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Inclusion and the special educational needs ( SEN ) resource base in mainstream schools: physical factors to maximise effectiveness
Author(s) -
McAllister Keith,
Hadjri Karim
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
support for learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.25
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1467-9604
pISSN - 0268-2141
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9604.12019
Subject(s) - mainstream , inclusion (mineral) , resource (disambiguation) , mainstreaming , context (archaeology) , special educational needs , pedagogy , sociology , special education , psychology , computer science , social science , political science , geography , computer network , archaeology , law
As a society, we have a responsibility to provide an inclusive built environment. As part of the need to promote inclusion, there is now a growing trend to place pupils with special educational needs ( SEN ) into a mainstream school setting. This is often facilitated by providing a specialist SEN resource base located within the mainstream school. This article outlines why the whole school should be considered when locating and implementing a SEN resource base. It also highlights the wider opportunities for enhancing inclusion for pupils with SEN when giving holistic thought to the wider context of the resource base. It then indicates a four‐stage approach, using the illustrative example of a pupil with autistic spectrum disorder ( ASD ), to help evaluate the optimum SEN resource base location within a mainstream school setting. Finally it highlights some benefits and challenges of an enriched school environment for all pupils when considering genuine inclusion.