Children and Families Act: the Concerns
Last week, I was fortunate enough to be a speaker at the Towards a Postive Future conference in London. One of the other guest speakers was Elaine Maxwell. Elaine works …
SEN Code of Practice: what does this look like in Schools?
At Special Needs Jungle, we are parents of children with SEN ourselves, so we know that you will never have the time to get to the end of a long lengthy post …
Home straight: SEND reforms target pre-summer legal finish line
Three days ahead of the deadline for pre-summer parliamentary approval, the Department for Education yesterday laid before Parliament its final draft of the new Code of Practice along with publishing …
Top tips & simple, effective resources for supporting children with Visual Impairment
As you may know, my son J has a visual impairment. During the first few years of his life, I spent so many hours trying to find activities to do with …
Targets and tests make teacher too busy to listen to my child
Over the last few weeks, I have read several articles about teachers and head teachers leaving their chosen profession due to the importance being placed on schools to achieve national …
Personal Budgets: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
There has been much mention of Personal Budgets within the process of the Children and Families Act. There has also been much confusion about Personal Budgets and to be frank, …
Do children with SEN get a fair deal?
This was the question being asked by Radio 5 Live this morning. Radio 5 Live broadcast today from Bromstone School in Broadstairs, where the Head Teacher, Nigel Utton, is passionate …
Is the revised Code of Practice Person-Centred?
Further to Tania’s post last week on our initial views on the new draft Code of Practice, we’re still analyzing the changes in some detail but we wanted to highlight …
SEN reforms – what happens next?
At the end of January, we wrote about the SEN reforms – the story so far and promised a “What happens now” post and here we are. Updates since our …
New social network for special needs: Bringing Us Together
This post is about a new venture I’ve co-founded, so if you’re not fond of gushing and excitement, look away now. Bringing Us Together, a new social network for families, …
Using One Page Profiles for your special needs child
In the draft new SEN Code of Practice, there is a brief reference to One Page Profiles and Person Centred Planning. Some organisations and parents already use these tools and …
The 11th hour: Caring for Parent Carers
The Children and Families Bill moves ever closer to Royal Assent with amendments still being put forward. It’s now at the Third Reading stage and there are a few big …
The Story So Far – SEN Reforms
Recently, I’ve had messages from worried friends about what’s happening in the SEN reforms. The first was, “My ex says that statements are disappearing in September but no one knows” …
The Saga of SEN Transport
SEN Transport – the very words send a shiver down many a parent’s spine; this aspect of the Jungle can keep parents awake at night. Is my child eligible? How do …
Are Families Happy with the SEN reforms?
During the Christmas break, as we struggled with the chaos that changes to routine can bring to our homes, the Department for Education put out a statement saying “Parents of …
Win the SNJ Statementing Book + who won the TabToob?
Tabtoob: Last month, we ran a post about Tabtoob – a great way of protecting our precious iPads from a little rough and tumble. This lovely case has protected our …
Changes announced in the SEN Reforms
Last week, SEN reform Minister, Edward Timpson attended the Local Government Association Special Educational Needs Conference – a real mix of social care, health, education and voluntary sector practitioners, with …
The end is nigh – deadlines and concerns around the Code of Practice
The Special Educational Consortium (SEC) is a group of organisations who promote the rights of disabled children and children with special educational needs. This week they have announced that they …
Fun in the SEN world
As any parent knows, all children are individuals with their own personalities and I have spent hours wondering how I can have three children, all raised in exactly the same …
Legal Aid: Judicial Review only for wealthy parents?
When, as a parent, you hold your child’s final statement, complete with acceptable placement in your trembling hand, you may think it’s okay to heave a huge sigh of relief. …
