Child and Young person free essay sample

Understand the expected pattern of development for Children and young people from Birth to 19 years old. To understand the expected pattern of child development to adulthood the main characteristics must first be outlined, these include physical development, communication and language development, intellectual and cognitive development and social, emotional behavioural and moral development. However it is also important to understand that every child’s development is holistic and they are all unique and will develop at their own rates and pattern of growth to adulthood. Also many of the skills and areas of development inter-twine with each other as some aspects of physical development will be linked to social, behavioural, moral and emotional skills in the overall development and vice versa. During physical development the main factors to consider are; the fine motor skills (writing, threading, painting and drawing), gross motor skills (running, jumping, climbing, skipping and balance), general and hand eye coordination. Also in intellectual and cognitive development it is all about developing creative and imaginative skills, using these skills in different ways, problem solving, decision making and using language to explain reasoning for actions. During the social, behavioural, moral and emotional development the key factors to consider are; taking turns, cooperation with others, the development of obvious social skills, self expression and self esteem and learning about feelings of others involved in situations. Within the communication and language development the main areas of focus relate to the use of language to explain reasoning, expressing feelings and describing events also relating to both the use of verbal and non-verbal communication techniques. Physical Development: The Physical development of children from age 0 to 19 is important to understand within the school and personal setting because some presumptions are made as to how children develop their fine and gross motor skills. A lot of the time these skills are taken for granted however it is important that everyone has their own opportunity to develop in different ways and having the correct supporting infrastructure with people who have the knowledge of this area behind them. 0-3 years: A period of fast and dramatic development as from birth babies have very little control of their body, with their movements incredibly dependant on other human action, as well as their own ‘reflexes’ of sucking, grasping and gripping with fingers and toes. By the 1st birthday so 12 months most babies have developed movements into a crawl or rolling as they have gradually gained much more control of their body including holding their own weight of their head with improved strength in the gross motor muscles of the body. This development continues into year 2 and allows for walking to be progressed, fingers begin to point to objects proving that the fine motor skills are improving and developing. Also by the age of three they will be able to play with a ball, climb on chairs, furniture and start to have more control over pens, pencils and crayons as well as turning pages in books showing both physical developments in fine and gross motor skills. This will also be evident as they will be able to use cups, feed themselves and starting to walk effectively and exploring the use of bikes, tricycles and other toys of a similar nature (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 3-7 years: At this stage in physical development children will be able to carry out much more co-ordinated movements and as a result they will be growing in confidence. This will show as the child will be refining motor skills both fine and gross that have already been developed, but having more control on fine motor skills such as cutting, writing names and text and drawing pictures. By the age of 7 the child will be confident in running, hopping, kicking a ball and using larger play equipment in parks and home alike as part of their development. This will also be linked to the confidence of the child in play and also the physical presence applied by the child amongst other children (Burnham and Baker, 2011). -12 years: By this stage children have picked up hobbies and interests meaning that some areas will be more practised than others including gross and fine motor skills in football and dance and others in art and music. Within girls of this age at 10 or 11 years old early puberty may be taking place as part of their physical development. The improvement of skills of each child is dependent on choice of hobby or interest partaken in (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 12-16 years: This is the stage of most growth as all young people will be getting stronger, boys will be starting to go through puberty at the age of 12/13 and starting to develop as males, whereas females will have already completed the process and be have regular periods and show more maturation at a younger age with breast enlargement and increase in fat layers. Towards the age of 15 boys will experience a growth of their testicles and penis and muscular strength as a whole within their body. Within boys their voice will break and become deeper as a sign of physical and emotional maturation towards adulthood. Between these ages there will be a tremendous growth spurt of boys and girls with the girls developing first and then the boys who by the end of this stage will be taller than most girls on average. During this stage of physical development the physical attributes of all teenagers both male and female become much more prominent (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 16-19 years: This is the stage where all teenagers become adults and often peak at their physical performance stage in sports, dance and other hobbies and interests. Many girls will have reached their physical maturity however boys will grow and develop until their early to mid-20’s (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Also during this stage new skills are learned including driving which incorporates both fine and gross motor skills. This is a very important stage to physical development as relationships start to form and successful relationships flourish. Communication and Language Development: 0-3 years: At this stage it is very difficult for adults to communicate with babies as they cannot understand what is being said at all. However it is important to stimulate the baby’s interests and it is important for