Jenna’s 10, has missed two years of school, and is campaigning for SEND inclusion
I’d like to introduce you today to 10-year-old Jenna, who has anxiety and ADHD and has missed two years of school. She is still waiting for her council to find …
Category: Columnists
Are Access Arrangements given unfairly? Three reasons why we need a review of the system
Access Arrangements are a way to level the playing field in exams when someone has a disability or special educational need. Common support mechanisms are extra time or a reader, …
I chose mental health over a prestigious Sixth-Form, that refused to recognise my autism
A lesson I recently learned is that sometimes admitting defeat is the best decision you can make. This time last year, I was elated about starting at a state sixth-form …
SEND Review: A game-changer or playing politics with vulnerable children?
While the biggest political and constitutional crisis that anyone can remember rages all around us, ministers resign, MPs are purged and no-one is quite sure who will be in Government …
What does ‘£700 million for SEND’ actually mean in reality?
4.55pm on a Friday doesn’t normally mean good news for SEND parents. It’s often a time when bad news pitches up in your email inbox from LAs, health teams or …
Navigating adult mental health services as an autistic young person
I go by the name of Philip Milburn but you are welcome to call me Phil, I’ve spent some of my time interacting with the adult mental health service and …
SEND crisis: 6000+ SEND appeals is the ‘new normal’ in a ‘broken system’
As many of you will know, the SEND system is in crisis. There are more appeals than ever coming before the Special Educational Needs and Disability First-tier Tribunal (FTT), as …
First-time minister given one of the toughest jobs in government: Fixing the #SENDcrisis
The last week has brought a succession of big changes at all levels of government. The appointment of a new prime minister was followed by a more wide-ranging purge of …
SEND funding “completely inadequate,” says Education Select Committee report
For well over a year now, the House of Commons Education Select Committee has been running an inquiry into the state of special educational needs in England. It’s turned into …
DfE Research: Mainstream Teaching Assistant cuts negatively impacting SEND pupils
Amy Skipp with Rob Webster, Associate Professor in the Centre for Inclusive Education, UCL Institute of Education At the start of this academic year ASK Research were commissioned by DfE …
The latest SEND Tribunal figures paint a troubling picture
It’s raining cats and dogs outside where I live. More happily for me, it’s also raining statistics – the latest set to drop into my inbox comes from Her Majesty’s …
Autism and Anxiety: What helps?
Anxiety appears to be increasing in children in recent years, or is it perhaps that we just appreciate its existence more these days than when I was a child? Whatever …
Sensory toys don’t work on their own.
Suppose I told you I was going to teach your child maths, and then I dumped a load of maths resources on the floor: protractors, bricks, calculators, even an old …
EHCPs in 2019: Bedded in, or bogged down?
Early Thursday morning, whilst thousands of families and allies were preparing to march to draw attention to the national crisis in SEND, the Department for Education published their annual set …
SEND success is a journey, apparently, one with no end in sight
“It’s a journey.” That’s what SEND minister Nadhim Zahawi said, repeatedly, at the final hearing of the House of Commons Education Select Committee’s SEND inquiry. This time, he and school …
The emotional impact of parenting a disabled child
Instead of writing my own post for Mental Health Week, I’d like to share my column today with Jo Griffin, a Counselling Psychologist and parent carer. I met Jo through …
The DfE’s out of SEND Funding ideas. Can you help out?
Last week, the Department for Education put out a call for evidence about SEND funding. What are they asking about, what are they asking for, and why are they asking …
Poor leadership and SEND law ignorance fails disabled children
Anyone who has had to grapple with the SEND system to get their child’s needs acknowledged and met knows that the system is not currently working as it should. Not …
We’re the country’s future. We demand our right to a properly funded education!
Imagine living in a country where the government and politicians are robbing their youth of their futures? Where budget cuts have decimated the education system? Where students attempt to learn …
Does spending time with peers help autistic people to improve their social ‘skills’?
I’m sharing this post with my 19-year-old autistic son, Philip, who is looking for the experiences of other autistics who’ve been told they need to spend time with peers because …
