school inclusion to learn better and live better together

For children who are deaf, who suffer from autism, mental retardation or other disabilities, finding their place in school is not always easy. Various measures promote the inclusion of these students in the school environment.

In French schools, the terms equality and fraternity of the republican motto are not taken lightly. For many years, the educational teams have endeavored to welcome all children, whatever their origin, their difficulties or their handicap. Long gathered in specialized establishments, students with disabilities are now taken care of in traditional schools, with some adjustments. If the inclusion of these populations in difficulty sometimes suffers from a lack of means, the mechanisms are multiplying. Immersion in four institutions that implement inclusion in different ways.

In Saint-Étienne du Rouvray, Celia Bailli takes charge of a class like no other. Within the André Ampère elementary school, she takes care of the ULIS: the Local Unit for School Inclusion which welcomes 14 students. And when asked to explain how it works, the answer is a bit confusing: “Me ? I have no class. I only have students who come from other classes.” Yet it is this particularity that makes the system so interesting: pupils in difficulty are not permanently grouped together, they are educated in the class that corresponds to their age or level, like all the other pupils. The ULIS class supports them when it becomes too complicated for them to be in an ordinary class.

Here, there is another dynamic, we prove to them that they can progress.

Célia Bailli, Head of Local Unit for Inclusive Education

Interview with France 3

The fourteen students who attend ULIS are between 7 and 12 years old, they suffer from various disabilities and half are autistic. For these young people, following a traditional schooling is not possible. But with Célia’s help, they were able to overcome their difficulties and continue learning almost normally. The specialist teacher says: “We have students who arrive with a total lack of love for school. They tell themselves that they are not capable, that they are useless. They think it’s useless to work, because they can’t. Here, we are in a different dynamic, we prove to them that they can progress.

To facilitate the learning of her rather special students, Célia offers each child an individual work plan and adapted methods. Generally, the children spend the morning in ULIS to complete the learning of maths and French. In the afternoon, they return to their respective classes. But the system does not stop at the morning class and Célia is not the only one to intervene. On the day of our visit, for example, an occupational therapist comes to spend some time with Alice, a CM1 student, to teach her how to use a tablet, a tool that is essential to her when she is in class. There are also the AESH (Accompanying Students with Disabilities) who accompany some children in class. In the afternoon, when the ULIS students are with the others, the specialized teacher intervenes in “co-teaching”: she comes as a supplement in a class, to help all the children in difficulty.

In Saint-Étienne du Rouvray, as elsewhere in France, ULIS classes allow students with disabilities to break out of isolation.

In Evreux, the Jean Moulin elementary school has chosen to set up a less widespread system, centered on autonomy and life in society. In this school of 255 students, eight children who suffer from autistic disorders benefit from the “Self-Regulation Device” (DAR). Conducted for two years, the experiment was made permanent at the last start of the school year. It is the only establishment that sets up this system in the region.

We are here to promote the autonomy of children.

Marine, special educator

Interview with France 3

That morning, Maël, a CE1 student, welcomes our team to his class. It is 8:30 a.m. and it is time for dictation, a difficult exercise for him, who suffers from autistic disorders. Marine, the specialized educator who accompanies her, is not far away. While he could only go to kindergarten for an hour a day, Maël has been in school full-time since his arrival in elementary school. As part of the DAR, he participates several times a week in workshops to work on behavior in society. “Our goal is to promote inclusion, whether they are in their class. We are here to provide tools, to promote the autonomy of children, so that they can work like the others, at the same pace.”says Marine.

If the youngest are accompanied most of the school time, the older students, who have benefited from the system for several years, are now autonomous. For Nell, 10 years old, student in CM2, it’s a real plus: “It helped me a lot, in terms of my emotions, on all levels. I manage to fit in better, I work better in class, I am more focusedIt suits me.” This progress would not have been possible without the close collaboration between the teachers and the medico-social team. In addition to individual support for the youngest, workshops in small groups are organized by educators and psychologists.

Coming from Canada, the self-regulation device has proven its effectiveness. Thanks to the Jean Moulin school team, several students were able to join the college independently.

The place of these children is not behind walls.

Frank Auffret

Interview with France 3

In Mesnil en Ouche, the medico-educational institute (IME) welcomes children suffering from intellectual disabilities and, here too, we work on autonomy and integration. The educational team has broken down the barriers between special education and mainstream education. While the majority of IMEs provide schooling for their residents internally, Franck Auffret, the director of this Eure establishment, has chosen to send the students for whom he is responsible to colleges in the area: “The place of these children is not behind walls, in the countryside, but at school, among others.” he assures.

In this establishment, a dozen young people aged 12 to 16 are educated outside. Every morning after breakfast, they go to school, like any schoolboy their age. Arrived on the Mesnil-en-Ouche campus, the young people go to the two classrooms reserved for them. Isabelle, a school teacher and Laura, a specialist educator, take care of the teaching. In the playground, as in the canteen, or during all the extra-curricular activities organized by the establishment, the students of the IME rub shoulders with the other middle school students. For these young people who are often sidelined because of their disability, it is an opportunity to maintain a link with known children, in primary school in particular. For other middle school students, it’s also a way to learn to accept difference.

Here, the inclusion of this Specialized Teaching Unit was thought of from the design of the college buildings, a symbol, but also a real revolution for these children and their parents. For the director of the establishment, “It shows that above all, we are schoolboys. The greatest satisfaction I have had in recent years as a headteacher has been when parents have come to me saying: thank you, because that’s it, our child is in school, and I don’t didn’t think that one day he would be.”

Other disability, other device. For more than 10 years, deaf students have been welcomed at the Lycée Marcel Sembat in Sotteville-lès-Rouen. In recent years, the Teaching Centers for Young Deaf people have multiplied. They aim to guarantee the continuity of their school career, from kindergarten to high school.

For Yann, the time for the first presentation in front of the class has arrived. A difficult exercise for this young deaf student who only speaks sign language. A student in electrical engineering, this is his fourth year at the Rouen urban area high school. Since his arrival in the establishment, he has benefited from personalized support: an AESH most of the time and an essential interpreter to enable him to understand and communicate. Yann explains: “When I don’t have an interpreter, it’s a bit more complicated for me, it’s also more tiring. I have more trouble understanding. If the teachers express themselves orally, I understand about 30% of what is said.”

In Sotteville, the high school brings together human and material resources in one place, to best accommodate hearing-impaired students. In 10 years, the reception of these young people has become usual and the teachers are also more sensitive to this handicap. Carla, a second-year student, immediately saw the difference when she arrived here: “I feel less alone, because there are other deaf people in the school. I feel more at ease here, the teachers know how to explain things better. When I was in primary, it was more complicated, because it was not specialized for the deaf.

When they arrive in second, deaf or hard of hearing young people are grouped in the same class. This year, there are three of them and they all manage to express themselves orally. No need for an interpreter this time, but the small group benefits from a common AESH. “I often reformulate instructions. I take notes too: for them, it’s impossible to concentrate on the teacher and take notes at the same time, because they rely on lip reading.” To ask for help, deaf students can meet in a dedicated room, a mediator is present part-time to accompany them.

The presence of these young people with disabilities is also an opening for able-bodied students who also learn to communicate with the hearing impaired. Sign language lessons are offered at the school. Learning that contributes to better student inclusion.

After 1O years of existence, this device has proven its effectiveness, today the rectorate of Rouen is working on setting up a complete course for these young people, starting in kindergarten.

If you want to know more, you can consult the government website handicap.gouv.fr.