Merry Christmas from Special Needs Jungle

We've had a busy year at SNJ in 2015 and we just wanted to wish you all a happy Christmas and say thank you for your support in commenting here and on our Facebook page and on Twitter  - your feedback really does make it worthwhile.

Writing SNJ is a labour of love, but we're hoping next year to find some sponsorship and to have an advertising page solely for products and services you can use, to help us fund the website and so we can devlote even more time to it. Contact us about this at team@specialneedsjungle.com

We're hoping to have a Top 10 highlights of 2015 post between Christmas and New Year, but that's if anyone has the time between eating, drinking, sleeping and clearing up after the young 'uns have left their trails of destruction everywhere.

In the meantime, we'd like to say a public thanks to everyone who has written for us this year, especially our columnists, Helen & Elizabeth (SpeechBlogUK), Hayley (DownssideUp), @AspieDeLaZouch, Malcolm Reeve, Renata Blower (JustBring The Chocolate), MrBoosMum, Marguerite Haye, Emily Muir (Genetic Alliance UK) and Charlie Mead.

Have a wonderful, fun-filled, loving Christmas whatever the challenges you face - we certainly hope to!

Some holiday reading: Our posts from 2015

• WEBINAR RECORDING: Will the SEND Improvement Plan fix provision for disabled children and young people?
  On March 15 2023, Special Needs Jungle held a webinar exploring the Department for Education's long-awaited SEND Improvement Plan, something…
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• Will non-statutory National Standards improve SEND or just create confusion and more unlawful behaviour?
  TONIGHT! LIVE WEBINAR: Will the Government’s “SEND Improvement Plan” fix SEND? Register here! The SEND Improvement Plan published by the…
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• SNJ in Conversation: SEND law in 2023. Public law barrister, Steve Broach, answers your questions
  It’s back! the first episode of our podcast, SNJ in Conversation is here— and it’s one that you won’t want…
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• How does the the SEND Improvement Plan intend to create more accountability?
  On 2nd March, the Department for Education finally published its plan to improve the SEND and alternative provision system. Over…
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• LIVE WEBINAR: Will the Government’s “SEND Improvement Plan” fix SEND? Register here!
  While we’re still working on written analyses of the Department for Education’s now-landed “SEND Improvement Plan”, we wanted to bring…
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• The Government’s SEND Improvement Plan: an initial overview
  also with Matt Keer and Catriona Moore “It is time to deliver a more dignified experience for children and young…
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• Review: Why building a nurturing environment is vital for supporting autistic young people (Book Giveaway)
  with Cathy Wassell, The Autistic Girls Network It’s time for another book giveaway! We have TWO copies of SEND parent,…
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• New SENCO research questions the SEND Review’s “irresponsible” plans to downgrade the NASENCO award
  with Dr Graeme Dobson, University of Birmingham We are anticipating the publication of the Department for Education very shortly. One…
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• SENDInTheSpecialists: The campaign to boost investment in the SEND specialist workforce grows, and how you can get involved
  with Peter Just, Royal College of Speech and Labguage Therapists Last November we joined with a coalition of more than…
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• Nowhere to go: The lack of provision for young people with complex needs
  with Sarah London, mother to a 17-year-old, severely autistic young man We are all painfully aware of the lack of…
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• Survey reveals “systemic bias” of professionals and parental blame linked to family profiling of autistic children with Pathological Demand Avoidance
  with Alice Running and Danielle Jata-Hall Research of more than a thousand families of autistic children who also have Pathological…
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• Serially flawed, frequently unlawful: DfE-ordered SEND “Rapid Improvements” still barely visible in England’s biggest council
  “Every child and young person with special educational needs or disabilities should have access to high-quality services. Where a council…
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• A response to our letter to Ministers about the SEND Review
  Before Christmas, we wrote to the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan to outline our concerns about the direction of the SEND…
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• Helping your child make positive connections that support their mental health
  It’s Children’s Mental Health Week again. It doesn’t seem possible a year has passed since the previous one; my life…
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• ‘Why making maths accessible is so close to my heart’ by Carol Vorderman (Free offer)
  Carol Vorderman was already a pioneer by being the first woman to appear on Channel 4 in Countdown. Her love…
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• Can you legislate for love? The Government’s plans for children’s social care aims to
  Ambitiously titled “Children's social care: Stable Homes, Built on Love” the Department for Education has published its response and an implementation…
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• 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…
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• Why the DfE’s SEND Adviser,, Tony McArdle, is wrong, wrong, wrong: Matt’s Director’s Cut
  Earlier this week Schools Week ran an article from us responding to their earlier interview about the SEND system with…
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• Don’t make it harder to get EHCPs warns Equality and Human Rights Commission as DfE considers “raising the bar”
  As education ministers review the upcoming “SEND Improvement Plan” it’s to be hoped they have found time to read this…
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• How social class deepens inequalities experienced by disabled young people in England’s mainstream schools
  By Angharad Butler-Rees, University of Warwick. [Reseach team: Stella Chatzitheochari, Angharad Butler-Rees and Melissa Chapple] The SEND deficit for councils…
  Continue reading »

 

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Tania Tirraoro

Founder, Co-Director at Special Needs Jungle

Founder of Special Needs Jungle. (She/Her) Parent of two young adults with autism. New grandma. Tania, who is autistic, is a leading SEND advisor, working with the Special Education Consortium, Ofsted, and Whole School SEND. She is also an Advisory Board member of the Royal Holloway, University of London Centre of Gene and Cell Therapy and an Editorial Board member of Springer Nature Gene Therapy journal.
Tania is an experienced broadcast and print journalist & author. She also runs a PR, web & social media consultancy, SocialOro Media.
Tania is a rare disease & chronic pain patient advocate with Ehlers Danlos syndrome.

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Latest posts by Tania Tirraoro (see all)

• WEBINAR RECORDING: Will the SEND Improvement Plan fix provision for disabled children and young people? - March 16, 2023
• Can you legislate for love? The Government’s plans for children’s social care aims to - February 3, 2023
• Don’t make it harder to get EHCPs warns Equality and Human Rights Commission as DfE considers “raising the bar” - January 26, 2023