4. Literature Review

Initial Reading:

This study seeks to add to the work that has been done in the UK already, mainly by Dr. Carolyn Blackburn and Professor Barry Carpenter. (Blackburn, C and Carpenter,B (2010), Blackburn, C (2021) and Blackburn, C (2017)) This work was mainly with younger children and whilst some strategies for learning mathematics are suggested and some will be relevant most are aimed at younger children and more is needed for KS3 and GCSE. There is also more general work for carers and others to help inform and understand the issues that children have. (Catterick, M and Curran, L (2014)). These developmental, behavioural, learning, and social issues highlighted, will also impact work in the classroom.

It has been shown in other countries that achievement in mathematics is not as good as it should be for pupils with FASD (Kully- Martens, K et al (2018). Also, Kennedy et al reported that there is no longitudinal studies that track pupils as they transfer across the age groups. This concurs with findings reported earlier from the maths SEND work in the South London Alliance of Schools which reported on the difference in achievement in KS1 and 2 but did not progress on to KS 3 or 4 (Seleznyov, S, (2020))

The National Curriculum KS3 and KS4 programmes of study require teachers to provide lessons and programmes of study appropriate to each child’s needs. The strands of the National Curriculum at KS3 and at KS4 are fluency with reasoning, solving problems by applying mathematics to routine and non-routine problems;  number and calculations, algebra, shape and spatial reasoning, handling data and probability. Many children with FASD have strengths in subject areas or with certain skills. However, abstract thinking and abstract concepts are a problem and cause difficulties, so reasoning in the sense of using logical structures to give a series of steps to form a proof will be an area of difficulty. This is why Mathematics, due to its abstract nature is a problem for children with FASD. (lebel, C et.al (2010).

Studies in the USA and Canada have shown through longitudinal studies that maths achievement is lower than would be expected, even taking into account the general learning difficulties (Crocker,  N et al (2015)).  Rasmussen found that the two main areas of difficulty were Calculation, both doing exact valuations and approximations and an ability to grasp the size of numbers and their magnitude. (Rasmussen, C and Wyper, K)

There is research and studies in the USA and Canada about teaching programs in mathematics that boost classroom work; one of which is the MILE program.  (Kully-Martens, K et al (2018) and Coles, C et al (2008)).  MILE is an abbreviation for Maths individualised learning experience and this indicates that pupils with FASD benefit greatly from 1 to 1 support. However, MILE is aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 10. So there is a need to extend this to adolescents aged 11-16. Kully-Martens, K, et al (2018) reported that children who had the one-to-one intervention performed significantly better than the control group when their work was assessed. So, this is something that would seem to have promise for schools in England. However, this would not be possible without specialist training for those giving support as suggested by Lord Addington in a recent debate in the House of Lords (HL Deb 12 February 2024 Vol 836).

There are also difficulties reported with children being assessed and then a lack of appropriate school places being made available with the correct level of support in place. It is also a problem that the special free schools set up to help support these pupils may not be in the local area for the parents. When linked to difficulties teachers have in supporting pupils with SEND then the possibility of 1 to 1 support doesn’t seem realistic at this stage. As was mentioned earlier by Ting Was Chu (2023) there is a need for greater training for teachers. This point was echoed by Lord Addington when he questioned ministers about SEND provision and teacher training. (HL Deb 12 February 2024). In the same debate, Baroness Bull made the point that 6% of UK children are affected by dyscalculia but there is no official government recognition of dyscalculia. Given that there are 3.2% with FASD surely this point can be extended to include FASD. 

All the points above have highlighted the need for study for this age group and with mathematics which is a known area of weakness. Work has been done in this and other countries that can be built on.  However, the reported difficulties in implementing the government’s SEND regulations. Sandra Butcher (Butcher, S, 2021)   states that 80% of children with FASD are not being diagnosed by the Clinical Commissioning Group that is responsible for doing so. This along with higher absence rates and parent frustration with the lack of suitable local school places, gives the impression of a very difficult situation for both children and for their parents. There are parent support groups, notably in the North East and in the Manchester region and these will be very valuable in identifying where the Pupils with FASD are learning geographically. As has already been shown, there is a large cohort of pupils (102,371)  with FASD and no recognition from government, so there is an urgent need to research this issue, in order to provide evidence for action.

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