SEN Magazine - Issue 103 - November/December 2019

Moving to mindfulness Yoga for kids with SEN Nov • Dec 2019 • Issue 103

Sensory support for dyslexia

Are you epilepsy confident?

How to survive as a teacher

Diagnosing ASD

PMLD • spina bifida and hydrocephalus • safeguarding • bullying professional support for teachers • autism • school security • creative arts wheelchairs • BETT Show • recruitment • CPD • SEN news and much more…

SEN products / services

senmagazine.co.uk

3

SEN103

4

SEN resources

SEN103

Fostering

senmagazine.co.uk

Welcome Nov • Dec 2019 Issue 103

Over recent years, the ancient practice of yoga has found a role in a growing number of UK schools. Its popularity with educators is easy to understand.

Yoga seeks to help individuals to relax, to regulate their bodies and to focus on the moment – all of which sounds like ideal preparation for learning.

Editor

In this issue of SEN Magazine, Jyoti “Jo” Manuel looks at how yoga and mindful breathing can be particularly effective in helping children with SEN to relax and manage stress (p.48).

Peter Sutcliffe editor@senmagazine.co.uk 01200 409810

Advertising sales Denise Williamson Advertising Sales Manager denise@senmagazine.co.uk 01200 409808

Administration Anita Crossley (left) anita@senmagazine.co.uk 01200 409802 Amanda Harrison (centre) office@senmagazine.co.uk 01200 409804/800 Dawn Thompson (right) dawn@senmagazine.co.uk 01200 409804/800

Design Rob Parry design@senmagazine.co.uk

Director

Jeremy Nicholls

Teacher wellbeing is also centre stage in this issue. Viv Grant provides some key tips to help take the stress out of teaching (p.36), while Rosamund McNeil outlines important sources of professional support for teaching staff (p.34).

The process of putting together an education, health and care plan is the subject of Douglas Silas’ regular SEN law column (p.24). In our recruitment feature, Joshua Tipping assesses the special role of teaching assistants in SEN settings (p.84). And as always, SEN’s CPD, training and events section includes details of the latest courses, workshops, conferences and exhibitions (p.88).

Elsewhere, you’ll find articles on PMLD (p.28), spina bifida and hydrocephalus (p.30), safeguarding (p.38), bullying (p.42), dyslexia (p.44),

■ Yoga is being used to help prepare pupils for learning (p.48).

attachment (p.52), creative arts (p.54), wheelchairs/mobility (p.59), school security (p.62), epilepsy (p.64) and autism (p.68, p.74 and p.80).

If you would like to have your say on any issue relating to special educational needs, we are always keen to receive contributions for our point of view section. Please send me a short email if you’re interested.

Peter Sutcliffe SEN Magazine Editor editor@senmagazine.co.uk

Next issue deadline Advertising and news deadline: 4/12/19 Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in SEN Magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publisher cannot be held liable for incorrect information, omissions or the opinions of third parties.

SEN Magazine Ltd Chapel House, 5 Shawbridge Street, Clitheroe, BB7 1LY Tel 01200 409800 Fax 01200 409809 Email info@senmagazine.co.uk senmagazine.co.uk

SEN Magazine ISSN: 1755-4845

senmagazine.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS Yana Albino Pearl Barnes Tony Clifford Sue Corrick Sophie Crockett Rhuanedd Deroy-Jones Srinivas Gada Viv Grant

Catherine Hodder Caroline Klage Jyoti “Jo” Manuel Emma Maskell-Ludlow Rosamund McNeil Mary Mountstephen Emmet Murphy Nicola Murray

follow us on twitter.com/senmagazine

Susie Nyman Douglas Silas Jan Tippett Joshua Tipping Kate C. Wilde Andrew Wright

join us on facebook.com/senmagazine

SEN103

November • December 2019 • Issue 103 The class that roared

28

30

34

36

38

42

44

How high expectations and technical knowhow can make a huge difference for pupils with PMLD

Ready to learn Creating the right learning environment for a child with spina bifida and hydrocephalus

Help is at hand Key sources of professional support for teaching staff

How to survive as a teacher Top tips to help take the stress out of teaching

Working together on safeguarding The challenges of keeping pupils with severe and complex learning difficulties safe

52

54

59

62

64 SEN103

74

80 86

Key things to look for if you think a child may have autism

High-functioning autism What are the co-occurring and overlapping difficulties with HFA?

