Below is what I submitted

 the printed article did not include the questionnaires and was reported as being by Steve Butterworth

this is a link to the journal

Introduction and link to previous article:

In my previous article in the December 2024 edition of “EQUALS”, I outlined the need for research to determine the level of maths curriculum access that pupils with FASD have at KS3 and KS4. This follow-up article aims to focus on the next steps starting with what is known based on our knowledge as teachers and to attempt to understand where the difficulties lie for both the learners and the teachers and classroom supports.

I will briefly outline the problem again for those who may not have read my previous article. Then, look at ways of moving this forward, seeking your opinions and experience. I thought of some questions which are designed to gauge the level of knowledge that busy, maths teachers have of FASD and a) whether they would recognise pupils with FASD, b) have any experience or relevant training that would help them, and most importantly c) what is their knowledge of teaching strategies and approaches to take.

The questions in the form of questionnaires are at the end of this article. It’s important I stress that they are untested and designed informally to gather facts. No formal analysis will be done. However, they should give an indication, and enable more rigorous questions to be developed. If you have suggestions that would help me to improve them, please let me know.

I am aware that there are many complex and often interrelated learning difficulties which impact how a learner can access the maths curriculum. Although the focus of my research is pupils with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), I know that this will go alongside ADHD, Autism and others. I have now learned about different aspects of Autism. My granddaughter, who I mentioned in my last article, has diagnoses of FASD, PDA Autism and ADHD. All of these will not only impact her behaviour and her approach to school and learning but will vary from day to day and who it is who is making the demands upon her. PDA Autism is Pathological Demand Avoidance. In her excellent book “Understanding PDA: for Kids and Grown Ups” Stacey Freeman illustrates the problem from the perspective of a little boy called Ethan; he says “demands can feel very threatening, so even if I want to do something, I won’t always be able to”. You can imagine what implications this has when transferred to the school learning environment.

In my previous article I mentioned the MILE program in the USA. MILE is an abbreviation of Maths Individual Learning Experience. This is reported as having some success and it is something I will learn more about. “Individual learning experience” indicates the level of classroom support required and has implications for the type of learning environment that these learners experience. It also has implications for the way demand and expectations are made of these pupils.

As I mentioned previously, the aim is to explore and understand the current situation and then learn and adapt from others to inform the initial and in-service training of teachers.

It is important that we remember there will be a gap between chronological age and developmental age. So the current expectations about all learners achieving GCSE by the age of 18 may not be realistic.

As a teacher and head of department I always took the importance of the level of subject knowledge and experience of the teacher together with the teaching materials and resources to be the most important aspect of learning maths. However, I now think for these pupils it’s about the support, the approach and the way the learning environment is organised. I can imagine the traditional classroom to be a very scary place for these pupils. As working professionals you may disagree with this point of view and I would be pleased to hear your views.

A reminder of the words of Professor Barry Carpenter who gave us this background and laid down the challenge for us to explore:

“The neuroscience around this tells us that the teratogenic effects of alcohol on the

brain in utero significantly affects the parietal lobe , which is the brain's centre for

numeracy and mathematical computation.

Whilst there has been some level of progress in the education of children with fetal

alcohol spectrum disorders, we still have a long way to go on appropriate adaptations

and accommodations within the curriculum.

This is particularly so in the area of mathematics.”

Update on the work of UK government on SEND

Recent announcements suggest that the government has begun to recognise its shortcomings in addressing the needs of many SEND pupils. I’m not convinced they understand either Dyscalculia or FASD and the number of pupils it affects. My local MP has forwarded my research proposal to the DFEE, as I wish to help them understand why research in this area is essential and the importance of learning from initiatives being implemented elsewhere in the world. As yet I’ve not had a reply.

The key documents and legislation by the UK government relevant to SEND provision and school setting for pupils with FASD are: “The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice from 0 to 25 years (Department for Education, 2014). It brings together legislation from the Children and Families Act 2014, the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014. The code of practice enables parents to request an EHCP with the local authority. (Education, Health and Care plan) if they feel extra support is needed for their child.·The Code highlights four broad areas of need:

Speech, language and communication needs

·Cognition and learning (including Specific Learning Difficulties)

·Social, emotional and mental health difficulties

·Sensory and/or physical needs”. (Department for Education, 2014)

The diagnosis once obtained will include one of the above, probably more than one.

A reminder of the Problem 

FASD is a spectrum of disorders that impacts the physical, emotional and intellectual development of the child to a greater or lesser degree. Research has shown Children with FASD encounter learning difficulties in Mathematics. FASD slows development in mathematics, so many children will be working at a different developmental age compared to their chronological age. This is referred to as “Developmental dysmaturity”. An example would be a young person with chronological age 18 has a maths skills age of 8. One reason for choosing Key Stages 3 and 4 is that any differences in learning needs should be more apparent at this age compared to learners without FASD). It has been shown that there was a 31% gap in maths attainment for pupils with SEND at the end of Key Stage 1 and a wider 49% gap at the end of Key Stage 2. Even though there will be regional variations, development dysmaturity leads us to conclude that this gap will be wider at KS3 and wider still at KS4.

Problem continued

There are no definitive percentages of children affected by FASD as it is not a condition recorded at birth in the UK. So, to have an idea of the size and scale of the problem of how many pupils with a diagnosis of FASD there are currently in schools we have to use estimates. Data from the USA suggests 9.1 per 1,000. However, more recent work suggests that the data model for the UK is 3.2% of the population. Using the latest data from the Department for Education (2023), which gives the number of pupils in each Key stage as; KS 3: 1,947,519 and KS 4: 1,251,567 or 3,199,086 for 11-16 pupils. Using the 9.1 per 1000 estimate, this gives 29,112 pupils. The more recent estimate of 3.2% gives 102,371 pupils. It is suggested that 6% of pupils have Dyscalculia, 3.2% with FASD. Together this represents 9.2% of pupils at KS3 and KS4.

