Coping with children with additional needs in a mainstream school

Currently in education it is felt that children with additional needs are best placed in a mainstream school and given one to one support, if necessary, in that setting. So, it could be that as a classroom teacher you may be required to teach children with additional needs alongside their peers who are following the curriculum as set out for their age group. This situation can be difficult to manage without additional support and can result in the other pupils getting less teacher time.

Many teachers find that they need to prepare additional materials to make the curriculum accessible for children with additional needs and this can be time consuming if it involves enlarging text or adapting resources. If there is a teaching assistant available this is a task that can be allocated to them at the start of the day or even at the start of the week.

Building a good relationship with parents and carers of children with additional needs is vital as a team approach is always more beneficial to everyone concerned so good communication skills and a compassionate outlook is essential on behalf of the teacher. It may be that specific courses can be completed by the teacher so that feel better equipped to deal with the particular needs of the children in their class.