‘I Don't Want Someone to Speak on my Behalf’, Co-designing Relationship Education Resources with Pupils in Special Educational Needs Schools

Abstract

This paper draws on the authors’ experience of working with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school pupils on a research project about domestic abuse and healthy relationships. The focus is on work with pupils in four SEND schools. Disabled women in the UK are more than twice as likely to experience domestic abuse compared to women who are not disabled. The abuse they face usually lasts for a longer period and with greater severity. Research shows that school staff are often reluctant to talk with disabled young people about relationship education and relationship abuse.  This means pupils’ views and opinions often go unheard and undervalued. Pupils with SEND needs can be particularly vulnerable to abusive relationships, so a focus on friendships and healthy relationships and how this impacts on emotional wellbeing is important in teaching relationship and sex education (RSE).  Teaching RSE became compulsory in UK schools in 2020. The paper considers how creative methodologies can be used in the classroom to listen to and respect the voices of pupils and to ensure that their participation is integral to research. It explores how creative research methods can be adapted to diverse participants, including those with SEND requirements, in particular, pupils with visually and sensory impairments, to enable the creation of a co-designed resource on relationship education. There is increasing recognition of the need for a whole school approach to prevent gender-based violence, and the need to equip school staff to feel more confident teaching relationship education to SEND pupils. However, there is little research on how effective current resources are for pupils with disabilities. This paper demonstrates the importance of co-designed resources tailored specifically for use by pupils with disabilities to learn about domestic abuse and healthy relationships.