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 Olympics year, we may miss it altogether. I'm especially pleased as the Olympics brings some old and sorely-missed friends into town to cover it for various news organisations.
In special needs this week, there have been a number of notable stories, including the school exclusions figures. the BBC ran on the angle that there was an 11% drop in exclusions across the boar and, while this is of course welcome news, it's much more worrying that pupils with statements are nine times more likely to be excluded than a pupil without SEN, a fact that news organisations seem to think is just par for the course. Now remember, this is statemented, not just SEN kids, so these are children who are supposed to have statutory help in place to enable them to achieve. Does this indicate that many are simply n the wrong school environment or that their statements are either inadequate or not being properly implemented? I really hope someone with the right resources (yes, I know, what are resources?) looks into this more closely.
There are also a few great blog posts from Chaos in Kent, Lynsey Mumma Duck and Place2Be, so do check them out. Also, if you've read or written something fab this week about special needs, leave the link in the comments for me!
- Special Needs Jungle: The Every Child in Need Campaign – help needed!
- Chaos in Kent: Does child protection protect children? a thought provoking post
- Special Needs Jungle: School Exclusions: Statemented children 9 times more likely to be excluded wp.me/pe7oZ-p1
- BritMums Blog: Adoption & Fostering round-up
- Children & Young People Now: Families of disabled young people urged to challenge health professionals
- This is Grimsby: Parents launch legal battle over cuts to 'vital' Special Educational Needs (SEN) services in North East Lincolnshire
- The Place2Be: Mentally healthy and achieving academically
- US News and World Report: Parents of Severely Disabled Kids Say They Enrich Their Lives
- Life with Aspergers: Learning to "Empathize in the Moment" Very interesting post, that I agree with
- Special Needs Jungle: Tourette's Syndrome - the facts and resources
- Net Buddy: Transition planning should be based on what the young person with special needs wants, not just on existing services
- DysNet: The inspirational Douglas Bader Foundation A new article on DysNet
- Lynsey The Mother Duck: Dreaming of Running A beautiful post
- BBC News: Boy who lived at 35 addresses
- Vitalise: Carers overwhelmed by respite guilt.
- Contact A Family: Our latest news story Consultation on ‘children in need’ across England and Wales
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.
- Dame Christine Lenehan: a career advocating for disabled children’s rights - September 27, 2023
- SEND Minister denies the Government is aiming to cut EHCPs by 20% with an emphatic, but unconvincing, explanation - September 22, 2023
- A new SEND minister NOW? Disabled children deserve better than to be a government testing ground for ambitious MPs - August 31, 2023
You must log in to post a comment.