Heidi’s Down’s syndrome abortion case: It’s complicated
with input from Colette Lloyd Why have we called this article, “it’s complicated’? Because it is completely understandable that a great many women do not want any further restrictions on …
Category: Disability
Dear Boris, you must act now to help disabled children #LetUsLearnToo
On Monday, we ran an article coinciding with the launch of the #LetUsLearnToo video. The campaign is urging the SEND Review not to erode disabled children’s rights as the Department …
#LetUsLearnToo: Don’t dilute disabled children’s rights!
With Hayley Harding, Founder, Let Us Learn Too As part of SEND Community Alliance, SNJ has joined with a new parent-led campaign, Let Us Learn Too, developed out of frustration …
Invest More in Social Care Support for Disabled Children: A Mother’s Open Letter to the Chancellor
with Stephen Kingdom, Campaign Manager for the Disabled Children’s Partnership The Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) is asking the public to add their names to a letter from parent carer and …
The Cracks That Let the Light In – Book Giveaway
with Jessica Moxham Today we’re offering a free copy of a new book written by Jessica Moxham, a parent carer and architect who lives in South London with her husband …
Exemplary Practice: How a Circle of Friends and other easy adjustments change lives for disabled children
On SNJ, we aim to highlight injustice and call out unlawful behaviour. But among the doom, there is also a lot of amazing practice going on in schools, actively supporting …
NEU teachers’ union votes to build inclusive mainstream education for children and young people with SEND
Editorial: Notes about the SEND motions at the 2021 NEU Conference Last Thursday (8th April 2021) the largest education union in the UK, the National Education Union voted, with only one abstention and …
The audiobook service that’s free for disabled people, with 3,000 books for children and young people
While children are always encouraged to read books, for many diving into a good story or even a school text book throws up huge challenges. Whether it’s a visual impairment, …
Who benefits from inclusive education – and how?
with Prof Brahm Norwich & Dr Peter Gray, SEN Policy Research Forum Who benefits from inclusive education? It is an enduring question that applies as much to children and young …
Changing lives through Boccia
Opportunities for disabled young people to participate in sport can be limited, either because expensive specialist equipment is needed or inclusive sports clubs are few and far between. Boccia is …
£300 million for SEND school places. But how does it improve inclusion and equality?
At the end of yesterday’s Treasury spending review document, the catchily entitled “SR20”, Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said it, “ensured that the decisions made considered the possible impact on people with a …
UK Disability History Month – How far have we still got to go?
Renata writes: Some of us will be old enough to remember when hundreds of disabled people took to the streets in the 1990s, chaining themselves to public transport and having …
Ambitious and inclusive sensory story-telling
About a decade ago an impossible dream of mine came true. Special Needs Jungle was a part of that happening, but where that dream began is hard to pin point. …
More than one in three disabled pupils experience bullying in mainstream school, plus other concerning SEND stats
I’ve had a peruse through a new publication from the Department for Education, about the experiences of pupils and their parents regarding various aspects of school. It’s based on survey …
Family Fund grants: the who, what and how to apply
with Jim Paterson, The Family Fund Earlier in the year, the government announced it was giving an additional £10 million to the Family Fund during the pandemic, to families who …
Coronavirus guidance: What mainstream settings should do to ensure the inclusion of disabled children
with Lorraine Petersen OBE, Educational Consultant Trying to keep up with the government’s latest coronavirus education guidance can seem like a full-time occupation. There is guidance for schools for re-opening …
Introducing Oak National Academy’s new online specialist curriculum
It’s been an academic year like no other, but I think we can all agree that teachers and families have done an exceptional job supporting children during school closures. With …
SEND cuts campaigners in London tell their council: See you in (the High) Court
With Ken Barlow, Waltham Forest SEND Crisis Parents being forced to throw themselves into the legal system in order to secure basic rights for their disabled children is a sad …
Myth-Busting the ‘magic’ of multiple multi-sensory rooms
Tania’s note: as many of you know, Joanna Grace is a Sensory Engagement and Inclusion Specialist, (normally) running training events throughout the UK, and occasionally further afield. In 2010 she …
SNJ In Conversation with Dame Christine Lenehan, Director of the Council for Disabled Children
One of the (numerous) problems many parents find when their child is having an education, health and care needs assessment, is the “care” bit. A social care assessment is often …