PRACTICAL CASE: Designing an Inclusive Learning Situation in a Multi-Year Classroom (Years 3/4) in a Rural Setting: Response for Students with ASD in the English Area.

SCHOOL CONTEXT

Type of school: Colegio Rural Agrupado (CRA) "El Sabinar", situated in a mountainous area of the Sierra Norte of the Comunidad de Madrid (around Buitrago de Lozoya), characterised by geographic dispersal and depopulation. The case is set in the school building of one of the localities, which has three active units: a mixed Early Childhood Education unit, a multi-year unit for Years 1/2 of Primary Education, and a multi-year unit for Years 3/4 of Primary Education.
Setting: Rural, lower-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 aimed at fostering the cultural life of the municipality.
School Educational Project (PEC): The school is noted for its innovation strands centred on Project-Based Learning (PBL), the sustainable use of natural resources, and the digitalisation of the rural environment. It participates in the school ecological kitchen-garden programme as an interdisciplinary axis.
Language programme: The school is part of the Spanish-English bilingual schools network of the Comunidad de Madrid. Within the framework of the Primary Education curriculum (Decreto 61/2022, de 13 de julio), it applies a design that guarantees reinforcement of the foreign language, allocating 3 weekly sessions to the Foreign Language: English area in the multi-year Year 3/4 classroom, using English as the exclusive medium of instruction in that subject.
Specialist classroom: The CRA has no specialist classroom (such as a TGD classroom or a Special Education classroom) in this school building, so all students with specific educational support needs (ACNEAE) are educated under full inclusion 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 (peripatetic between two of the school's buildings). This school year the candidate also holds the post of Digital Projects Coordinator (ICT) at the school, forming part of the pedagogical coordination committee (CCP).

CLASS GROUP

Year and group: Multi-year classroom bringing together 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 breakdown is 8 boys and 6 girls.
Initial assessment and Transition Plan: Analysis of the initial assessment and the information from the previous year's Transition Plan reveals a group with strong social cohesion owing to life together in a small rural community, but with great heterogeneity in learning pace and in the level of communicative competence in English. Widespread difficulties are detected in oral production (speaking) and in the acquisition of systematic autonomous working routines, accentuated following the summer period.
Previous programmes: The classroom has taken part in previous years in language stimulation programmes and in projects to promote reading in foreign languages (such as the use of Storytelling methodologies and small theatrical projects).

STUDENTS

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

Lucas (Year 4 of Primary Education) – ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder): Student with a psycho-pedagogical report and enrolment ruling that determines the need for specialist support. He presents ASD Grade 1 (formerly referred to as high-functioning). He is notable for excellent visual memory and a strong interest in technological devices, but manifests severe difficulties in pragmatic communication (comprehension of double meanings, figurative language, and unstructured social interactions), sensory hypersensitivity to unexpected noises, and high cognitive rigidity that generates anxiety in the face of routine changes without prior anticipation. He requires the design and implementation of an Individual Work Plan (PTI) that includes an Individual Curricular Adaptation (ACI) in the English area.
Carla (Year 3 of Primary Education) – Global developmental delay: Student with learning difficulties and a curricular gap of one year in the language area. She receives support from the Educational Technical Assistant (ATE) 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: Student in a situation of temporary foster care. He presents frequent episodes of low self-esteem, lack of motivation towards learning, and socially withdrawn behaviour during group foreign-language activities.
Olena (Year 3 of Primary Education) – Late enrolment: Student of Ukrainian origin, enrolled at the school mid-way through the previous school year. She has a basic command of Spanish for everyday communication, but her academic Spanish and English competence is still emergent (Level A1.1 of the CEFR), and she therefore receives support within the framework of the provision for late-enrolled students (aula de enlace). She shows a very positive attitude and excellent performance in visual and artistic expression tasks.
Sofía (Year 4 of Primary Education) – High Abilities: Student with a very fast learning pace, excellent oral communicative competence in English, and great initiative and drive. She becomes bored easily 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 at this school 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 school buildings of the CRA. They visit this building 2 days per week.
- Educational Technical Assistant (ATE): 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 kitchen garden and local traditions.
Material resources:
- Technological: One Interactive Digital Whiteboard (PDI) in the mainstream classroom, high-speed internet connection (fibre optic recently installed in the municipality), and a mobile trolley with 6 digital tablets for shared use in the mainstream classroom.
- Spaces and other resources: Classroom library with English-language children's literature titles adapted by reading level (graded readers), an ecological kitchen garden adjacent to the school building, and a basic educational robotics kit (Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots) managed by the ICT coordination.

TEACHING STAFF

Teaching Team: Made up of the class tutor of the mainstream Year 3/4 classroom (who teaches Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences in a globalised mode), the Physical Education specialist, the Music specialist, and yourself as the Foreign Language: English specialist.
Coordination: There is one weekly coordination hour (Friday afternoons) for the entire teaching team of the school building, as well as monthly general CRA coordination sessions via remote conferencing.
Characteristics: The teaching team is dynamic, with a recent generational turnover that brings high motivation for the use of active methodologies and the co-design of learning situations. The leadership team actively supports and promotes co-teaching and flexible use of spaces and groupings in response to inclusion.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Taking into account the context described, the time of year (first term) and the current regulatory framework (including LOMLOE, RD 157/2022, Decreto 61/2022 and the inclusion guidelines of the Comunidad de Madrid), answer the following questions with reasoned justification:

CLASSROOM ORGANISATION AND FAMILY RELATIONS:
How would you organise the spatial layout, timetable (routines) and groupings in this multi-year Year 3/4 classroom to guarantee the socialisation, emotional safety and cooperative learning of Lucas (ASD), Carla and Mateo during the English sessions? Specify, likewise, what specific communication channels and direct collaboration actions you would establish with Lucas's family and the Conversation Assistant to support a positive and coherent transition between home and classroom in this first term.
COMPETENCES AND METHODOLOGY:
Design a Learning Situation (SdA) in English for this multi-year group during the first term, using the CRA kitchen garden as the guiding thread. Explain in detail how you will 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 the specialist support he requires as your reference, justify the process of designing, decision-making and implementing his Individual Curricular Adaptation (ACI) / Individual Work Plan (PTI) for the English area. What organisational, methodological and cognitive-accessibility measures (such as the use of visual timetables, anticipation and pictographic systems) will you implement in your English sessions to respond to his pragmatic needs and sensory self-regulation, ensuring that he is not isolated from the common dynamics of his peer group?
CROSS-CUTTING ASPECT: FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT, CO-TEACHING AND DATA PROTECTION:
How would you plan and coordinate the formative and shared assessment process for this Learning Situation together with the PT/AL teacher and the Educational Technical Assistant (ATE), ensuring the recording of the individual progress of students with specific educational support needs (Lucas and Carla)? Specify what inclusive assessment tools you will use and how you will resolve, in your capacity as ICT Coordinator, the ethical and organisational dilemmas concerning 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.