What is it that is being explored and why does it matter?

This is my aim:

“To explore how to ensure that teachers and support assistants are fully equipped to recognise a learner with FASD and know effective intervention strategies?”.

These are the questions I intend to focus on: (not in any particular order)

Which areas of maths are learners with FASD confident with and which do they find difficult? (Number, Shape, algebra or Data)

1a: is this true of all pupils or is it individualised.

2. How does pupil attainment levels compare to chronological age?

2a: compare to national averages

2b: compare to similar pupils

3. What is the type and amount of classroom support provided?

3a: Experience/knowledge / training

3b: what type of support 1-1 etc

4. What is the learning environment like?

4a how does this vary from school to school

5. How easily can a pupil with FASD be recognised?

Rough first methodology approach

The first problem is to find the pupils and get the necessary permissions! As I mentioned above, FASD is not a condition recorded at birth. I will be relying on the local Parent Support Group and the local Maths Association Teacher Group for help!

I’m aiming to avoid a numerical analysis of the data about the pupils as I feel the need is more individualised and personalised. Each story could be different – but hopefully, some common themes will emerge.

So, it is more of an interpretive or pragmatic approach where I can explore and try to understand. It will need to allow for changes as themes emerge.

I will be looking to observe and gain an understanding of the support given to pupils and the learning environment they work in.

Initial thoughts on Data Collection: (to be negotiated!)

All responses will be treated as anonymous and I will respect all matters of GDPR and will follow all ethical guidelines.

I will send an online questionnaire to a target group of 40 maths teachers who may or may not be currently teaching pupils with FASD

I will identify a group of families in my local geographical area. These are families of children aged between 11 and 16. Ideally, I am aiming for 3 in KS3 and 2 in KS4 with a range of ages and year groups.

I have a different questionnaire for the teachers and parents of pupils with FASD. This could be done online but also could be done as a paper version.

I will seek permission from the schools to send the questionnaires to the teachers. I will also send questionnaires to the parents. I would aim for questionnaires to go to 5 teachers and 5 parents and will follow this up with more detailed discussions, which will be in the form of semi-structured interviews.

I will seek permission from the schools to do learning walks to see the learning environment the children are working in. This may also involve working alongside the teacher to support the learning together with any other activities directed by the teacher. I am a qualified teacher but will need to renew my DBS certification to enable me to be in schools where the children are learning.

I will report the findings to the parents to give them feedback on the progress of their child and to provide them with any additional evidence they may need for use with the local authority or other professionals.

Initial thoughts on Data Analysis

There will be two types of data analysis; Quantitate analysis of closed survey questions and relexive thematic analysis of interviews and other narrative forms of data gathering.

Data collection - questionnaires

These are my initial thoughts on the questionnaires that could be used in an online survey:

Questionnaire 1: To maths teachers generally (not necessarily working with pupils with FASD)

Name:

Name and age range of School:

Number of years as a maths teacher

Which year groups taught

Which ability levels taught

Do you work with classes where there are pupils with SEND

If yes, how many and which year groups

Any comments about this

How would you recognise a pupil with SEND in your class?

What different aspects of SEND would you expect to meet that would have maths performance in lessons?

Have you had any recent training on SEND in terms of knowing how to recognise and knowing what intervention and support strategies to use?

Do you rely on the SENCO / classroom assistant to help with pupils with SEND

Do you feel you get enough support?

Do you have up-to-date SEND information about the pupils in your class?

Have you worked with any pupils diagnosed with FASD?

Was FASD mentioned in any of your SEND training?

Comments box:

Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire and helping me with my research. All responses will be kept anonymous and not shared anywhere. The data will be used for research purposes only.

Questionnaire 2: Initial thoughts on questions for teachers, classroom support workers, those responsible for SEND in the school and parents/carers, 

Name and age range of school:

Age of pupil

Gender

Year group

Attendance % (or good/ ok/ not ok)

Comment on attendance

Level of experience of maths teacher (specialist?, how many years teaching?)

Is there specialist support in the classroom?

How much time is the support there for?

Is the information about SEND statements, EHCP’s available?

Achievement data:

Key stage 2 level

Key Stage 3 level

GCSE grade:

Comment about progress with achievement:

Curriculum:

Confidence level with maths generally on a scale of 0 to 10?

Comments

Individual strands

(Each strand will have. Confidence level on a scale of 0 to 10 and a comment box)

Reasoning skills and using reasoning to solve problems

Ability to verbalise how to solve problems and apply logic and steps to form solutions

Number work:

Money, time, everyday applications

Recognition of different types of numbers Eg. Fractions, decimals, ratio etc

Calculation with and without a calculator

Algebra

Patterns

Generalising

Solving equations

Shapes and space

Measures - units of length, area and volume and converting between them

Recognising and naming shapes

Calculations of area and volume (remembering formulas)

Geometry and angle facts

Work on polygons - calculating angles

Data

Working with statistics - averages, reading from tables

Drawing and reading information from different types of statistical graph

Probability

Probability scale ( linked to chance and random events)

Probability diagrams, Venn and tree diagrams to show probability

Combined events and probability calculations

General comments:

Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire and helping me with my research. All responses will be kept anonymous and not shared anywhere. The data will be used for research purposes only.