I agree about the short term targets. Can you get them to help in setting their own short term targets. Every performance my kids do they peer review with 2 stars and a wish. The wish becomes the basis of their next target.

With some of the special needs students in my school, I find that I give much shorter term targets than to other students. I keep a record of these in my planner but only tend to share them verbally with the students themselves. It gives me a very clear picture of their progress (great for feedback to SENCO, SLT, etc) and also allows the students to focus on a clear target for a short period of time. I'm not sure if that actually helps you though!

I am the music teacher (single teacher department) in a special needs school in Salford. I have been at the school for almost 3 years now from being an NQT and have basically built the department from scratch as there were no schemes of work in place.

I am finally getting round to looking at the most effective means of target setting. Other subjects use target setting however I am unclear how to use this effectively in the classroom. Our pupils have learning difficulties and struggle with both reading and writing.

How do I organise target setting? I have read many different opinions including showing them their levels and making sure they know how to progress to the next level... but how do I practically apply this to my classroom, bearing in mind that almost everything will have to be read out loud to the class to ensure understanding. The pupils easily lose concentration and motivation if they can't read the information.

Any advice would be great... particularly if there are any special needs secondary music teachers out there!