ESRC IAA Implementation of the British Early Special Schools Teaching (BESST) model in maintained special needs schools

Disgrifiad o Effaith

1. Improve the long term outcomes for children aged 4-7 with learning disabilities.
2. Long term potential for savings in local authority as the children may require less care as they mature.
3. Potential to influence educational policy.
4. Academic impact in furthering our understanding of how the principles of learning can be implemented in real world contexts.

The potential for economic and societal impact is great. Children who receive an early intervention should show greater skills in communication and adaptive behaviours. At Ysgol y Gogarth, children who received the BESST model have some of the highest scores in literacy and numeracy in the primary school. The children are all toilet trained and have robust communication systems. The children can tolerate delays and express their needs, therefore they are less likely to engage in challenging behaviours. The potential for societal impact is huge: because the children can communicate their needs, they may be greater able to achieve their potential. If the children can express themselves easily, they can communicate more effectively with their families.

The economic impact is also potentially great. Often children with special needs require expensive care packages and in some cases, expensive residential school placements. By giving children the skills they need to communicate and tolerate delays and transitions, we may allow them to live at home in their communities.

Crynodeb Effaith ar gyfer y Cyhoedd

The British Early Special School Teaching (BESST) model is an evidence-based intervention for children ages 4-7 years old who are enrolled in Special Needs Schools. The model combines teaching practices derived from Applied Behaviour Analysis and uses a curriculum intended to teach children the skills they need to learn from the natural environment, such as joint attention, imitation, and social referencing. Teachers and classroom assistants deliver the model in collaboration with behaviour analysts and other professionals. The model is a novel approach to education in maintained school settings. Research from Bangor University has found that children in the BESST model make significant gains on IQ, academic, and adaptive behaviour measures (Foran et al, 2015). The current project is an extension of this research: the BESST model will be replicated in six special needs schools across England and Wales to provide training, facilitate stakeholder working groups, and obtain feedback on the model. Impact will ultimately be through an improvement long-term educational outcomes for children aged 4-7 with learning disabilities through training teaching staff; and through the potential to influence educational policy.

Disgrifiad o'r ymchwil sylfaenol

The current project is an expansion of the British Early Special School Teaching (BESST) model. The model is an effective, affordable, and sustainable teaching strategy for young children in special needs schools. While there is a general consensus that early intervention may improve the outcomes for children enrolled in special schools, there is little specific advice on what a broad and balanced curriculum might include for children with significant learning difficulties (Robertson, 2015). Early Intensive Behaviour Interventions (EIBI) based on Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) have been shown to improve outcomes for young children with learning difficulties. Children who receive EIBI make greater gains on social, language, and cognitive measures than children who receive standard interventions (Barton, Boyd, & Hume, 2012; Eldevik et al., 2009). On a typical EIBI programme, a child receives between 25-40 hours a week of 1:1 instruction. The programme is overseen by a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst, and can cost as much as £25,000 a year. Despite the evidence base, few local authorities offer ABA as a standard option for children with special needs. Often schools find the programmes expensive, and the emphasis on 1:1 teaching makes it difficult to include the child into the classroom and the national curriculum. While there is evidence that children who receive EIBI make gains compared to treatment as usual, it is also clear that the service delivery model is not compatible with UK education practice. There is a need to identify the effective components of EIBI, and incorporate them into a typical education setting. My colleagues and I have recently presented such a model (Foran et al; 2015). We described a collaborative model whereby the principles of ABA were adapted for use in a special needs school with typical staffing levels. A behaviour analyst worked in the school alongside a multi-disciplinary team. The children received some 1:1 teaching on learning readiness skills and also accessed the national curriculum. Subsequent data revealed that fourteen children ages 4-7 years old made significant gains on measures of IQ and adaptive behaviours. There was a significant reduction in challenging behaviours. The school and teachers expressed satisfaction with the BESST model. The intervention has been successful with one cohort of children, and we have been approached by six other schools who wish to replicate the model.

Buddiolwyr a cyrhaeddiad effaith ymchwil

Education and policy for children with learning disabilities.
2. Long term potential for savings in local authority as the children may require less care as they mature.
3. Potential to influence educational policy.
4. Academic impact in furthering our understanding of how the principles of learning can be implemented in real world contexts.

Statws effaith	Cyfredol
Dyddiad effaith	Chwef 2016 → Gorff 2017
Categori effaith	Cymdeithasol, Ansawdd Bywyd / Iechyd, Polisi a Gwasanaethau Cyhoeddus, Economegol
Lefel yr effaith	Budd