Using research to refine an inclusive curriculum for children with severe learning difficulties

Teacher Reflection

Published on: May 19, 2025

SEND

4 min read

ALEX TOMKINS, HEADTEACHER, GREENSIDE SCHOOL, UK; EDD STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, UK In 2019, I wrote an article for Impact exploring how Greenside special school had developed a curriculum for our complex cohort (Tomkins, 2019). My school educates children aged three to 19 with severe learning difficulties (SLD), many of whom have an autism diagnosis. The students are not working within the National Curriculum’s expectations and, as a school, we are able to develop a bespoke curriculum to support our cohort. As the article describes, our curriculum is designed around the SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) code of practice to ensure a breadth of experiences. Since this article, our curriculum has been tweaked and adapted, but how do we know that we are delivering the right curriculum? This article explains how the use of research has allowed us to reflect on our curriculum intent, purpose and implementation. Rendoth et al.’s (2021) article has been a useful res

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Ayres KM, Lowrey KA, Douglas KH et al. (2011) I can identify Saturn but I can't brush my teeth: What happens when the curricular focus for students with severe disabilities shifts. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities 45(1): 11–21.
Colley A (2020) To what extent have learners with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties been excluded from the policy and practice of inclusive education? International Journal of Inclusive Education 24(7): 721–738.
Moljord G (2018) Curriculum research for students with intellectual disabilities: A content-analytic review. European Journal of Special Needs Education 33(5): 646–659.
Rendoth T, Duncan J and Foggett J (2021) Inclusive curricula for students with severe intellectual disabilities or profound and multiple learning difficulties: A scoping review. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs 22(1): 76–88.
Tomkins A (2019) Designing a curriculum: The challenge faced by many specialist settings. Impact 6: 20–21.