Inspiring words How parents can enable non-verbal children with autism to talk to them

Bett and Education Show preview

Regulars 8

SEN news

What can schools do to prevent bullying involving pupils with SEN?

16

The latest products and ideas from the world of SEN

Sensory support for dyslexia

22

Transforming attitudes to bullying

Using a multi-sensory approach to support dyslexic students with their learning

Moving to mindfulness

48

68

Diagnosing ASD

How yoga and mindful breathing can help children with SEN to relax and manage stress

What about me?

Developing attachment aware practices to meet the needs of all pupils

Getting crafty Why creative arts sessions can be invaluable for young people with SEN

Routes to mobility A useful guide to help parents source a wheelchair for their child

Safe and secure How can we ensure school security whilst keeping everyone safe?

Are you epilepsy confident?

Simple ideas to help schools support children with epilepsy

24 82 84

What’s new?

Point of view Have your say!

SEN law Education, health and care plans

Book reviews Recruitment The role of teaching assistants working in SEN settings

88

CPD, training and events

96

SEN resources directory

98

About SEN Magazine

In the next issue of SEN Magazine: autism dyslexia CReSTeD post-16 options specialist seating assistive technology outdoor activities

SEN law Down syndrome hearing impairment SEN provision overseas recruitment CPD and much more…

senmagazine.co.uk

24

38

Safeguarding

68 senmagazine.co.uk

EHC plans

Autism

48

Yoga and SEN SEN103

8

SEN news

Complaints skyrocket as children are “failed” by SEN system Complaints about education, health and care (EHC) plans are increasing at an “alarming rate”, according to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. In 2018/19, the independent review service received 45 per cent more complaints and carried out 80 per cent more detailed investigations about EHC plans than in 2016/17.

A new report by the Ombudsman shows it is now upholding 87 per cent of cases it investigates relating to EHC plans, which detail the support children and young people with SEN should receive. This compares to an average uphold rate of 57 per cent across all non-SEN cases.

“Two years ago when the system was bedding in, we were concerned we were upholding around 80 per cent of investigations”, says Ombudsman Michael King. “That we are investigating and upholding significantly more complaints two years later suggests a system in crisis”.

Mr King feels that children with SEN and disabilities, who are amongst the most vulnerable in our society, are being “failed by the system designed to support them”. This means children are not getting the support they need at the right time, which is having a “significant impact on their education and attainment”.

Issues identified in the “Not going to plan? report include delays of up to 90 weeks in issuing a plan, with some families waiting over a year. In addition, authorities are not anticipating local needs, are failing to communicate and prepare properly prior to meetings, and are not providing sufficient oversight of staff by senior colleagues.

Mr King is particularly concerned that some local authorities are making it more difficult for families involved in the EHC plan process in order to ration scarce resources. “While I can empathise with the difficulties authorities face, there can never be an excuse for failing to meet the statutory rights of children”, he says.

Cash crisis The Chair of the Local Government Association (LGA) Children and Young People Board, Councillor Judith Blake, says the report supports the organisation’s “long-term concerns that councils are in danger of being unable to meet their statutory duties for children with special educational needs.” She points to an 11 per cent increase since last year in the number of children with an EHC plan and says that uncertainty over central government funding means the situation is likely to get worse as the number of children needing support continues to increase. The LGA has welcomed the Government’s plans to review the current system.

SEN charities have also responded to the report’s findings by calling for better funding and a fairer system.

SEN103

■ The Ombudsman says pupils with SEN are not getting the support they need.

“This is yet another damning report exposing a national crisis in special educational needs support”, says Ambitious about Autism’s Chief Executive Jolanta Lasota. “It’s clear the special educational needs system is at breaking point – and its failures will have a lifelong impact on the children it lets down”.

The charity IPSEA, which provides advice on SEN, says it is “disappointed, but sadly not surprised” that the situation for children and young people with SEN and disabilities is getting worse, rather than better, as the Government’s SEN reforms of 2014 become more deeply embedded.

