach, SecEd, http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/blog/bullying-a-new-approach/

 

  1. Nassem, E. M. (2019b) The Teacher's Guide to Resolving School Bullying: Evidence Based Strategies and Pupil-Led Interventions (Forthcoming.  Publication date: October). London: Jessica Kingsley, https://www.amazon.com/Teachers-Guide-Resolving-School-Bullying/dp/1785924192.

 

  1. The Telegraph (2018) Half of children worried about returning from school holidays because of bullying, poll finds, September 3rd, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/02/half-children-worried-returning-school-holidays-bullying-poll/

 

 

May 2019