them to see that an interest is being taken in them. At this early stage babies will be listening to the language used around them and will enjoy songs, games that use songs and theme tunes to their favourite programmes. The common age for most babies to start to try and talk is around 12 months, however the pronunciation and words used will not be clear to fully understand as most of the time words will be used individually, such as; yes, no, mum, dad etc. However between the ages of 1 and 2 words will begin to flow and be put together increasing their vocabulary and by the age of 2 most children will have successfully learnt about 200 words. Between the ages of 2 and 3 children start to use ‘the negative’ and plurals in speech, however there will be still pronunciation and grammatical errors when speaking to other children and adults (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 3-7 years: The more sociable the child the better expressive language will be used and also the better flow of language, as they will start to quickly pick up on language used by others around them at school, at home and in the playground/parks. Questioning is also used a lot by children between these ages as they are trying to gain an understanding of the situations they find themselves in and how to speak about them and their experiences accurately. This then allows them to speak freely about their experiences in past and future tenses with much greater confidence (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 7-12 years: By this stage of maturation most children will be fluent speakers of a language and will be developing their reading and writing skills at school in literacy. Their language skills will improve dramatically and will then allow them to think about and discuss their ideas in a much broader scope allowing for further discussion and improvement. The ability to learn a new language is introduced during this stage and is key to the development of communication as it can ‘open up’ certain children within the classroom setting and is strongly encouraged to help others learn (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Upwards of 12 years old: By the ages of 12 years old most children will be fluent speakers of English language and also be learning an additional language at secondary school. This then improves communication processes and also social groups have formed at secondary school. The skills of reading and writing will have improved dramatically and over time up until early adulthood at 19 years of age verbal and written skills will be at a peak. In terms of discussions, their language skills will have developed and continue to develop over the years showing that they will be able to discuss ideas and learn from their iscussions in turn (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Intellectual and Cognitive Development: Children’s intellectual development depends on a wide range of their own experiences and opportunities they are presented with from the earliest outset. It is also important to understand that children learn in such various ways and at different paces as some will find tasks easy and o thers will not find them easy depending on their own strength and abilities (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 0-3 years: Babies at this age will be starting to observe the world around them and enjoy repetitive activities in which they can predict the outcome. Also at this stage they will be able to identify objects and potentially even colours and point to them with recognition. This is a very important stage for early intellectual and cognitive development as to ensure correct recognition and repetition of actions in games and movements to increase overall awareness of surroundings and goings on (Burnham and Baker, 2011). -7 years: At this stage adult approval is crucial in the development of writing and number skills of the child as they are still learning and the re-enforcement from an adult shows that they are learning correctly and they can move on to the next subject. Also in this stage the child is still learning about their world, what environment they are in and what they can learn from it as a general (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 7-12 years: During this stage of growth children start to develop ideas about activities or subjects which are starting to enjoy, also there will be an influence from adults in these aspects and what they take part in and also how they develop as a human being. Reading and writing skills will be becoming more fluent and they will develop their own ideas, thoughts and preferences on subjects, likes and dislikes and start to have a ‘character’. Also children in this stage will be able to transfer information and think in a more theoretical way (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 12-16 years: At this stage of development they have a clear idea of their favourite subjects and activities. These are evident as they tend to be more motivated in these areas and more successful in these areas also. During this stage it is important for children to have self confidence and feel good about themselves and wanting to belong within society in and out of school. During this stage they tend to reflect on their own personal achievements and choose their own learning pathway, but some may choose to dodge or avoid certain subjects that are less popular to them and may even truant from school (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 6-19 years: By this time they are coming to leave education and most will be thinking about college or university choices based on their chosen pathway from the previous stages. At this stage they are more able to focus on their areas of strength and then can continue to develop them as they move on through higher education if that is the path they have chosen or in their w orking life (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Social, emotional, behavioural and moral Development: 0-3 years: During this stage very young children will be starting to develop their own identities and characters. There will need to be a strong attachment formed and this is always to the parents at first and then the carers when the child enters nursery as there will be a key worker with the child who will be there for support, structure and contact. During this stage there will be tantrums and tears as the child will want to start doing things for themselves and they then become frustrated when they cannot complete the tasks (Burnham and Baker, 2011). From the early stages of this age group there are certain movements and behaviours followed and these include; Co-operating in dressing, demonstrations of affection, participating in nursery rhymes and waving hello and good bye. Also when reaching 1 year to 15 months old other social, emotional and behavioural traits are apparent including; Indicating wet or soiled pants, helping with dressing and emotionally dependent on familiar adult. As they progress through this stage other traits are observed including; trying to sing, imitating domestic activities, bowel control sometimes attained, alternating between clinging nd resistance, playing contently alone near familiar adult, competently feeds and drinks, keenly interested on outside environment – unaware of dangers, demanding chief care giver’s attention and often clings to adult, parallel play and throws tantrums if frustrated. 