Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

The Learning Support Unit at Cottenham Village College worked in a similar way to
a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) or Social Inclusion Centre (described in 1.3), which
meant that it provided specialist education and support to students in a mainstream
environment. A Learning Support Unit is part of a whole school systematic approach
to behaviour management and where students, often with complex needs, are referred
for additional support to help them achieve their potential (McSherry, 2004). At
Cottenham, the students followed a reduced and individually-tailored timetable. They
continued to attend mainstream lessons which they could manage and enjoy but other
lessons were spent in the unit, where they received help with homework and could
relax or do activities such as cooking and play board games. The individualised
timetables were designed to meet the students’ learning and emotional needs.
Reintegration to full-time mainstream classes was often the end of the process for
students with behavioural difficulties although this was not possible in all cases.
Some students used the Unit all the time and were not included in any mainstream
lessons. The Unit offered these excluded students an alternative programme which
was unique in Cambridgeshire. Its school day was short and divided into two, with
small class lessons forming the first part of the day and activities, usually off-site, the
second. Students in this Learning Support Unit, whether full or part-time, could be
referred to music therapy. The majority of referrals indicated that the students’
learning was affected by severe emotional difficulties, either as a result of one-off
trauma or from ongoing emotional stress 17 . The head teacher of the unit recognised
the impact that emotional distress had on learning and the fact that, when these
feelings were overwhelming and unaddressed, they could cause many difficulties in
the student’s behaviour in school. Music therapy with students with learning
disabilities, and for the ones following the alternative programme for those whom
mainstream schooling had failed, was a way to directly address their emotional needs.
Strategies put in place by teachers and head teachers in schools and Learning Support
Units to manage disaffected students have included counselling, mentoring and other
in-school support services (Riley and Rustique-Forrester, 2002). Doherty (2009)
stresses the importance of play in inclusive education and opportunities for all to
interact with peers that promote social and communication skills and realistic life
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"( !Referrals were made by teachers, other professionals, the school nurse or the
students themselves.
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