Teaching a child who has a disfigurement

Every teacher wants to see their pupils develop to the best of their ability, grow in confidence, make friends and enjoy their education in an inclusive and welcoming school community.

Yet a child who has a disfigurement has to deal with other people's pre-occupation with their appearance on a daily basis. At school, staring, comments and questions, bullying and ostracism can be common.

Without appropriate support and intervention, these experiences can lead to low self-confidence and self-esteem which in turn can lead to behavioural problems, difficulties in making friends, poor social skills and poor academic performance.

Disfigurement is included in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 which was extended to schools in 2003. As a requirement of this Act, schools must make sure that pupils who have a disfigurement are not discriminated against in any way.

Role-modelling

As a teacher your role is key because of your ability to inform and influence your pupils. Your reactions are crucial. The way you behave and treat a pupil with a disfigurement can influence how other children and staff members respond. If you can look at the face of a child and see beyond the disfigurement to engage with the child his or herself, you create the possibility for other children and staff member to follow your lead about how to relate to the person rather than the disfigurement.

Your role modelling will shape the atmosphere or 'culture' which surrounds and supports all the activities in the classroom, playground or gym and can lay the foundations for the way in which a pupil with a disfigurement and his peers experience their education together.

Preparing and making adjustments

To enable your pupil t to enjoy school and achieve socially and academically, you and your colleagues will need to consider the following:

• All staff members need a basic understanding of the basic psychological and social issues that arise for everyone when someone has a disfigurement.
• Anticipate the curiosity and the questions that children or young people will experience and prepare responses which will be socially positive for everyone.
• Carefully monitor social interactions among pupils.
• Develop interventions to discourage teasing or ostracism and facilitate positive social interactions.
• If required, create special opportunities for a child or young person who looks different to discover and practice better social interactions, including positive responses to other people’s reactions to their disfigurement.
• Identify signs of low self-esteem and build good self-esteem.
• Work closely with parents and with other professionals, if involved, to ensure good care and support if required and good transitions, e.g. if the child or young person is away receiving medical treatment and then returning to school, and when moving to a new school.
• Ensure learning activities and resources enable children and young people to go beyond stereotypes around appearance, difference and disfigurement.

Working with Changing Faces

Disfigurement brings with it many questions for teachers that do not always arise with other disabilities from, "How can we deal with questions from other pupils like, 'What happened to his face?'" to "When should I start to explain about his condition."

To find out more about the support and advice we can offer teachers who currently have a child with a disfigurement attending their school as well as parents, please download our information sheet.

We also run training sessions for teachers and school management teams. Because of the particular and complex issues associated with disfigurement, schools that are able to get it right are often ahead on other equality, diversity and inclusion issues and in raising standards overall.

Publications and resources

A range of guides, books and curriculum-linked resources based on research findings and our experience in schools are available for teachers to download or purchase. Please click here for more information.

For more information, advice or support please call Changing Faces on 0845 4500 275 or email info@changingfaces.org.uk.