3-7 years: At this stage children are still developing their identities and will be startin g to play with classmates, peers and socialising using dramatisation and imaginative play stimulating the mind and active play, helping to develop a concept of different roles taken in their lives and what they can be like. Boundaries are important at this stage as they need to understand them and appreciate why they are there to protect and help them learn. Also at this stage in school and during activities it is important for the child to have a sense of responsibility for example class helper/ monitor (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 7-12 years: At this stage of development children’s friendships become much more established and groups of friends will appear. At the end of primary school and start of high school they will have the chance to solve problems independently and carry out activities which require independent learning and thought. The child will still need adult praise and encouragement and self confidence will be questioned as to how they appear and what others think of them. This is where adult re-assurance is key in this stage of development (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 12-16 years: During the teenage years the self-esteem and self confidence of children can be very vulnerable, as their bodies will be changing and taking on the outer signs of adulthood, however children will still need adult guidance and supervision during this time to get them through. Friendship groups will be in high demand and the child will want to spend more time with people their own age and ‘hang around’ with them but they will still display childish behaviour and characteristics which will need positive or negative re-enforcement from adults on how to behave in certain situations as the pressures of growing up and becoming an adult and the expectations of exams and results can get too much (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 16-19 years: This stage leads straight to adulthood but sometimes during this stage advice and guidance will need to be given as they lack experience as individuals emotionally, physically and mentally. Emotional maturity is different in every person and will need support and configuration from an adult. Also social interaction is important and a key part to adulthood to progress (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Explain the difference between sequence of development and rate of development and why the difference is important: When looking at child development from birth to 19 years old it is important to understand that every child is unique in their own way and they develop at their own rate. However it is important for practitioners to have an understanding of the expected pattern of development for each child as there are then milestones to view. Each child will go through the pattern of development but it will be at different ages when the different milestones are achieved and reached as they are completely dependent upon the individual child. The milestones set however are there as a broad average and will be attained by some children and individuals before others. The definition of the pattern of development is: â€Å"the usual rate of development (usual time frame in which development takes place) and sequence of development (usual order in which the development occurs)† (Burnham and Baker, 2011). So when looking at young people development it is important to understand their own individual growth pattern as some can be very different from others in the same year group, as some may be tall for their age, small for their age etc And may also have an impact socially on their emotional, social and mental behaviours. The best example of this is puberty as it is different in every individual and it is also a very emotional and socially distressing time for all teenagers. The variation between puberty can be up to 3 years in the same sex and age of teenagers, but even longer between boys and girls. The age that they can go through puberty can cause unwanted attention from peers and it can affect their emotions and have an impact socially on their lifestyles, as during puberty a teenager is developing his/her own self identity, independence and sexual identity. This is where the patterns of development are important to see as certain milestones will be reached before others and it can be assessed by parents, teachers and adults to see what the next step is and what can be used as a guide. The theory behind the development of children to adulthood is split up into sectors, they are all actually intertwined and it’s important to recognise that one can affect another as for example developing physically can affect independence, social skills and confidence in a negative or a positive manner. : Understand the Factors that influence children and young people’s development and how these affect practice Explain how children and young people’s development is influences by a range of personal and external factors: All children’s development is dependent upon a number of factors including; health, background, family, the environment they grow up in and live in and upon themselves as individuals. However there are two outstanding sectors that they can be split up into and they are Personal factors including: Health and learning difficulties and External factors that include: Background/Family environment, poverty and deprivation, personal choices, Care status and education. Personal Factors: Health: If students/pupils/children suffer from poor or ill health it can easily affect their