The SPQ is designed to support understanding of children with additional support needs who may be experiencing restricted participation in the school context. It is a first level, universal tool which can be used by teachers to understand the needs of individual children and by school leadership to understand the range of needs and issues across groups/schools.
Research indicates four key factors are important when considering what influences learner’s participation:
- “Being” — the thoughts and feelings the learner has about themselves (e.g. understanding their own abilities, their interests, understanding their roles or feeling like a member of the school community).
- “Doing” — what the learner actually does in school (e.g. following rules, showing interest, following a routine, or social interactions with others).
- The learner’s “Experience of Body & Mind (Symptoms)” commonly experienced by children with disabilities (e.g. pain, anxiety, mood and fatigue/tiredness).
- The school “Environment” — the physical and social
characteristics of the school context.
The SPQ provides a quick introduction to the concepts reflected in the CIRCLE resources and focuses on these four key factors noted above and aims to address each of these systematically.
The SPQ complements, and may be used alongside existing CIRCLE materials.
EAST offers training in the SPQ and has resources available on our ASN & EAST glow tiles for East Ayrshire practitioners.
