Volunteering: The best way to spend your summer
Tania says: We’re heading off for Italy this weekend and because both kids are autistic, we’ve always rented a villa with a pool and taken their Grandma and Nonno along …
SEN and disability stories you mustn’t miss
The summer holidays may be underway but the silly season for news certainly doesn’t seem to have arrived as far as news and great blogs go. Although, as this is …
The Every Child in Need Campaign – help needed!
A campaign is being launched today (Thursday 26th July 2012) aimed at protecting society’s most vulnerable children from “damaging changes” proposed by the Department for Education. The Department of Education is proposing …
School Exclusions: Statemented children 9 times more likely to be excluded
Statistics published by the Department for Education today show that pupils with statements are nine times more likes to be permanently excluded from school than those pupils without any SEN. …
Tourette’s Syndrome – the facts and resources
A condition that is often misunderstood and that is sometimes seen alongside ASD or ADHD is Tourette’s Syndrome. Often inaccurately characterised as sudden, unexpected outbursts of swearing, which is easy …
Finally: summer, special needs stories and a teenage birthday
Ah, so school’s out for pretty much everyone from today..just in time for the summer sunshine to finally show itself. Although my boys are enjoying the end of their second …
Active listening: a core skill for SEN reform
Yesterday, MumsNet hosted a live web chat with Sarah Teather, Minister of State for Children and Families. I recently posted an open letter to Miss Teather, to which I’m still …
SEN reform views and other news
Yesterday I spoke on behalf of Family Voice Surrey at the Surrey County Council SEN pathfinder launch in Cobham. In attendance was Stephen Kingdom, a senior DfE official. I took …
When the words move by themselves – it could be Visual Stress
I met a lady on Twitter a while back, Michelle Doyle, who was talking about ‘Visual Stress’. I wasn’t really clear about what this was so Michelle has kindly written …
Keep out of the rain this weekend and review the week’s special needs stories instead
Today is the last day of school for my boys, apart from Founder’s Day, tomorrow and we’re all praying for the weather to be kind as teachers, staff, 400 boys …
Feed a child with an old phone
Just a heads up about this in case you missed it on the news. A new campaign has been launched by NetMums and Kids Company to help provide meals for …
How NOT to prepare for the autistic child’s camping trip
Youngest is off, after school, on a camping trip with his Year 8 cohort. They will set off to walk to a nearby campsite, pitch tents, eat BBQ, camp overnight …
Place2Be – the charity that makes a lifetime of difference to children in schools
A while ago, I came across a great charity, working across the country to improve the emotional well-being of children, their families and the whole school community. The Place2Be was established in 1994 …
Special Free Schools – is it worth it?
A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend a conference about the formation of special free schools. I couldn’t make it myself as I had other meetings, but Claire …
Fantastic week for awards – and some special needs news you can use too!
So, er, I’ll just mention it one more time – Special Needs Jungle WON the CHANGE award in the BritMums Brilliance in Blogging awards last Friday evening. Wowser! I’ve never …
Dear Miss Teather, an open letter about the pace of SEN reform
Dear Miss Sarah Teather I know you mean well. I know you really want to do something to help improve the lot of kids with special needs. And you might …
The vulnerable children in Care in a #carelesssociety
Tania’s Note: Today I’m bringing you a post about what I think is the most important issue in our society today – children in care, or “Looked After Children”. The …
Special Needs Jungle a WINNER in BritMums Brilliance in Blogging Awards!
So normally, I have posts about great resources but this post is about me, me, me! Last night, in London at the BritMums Brilliance in Blogging Awards 2012, Special Needs …
Catch up on some fab Special Needs news and blogs from this week
So, later today I am heading out for the BritMums bloggers conference and awards. As you know, Special Needs Jungle is a finalist in the ‘Change’ category. As something of …
Don’t rush SEN reform – get it right, not fast
I’ve just watched the Education Select Committee on SEN – the Next Steps and many of the concerns raised mirror the points I raised in my presentation at the Towards …