HOW CAN A HEAD TEACHER MAKE HIS SPECIAL SCHOOL “SPECIAL”? TERENCE BAILEY, Adviser (Special Education), London Borough of Enfield Department of Education, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Introduction

Special schools are probably under closer scrutiny than at any time since their inception. Increased exter- nal evaluation from central governmental and local inspectors can be traced to a multiplicity of inter-related factors including:

1) governmental concern for improving the quality of education

2) pressure on local authorities to ensure schools provide value for money in a time of falling rolls 3) pressure from national societies and other bodies for increased integration of pupils into normal schools

4) research findings, particularly in the area of pre-school handicap and curriculum development in schools, as to what can be achieved with child- ren who have special needs 5) greater parental awareness of what special schools ought to be offering their children. Special school head teachers may feel particularly

vulnerable in view of Young’s (1979) assertion that their role will continue to grow in complexity during the next few years. Under these circumstances they should be aware of the external criteria that will be applied in evaluating their schools. Some authorities, like Oxford- shire (1979) and the Inner London Education Authority (1977), have produced documents containing essential questions which all schools, not just special schools, are directed to use as starting points in self-evaluation.

I offer a personal view in the form of a number of questions which I believe special school head teachers should be asking themselves. These questions relate to: school climate; curriculum development; home-school relations; home-community relations.

School climate Moving from school to school, it is noticeable that

different atmospheres exist. The main emphasis clearly discernible in research (Harrison, 1975; Rutter, 1980; Bailey and De Souza, 1980) supports the view that thc behaviour and performance of individuals within an organisation is directly influenced by the climate or atmosphere. I t is the head teacher who, through his management style, and the amount and quality of his interaction with individuals and groups, determines the school climate.

We can turn Miles’ (1965) essential criteria for a healthy climate into a series of questions.

1. Do I have adequate communication with my staff? 2. Do I allow staff to share the responsibility for running the school? 3. Is there high staff morale?

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Enfield, Middx. 4. Are there adequate procedurcs for rcsolving internal problems? 5. I t there a high degree of staff involvement and commitment to the school? 6. Are the staff adaptable to change? 7. Do staff actively seek personal and profcssional advice from me? 8. Do I take sufficient inlerest in thc professional development of my staff‘!

A head teacher: who is fully aware of all that is happening in his school; who creates opportunities for a two-way flow of information about all aspects of school and personal life from his staff; who providcs regular staff meetings and sessions for individual dis- cussion; who delegates responsibility and allows his staff to be actively involved in curriculum development and in laying down an agreed approach to discipline; and who organises staff seminars on educational, legal, social and other responsibilities pertinent to special schools, is likely to provide what Halpin and Croft (1963) call an “open climate”. In such a climate, staff are more likely to experience job satisfaction and commitment.

The open climate has in turn been shown to be more conducive to innovation and change within a school. Tnnovation and change are essential parts of the growth and development of a school and head tcachcrs havc a crucial role to play here.

We can turn Chesler’s (1963) suggestions on how to facilitate innovation, into a series of questions.

1. Do I arrange release time for teachers? 2. Do I encourage staff to develop relationships based on mutual assistance and sharing of ideas? 3. Do I collaborate with university staffs and resource personnel to develop in-service training programmes? 4. Do I find consultants to guide teachers to important literature in the field? 5. Do I demonstrate active support and concern for raising the level of teacher competence? 6. Do I arrange joint meetings with staff of other schools a t which innovative teachers can describc and evaluate new procedures they have tried? 7. Do I encourage teachers to observe one another’s classroom procedures? 8. Do I attend courses in order to bring myself up-to-date with new ideas and trends? 9. Do I encourage my staff to attend courses to bring themselves up-to-date with new ideas and trends?

