Implications of the shift away from differentiation for children with special educational needs: lessons from primary mathematics and teaching for mastery in England

This paper considers the shift away from differentiation in England and the implications of this for children with special educational needs. It does this through a fine-grained exploration of the experiences of teachers at two primary schools in England of teaching primary mathematics using a Teaching for Mastery approach. The study involved a mix of classroom observation, teacher discussions and formal interviews with four Year 5 (ages 9–10) primary teachers. Findings indicated that whilst teachers in the study continued to implement some individualised approaches, classes inhabited an uneasy ‘half-way house’ where tensions between whole class teaching, particularly in terms of perceived pressure to move on to the next topic, and the impetus to enact elements of differentiated instruction, remain unresolved. International implications of the study for the wider phenomenon of the shift away from differentiation in England, such as the adoption of ‘adaptive teaching’ are also considered. In particular, an argument is made, based on the findings, that ‘idealist’ policy borrowing without sufficient resourcing, particularly for teachers, may fail children.