pattern of development and their actual overall development into adulthood as it can restrict their developmental opportunities within the school setting and within a social setting to grow and become the individual they should become. A student/child having a physical impairment or medical condition can easily affect them both physically and mentally as well as it can affect their emotional development as it can stop sporting activities and creating social situations. Their emotional development will also be affected if they are unaware of the needs they require and to the extent that they are affected as that could be damaging to enter situations where help is required. This is where in schools it is vital that all teachers and support staff are aware of any conditions and what can be done so that all are included as far as possible in all lessons and learning activities that they are in attendance (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Learning Difficulties: A child who has known learning difficulties will need to be encouraged to develop in all areas of development to the best of their ability, this may require some adult help and encouragement in the form of support and knowledge from other professionals to cater for their needs and requirements. To encourage their development and to make sure they can develop along the same path they will require monitoring and feedback given to ensure they can develop at their own natural rate yet still be fully engaged in all activities they are present for. External Factors: Background/Family Environment: The pupils at a school will all come from a very different background and family upbringing, including different cultures, circumstances and whole environments. When the child is at school there will be heavy changes to the family setting as the child progresses through school, which in some cases is not seen by the school. Sometimes it may include a divorce between parents, bereavements, illness, new partners, moving house and changing location, and all of these in turn can affect the family as a unit of support and it can also deeply affect the student involved. Any one of these instances may affect the child in an emotional/intellectual way and also affect their development in these areas. It can also change the behavioural patterns and their abilities to learn within a structured setting if no structure is provided at home by the family environment. Poverty: This is more than likely going to have a detrimental effect on student development as a whole both physically, mentally and emotionally as it has been shown in the past â€Å"that children who come from deprived backgrounds are less likely to thrive and achieve well in school, as parents will find it more difficult to manage their children’s needs† (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Poverty is a very tricky situation to deal with as the students will obviously be affected by it and will then not want to speak about the â€Å"trouble† they may be facing at home and how they are struggling. Within this situation it is important to be a support to that child and offer something that is at least stable in their lives and that they can rely upon on a day to day basis. Personal Choices: These can easily affect the development of each and every child as they grow older as personal choices can affect friendship groups, extra-curricular activities, hobbies, academic involvement and attainments. Here though they may need advice and support from adults including parents, teachers, siblings and other role models on making more informed decisions for themselves (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Care Status: If a child is in the care of others or looked after, this can obviously affect their development as they get older in many different ways. Although there will be regular meetings between the carers and support staff keeping close eyes on the child and seeing how they can progress them on. If there are any issues the carers and school can solve the problems straight away. With this situation there is really close links between school and carers ensuring the best outcomes are achieved for the child (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Education: This is not a given for some countries and some people, as some children may come into a school environment without any previous education, whether it be because they are foreign or home schooled as for them they may believe that education starts later in life. These situations require extra help to get them settled into the school environment and also settled into their life in the UK (Burnham and Baker, 2011). CYP 3. 1: 2. 3: Explain how Theories of Development and Frameworks to support Development influence current practice. There have been many theories which have been used to explain the theory of development and many of them have influenced the way in which we approach our work with children of all ages. There are many psychologists and they have different ideas and philosophies about how children learn, as some feel that a child’s ability is innate and engrained and for some others it depends on the potential opportunities available to them or they are given. This can sometimes be referred to as the ‘Nature vs Nurture’ debate (Burnham and Baker, 2011). There are many different theories that can be used to describe current practice and these include; Cognitive/Constructivist, Psychoanalytic, Operant conditioning, Behaviourist, Social Learning, Humanist and Social Pedagogy. Cognitive/Constructivist: This theory has been created by Piaget and he believed that the way that children learn and think is determined by their age and stage of development, because he believed learning was based on experiences which they go through as part of growing up and becoming a young adult. This theory also makes us believe that as children’s experiences change, they adapt what they believe, thus meaning that some children only believe that apples are green if they have only ever seen green apples or that pens only ever write in black of they have only ever used black ink etc. This theory can also relate to the fact that children need to expand their experiences in order for them to develop and increase their own learning, meaning that eventually they take ownership of their own learning and then they can adapt themselves to situations which they have not experiences yet and not had a chance to develop skills for, but using the others they have already learned they can easily adapt to