Inspiring pupils with SEN to engage with the arts through everyday items
- Creativity |
- Curriculum |
- SEND
What’s the idea?
The aim of this guide is to consider how we can motivate, engage and support children with special educational needs (SEN) to participate in arts activities from a distance. We know that the arts can be a ‘life-enhancing and essential part of our existence’ for all (Cultural Learning Alliance, 2017 p. 1). It can support children to explore their emotions, and develop resilience, confidence and self-worth.
What does it mean?
All the ideas and suggestions in this guide have been developed working with arts practitioners and SEN teachers within the Kent Special School Trust, so thank you to those teachers, artists and pupils I have worked with.
Empowering the creative thought process: This is an essential aspect of the arts, but can be more challenging when working with pupils with SEN. Consider firstly how to change the environment to stimulate the artistic process – for example, through light, sound, wallcoverings or changes in location such as the garden or local woods. Consider repurposing resources to support pupils to participate – for example, everyday items used in different ways, such as attaching pens to sticks to ‘mark make’ in different ways. It is essential to support children’s engagement through encouragement, which might take the form of questioning, commenting, co-constructing, modelling or scaffoldingProgressively introducing students to new concepts to support their learning the process. All can be beneficial, but each will depend on the particular needs of the individual.
Reconsider the traditional: There are many everyday items that can be repurposed to support the arts. The way we look at objects and change their use through play can support all children’s capacity within the artistic process, and we should be ‘educating our children so that their creativity has every conceivable chance to grow’ (Henley, 2018, p. 93) Consider challenging the traditional use of household objects. This might involve creating patterns in a tray of flour, drawing on windows with washable felt pens, or using ribbons or scarves to create call and response dance moves.
For children to develop the freedom to explore, we as educators may need to reconsider our previous notion of the arts, such as removing the need for a dedicated routine in dance, for example. Instead, we should consider dance as expressive movement for storytelling, which can be inclusive and accessible to all children. The story we choose can be co-created with the child through techniques such as call and respond or mirroring.
How does it work in practice?
Considering your stimulus is key to working with pupils with SEN. Finding the objects to engage children is vital, which can be a challenge in remote learning when specialist equipment is not to hand. But there are simple everyday objects that can inspire if we consider them in different ways, or enable children the freedom to play and experiment.
Everyday objects to support dance and movement might be as a simple as a feather that can be blown to and from each other and around the body whilst moving, this also removes the focus of movement off the child and onto the object. Light scarves such as those made from silk can be used to develop connections between adult and child, children move round the scarf and use it to extend their movements. A simple torch can be used to develop patterns and tracking on the floor, or across a wall in a darkened room to create a light dance.
To encourage children to draw, consider using non-traditional mediums such as painting with feathers, leaves or sticks, and using different surfaces to draw on such as sand, pavement or wallpaper/newspaper rolled across the floor or attached to a window. Changing the scale can motivate and inspire children.
Want to know more?
Cultural Learning Alliance (2017) ImagineNation: The value of Cultural Learning. Available at: https://culturallearningalliance.org.uk/about-us/imaginenation-the-value-of-cultural-learning/ (accessed 17 February 2021).
Henley D (2018) Creativity: Why It Matters. London: Elliott and Thompson.
Kenyon G (2019) The Arts in Primary Education. London: Bloomsbury.
Fancourt D, Warren K and Aughterson H (2020) Evidence Summary for Policy: The role of arts in improving health & wellbeing. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/929773/DCMS_report_April_2020_finalx__1_.pdf (accessed 17 February 2021).
This article was published in and reflects the terminology and understanding of research and evidence in use at the time. Some terms and conclusions may no longer align with current standards. We encourage readers to approach the content with an understanding of this context.
