The modern world creates a lot of opportunities for the young. One of the ways to achieve success is education. All students should have equal opportunities to take advantage of participation in the education process, including those with special educational needs. In the face of the increasing diversity of students' needs, a teacher is expected meet the needs of every child / student. That is why all institutions that work for education and its quality need some complex support. The project Academy of Special Educational Needs creates some opportunities to build an area of cooperation among various institutions supporting the work of a teacher. Within the project, all teachers will get support in the form of workshops concerning working methods, tools as well as good practices developed in partner countries. Participants: Teachers / specialists / consultants (psychologists, pedagogues, speech therapists, people responsible for the quality of education) from 4 partner countries. These will be people working with the SPE students as well as those, providing support to teachers who deal with broadly understood education including inclusive education. Methodology: interinstitutional cooperation; inclusive education; student with special educational needs; methods of working with a pupil with SPE; key competences; learning foreign languages; ICT in teaching and learning process. The main goal of the project: Developing a model applying effective development of key competences dedicated to SPE pupils by raising teachers’ / specialists’ / consultants’ professional skills in the field of inclusive forms and teaching methods, with particular emphasis on the use of ICT tools. Specific objectives: getting to know foreign models of diagnosing and supporting a SPE student - using foreign experience on the basis of their own institution; getting to know other solutions in the field of effective and creative use of ICT in the process of developing students' key competences; familiarizing the management staff with facilities implemented into educational systems applying inclusive education and teaching methods used in partner countries. Outputs: developing the principles of institutional cooperation aimed to support students with special educational needs (to work out the rules of cooperation between the governing authority, pedagogical-psychological counseling, facility for teachers and schools, types and forms of support); extension of the professional skills and experience in the diagnosis and support of a SEN student, with the particular emphasis on the needs distinctive for a student with specific learning difficulties such as Asperger's Syndrome; encouraging the schools, those involved in the project, to implement developed solution concerning inclusive education; developing some mechanisms to ensure educational achievement for all pupils at risk of exclusion, with special emphasis on SEN pupils; developing scenarios of national workshop meetings and e-learning consultations regarding the student's SPE in the areas indicated in the project; developing a guide for teachers, comprising a housing substantive in the creation and modification of curriculum for pupils with SEN, taking into account the good practices, tools and methods developed in the partner countries during the work on the international e-learning course; developing digital laboratory including methods and forms of work with SEN pupils; developing international e-learning course on methods and ways of working with SEN pupils taking into account the good practices in the individual partner countries, with particular emphasis on creative use of ICT tools. Actions: organizing of 4 international project meetings; organizing of 4 short-term training programs for 32 Participants from 4 countries: Poland, Portugal, Greece and Croatia; developing a guide for teachers; developing an international e-learning course; conducting national workshops, meetings and e-learning consultations for teachers. Impact and long-term benefits: increasing the effectiveness of support to teachers working with SEN students; increasing teachers' level of effective and creative use of ICT in the process of developing the key competences among SPE pupils; increasing teachers' knowledge of inclusive education models and teaching methods in partner countries; improving the competence and skills of the project participants to support SEN pupils; providing access to an e-learning course for a wide group of teachers; improving the quality of schools and educational institutions in the field of diagnosis and support of the SPE pupil; increasing the quality of support provided to pupils with the SPE and their parents in the area of key competences and inclusive education; increasing educational opportunities for students exposed to exclusion, with special emphasis on SEN pupils.
By implementing the project, we wanted to increase the knowledge of teachers/educators/specialists working with a SEN student regarding inclusive education and provide them with modern working tools to achieve better results in day-to-day didactic work. The exchange of experience, good practice in terms of new and varied techniques employed in working with a SEN student will certainly improve the quality of education. Due to the increasing number of pupils requiring an individual approach, an individualised educational pathway (out of 1,000 pupils - 20% with SEN), the implementation of the project was a very important and valuable experience, which has and will continue to bring long-term benefits in the form of a better prepared staff of specialists. The implementation of the project has also increased awareness among parents of problems related to the needs of their SEN child/pupil and possible forms of support. Learning from each other through exchange of experiences, enrichment of working methods, contributed to strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation and development of best solutions for the diagnosis and support of a SEN pupil.
The project Special Educational Needs Academy was a response to the needs arising from the insufficient knowledge of teachers in terms of diagnosing a student with special educational needs. TODAY's education requires new solutions aimed at cooperation between different institutions in order to improve the quality of education services. To meet these expectations, it is necessary to supplement the knowledge, competences and working methods offered by many professionals on an ongoing basis. Learning from others, exchanging good practices and good solutions is the best form of further development, strengthening educative quality. The project allowed teachers, specialists and teacher-consultants to expand their knowledge on effective and inclusive teaching methods with creative use of ICT in the process of developing key competences among SEN pupils, with particular emphasis on three project areas: with specific learning difficulties, Asperger syndrome and gifted pupils.