For children with SEND and their parents, a compassionate teacher is key
I recently wrote a post following a case, supported by the EHRC, of a family who were determined to prove their child was the victim of disability discrimination in school. …
Category: Teacher Training
Paula McGowan: We need mandatory autism and learning disability training in education settings to change culture, hearts, and minds
With Paula McGowan OBE Few of us will be unaware of the scandal of young disabled people abused, mistreated, or neglected in residential health and education settings One of the …
Innovative use of student specialists has revolutionised our schools’ SEND therapy and cut assessment waits to just 10 days
by Conrad Bourne, Mercia Trust Our post earlier this year, ‘No specialists = no support’ highlighted a severe shortfall in the number of speech and language therapists and other specialists …
How will the Government’s new NPQ SENCO qualification improve SEND provision?
A school’s commitment to inclusion can easily be measured in three core ways: whether the SENCO is given the time and team to advocate for its children with identified needs; …
In support of striking teaching staff… SEND children need the right support and so do their teachers
As anyone with a child or young person in a state school or further education college will know, the vast majority of children will be at home today as thousands …
Supporting SEND pupils and their families: 20 free top tips for instant impact
Our SEND parent community is wise and knowledgeable, and we like to tap them for their views now and again. A while ago, I set the following topic: What are …
Ofsted and ONS offer further evidence that lack of funding, training and specialists damages children with SEND
With Matt Keer Ofsted has found increasing numbers of primary school children with SEND are being referred to alternative provision, because of a lack of access to specialist help. Around …
Gendered misperceptions: Research shows girls with ADHD miss out on school support
Attention, Deficit, Hyperactivity Disorder, (ADHD) remains a controversial topic for all sorts of reasons. Research illuminates just by how much the ADHD debate is a can of worms; multi-layered, emotive, …
How will the new ‘Universal SEND Services’ programme help for learners with SEND?
with Amanda Wright, Deputy Head of Whole School SEND Earlier this year, The Department for Education announced a funding service to improve SEND training in school and further education workforce, …
#SENDReview: Downgrading SENCO training is a mistake but protected time must be mandatory
with Tristan Middleton, University of Gloucestershire & chair, LLSCIC. Under the SEND Code of Practice, SENCOs must be gain a Masters-level NASENCO award within three years of taking the role. …
Schools White Paper: what are the implications for SEND?
The Government’s Schools White Paper (herein SWP for short) has just been published, the day before the long-awaited SEND Green Paper will finally arrive. It’s been emphasised that the two must …
It’s not just SEND teacher training that’s needed. How we educate all children is broken
with Susan Lenihan, educator and parent of children with SEND After the recent BBC programme, Don’t Exclude Me, Joanne Lewis, parent of children with ADHD, wrote two articles, here and …
BBC’s Don’t Exclude Me (pt 2): Resorting to restraint shows desperate need for better SEND training
with Joanne Lewis parent & ADHD Superpower founder Last week on SNJ, parent of autistic children and … Joanne Lewis wrote about her reactions to the first of the BBC’s …
Whole School SEND Spotlight: Developmental Language Disorder Guide
Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) can, and do, have a lifelong impact, particularly when not recognised and supported. Effective communication is crucial for educational outcomes, social experiences, self-confidence and …
Whole School SEND Spotlight: The Autism Resource Suite
Autism is one of the most commonly identified needs in England, with more than 82,000 school-age children with an Education, Health and Care Plan for ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’, representing 30% …
Why does every school need to know about Whole School SEND? And how you can help
Tania’s note: Have you heard of Whole School SEND? If you’re a keen reader you certainly will be, after our posts and conversations with former director Anne Heavey, who has …
SNJ in Conversation: Teaching Assistants, their role and how schools can use them effectively
For children with special educational needs, a skilled teaching assistant can be the difference between them being able to progress in school or not. They’re vital for teachers supporting children …
Identifying SEND in the Early Years: Partnership and collaboration is key
with Dr Helen Curran senior lecturer in SEN at Bath Spa University, The earlier a special educational need is identified in a child, the better their chances are of achieving …
Improving SEND provision: Co-produced resources for the whole school
Tania’s note: It may seem hard to believe but one day, we will get back to “normal” in schools. The question is, what will this new normal look like? Schools …
School leadership and SEND ignorance
In an earlier SNJ blog in 2015 I wrote about the critical role of the SENCO in schools. The SEN Reforms had called on a more strategic role for SENCOs …