IPSEA Chief Executive Ali Fiddy says the very high uphold rate of complaints about EHC plans “is symptomatic of a failure by local authorities to comply with the law at even the most basic level.” She believes this “begs the question how many other children, young people and their families are being let down but are unwilling or unable to pursue a complaint.”

Sarah White, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Sense says: “The report highlights how local authorities are rationing essential services, and how the provision of support is increasingly becoming detached from need”. She goes on to say that while she welcomes the Government’s promise, made in September, of £700 million in 2020/21 for SEN, “it does not fix the broken system itself and will still leave an estimated funding gap of £900 million.”

The report, Not going to plan? - Education, Health and Care plans two years on, can be found at lgo.org.uk senmagazine.co.uk

SEN news

9

NHS taskforce to “transform” mental health, autism and learning disability support The NHS has announced a programme to overhaul hospital services for children and young people with mental health issues, autism and learning disabilities.

A taskforce will be established to improve specialist impatient services. It will be scrutinised and supported by an independent oversight board chaired by the Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield OBE. Announced on World Mental Health Day on 10 October, the new proposals are a development of the NHS Long Term Plan revealed in January 2019. They place particular emphasis on better community services and “reducing the over reliance on inpatient care”. They also focus on providing more joined-up care involving schools and councils.

■ The NHS is promising rapid action to improve inpatient services.

NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens says that “while early intervention to stop ill health escalating is a priority, we are also determined to provide the strongest possible safety net for families living with the most acute conditions.”

how to deliver the best care for acute need, they will review the different types of independent and NHS provision available, and they will consider issues of staff training and how staff manage seclusion and segregation in inpatient settings.

Mr Stevens promises rapid action from the taskforce, which is expected to make improvements in care over the next 18 months while setting out recommendations for future next steps. The oversight board is similarly tasked with coming up with proposals for rapid improvements to existing services and assessing the most effective approaches to issues that have been much in the news in recent years, such as out-of-area placements, inappropriate care and the length of time young people are staying in facilities.

Calls for action

Anne Longfield’s board is also charged with overseeing “the development of genuine alternatives to care, closer to home”.

The Children’s Commissioner has welcomed the opportunity to oversee improvements in the way children and young people are treated by the system. “Research published by my office earlier this year found that far too many children are stuck in hospital for months or even years when they do not need to be there”, she said.

The Chief Executive of Ambitious about Autism, Jolanta Lasota, feels there should be a clear focus on early intervention. “This taskforce must examine how young autistic people can be better supported within their local community to reduce reliance on inpatient settings and provide effective care that keeps them close to home.”

The National Autistic Society (NAS) has reported that the number of children with autism or a learning disability in these hospitals has doubled in recent years. “We continue to hear disturbing stories of autistic children and adults being detained for long periods of time, miles away from their family – and even overmedicated, inappropriately restrained, and kept in isolation”, says NAS Director of External Affairs Jane Harris.

Under the new NHS proposals, specialist taskforce delivery teams are to be set up, comprising doctors, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists and other medical professionals. They will look at senmagazine.co.uk

The establishment of the taskforce has received a cautious welcome from the NAS, although Jane Harris insists that concrete action is needed to produce the change that people with autism have been calling for over many years. “We are pleased that their calls are being heard but we’ve had lots of promises before”, she says. “This time, it has to lead to good community services in every area of the country, from professionals who understand autism.”

She is also calling on the taskforce to represent the “diversity of experience” of children and young people with autism, many of whom have mental health issues, co-occurring conditions such as a learning disability, and physical health issues.

The learning disability charity Mencap has “warmly” welcomed the announcement from the NHS. “We hope that this taskforce will help release the 245 children with a learning disability and/ or autism who are locked away in inpatient units. This number has more than doubled in four years”, says Oonagh Smyth, Mencap’s Executive Director of Strategy and Influence.

To read the NHS Long Term Plan, go to longtermplan.nhs.uk SEN103

10

SEN news

Hate crime prosecution rates fall as reported incidents rise The number of people being prosecuted or charged with disability hate crimes is falling in England and Wales. At the same time, reports of instances of this kind of crime are on the increase.