them and make them work (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Psychoanalytic: This theory was developed by Freud and he stated that our personalities are made up of three parts; 1. The Id 2. The Ego and 3. The Superego Freud also believed that these all develop as a child develops and grows into themselves, however he did state that they grow subconsciously driven by psychological needs. This can be seen in kids as they start to progress through school groups and age groups as they can become more confident all of a sudden if they perform well within a group or a crowd, in front of others and impress their friends to become popular. These three parts play a huge part in the development of a child from early years to secondary school. The Id is the naturally instinctive part of our personality, as it is based on biological needs such as hunger as this is a truly selfish act, as if a child cries for food and claims to be hungry they are not naturally thinking of others but only themselves. The Ego is a very tricky one to describe as it starts to develop as the child has the realisation that his/her behaviour affects how and why its needs are met, this can be in a classroom setting or a home setting where a hand in the air for attention ay not get the reaction they want so they start to shout and develop a better strategy to get the attention of the teacher or teaching assistant. The superego develops much later on in the childhood and is based on the theory of the development of the conscience. This superego may develop with conflicting views to that of the natural ego and then plays on the strings of the conscience making the child feel guilty, or vice versa to say that if the ego of the child behaves well then th e superego will promote pride and feelings of jubilation within the individual which will drive the Id and the Ego forward. All of these are intertwined and can easily affect each other in many ways and can all be seen in the developmental framework for children from early years to young adulthood (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Operant Conditioning: â€Å"Operant conditioning theory states that our learning is based on a consequence which follows a particular behaviour† (Burnham and Baker, 2011). This basically describes operant conditioning theory in a nutshell as we will always repeat the actions that are enjoyable and bring us satisfaction or reward/jubilation from completing them, and in the same vein we will not repeat the actions that do not bring us happiness or make us feel bad/angry. This theory is particularly relevant to class based learning activities and behaviour issues, as for example if a child is praised for working well at a certain task then they are more likely to work hard on the next task to receive the same sort of gratification for working well, B. F. Skinner called this ‘Positive Reinforcement’. However some children are on the other end of the spectrum and are badly behaved and in return they are punished for it, by way of detention, service duty or telling off by the teacher. This theory of operant conditioning works that way. B. F. Skinner’s work on operant conditioning is very similar to work by John Watson called Behaviourist theory. However the major difference is that the individuals are far more active in the operant conditioning process as it is them who must make the right choices to receive the positive reinforcement or in turn receive their own punishment for making the wrong choice (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Behaviourist: As mentioned previously John Watson’s theory was that we are all born with the same abilities and that anyone can be taught anything, and we are not dependant on innate ability but on watching others perform tasks and then completing them for ourselves. This idea is based on ‘classical conditioning’ and was born out of the theory based on Pavlov’s dogs research. Pavlov’s research is infamous with the dogs as he trained the dogs with a bell as it was rang right before they were about to be fed, which made them salivate as they closely associated the bell with food. The dogs then stopped salivating when the bell was rang a repeatedly and no food appeared. This means that they can be trained in certain ways and that it backed up Watson’s theory of classical conditioning. This can relate to a classroom situation as if children are taught from a very early age then they have been ‘trained’ to behave in the way that is associated with good behaviour and a positive classroom environment (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Social Learning: This theory was developed by Bandura and this is also related to the behaviourist approach as it did accept the approach of conditioning and the principles behind it, BUT Bandura stated that learning takes place from watching and learning off others rather than being taught or reinforced by the teachers or teaching assistants. This can be seen a lot as children copy the behaviour or activities of adults or their peers in the class without being told to do so as this may relate to the theory of Freud and the psychoanalytic approach using the ego, superego and Id. This also means that from Bandura the learning of every individual is spontaneous and can be affected daily and regularly by the actions of others (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Humanist: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was first part of the development of a behaviourism policy after he had studied the work of Watson. Also Maslow accepted the work completed by Freud on the presence of unconscious and the ego, superego and Id, however at the same time not believing that others and individuals were not driven by it. This led to the creation of one of the better theories used to talk about the development of the child and how they can develop naturally as an individual. This is meaning that gaining a better understanding of ourselves was needed first and Humanistic psychology is based on the free will of the individual involved, putting it against the hierarchy of needs gives the individual something to aim for and work towards and without it they cannot progress. This theory works as you can see from Picture 1 below it tells them the feeling within each segment so they can all see where they are on the spectrum and how far they have to go to get there and what it means to work towards it all (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Picture 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs for Children’s individual development to adulthood Social Pedagogy: This theory relates to the humanistic framework used to support children’s development, as it refers to a holistic approach to the needs of the child through health, school, family, spiritual life, leisure activities and the community. This approach has a lot to do with the social aspect from the child and how they react to situation and the child being central through their involvement and interaction within the settings named above and the wider world (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 3: Understand how to monitor children and young people’s development and interventions that should take place if this is not following the expected pattern 3. 