special educational needs...welcome to the SEN pages!
If you are stuck for inspiration for some science activities read on…
A few science-mad teachers have already had science days, science visits and scientriffic plans for their SEN classes.
And a good time was had by all as you will see!
Let’s start off by hearing from Adrian Fenton at the Association of Science Education, who has specialised in resources for SEN teachers. Adrian – over to you:
Inclusive Science and Special Educational Needs
There is much good practice in schools throughout the UK to effectively support inclusion in science. Those interested and involved can greatly help their own situation by sharing ideas and communicating with others, to avoid ‘re-inventing the wheel’.
The Association for Science Education (ASE) and the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN) have been working together in a project (funded by the DfES) encouraging networking relating to science teaching for students with special educational needs. As part of this, it has been great to hear about projects and activities that have demonstrated how science can be exciting and fun for all students.
If you would like to find out more, then try the Inclusive Science and Special Educational Needs website. This brings together resources, articles, supportive policies and web links that are useful to those interested in science and special educational needs inclusion, whether in a mainstream or special school setting.
The ISSEN website address is http://www.issen.org.uk
This is just the starting point of a project that will continue to develop. Please contact us with your thoughts, comments or reviews.
There is also an email discussion group with over 120 members, offering you the opportunity to discuss ideas, raise issues or share good practice. Anyone interested is welcome to join (details below). We would like this to continue to grow bringing together a range of individual’s experiences and expertise.
To join the ISSEN email discussion group send an email to :
issen-request@freelists.org with 'subscribe' in the Subject field
You can also join or make any other enquiries by sending an email to : adrianfenton@ase.org.uk
Finally I hope you are inspired to get in touch by the following pages, click through for a variety of ideas and see how they worked out in practice.
- Clone Confusion at Doncaster
- Absolutely Fabulous at Foxfield
- The Science Museum, London
- Alexandra the Great
- RNIB Lab Visit
- Scientist Assembly in Biggleswade
If you enjoy our tiny selection of SEN pages please add to them!
Send your successful SEN science activity or visit report to katie.walsh@nesta.org.uk along with some photos of your day.
(NB Any photos of children must have parental permission before they can be published on the web.)