PRACTICAL CASE: Designing an inclusive learning situation in a multilevel classroom (Years 3/4) in a rural setting: Level III Response for students with ASD in the English area.

SCHOOL CONTEXT

Type of school: Grouped Rural School (CRA) "El Sabinar", located in a mountainous inland area of the province of Castellón (Comunitat Valenciana), characterised by geographical dispersion and depopulation. The case takes place in one of the satellite classrooms (pedanías), which has three active units: a mixed Early Childhood Education unit, a multilevel Year 1/2 Primary unit, and a multilevel Year 3/4 Primary unit.
Setting: Rural, lower-to-middle socioeconomic level, with strong ties to agricultural, livestock, and rural tourism activities. There is a close relationship between the school and the local council (ayuntamiento pedáneo) to promote the cultural life of the locality.
School Educational Project (PEC): The school is noted for its innovation focus on project-based learning (PBL), the sustainable use of natural resources, and the digitalisation of the rural environment. It participates in the ecological school garden promotion programme as an interdisciplinary axis.
Language programme: Authorised under the framework of current legislation in the Comunitat Valenciana (Ley 1/2024 CV, de Libertad Educativa). The school applies a vehicular language design that guarantees linguistic balance, assigning the Foreign Language: English area a total of 3 sessions per week in the multilevel Year 3/4 classroom, using English as the exclusive vehicular language in that subject.
Specialist classroom: The CRA does not have a specialist classroom (such as a UECO or CyL unit) in this satellite building, so all students with specific educational support needs (NEAE) are educated on a fully inclusive basis in their respective mainstream reference classrooms, receiving specialist support in an integrated manner.
Candidate's role: Specialist teacher of Foreign Language: English at the CRA (itinerant between two of the school's satellite buildings). This academic year, the candidate also holds the position of Digital Projects Coordinator (ICT), forming part of the pedagogical coordination committee (COCOPE).

CLASS GROUP

Year and group: Multilevel classroom grouping Years 3 and 4 of Primary Education.
Number of students: A total of 14 students (6 students in Year 3 and 8 students in Year 4). The gender distribution is 8 boys and 6 girls.
Initial assessment and Transition Plan: Analysis of the initial assessment and information from the previous year's Transition Plan reveals a group with strong social cohesion due to living together in a small rural setting, but with great heterogeneity in learning pace and level of communicative competence in English. Widespread difficulties are identified in oral production (speaking) and in the acquisition of systematic autonomous working routines, accentuated after the summer period.
Previous programmes: The classroom has previously participated in language stimulation programmes and projects to promote reading in foreign languages (such as the use of Storytelling methodologies and small theatrical projects).

STUDENTS

The group presents a high degree of diversity, with the following specific profiles standing out:

Lucas (Year 4 of Primary Education) - ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder): A student with a socio-psycho-pedagogical report and proposal for a Level III Educational Response (specialist). He presents ASD Grade 1 (formerly referred to as high-functioning). He excels in visual memory and shows a great interest in technological devices, but displays severe difficulties in the pragmatics of communication (understanding of double meanings, figurative language, and unstructured social interactions), sensory hypersensitivity to unexpected noises, and high cognitive rigidity that generates anxiety when faced with changes of routine without prior notice. He requires the design and implementation of a Personalised Action Plan (PAP) including an Individualised Curricular Adaptation (DIAC/ACI) in the English area.
Carla (Year 3 of Primary Education) - Global developmental delay: A student with learning difficulties and a curricular gap of one year in the language area. She receives support from the Special Education Teaching Assistant (EEE) during 2 of the 3 weekly English sessions to facilitate her participation in cooperative dynamics and access to adapted materials.
Mateo (Year 4 of Primary Education) - Emotional vulnerability: A student in temporary foster care. He experiences frequent episodes of low self-esteem, lack of motivation towards learning, and social withdrawal behaviours during group foreign language activities.
Olena (Year 3 of Primary Education) - Late enrolment: A student of Ukrainian origin, enrolled at the school in the middle of the previous academic year. She has a basic command of Spanish for everyday communication, but her competence in Valencian and English is still emergent (Level A1.1 of the CEFR). She displays a very positive attitude and excellent performance in visual and artistic expression tasks.
Sofía (Year 4 of Primary Education) - High Intellectual Abilities (ALCAES): A student with a very fast learning pace, excellent oral communicative competence in English, and great initiative. She becomes easily bored with mechanical or repetitive tasks and therefore demands extension activities, research tasks, and positive leadership roles in the classroom.

