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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.