1: Explain how to monitor children and young people’s development using different methods There are many different methods for monitoring pupils and these include: * Assessment frameworks Observations * Standard measurements * Information from carers and colleagues Whilst working with children all of the forms of monitoring them above will need to be used during the times that you work with them. It is very important to understand the purpose of certain observations as part of the role of a Teaching Assistant, as these play a vital role in reporting back to the teacher, who in return reports to the parents and carers of the pupils on pupil progress on tutor consultation days. Parents and teachers alike share information about pupils to enable them to work out schemes for each student to maximise their potential and then staff can work together with the best interest of the children at heart. There are many types of observations as they can be carried out formally and completed with paperwork attached and recommendations or informal observations which help in the class development as then more aspects can be utilised by the staff involved. Informal observations are those that are carried out each day by the staff that you work with and on the pupils that you work with, as they are minimal but over time they allow you to build a very clear picture of the children you are working with and what they are like as human beings. These observations and things that you notice need to be reported to the teacher s involved so they can work with you and the student involved (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Standard measurements are always used to measure a child’s physical development and to determine whether they are growing at a natural rate/expected rate for their age. It is very unlikely that as a teaching assistant you will be needed to perform these measurements as they will be completed by health practitioners (Burnham and Baker, 2011). The assessment framework or assessment triangle is the term given to the way that a child is assessed, to determine whether they require help and what help they require. Using these assessment frameworks helps to identify the individuals needs and the child’s best interests can be planned for with regard to their stage of development. These standard measurements and assessment frameworks are useful in deciding whether or not the child is reaching their expected milestones on their own individual course for development. As a teaching assistant you will not be required to use all of these without the guidance and support of the form teacher or class teachers or SENCO (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 3. 2: Explain the reasons why children and young people’s development may not follow the expected pattern. Children do not always follow a certain developmental pathway or meet the milestones that they are set at the same time. Sometimes this can be due to advanced physical development, but delayed in language development or vice versa. Sometimes the expected patterns of development can be affected by two things: * Personal Factors – such as health status, presence of a disability, genetic inheritance or a disposition * External factors – such as economic, environmental, family circumstances and trauma. These can affect the patterns of development as they include all of the factors mentioned in question 2 of this paper. However if there are concerns about a students welfare and their development they should always speak to the form utor or the line manager in the first instance about the understanding of the child and how they can be allowed to develop correctly (Burnham and Baker, 2011). 3. 3: Explain how disability may affect development Having a disability can affect the children’s development in a number of ways, as it can cause a delay in a particular aspect of their development as for example a physical disability may affect their social skills if they become withdrawn or excluded from the group as well as their behaviour if they become frustrated. Also the attitudes and expectations of others can affect the development of children with a disability, as if people assume that a disabled student is not able to achieve the results and they are not given the same opportunities to take part and feel included in the lessons they are being restricted in their individual development in all areas. When working with pupils who have Special Educational Needs, you have to be careful not to ‘label’ the students at all as the students themselves and the parents and professionals involved will all be very cautious about the affect it can have on student development within a school setting. This is meaning that we as professionals must look at the needs of the individual first, without focussing on the disability or impairment. This is where the argument between medical model of disability and the social model of disability has been referred to as the medical model of disability has been used more than the social model and the kind of language used has promoted the attitude that people with disabilities are individuals who need to be corrected and or brought into line with the rest of the group. This however has sometimes led to unhelpful and useless labelling of individuals in terms of their disability and not their potential (Burnham and Baker, 2011). Also there is the factor about having realistic expectations of the pupils and consider their learning needs, however for some the curriculum will need to be modified and differentiated as the pupils will need support. However if a student has SEN it should not just be assumed that they require the extra help as they may already be independent and this must be encouraged to ensure future learning and development can take place.