Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) Inclusion, SEND and Equality Syllabus

Inclusion, SEND and Equality syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Inclusion, SEND and Equality in Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Adaptive Teaching

   4 topics

   • Principles of adaptive teaching versus differentiation
   • Scaffolding and removing barriers to learning
   • Grouping, setting and high expectations for all
   • Stretch and challenge for high-attaining pupils
2. 2

   Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

   4 topics

   • The SEND Code of Practice and the four areas of need
     • Communication and interaction
     • Cognition and learning
     • Social, emotional and mental health
     • Sensory and physical needs
   • The graduated approach: assess, plan, do, review
   • Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)
   • Role of the SENCO and external specialists
3. 3

   Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

   4 topics

   • The Equality Act 2010 and protected characteristics
   • Public sector equality duty in schools
   • Decolonising and diversifying the curriculum
   • Tackling discrimination, bias and stereotyping
4. 4

   Supporting Diverse Learners

   4 topics

   • English as an Additional Language (EAL)
   • Disadvantage and the Pupil Premium
   • Looked-after and previously looked-after children
   • Gifted and talented provision

Inclusion, SEND and Equality flashcards for Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)

25 of 50 cards from the Inclusion, SEND and Equality deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the key distinction between 'differentiation' and 'adaptive teaching'?

   Differentiation traditionally meant creating different tasks/materials for different groups (often lowering expectations). Adaptive teaching keeps high expectations for all, teaching the same ambitious content to the whole class but flexibly adjusting in-the-moment support, scaffolds, questioning and pace to remove barriers.

2. Why has 'adaptive teaching' replaced 'differentiation' in the ITT Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework?

   Because differentiation by task/group risked capping attainment, creating excessive workload, and embedding low expectations. Adaptive teaching responds to all pupils' needs within ambitious shared goals rather than pre-labelling pupils with fixed ceilings.

3. Define 'scaffolding' in the context of inclusive teaching.

   Scaffolding is providing temporary, structured support (e.g. worked examples, writing frames, sentence stems, visuals, partially completed tasks) that enables a pupil to access learning, then is gradually removed (faded) as the pupil becomes independent.

4. What is meant by 'removing barriers to learning'?

   Identifying and reducing the specific obstacles (cognitive, sensory, physical, language, emotional or environmental) that prevent a pupil accessing the curriculum, so they can achieve the same goals as peers — rather than reducing the goals themselves.

5. Give three examples of scaffolds a teacher might use and then fade.

   Worked examples/modelled answers, sentence starters and writing frames, knowledge organisers or vocabulary banks, partially completed problems, visual aids/diagrams, and structured questioning prompts.

6. What does research (e.g. EEF) say about ability grouping and setting?

   Evidence shows setting/streaming has, on average, a small negative impact on lower-attaining pupils and minimal positive impact on higher attainers, and can entrench disadvantage. The EEF rates within-class attainment grouping as low impact for low cost with limited evidence.

7. What does 'high expectations for all' mean in practice?

   Believing every pupil can achieve the ambitious shared curriculum, communicating this belief, avoiding low-expectation labelling, providing stretch and scaffolding rather than easier work, and setting challenging goals for all groups including those with SEND or disadvantage.

8. What is 'stretch and challenge' for high-attaining pupils?

   Deepening rather than simply accelerating learning — using higher-order questioning, greater abstraction, open/non-routine problems, independent inquiry, and richer vocabulary and reasoning demands, so able pupils extend their thinking rather than just doing 'more of the same'.

9. Distinguish 'acceleration' from 'enrichment/deepening' for high attainers.

   Acceleration moves a pupil onto more advanced/next-year content faster. Enrichment (deepening) keeps the pupil with age-related content but increases depth, complexity, breadth and challenge. Current practice generally favours deepening over acceleration.

10. What document governs SEND provision in England, and when was the current version published?

    The 'SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years', statutory guidance issued in 2014 and effective from 2015, made under the Children and Families Act 2014.

11. How does the SEND Code of Practice define Special Educational Needs (SEN)?

    A child has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision — i.e. provision different from or additional to that normally available to others of the same age.

12. What are the four broad areas of need in the SEND Code of Practice?

    1) Communication and interaction; 2) Cognition and learning; 3) Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH); 4) Sensory and/or physical needs.

13. Give an example condition for each of the four areas of need.

    Communication and interaction — autism, speech/language/communication needs (SLCN); Cognition and learning — dyslexia, moderate/severe learning difficulties; SEMH — anxiety, ADHD, attachment difficulties; Sensory/physical — visual/hearing impairment, physical disability.

14. What is the 'graduated approach' to SEN support?

    A four-part cycle of action that becomes increasingly individualised as understanding grows: Assess, Plan, Do, Review — repeated to match support to need.

15. List the four stages of the graduated approach in order.

    Assess (identify needs), Plan (agree provision and outcomes with parents/pupil), Do (implement, with class teacher retaining responsibility), Review (evaluate impact and revise).

16. Who retains responsibility for a pupil with SEN on a daily basis, even when specialists are involved?

    The class or subject teacher remains responsible for working with and the progress of the pupil, including delivering planned interventions and adaptations.

17. What is an EHC Plan (EHCP)?

    An Education, Health and Care Plan — a legal document for children/young people (0–25) whose needs cannot be met by SEN support alone. It sets out their education, health and social care needs, the outcomes sought, and the provision required to meet them.

18. Who issues and maintains EHC Plans, and what statutory timescale applies to the assessment process?

    The Local Authority issues and maintains EHCPs. The whole process from request to issuing a final plan must normally be completed within 20 weeks.

19. Must a child have an EHCP to receive SEN support? Explain.

    No. The majority of pupils with SEN are supported through 'SEN Support' (the graduated approach) without an EHCP. EHCPs are only for those needing more than the support available through ordinary school provision.

20. What does SENCO stand for and what is the role?

    Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator — the qualified teacher responsible for the day-to-day operation of the school's SEN policy, coordinating provision, advising staff, liaising with parents and external agencies, and maintaining the SEN record.

21. What qualification must a new SENCO obtain?

    A SENCO new to the role must be a qualified teacher and gain the National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordination (NASENCO) — historically within three years of appointment (now being replaced by the National Professional Qualification for SENCOs, NPQ SENCO).

22. Name three external specialists a school might involve for a pupil with SEN.

    Educational psychologist, speech and language therapist (SaLT), occupational therapist, specialist teacher (e.g. for hearing/visual impairment), CAMHS, and physiotherapists.

23. What is the Equality Act 2010 and what does it do for schools?

    It is the single UK law consolidating previous anti-discrimination legislation. It makes it unlawful for schools to discriminate against, harass or victimise pupils on the basis of 'protected characteristics' and places equality duties on schools.

24. List the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

    Age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation.

25. Which protected characteristics are most directly relevant to pupils in schools?

    Disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, and pregnancy/maternity. (Age and marriage/civil partnership provisions do not apply to school pupils.)

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