Coronavirus Lockdown with kids: Setting a steady pace for home learning
with Lisa Thomas, Angela Kelly and Marguerite Haye In the previous post, we discussed meeting the challenges of home learning. In this article, we’re going to look at what we …
Category: Columnists
Why learning in isolation doesn’t have to be an isolating learning experience.
from Lisa Thomas, Angela Kelly and Marguerite Haye So, how was your first week of home teaching and learning? Despite the Government allowing “vulnerable” children and those of key workers …
Coronavirus and SEND law: Part 4 What does my child’s EHCP still provide?
This is the last group of The the 200+ questions we received. These answers will be the most important for the next weeks or months ahead. What does your child’s …
Coronavirus: School, attendance and exclusions. Your legal questions answered, part 3
You sent over 200 questions in about your legal concerns over how the #CoronavirusLockdown was going to affect your child’s EHCP and education. Yesterday we covered timescales, and the day …
Coronavirus and SEND law: Your Questions Answered (part two – Timescales)
On Tuesday it was all about how the SEND Tribunal is affected by the Coronavirus outbreak and temporary changes to the law on Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs). Today, …
Coronavirus and SEND law: Your questions answered (part one – Tribunals)
I received more than 200 questions in the last week, sent by the wonderful parents reading Special Needs Jungle. Everyone is obviously very worried about what is going to happen …
Celebrating neurodiversity: Now, more than ever, we must support one another, whatever our differences
As we enter into a dark time full of danger and uncertainty, it seems almost perverse to write an article about Neurodiversity Celebration Week. As I sit down to write, …
Savage cuts to support staff leave deaf children in England fighting for their futures
So far, the SEND reforms have not been kind to deaf children and young people. Despite a series of ground-breaking advances in deaf educational research, practice and technology over the …
Calming Coronavirus anxiety in children (and everyone else)
*Click here to go straight to latest information for education, health and social care. The Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is whipping up a storm of uncertainty and needless panic-buying across the …
Book Review: Diary of a Dyslexic School Kid*
This is a sponsored post by JKP Publishing. However, the review of Diary of a Dyslexic School Kid is honestly given by SNJ’s Marguerite Haye. Written from the perspective of …
RDI and me: How this amazing autism programme has helped me thrive
Having had a couple of SNJ articles out now, I recognised I was running into a theme of throwing up frequent bad news and depressing stories without counterbalancing it with …
Measure for measure: how do we judge the quality of a life?
The Bake-Off contestants race to uncover today’s technical challenge. In their haste, one contender reads the instruction to add two teaspoons of salt as two tablespoons and the resulting cake …
For our disabled children, being brave is a daily necessity
The theme for the 2020 Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, from the Place2Be charity is ‘Find your Brave’. As parents of disabled children, we don’t need to look far to find …
Racial discrimination and SEND: Why was I accused of harm?
Every child with SEND has a right to access the best provision to help them reach their potential. Their families must be treated with respect and dignity. Far too often, …
SEND with Daulby: Unseen teaching tweaks that make all the difference
Tania’s note: Today’s we start a new series of posts from expert educator, Jules Daulby called, appropriately enough, SEND with Daulby. Jules has returned to teaching English and will be …
How the 2020 SENCO Surveys findings could really improve SEND provision nationally
Three years ago, when I first imagined what a SENCO Survey might achieve, I spent a lot of time wondering if it was even possible, and what the immediate impact …
Relentlessly unlawful LA decisions are damaging children and forcing the SEND Tribunal into crisis
Last Friday, whilst people were still getting their heads around the General Election, SNJ’s relentless data hoover sucked in a new set of figures – fresh information on the Special …
EHCP Annual Review: Our stats show there’s nothing annual about them…
After months of form-filling, evidence gathering, panel meetings and bureaucratic slow-dancing, your child or young person now has an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP). With a bit of luck, …
Review: Starving the Depression Gremlin – a CBT workbook
Depression is an increasingly common issue in children and adolescents. Today we’re reviewing Starving the Depression Gremlin – a cognitive behavioural therapy workbook on managing depression for young people by …
The right to a suitable education: what the law says
Why do I have to go to school to learn? Many children and young people find school or college inaccessible for a variety of reasons. It can be difficult enough …