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The UCL Centre for Inclusive Education (CIE) provided consultancy to the Bank of England to ensure its resources for schools were more accessible to children with special education needs.
Founded in 1694, the Bank of England is the UK's central bank. Its mission is to maintain monetary and financial stability in the UK. The Bank of England also provides downloadable resources for primary and secondary schools, which complement the school curriculum. These cover money and the economy, the gender pay gap and how the world of work is changing. The bank's Museum and Education Team approached the CIE, part of the IOE, to advise on these classroom materials.
The CIE reviewed lesson plans, presentations and activities. The corresponding report shows how they could be adapted to meet four categories of need:
- Cognition and learning
- Communication and interaction
- Sensory and physical needs
- Social, emotional and mental health.
One proposed change related to the headline 'Money Makes The World Go Round'. Dr Amelia Roberts, Deputy Director, CIE, explains the recommendation: "If you are autistic that could be very discombobulating because money doesn't literally make the world go round. It was a creative approach, which was beautifully illustrated, but it's not inclusive".
The CIE also ran workshops, which touched on recognising someone with anxiety or autism and gave examples of inclusive teaching methods. The 'Odd One Out' activity, illustrated in the image above, is an approach used to engage everyone and generate discussion.
Dr Roberts added: "It was exciting to work with such an iconic institution to help make their educational materials as accessible as possible to children with educational needs".
Image: Spiroview Inc. / Adobe Stock