Apes. 1. Brit. Inrt. Merit. Hnnd.. Vol. 9 N o . 2, 1981, 42-34

Curriculum development When we turn to the problem of what, why, and how

to teach, head teachers need to be asking themselves the following questions:

1. Am I aware of the growing body of infor- mation and research relating to the children that I deal with? 2. Have I got a planned curriculum with carefully defined aims and objectives? 3 . Is the curriculum developed through marrying practical classroom experiences with curriculum theory and child development? 4. Has the curriculum been developed through staff discussions and study groups? 5. Is the curriculum written down and updated corftinuously in the light of new research ideas and resources? 6. Does the curriculum plan cover the needs, experiences, and provisions necessary for the whole age range of the group with which I am concerned? 7. If 1 deal with secondary pupils have I ensured that 1 do not just rely on the extended primary school principle? 8. Does the curriculum provide for the individual needs of pupils? 9. Is there a continuity of the curriculum? 10. Is there an adequate and continuous system of assessment and record-keeping? A head teacher: who is aware of the implications of

recent government reports, Department of Education and Science publications, Schools Council Bulletins and appropriate journal articles; who has begun to mobilise teachers into planning and writing down a curriculum as a guideline for existing staff, new staff, parents, and administrators; who encourages teachers to become skilled in the art of classroom observation of pupils with checklists and developmental charts, is not only likely to produce a rewarding learning environment for the pupils but, as Kounin (1970) found, fewer behaviour problems to deal with.

Home-school relations As Young (1979) states, “Special Schools will be

required to be increasingly responsive to the legitimate interests of groups and individuals from outside”.

Many parents want a far greater degree of partici- pation in the education of their children and, as Warnock (1978) points out, parents as partners should be our aim. Head teachers need to move from the traditional model of parent-teacher relationships, which frequently amount to Parent Teacher Association meetings called to raise funds.

The experiences of Robinson (1979) and Ward (1979) suggest a number of questions head teachers can ask themselves.

1. Is the school doing all it can to support and educate parents? 2. Do I include the parents in decisions concern- ing their children? 3 . Do I provide information and advice about the objectives and provisions being made for their children?

4. Do I welcome parents into the school at any time? 5. Do I listen to parents and the information they have to impart? 6. Do I make it clear that I expect ongoing visits to regularly discuss progress reports? 7. Do I occasionally provide ‘‘low-key’’ coffee and chat times during the day, when parents can drop in and discuss with professionals their child’s progress? 8. Do I provide more formal evening meetings with guest speakers from various professions‘? 9. Do I provide opportunities for parents’ self- help groups to prosper? 10. Do I provide parent workshops which give them skills and strategies for dealing with their children a t home? 11. Do I arrange home visits when parents cannot attend school? 12. Do I provide opportunities for parents to observe the teacher in action and work with their children in the classroom?

Home-community relations Certainly the range of people involved in a specialist

professional capacity is generally greater in special schools than in ordinary schools. Their experience and expertise is invaluable. Head teachers must ensure that this professional “know-how” is meaningfully chan- nelled into aiding pupils. In return, the schools will be asked to be more accountable for what they do. With regard to their community relations head teachers should be asking:

What links do I (and my staff) have with: specialists in child health and mental handi- cap, general practitioners, health visitors, and others? psychiatrists, educational psychologists and psychiatric social workers? social service workers? local community leaders? police and welfare agencies? secondary and primary schools, and other special schools in the vicinity? the local Teacher’s Centre? local shopkeepers and neighbours of the school?

Any links with professionals from the support services should include school staff where necessary, rather than negotiations being conducted solely through the head teacher.

An example of liaison among a range of professionals can be seen in the author’s own Borough in the termly meetings that are held at the local ESN(S) school. In addition to the head teacher, deputy head, teaching staff of the special care unit, an educational psycholo- gist, and an adviser, the clinical psychologists and occupational therapists from the mental handicap unit of the nearby hospital attend. Discussions may be concerned with the continuity of individual teaching and management programmes for children within the hospital and the special care unit, the staffing and

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organisation of the unit and the hospital class, changes in resources, health and organisation policy, and so on.

If links with certain support services are tenuous, head teachers should ask themselves whether they have done enough to foster them.

As far as the special schools’ relationship with “ordinary” schools in the vicinity is concerned, head teachers need to ask themselves:

1. How hard have I tried to liaise and co-operate with these schools? 2. What help can I offer? 3. How flexible are the arrangements in my school for allowing some children’s needs to be met in ordinary schools? 4. What facilities are there for sharing lessons, joint visits, or other joint ventures? 5. When pupils are to be transferred, is there adequate planning in relation to the expectations of the host school? Are the pupils prepared for the school rules, staff contact, and curricula needs? 6 . When pupils are re-integrated, how much back-up do my staff provide in the first crucial weeks of the return? 7. Do I pursue too much of a protectionist policy for my children? Some special schools have already set about becom-

ing resource centres. Turner (1979) has indicated the way in which one special school has set about strengthening links with ordinary schools in the neigh- bourhood. The school has published educational programmes, loaned specialist equipment, disseminated research findings, and provided in-service training for teachers from ordinary schools. Some of the most successful courses run by special schools in other areas (Ainscow and Bond, 1978) have offered constructive help on assessment procedures, behaviour management and curriculum development.