RESOURCES

Human resources:
- Conversation Assistant: Of native origin (United Kingdom), assigned to the CRA. Provides support in this satellite building 1 day per week (Thursday, coinciding with one of the English sessions).
- Support specialists: Teacher of Therapeutic Pedagogy (PT) and Teacher of Speech and Language (AL), shared with other satellite buildings of the CRA. They visit this building 2 days per week.
- Special Education Teaching Assistant (EEE): Available part-time at the school, accompanies Carla during the indicated English sessions.
- Families: High willingness to collaborate in practical workshops and community activities linked to the school garden and local traditions.
Material resources:
- Technological: An Interactive Digital Whiteboard (PDI) in the mainstream classroom, high-speed internet connection (fibre optic recently installed in the village), and a mobile trolley with 6 digital tablets for shared use in the mainstream classroom.
- Spaces and other resources: Class library with children's literature titles in English adapted by reading level (graded readers), an ecological school garden adjacent to the school building, and a basic educational robotics kit (Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots) managed by the ICT coordination team.

TEACHING STAFF

Teaching Team: Composed of the class tutor for the mainstream Year 3/4 classroom (who teaches Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences in a globalised approach), the Physical Education specialist, the Music specialist, and yourself as the Foreign Language: English specialist.
Coordination: A weekly coordination hour is available (Friday afternoons) for the entire teaching team of the satellite building, as well as monthly general CRA coordination sessions via remote communication.
Characteristics: The teaching team is dynamic, with a recent generational shift that brings high motivation for the use of active methodologies and the co-design of learning situations. The management team actively supports and promotes co-teaching and the flexibility of spaces and groupings in order to respond to inclusion.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Taking into account the context described, the point in the academic year (first term) and the current regulatory framework (including LOMLOE, RD 157/2022, Ley 1/2024 CV and the inclusion guidelines of the Comunitat Valenciana), provide reasoned answers to the following questions:

CLASSROOM ORGANISATION AND FAMILY RELATIONS:
How would you organise the spatial layout, the timetabling (routines) and the groupings in this multilevel Year 3/4 classroom to guarantee socialisation, emotional safety, and cooperative learning for Lucas (ASD), Carla, and Mateo during English sessions? Detail, in addition, which specific communication channels and direct collaboration actions you would establish with Lucas's family and the Conversation Assistant to promote a positive and coherent transition between home and school during this first term.
COMPETENCES AND METHODOLOGY:
Design a Learning Situation (SdA) in English for this multilevel group during the first term, using the CRA school garden as a central thread. Explain in detail how you would apply the principles and guidelines of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) so that both Year 3 and Year 4 students (including Olena and Sofía) simultaneously develop plurilingual competence and digital competence, making active methodological use of the robotics kit and the tablet trolley in your role as ICT Coordinator.
INCLUSION AND ATTENTION TO DIVERSITY (Main Thematic Block):
Taking Lucas's profile (ASD, Year 4 of Primary Education) and his Level III Educational Response proposal as a reference, justify the process of designing, decision-making, and implementing his Individualised Curricular Adaptation (DIAC/ACI) / Personalised Action Plan (PAP) for the English area. What organisational, methodological, and cognitive accessibility measures (such as the use of visual schedules, anticipation strategies, and pictographic systems) will you implement in your English sessions to address his pragmatic and sensory self-regulation needs, whilst ensuring he is not isolated from the common dynamics of the peer group?
CROSS-CUTTING ASPECT: FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT, CO-TEACHING, AND DATA PROTECTION:
How would you plan and coordinate the process of formative and shared assessment of this Learning Situation together with the PT/AL teacher and the Special Education Teaching Assistant (EEE), ensuring the recording of individual progress of students with NEAE (Lucas and Carla)? Specify which inclusive assessment tools you will use and how you will resolve, in your capacity as ICT Coordinator, the ethical and organisational dilemmas relating to the protection of personal data and the guarantee of digital rights (in accordance with LOPDGDD and applicable regional legislation) when recording learning evidence (photographs, videos, audio) of minors in virtual learning environments shared with families.