Police figures show that incidents of disability hate crime are up by 54 per cent since 2016/17, while charges and prosecutions are down by 21 per cent.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request from learning disability charity United Response received responses from 34 police forces in England and Wales. Those forces reported a total of 6,263 disability hate crimes in 2018/19, compared to 4,079 offences recorded by the same forces in 2016/17.

Data on charge or prosecution rates and repeat offender frequency were also sought in the FOI request, but not all forces provided data for each theme. Figures from 27 forces showed successive yearly reductions in disability hate crime charges or prosecutions since 2016/17, both in terms of absolute numbers and as a proportion of the crimes investigated each year.

Over the last three years, less than four per cent of all 10,535 instances of this type of crime investigated in the 27 regions led to a successful charge or conviction. Just five per cent of reported crimes in 2016/17 resulted in a prosecution or charge; in 2018/19, this figure dropped to three per cent. The statistics showed that one in 20 disability hate crimes was committed by a repeat offender, a rise of 170 per cent.

The charity’s research suggests that, on average, more than 17 disability hate crimes were committed every day last year across England and Wales, nearly nine of which were “violence against the person”.

“The hard facts are that more and more people with learning disabilities or autism are being subjected to criminal harm and seemingly a smaller proportion of those responsible are being given the punishment they deserve”, says United Response Director of Quality and Practice Sarah Battershall.

Criminals must be brought to justice, the charity says, but they should also be educated about the effects that their actions have on the victims of their crimes.

The charity is currently working with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Crown Prosecution Service on producing a video designed to help make courtrooms more accessible, and less daunting, for people with learning disabilities.

SEN103

New guidance on managing continence issues in education settings Best practice guidance on toileting and continence problems at nursery, school and college has been made available online. Supported by a short film, the downloadable resource seeks to help educational establishments understand and support pupils with bladder and bowel issues.

Aimed at school leaders, governors, proprietors, staff and practitioners, the guidance looks at bladder and bowel health, hygiene standards, the provision of school toilets and managing incontinence in schools. It explains national legislation for the four countries of the UK and outlines key safeguarding issues. It also discusses continence policy and care plans and provides example plans for schools to use.

The guidance has been created jointly by the charity Bladder and Bowel UK and children’s bladder and bowel charity ERIC. Continence conditions are among the most common health issues affecting children and young people, with more than 900,000 children in the UK having bowel and bladder difficulties. Growing numbers of children are also starting school still wearing nappies, an issue the charities say is placing a huge burden on teachers’ time and resources. The charities also report that some parents say they are unable to work because they are repeatedly called into school to change their child after a wetting or soiling accident.

The document highlights the effects of continence issues on a child or young person’s life. Bladder and bowel difficulties are associated with stigma, embarrassment and shame. They can cause pupils to avoid school trips and sleepovers, and have a negative impact on social interaction. In addition to adversely affecting wellbeing, they can also impact on a pupil’s performance and development at school.

“Educational attendance, attainment and health are intrinsically linked. Therefore, the more we can do to minimise the negative impact on a pupil’s health and wellbeing, the more likely they are to flourish and grow”, says Sharon White of the School and Public Health Nurses Association, who welcomed the new guidance.

The film, Managing Continence Issues in Secondary Schools, has been released on YouTube. The document Managing Bladder and Bowel Issues in Nurseries, Schools and Colleges is available for download from eric.org.uk/help-at-school and bbuk.org.uk

News deadline for next issue: 4/12/19.

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN news

11

Adopters outnumbered two to one by children waiting for adoption A huge shortfall in the number of adoptive parents needed to meet demand has been revealed by new figures from the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board (ASGLB). The statistics show there are more than double the number of children awaiting adoption in England than there are adopters. Currently, there are 4,140 children in England with a plan for adoption and 1,700 families approved to adopt.

Of those waiting to be adopted, 28 per cent are aged over five, four per cent have a disability, 20 per cent are from black, asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and 57 per cent are in sibling groups. The charity Adoption UK points out that children who have special needs or are BAME, older or part of a sibling group are always harder to place with families.

“Adopted children are among the most complex and vulnerable in society as they have often suffered serious neglect or abuse in their early lives”, says Sue Armstrong Brown, Chief Executive of Adoption UK. “But adoption can have a transformative effect on these children and the testimony of adoptive parents is proof that you can successfully parent children who are deemed harder to place, if the right support is in place.”

