How is Ofsted supporting & evaluating SEND provision during the pandemic?
The education fo children with SEND (or lack of it) during the pandemic has been on our minds all year. How can we make schools and LAs accountable for ensuring …
Tag: children
Ofsted/CQC inspections MUST become a permanent part of SEND. Here’s why.
We’re almost two years on from the biggest change to SEND accountability in a generation – the introduction of local area SEND service inspections, led by Ofsted and the Care …
Horror stories: Recent SEND research for your summer reading
Dear reader, I am sorry, but I have failed you. A clutch of research reports about SEND have been recently released and I would so love to be able to …
The Secret Life of Holly, from the Disabled Children’s Partnership
In England today, there is an unacceptable gap between the quality of life and opportunities available for disabled children, when compared to those without disabilities. Today, a new coalition of …
SEN Support: Poorer outcomes when needs aren’t thoroughly assessed
Last week I wrote about the problems facing parents of children in mainstream school whose special needs have been persistently overlooked. While the troubled roll-out of Education, Health & Care …
Teaching children with autism: The Guided Participation Relationship
When development is typical, infants at around six-seven months begin to show signs of an insatiable drive to grow…to stretch, learn and explore. Parents, in turn, are instinctively ready to promote this …
Who’s looking at your kids’ photos online -and not in a good way?
A story in the Independent newspaper has make me lurch up from my sickbed to highlight something I have known about for some time, but just not the scale of …
Why my son with autism has enriched my life, not ruined it
The other day we posted an article link on to our Facebook page from The Guardian, featuring a letter from a Dad to his child who has autism. It was a …
On conversation, sensory issues and being different: Some SNJ book reviews!
I am sometimes sent books for possible review but find it difficult to fit it all in. Luckily, I know some parents who are very good at reading and reviewing …
Is This It Mum? Forever?
Have you, as a parent, ever sat down and thought “is this it?” Have you ever sat in despair wondering if it would ever get better? It’s heart breaking and …
Labels: Love or Loathe them?
Deb writes… Are labels a help or hindrance? Do you love them or loathe them? Do they change the way you or your child are seen? Do they change the …
Common sense prevails with more time to test the SEN reform proposals
Education Minister, Edward Timpson, has, it seems, listened to the concerns that so many, including Special Needs Jungle, have voiced – that the pace of SEN reform is too fast …
Child-Free.. as free as the wind blows..
This morning, without so much as a backwards glance, both our autistic children climbed on board a coach with their classmates and set off for their annual trip to PGL. …
Great News – A Statement!
Got the news we had been waiting for today – Son1 has got the Statement of Special Educational Needs we had applied for. Don’t have all the details yet and …
ASD child? Are you getting what you’re entitled to?
If you are the parent of a child with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder, you don’t need me to tell you how difficult a ‘normal’ lifestyle can be. Not only will …
The dog, the hand-washing and the ASD child.
As you may have read, we’ve just got a puppy, a labradoodle. He’s very cute and has transformed our elder ASD son’s life. The dog is the first thing he …
Autism Costs UK economy £28 billion
A new study into the economic impact of autism spectrum disorders in the UK has shown that the total estimated cost is £28 billion each year. That averages out at …
The SEN Assessment Form – Yipes!
NOTE: This post is from the pre-2014 SEND reforms in England. However, the advice is still useful, whichever jurisdiction you live in A few people have mentioned to me how …