The Pedagogy Which Underpins a Personal Curriculum for Pupils with Severe Physical Disabilities, Complex Medical Difficulties and a Diverse Range of Learning Needs

Abstract

This article considers an appropriate pedagogy for learners with severe physical disabilities, sensory difficulties, complex medical difficulties and a diverse range of cognitive abilities in one particular school. In turn it discusses the curriculum which was designed around that pedagogy. As we consider an era when many of these children would not have survived to attend school, or would have been deemed ineducable, and move to a time in which medical interventions have improved and their right to education is now protected. It discusses how we find ourselves faced with the questions ‘how’ do we teach children such as these? What do we need to take into consideration in order to do so? It is clear that the field of special education has to change in response to a different cohort of students. Finally it suggests that the most appropriate curriculum is one that follows the pedagogy of these particular learners and is personal to them both in terms of the curriculum and assessment due to their diverse difficulties and learning needs.