The charity is calling for people from all types of backgrounds to come forward as potential adopters.

Access to Work guide to cultural sector The Arts Council and Disability Arts Online have published a guide to Access to Work for the arts and cultural sector.

An employment support programme run by the Department for Work and Pensions, Access to Work can provide grants to remove barriers disabled people face in undertaking paid employment, including for equipment, travel and support workers.

The guide, which is available in a variety of different formats including easy read and audio-only, clarifies the Access to Work process and provides specific advice for the arts and cultural sector. There are three sections to the guide: one for self-employed workers, one for employees (or prospective employees) and one for employers.

Schools gear up for Anti-Bullying Week The theme of this year’s Anti-Bullying Week is “Change Starts With Us”. Organisers the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) are seeking to highlight the small changes we can all make to tackle bullying and create a safer environment for everyone.

The theme was inspired by children themselves, says ABA Director Martha Evans: “When we asked children and young people, they were determined that this year’s Anti-Bullying Week should emphasise how everyone can do something to lessen the impact of bullying”.

Over three-quarters of UK schools are expected to take part in the 2019 event, running from 11 to 15 November.

For one of the centre pieces of the Week, Odd Socks Day on Tuesday 12 November, pupils will be encouraged to wear odd socks to school to raise money for charity and celebrate what makes every person unique. The Day is being supported

by CBeebies star Andy Day and his band Andy and the Odd Socks with a specially written song entitled “Change”.

During Anti-Bullying Week, the winners of the School Staff Award will be announced, recognising school staff members who “go the extra mile” to help tackle bullying.

Free cross-curricular resources to help staff discuss bullying and plan for Anti-Bullying Week are available for primary and secondary schools at anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk In this issue of SEN Magazine (p.42), Nicola Murray, Head of Programmes at the ABA, outlines some of the key things schools can do to help prevent bullying of, and by, pupils with SEN.

follow us on twitter.com/senmagazine join us on facebook.com/senmagazine

disabilityarts.online/atw senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

12

SEN news

Inclusion should be the default option Not all schools are succeeding in being inclusive, according to a report by London Councils, which represents the capital’s local authorities.

While many councils and schools in London are operating effective strategies to meet the needs of children with SEN and disabilities who want to attend mainstream school, some are falling short in their duty to offer the right provision. London Councils says greater accountability and firmer commitments to inclusion are needed to ensure all schools get it right.

The report found “too many examples of unfair admissions practice, off-rolling and inappropriate exclusions”. It also expressed concerns that schools can be held back from promoting inclusion because of funding pressures, lack of SEND expertise and concern about the impact on performance.

Councillor Nickie Aiken, London Councils’ Executive member for Schools and Children’s Services, says many schools are delivering on their legal duty to ensure inclusion but “we cannot yet guarantee that all schools in London are inclusive. All too often children with SEND end up being excluded or off-rolled rather than being offered the support they need”.

As well as providing better provision for pupils with SEN, the report says that promoting inclusion in the education system as a whole would serve to ease the pressure on special schools.

London has seen an increase in the number of children attending special schools from 15,007 in 2016 to 17,226 in 2019.

London Councils has welcomed recent developments in SEN provision, with the Government’s announcement that it has

increased the amount of funding schools receive via the High Needs Block by £700 million, and Ofsted’s greater emphasis on inclusion in its revised School Inspection Framework.

To build on these measures, the report makes a number of proposals to improve inclusion in schools.

These include tasking councils with looking at how they can support, challenge and empower schools to improve their inclusive practice. There are also recommendations for the Government, including: ensuring schools remain financially accountable for any children they exclude; updating the SEN and Disabilities Code of Practice to clarify and stress schools’ duties in relation to SEN; providing “a clearer policy steer” on inclusion of children with SEN and disabilities in mainstream schools; and establishing a specific inclusion fund.

Children with SEN have only 50 per cent chance of getting support they need More than half of local authorities and healthcare providers are failing joint inspections of how they support children and young people with SEN and disabilities Figures collated by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) show that 100 of England’s local areas have had their joint services inspected by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and 51 have failed. More than a third of England’s 151 areas are still to be inspected.

