Children are experts on their own experiences, but they are not often consulted directly, perhaps because they do not have much power.  They are beneficiaries of a good school, but also active participants. In this section you will think about ways to find out about children’s experiences through observation and by asking them directly. This adds to the story because the information is from the child not just about them.

School record keeping and information on children with disabilities can help all teachers adapt their lessons and help the school to plan for extra support. Mariga, McKonkey and Myezwa (2014) suggest that firstly teachers and support teams should make a general assessment of these key areas to identify where a child might need help.

Another way of collecting information is by observing the child during the school day, talking to their caregivers about what they find difficult and asking the child themselves if there is something they would like more help with. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasises the importance of including children in decision making about their lives.

In a school with an inclusive ethos and culture children can be consulted through asking them about their likes and dislikes for learning and support. Young children or those with communication difficulties can share their ideas in drawings. All children can be asked to share their self-assessment of how they have managed with tasks. This could be by marking or giving verbal feedback on their own and others’ work. They could use a smiley face or thumbs up hand gesture to show when they feel they have done well, a neutral face picture, or wavey hand to indicate ‘okay’ and a thumbs down or sad face for when work was hard.

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