Dorchester Middle School

Highlighting best practice as a representative in The Parliamentary Review

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Dorchester Middle School is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jan/06/schools-breaking-point-apprenticeship-levy

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

36 | DORCHESTER MIDDLE SCHOOL

Caroline Dearden, head teacher

Dorchester Middle School is fully inclusive:

pupils playing football together building

positive relationships

Caroline Dearden is the head teacher of Dorchester Middle

School, a mainstream school with specialist provision for

children with physical disabilities. Until recently the school

also maintained specialist provision for children with speech,

language and communication difficulties. However, this was

withdrawn by the local authority, as this aspect of additional

needs was no longer recognised as warranting specialist

provision within mainstream settings. Despite this, pupils at the

school with special educational needs and/or disabilities enjoy

excellent provision, accessing lessons and many other activities

alongside their peers in an inclusive academic environment.

Caroline discusses how children with disabilities uniquely and

positively impact the lives of all who attend Dorchester Middle

School and warns that continuing governmental funding cuts

may irrevocably damage this harmonious environment.

Enriching the school

When it comes to exploring the experiences of schools educating children with

disabilities alongside their peers, thoughts tend to focus on the perceived negative

impact of the disability. Disabled children are commonly viewed as “victims” who

face excessive demands, emotional distress, physical and/or financial burdens

and interpersonal difficulties. Consequently, the many positive impacts and

meaningful contributions that children with disabilities make within schools tend to

beoverlooked.

REPORT CARD

DORCHESTER MIDDLE SCHOOL

»Head teacher: CarolineDearden

»Established as an academy in

2012

»Based in Dorchester, Dorset

»Type of school: Free-standing

academy, with middle school

provision for years 5 to 8

»No. of students: 619

»No. of teaching staff: 37

»No. of support staff: 23

»Heavy athletics emphasis

with top-quality sporting

opportunities

»Strong design technology

provision – fully resourced

rooms for teaching art, textiles,

food and resistant materials

»We have a forest school

provision with chickens to teach

children concepts of nurture,

and “pets as therapy” dogs

»www.dorchestermid.dorset.

sch.uk

Dorchester Middle

School

37DORCHESTER MIDDLE SCHOOL |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

At Dorchester Middle School our

altogether unsurprising discovery has

been that children with disabilities have

a unique and positive impact on their

fellow pupils and make exceptional

contributions to school life. At our

school, physically disabled pupils do

not experience the anger, stress and/

or anxiety which results from having

to deal with the ignorance of other

people or a general lack of societal

understanding. All pupils at the school

welcome diversity and embody a

strong belief that there is an inherent

and intrinsic value in all people. They

have a balanced appreciation of the

contribution difference can make to

school life. Adults at the school have

learnt to not place limits on any child

or tell them what they can or cannot

do, but instead help them strive for the

highest possible expectations rather

than complying with what is typical for

anydiagnosis.

When asked what they want to share

with others, the children say that they

simply want others to understand that

their disabilities do not make them a

worse person, a less intelligent person

or a person who has less to offer

society than their peers. At Dorchester

Middle School the perception that

pupils with disabilities are slow has

been dispelled. Having cerebral palsy

or muscular dystrophy or being in a

wheelchair doesn’t stop our pupils

from having big ambitions or bright

futures. Children and adults at the

school do not feel sorry for those

who are disabled, because they firmly

believe that they enrich society through

positive, interesting and fun lives.

We have learnt so much from

children who view their circumstances

in a positive light. Making these

perceptions readily available to the

whole school community has enabled

us all to come to view the experience

of integrating a child with a disability

as one that is not tragic, but rather

enriching and rewarding. It is therefore

impossible to comprehend why

schools like Dorchester Middle School

are facing interminable financial

constraints. Like many other cash-

strapped schools, we are having

to make choices about the level of

integration we can afford.

Challenges for the future

Despite promises that school funding is

ring-fenced, head teachers like myself

have been hit with a range of extra

costs: higher contributions to national

insurance and teachers’ pensions,

the introduction of the national living

wage, pay rises and theapprenticeship

levy. Moreover, per-pupil funding is

not rising in line with inflation. The

National Audit Office estimates that in

real terms this will equate to cuts of

8per cent by 2019-20.

Funding pressures will mean less

support for pupils who have additional

learning needs. The job of supporting

pupils who require specialist one-

to-one support in an overpopulated

Supporting independence

We have

learnt so

much from

children who

view their

circumstances

in a positive

light

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

38 | DORCHESTER MIDDLE SCHOOL

classroom will be almost impossible.

Teachers will need to ensure they are

providing personalised support for

sometimes up to five students each

with varying needs in a single class.

Furthermore, as funding is no longer

ring-fenced for children with special

educational needs many may not get

their full entitlement and the future

life chances for pupils with physical

disabilities or other additional needs

may be diminished.

Funding cuts also impact the

curriculum available to pupils. We are

no longer able to offer art and drama

as discrete subjects. Choices now

must be made about the timetable

space afforded for subjects other than

English, mathematics and science.

It is not just staffing that is impacted

by reduced funding; the budget for

books and equipment has also been

slashed. We are unable to replace IT

equipment such as broken printers

and run-down computers. This

reduces the school’s capacity for

providing assistive technology for

those pupils who need to learn in a

non-traditional manner.

As the school’s academic provision

may need to be stripped back,

extracurricular activities may also have

to be cut. Field work, school visits and

trips abroad are being undermined

because parents must pay for the

staff cover as part of the cost of the

trip. After-school clubs, which are

mostly run for free by teachers in

the evenings, are also at risk as staff

become increasingly overworked

and demoralised. These threatened

activities are the very things we once

prided ourselves on and knew to be

hugely effective at integrating all pupils

into our school community.

It is unsurprising that schools like

Dorchester Middle School may need

to reduce staff, considering the

magnitude of savings we’re expected

to accomplish and that teachers make

up the vast proportion of the school’s

budget. If we try to make do with

fewer teachers and support staff at

a time of rising pupil numbers, then

class sizes grow, teacher workload

intensifies and inclusion becomes

increasingly challenging.

In Dorchester Middle School, we have

reached a point where there are no

obvious savings left to be made. The

government’s own research shows

that the likely funding shortfall in a

typical secondary school will be over

£400,000 by 2019 – this is equivalent

to ten teachers.

This cannot help but have negative

consequences, especially for the most

vulnerable. In Dorchester Middle

School that includes those with

physical disabilities who undeniably

enrich our lives. The UK is one of the

wealthiest countries in the world.

Education and inclusion for all must

be seen as an investment in this

country’s future, and not a burden on

thetreasury.

It is

unsurprising

that schools

like Dorchester

Middle School

may need to

reduce staff,

considering

the magnitude

of savings

we’re

expected to

accomplish

“

Feedback and support to

children

www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jan/06/schools-breaking-point-apprenticeship-levy

This article was sponsored by Dorchester Middle School. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it.