Award-winning child development tutor at Bracknell and Wokingham College

Activate Learning is proud to have award-winning tutor Jane Machin helping to deliver its HE Child Development programme at Bracknell and Wokingham College.

Jane was recently announced the winner of the Academic Tutor Excellence Award from the University of Reading’s Students’ Union. The award recognised her outstanding teaching, and Jane’s students were full of praise as they put her forward for the award.

“Inspirational,” “enthusiastic,” and “engaging” were just some of the words used to describe Jane, who said she was honoured to receive the award, which she values since the nominations came from her students. She believes in instilling a life-long approach to learning, which she adopted after completing her degree 11 years ago, and she understands the challenges faced by workbased programme students.

According to her students, Jane’s teaching is extremely engaging and thought-provoking, and she is invested in everyone’s learning journey.

For more information, visit bracknell.activatelearning.ac.uk

What is selective mutism?

Selective Mutism (SM) is a phobia where there is ‘a consistent failure to speak in specific social situations where speaking is expected, despite speaking in other situations.’

SM is a phobia much like any other phobias, such as a fear of flying or of the dark. However, it has to have persisted for at least one month (not including the first month in a new setting), not be associated with unfamiliarity of a new language and cannot be accounted for by another communication disorder such as a stammer.

Like many mental health disorders, there is a spectrum and with SM one can have High (does not speak at all to certain people) or Low profile SM (speaks when prompted and may be misjudged as shy). It must not be confused with traumatic mutism, psychogenic voice disorder or reluctant speakers.

The following are indicators that a person is displaying SM:

• The child has a consistent pattern of not speaking to, or in front of, certain people.

• The child talks comfortably to at least one other person, but stops talking, whispers or becomes visibly tense when aware of anyone else approaching.

• Even when it is clearly in the child’s interests to speak or cry out, they do not.

• The child has described, in the absence of stammering, a sensation of ‘freezing’ or their voice getting stuck or not coming out.

Although SM can exist alongside other diagnoses, the child’s mutism cannot be better explained by one of the following: speech or language difficulties, social communication difficulties, hearing loss, developmental delay, learning difficulties, cultural influences (including additional languages) or psychiatric conditions. In other words, even if the quality of the child’s speech or language is affected by another diagnosis, there is still a consistent pattern of speaking to some people but not others.

Working with a speech therapist can help when a child has selective mutism, through understanding each child as an individual. Camilla Crystal, Speech and Language Therapist, says:

ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING OR VOLUNTEERING WITH CHILDREN AGED 0 - 11?

Our Foundation Degree in Children’s Development and Learning allows you to study for a degree alongside your current job.

Discover how we can put you on the pathway to success and take your career higher.

In partnership with Reading University.

Visit: bracknell.activatelearning.ac.uk

Book a call for a friendly chat to find out more:

“If you are an individual family and you are concerned about whether or not your child is shy or does have SM, please get in touch. Equally, if you are an educational setting, pre-school or primary/secondary/FE College and would like training to understand this complex anxiety disorder, please also get in touch. I can offer training remotely or face to face.”

Contact Camilla Crystal: e-mail camilla@ccsandl.onmicrosoft. com or call 07581 067499.

For more information on selective mutism visit www.selectivemutism.org.uk