Will the SEND and AP Improvement Plan improve the lives of 16-25 year olds with SEND?
So, at last we have a SEND and AP Improvement Plan. The big question now is: was it worth the wait? If you’re a 16 to 25-year-old with special educational …
Category: special educational needs
Falling Through the Cracks: How children with SEND struggle to access early years education
with Catherine McLeod, Dingley’s Promise Today we’re hearing from Catherine McLeod from Dingley’s Promise, a charity trying to drive change for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in …
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 …
Top Teaching Tips for Children with SEND
This post is sponsored by Tutor House As lockdown continues and many parents are still struggling to teach their child with additional needs, Elise Pearce from Tutor House gives us …
Dear Prime Minister, not all education in lockdown is equal
A letter to the PM from Lilia, a year 10 pupil who believes that not all education in lockdown is equal and it is time the government recognised the possible consequences for pupils taking important exams next year.
How has special education needs evolved in the 40 years since the Warnock Report?
with Professor Geoff Lindsay, Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR), University of Warwick Everyone in the SEND sector should recognise the significance of the 1978 report on special …
What does it take to get a disabled child to preschool?
In our summer SEND blogger showcase, we featured Alex Davey’s blog, The Long Chain. Alex has three children, the middle of whom has an undiagnosed condition other than being “a complete …
The SEND Superheroes ready to spruce up your school’s provision
I started Special Needs Jungle with the intention of spreading knowledge to parents about how to get themselves organised and prepared for their child’s statutory assessment application. I even wrote …
What the Government’s SEND statistics mean for children
In my December blog I shared that I would follow up on the government’s SEND figures for schools. These are released annually in early summer and are based upon returns from …
Tests: Do you and your child find them testing?
It’s that time of the term again here in the Aspland household. Tests! One week every term is handed over to testing what my children know. Now, I am not …
What’s missing in the Special Needs Jungle
We have a sizeable following on Special Needs Jungle both on the site and via social media. However that also gives us a big responsibility to tell it like it …
Little or no choice for young disabled people for further education
A while ago, you may remember we featured a post from Kathryn Rudd OBE, Principal National Star College and Chair of the Association of National Specialist Colleges (Natspec) They were …
Talking SEND with Just Women
I appeared on “Just Women” the other day, a community radio show aimed at, well, women. I was invited to talk about Special Needs Jungle and special needs education and …
The state of SEN in England 2014 – an infographic
Last week the Department for Education published the latest statistics about SEN in England. I’ve chosen a few of them and made them into this little infographic. This is the …
The school that builds hope, self-esteem and futures
The marquee had an extension for Founder’s Day this year. Our first end of summer term Prize Day came in July 2008, (I wrote about one of our early ones here, …
SEN Reform: Burning questions about Best Endeavours
I’m told, unofficially, that the Children & Families Bill is to receive Royal Assent – ie, approved by the Queen, on Thursday 13th March 2014. Its effects will be enormous …
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 …
Rare Disease Day: My nightmare choosing chemo to help my son’s kidney disease
As you know, we’re supporting Rare Disease Day here at SNJ both because it’s very important and also for our own very personal reasons. (See Debs’ story here) (See Tania’s …
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 …
Pupil ranking plans are an epic fail for SEN children
Oh dear. We’ve always said communication is an issue with the SEN reforms but it’s fairly obvious that it spans education as a whole. Can someone please let David Laws …