Neurodiversity and Disability Strategy: Working together so that every individual can feel confident, enabled and valued
Emma Sadler, Head of Learning Support at Merchant Taylors' School delves into the school's Neurodiversity & Disability Strategy and looks at some of the amazing work being done by everyone in the Merchant Taylors' community.
It is believed that around 1 in 7 people in the UK are neurodivergent and nearly 16 million people in the UK have a disability. With over 950 pupils at Merchant Taylors’, many fall into these categories and it is the role of the learning support team to help remove barriers to these pupils’ success.
We work closely with everyone in the Merchant Taylors’ community to ensure that we are supporting every pupil. In the latter half of 2023, I conducted a school-wide study to develop a new strategy that codifies the amazing work being done across the school and which spells out our commitment to every pupil.
SPACE is a framework built on working together across teachers, pupils and support staff to make sure everyone feels welcome at Merchant Taylors’ school. As the strategy is in full flow, we wanted to explore the rationale behind it and some of the amazing work involved in making it a reality.
Self – The Importance of a sense of identity.
As a school we want to focus on ‘identification’ (especially for neurodiversity) rather than ‘diagnosis’ as a term.
It may seem like a small change, and while some individuals do not mind ‘diagnosis’, in our research, none specifically preferred it and many felt they did not want their neurodivergence spoken about in a medicalised way. As one pupil put it, “I am not ill, I just think differently”.
Identity was highlighted as being central by all those spoken with. Many described times prior to identification when they were aware of an unidentified element of themselves. For some, this was very stressful and most described feelings of isolation from not being understood. Formal identification processes themselves offer many positives but we also need to acknowledge that they can be challenging.
Whilst being neurodivergent is something that will remain constant in a pupil’s life, the experience of being neurodivergent changes over time and the understanding and support of those around them is key in ensuring those changes are positive. Therefore, it is important that awareness of disability and neurodiversity is not only developed into understanding, but that it is coupled with deeper partnerships across peers and teachers.
Partnership – Support in working together
Working together is a key thread in the new strategy. Parents, staff and most importantly pupils need to work as a team to get the most from all of our available support networks. Our research has shown that many pupils want to have an influence on their own support. It can be very easy for this partnership to become a parent/teacher relationship where the pupil feels like decisions are being made for them. This we want to avoid and ensure we are putting pupils at the centre of decision making.
In line with the new strategy, pupils themselves are doing a fantastic job of championing their own needs. Examples of this include pupils with hearing loss requesting specific seating and ensuring that notes or lessons slides are in an accessible format. Within learning support we also create detailed fact-sheets for each pupil, outlining their specific needs in a learning environment. In conjunction with teachers, these accommodations are being more closely integrated into all aspects of learning.
Accessibility – ensuring all aspects of school life feel fully accessible.
There is more to accessibility than having ramps leading up to doors. Merchant Taylors’ is a place of opportunity where pupils can develop their interests, their passions and their curiosity. These opportunities should be opportunities for all, and I’m pleased to say they are.
It is fantastic to see how the school has embraced the concept of accessibility and the notable progress that has been made in recent years. A wider range of access arrangements are in use and staff are continuously consulting learning support when planning projects like trips, in-school events, off timetable days and department refurbishment.
Accessibility accommodations if not thought out can often be a double edged sword giving pupils the same opportunity, but not the same workload. For example allowing a pupil to type rather than write notes could be a great way for them to keep up in lesson, but requiring a paper submission of the work meaning that pupil then needs to go and print the work creates a new barrier in place of an old one.
All of the teachers in the school understand this, and alongside the learning support team, we work to make sure that accommodations around accessibility are tailored to ensure that there aren’t the unintended pitfalls of coverall or templated support plans.
Community – improving community understanding of neurodiversity and disability
While awareness has improved significantly, the perception of disability as something that affects other people persists across society.
Discussions around disability and difference often focus on how to support others, how others might feel and what might happen to others. It often fails to acknowledge those in the conversation that are personally affected. This can unintentionally contribute to marginalisation. Concern over perception of difference and lack of understanding can lead people to feel the need to downplay the difficulties they experience. They often end up adding caveats to their disclosures like, “If I tell people, I make sure I say that I have ADHD, but not the bad sort, not the hyperactivity as that is associated with bad behaviour”.
Understanding and respect for identity came through as the most important factor in maintaining positive wellbeing when researching the best approach for our new strategy. This was both in terms of understanding of specific individuals and understanding of differences more broadly.
By working together and ensuring that we are inclusive in our learning and teaching around neurodiversity and disability we can continue to provide material support, but can also ensure that pupils don’t feel like outsiders in the very conversations that affect them.
Experience – Improve individuals’ experiences through increased consistency
It is not unusual for parents to express thanks for the support their child receives and time that staff put in to supporting them. One area of uncertainty in discussions with parents was around their child’s future. Parents ask questions like, “Will my child’s new tutor understand as well as the old one?”
Work across all staff and departments has been dedicated to ensuring that the excellent practice in the school is widely shared. With inclusion at the core of our teaching, we aim to provide a consistent approach which will greatly benefit pupils whilst also giving families a continuing confidence in the quality of experience they can expect.
Self, Partnership, Accessibility, Community & Experience
Looking at the work of the learning support team and the wholehearted commitment from the teaching staff to providing the best for every pupil makes me incredibly proud. Policy can often be something that sits on a page, or a website and is dusted off at the right time of year, but in this case, it has been adopted and woven even further into the ethos of the school.
This isn’t the end of the journey however. Throughout the year we have a variety of exciting events planned to celebrate the diversity of our pupils and to give them the space to share their feelings, experiences and lives as disabled and neurodivergent pupils which we are excited to share.
If you want to talk to the learning support team about your child at Merchant Taylors’ School, please contact: