4 │ INVOLVING AND SUPPORTING PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS Distance learning in basic and upper secondary schools in the Czech Republic 22 4 INVOLVING AND SUPPORTING PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS The difficulty of involving pupils in distance learning is most pronounced for pupils with SEN, especially in the case of online synchronous learning. Their involvement in regular online learning was lower in the lessons visited online by the Czech School Inspectorate in January and February 2021 than in the case of other pupils without SEN. The level of involvement of pupils with SEN in regular online lessons was highest at the 2nd stage of basic schools and, conversely, lowest in non-Maturita fields of USSs. TABLE 1 | Proportions of pupils with SEN involved in online synchronous learning 1st stage of BS 2nd stage of BS secondary general school field Maturita fields non-Maturita fields proportion of pupils with SEN belonging to classes in observed online lessons 10.8% 10.1% 2.5% 4.0% 8.9% proportion of (all) pupils who were actually present during observations in online lessons 88.2% 91.5% 92.8% 85.9% 79.6% proportion of pupils with SEN who were actually present during observations in online lessons 87.7% 89.2% 87.9% 84.6% 71.5% proportion of pupils with SEN who were supposed to be present but were not 12.3% 10.8% 12.1% 15.4% 28.5% The proportions of pupils with SEN who did not participate in the observed online synchronous learning lessons obviously do not mean that these pupils with SEN remain outside distance learning in their schools, but only indicate the degree of their involvement in online synchronous learning. These pupils are involved in education in other ways by their schools, for example, through individual consultations, with the support of a teaching assistant, etc. Nevertheless, this situation should be perceived, because online synchronous learning is the dominant element of distance learning and is also the most effective. The different approach to the education of pupils is also evident from the comparison of the absence level of pupils in synchronous learning and the proportion of pupils with SEN in a given class/group. While both at the 1st stage and partly also at the 2nd stage of BSs it applies that the higher the proportion of pupils with SEN in a given class or group, the lower the total absence, there is a clear inverse relationship in non-Maturita fields of USSs, i.e. the more pupils with SEN, the fewer pupils participate in learning overall.