However, to offer teachers in ordinary schools some- thing “special”, special schools need to present themselves as centres par exellence, with teachers who

COUNSELLING AND THE NURSE BIMH Four-day workshop

Herbert Gray College, Rugby 16th-20th November, 1981

Many professionals including nurses are finding that counselling is becoming part of their overall function. This is especially evident in the long- . term care fields of mental handicap, geriatrics and mental illness which are becoming more community oriented. This workshop will, therefore, be of benefit to all staff who have an involvement with patients, families and relatives, but especially community nurses, health visitors and other community care staff. The aim of the workshop is to offer participants an insight into the complex issues within human situations and relationships and offer a greater awareness of skills required when working in a helping capacity. Programme details and application form available from: BIMH Course Organiser, British Institute of Mental Handicap, Wolverhampton Road, Kidderminster, Wows. DYlO 3PP.

are recognised as competent and confident specialists. What will not be successful are courses that present to the ordinary school teachers activities and techniques that are no different from those that they are already carrying out.

DAlonzo and Wiseman (1978) and McCall (1978) provide guidelines as to the types of skills that special school head teachers will require if they are to have a credibility with their staff, parents, and the com- munity at large. They will need to be:

curriculum specialists experts in methods of working with pupils who are difficult to teach and instruct technicians competent in the use of “tools of the trade”, both hardware and software administrators who keep records and reports counsellors who deal first-hand with educa- tional, personal and social problems public and human relations experts in working and communicating with administrative col- leagues and parents diagnosticians.

I would argue that the more positive the responses head teachers can make to the questions posed here, and the more roles that they can fulfil satisfactorily, the more likely it is that they will have a vital, flourish- ing school.

References Ainscow, M., Bond, J. A new role for the special school’!

Special Education, 1978; 5 : 1, 15-16. Bailey, T., De Souza, D. A systematic study of a school for

chifdren with severe learning difficulties. (M.Ed. (Psychol.) dissertation). Exeter : University of Exeter, 1980.

Cheder, M., Schmuck, R., Lippit, R. The Principal’s role in facilitating innovation. Theory into practice, 1963; 2 : 5,

D’Alonzo, B. J., Wiseman, D. Actual and desired roles of the high school learning disability resourcc teacher. J. Learn. Dis., 1978; 11:6, 10-12.

Halpin, A. W., Croft, D. B. The Organisational Climate of Schools. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1963.

Harrison, 0. A n empirical study of the organisational climate of ESN(S) special schools. (MSc. dissertation.). Bradford : University of Bradford, 1975.

Inner London Education Authority. Keeping the school under review. London : ILEA, 1977.

269-277.

Kounin, J. S. Discipline and group management in classrooms. New York: Holt, 1970.

McCall, C. Implications of the Warnock Report for teachers and teacher training: a brief review and suggested reading Remedial Education, 1978; 13:4, 173-181.

Miles, M. B. Planned Change and Organizational Health. In Carver, F., Sergiovanni, T. (Eds.). 0rgani.wtions and human behaviour : focus on schools. London: McGraw Hill, 1969.

Oxfordshire County Council. Starting points in self evaluation. Oxford: Oxon C.C., 1979.

Robinson, W. How can we involve the parents? Special

Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Mortimore, P., Ouston, J. Fifteen

Turner, P. Three heads respond to Warnock. Special Educa-

Ward, C. Who involves whom? Special Education, 1979; 6:4,

Warnock Report. Special Educational Needs : Report of the Committee of Enquiry into the Education of Handicapped Children and Young People. Cmnd. 7212. London: HMSO, 1978.

Education 1979; 6:2, 13-15.

thousand hours. Shepton Mallet : Open Books, 1979.

tion, 1979; 6:3, 19.

19-20.

Young, P. What a head teacher needs to know. Special Education, 1979; 6 :4, 10-12.

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