Does your child know “no means no”?
Debs writes…. I am a trainer for my local Safeguarding Children Board and it is a subject I am passionate about. One of the people who inspires me, as a …
Category: special needs
Special Educational Needs Reforms – sorry, what?
You know us, we talk about the reforms to SEN currently going through parliament. A lot. It’s important stuff and if done properly, will revolutionise the experience of future generations …
Summer’s here: Where are we in the SEN reform process?
Tania writes Well, good question. The answer is we’re here, there, everywhere and nowhere, depending on which county you live in. As the long summer break approaches (and enjoy it …
Evaluation of SEND pathfinder report – some nice weekend reading!
The Children and Families Bill has had a busy week, having a third reading in the House of Commons and then a brief first reading in the House of Lords. …
Sayonara, School Action and School Action Plus
Debs writes…. The Government is proposing to replace the current categories of School Action and School Action Plus with a new single early years and school-based SEN category. This will …
Special Needs Jungle Drums!
Some great stories, news and blogs from the last week, curated from us, just for you. Netbuddy Says…: Promoting good mental health for people with learning disabilities The Judith Trust …
Raising awareness of children’s conditions so rare, they’re undiagnosed.
Tania writes: Recently, when Debs & I went to Westminster, we met Renata Blower, a Mum who blogs about her life as the parent of a child with an undiagnosed …
My son and his literal world
Debs writes…. My eldest son, K lives in a very literal world and we spend half of our day trying to watch what we say, and the other half paying …
Parent Carer Forums
Debs writes…. Tania and I are both co-chairs of Parent Carer Forums and we do mention them quite a lot. Tania Co-Chairs Family Voice Surrey with the lovely Angela. Angela …
Special Needs Jungle meet SEN Minister, Edward Timpson
So the big day arrived and of course, it was raining. Tania and I headed into London, to the Department for Education, to meet the Education Minister in charge of …
Draft SEN Code of Practice: Further views
Debs writes…. As the Indicative Code of Practice was published, I was in Guildford delivering Early Support’s Key Working in Practice capacity building training. I was lucky to have ten amazing …
Rough Draft SEN Code of Practice published
Late yesterday, the DfE published the “Indicative draft Code of Practice” as a “work in progress” to go with the SEN/D provisions in the Children & families bill, now going …
Government acts on calls for SEN ‘duty’ for health provision in reforms
The surprising and extremely welcome news today from the Department for Education (DfE) is that there will, after all, be a legal duty on health providers to deliver the provision …
SEN reform progress report: ‘pathfinder champions’ chosen
It’s been a bumper day of announcements and happenings surrounding SEN reform. First of all, came the publication of a list of local authority groups who have been appointed “pathfinder …
DfE publishes an easy-to-read version of Children and Families Bill
The Department for Education has published an easy to read version of the children & families bill designed especially for young people. The guide uses a simplified layout and language …
Rare Disease Day: My son has Retinopathy of Prematurity
Today, 28th February is Rare Disease Day. It’s an awareness raising day for the millions of people around the world who are affected by rare conditions. Most suffer from lack …
Children and Families Bill – the missing pieces
Earlier this month, we shared our Initial Views on the Children and Families Bill. Since then, we have had chance to look at the Bill in more detail and wanted …
Top Tips for Speech and Language Therapy – Part One
As is often the case, I come across great resources and services for children with special needs on Twitter. I then cheekily ask them if they’d like to contribute a …
Ten things I wish, with hindsight, I had known
Debs writes…. As we go through the Special Needs Jungle, we pick up tips, we gain confidence and we often think “I wish I’d known …….. at the beginning” I …
Children and Families Bill – initial views
Finally, the wait is over and the Children and Families Bill, which includes the SEN reforms, has been published. Debs spent yesterday poring over it and here are her initial …