Local areas are required to produce a Written Statement of Action when their SEN and disabilities services have failed at inspection. This document is designed to outline what health and council services will do to address their “significant areas of weakness”. Areas are then re-assessed to show what progress they have made in improving the service they provide to children and young people. The data reveals that six of the 11 areas that have so far been re-inspected have failed a second time.

“These figures show that support for children with SEND is SEN103

falling woefully short”, says Steve Haines, Executive Director at the NDCS. “This support isn’t a privilege or a luxury, it’s a legal right, but these children are now relying on a system where their chances of getting what they need are no better than 50:50.”

Mr Haines believes that this represents “a system in crisis” and is “completely unacceptable” in a compassionate society. “If more than half of schools, hospitals or fire stations were failing, there would be a national outcry”, he says.

follow us on twitter.com/senmagazine join us on facebook.com/senmagazine senmagazine.co.uk

SEN news

13

UK-wide project to research effects of school exclusions New multi-disciplinary research is to be conducted on the consequences of school exclusions across the UK.

One in four teachers working more than 60 hour week Researchers at UCL Institute of Education have published a study showing that a quarter of teachers in England work more than 60 hours a week.

The findings show that, on average, teachers work around 47 hours per week during term-time. This includes the time they spend on marking, lesson planning and administration, with there being little change in this figure over time. In the summer term, the average working week was nearer to 50 hours.

Additionally, teachers in England worked on average eight hours more a week compared to teachers in comparable industrialised OECD countries. For example, in 2018, while the average full-time secondary teacher in England worked 49 hours per week the OECD average was 41 hours. The equivalent figure for teachers in Finland was just 34 hours.

The study found that around 40 per cent of teachers in England usually work in the evening and ten per cent usually work at the weekend. Full-time secondary teachers also said they spend almost as much time on management, administration, marking and lesson planning each week (20.1 hours) as they do actually teaching pupils (20.5 hours).

“Successive secretaries of state for education have made big commitments to teachers about their working hours – how they are determined to reduce the burden of unnecessary tasks and how they will monitor hours robustly”, says lead author Professor John Jerrim. “Our data show just how difficult it is to reduce teacher workload and working hours.”

Run by the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, and funded by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), a team of researchers will operate across Oxford, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Reading and the London School of Economics (LSE). The four year project will be led by Professor Harry Daniels and Associate Professor Ian Thompson at the University of Oxford’s Department of Education.

The ESRC has awarded £2,550,850 to develop a multidisciplinary understanding of the political economies and consequences of school exclusion. The aim is for the research to lead to a greater understanding of the cost of exclusions at individual, institutional and system levels, as well as pupils’ rights, entitlements, protection and wellbeing, and the landscapes of exclusion across the UK’s four jurisdictions.

There are big differences in the rates of permanent school exclusion in different parts of the UK, with numbers rising rapidly in England but remaining relatively low or even falling in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Latest figures show there were 7,900 permanent exclusions in England compared to just five in Scotland, not accounting for many informal and illegal forms of exclusion.

In this research, home international comparisons of historical and current policy, practice and legal frameworks relating to school exclusion will be conducted for the first time.

“Exclusions have long and short-term consequences in terms of academic achievement, well-being, mental health, and future prospects”, says Professor Thompson. “Previous research and official statistics show that school exclusions are also far more likely to affect pupils with special needs, from low income families, and some ethnic backgrounds.”

Preliminary work conducted by the research team, which first established in 2014, has illustrated that pressures on schools to perform well in examination league tables can lead to the exclusion of pupils whose predicted attainment would weaken overall school performance. As a consequence, pupils who do not conform to the rules can be excluded to the social margins of schooling.

Professor Jerrim is calling for much closer monitoring of teachers’ working hours, so that the impact of policy can be assessed as soon as possible.

The study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, looks at data from more than 40,000 primary and secondary teachers in England collected between 1992 and 2017. senmagazine.co.uk

News deadline for next issue: 4/12/19.

SEN103

14

Equals

SEN103

Relaxed performances

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN products / services

15

Advertisement feature

Book of Beasties to release free PSHE mental health resources Following Ofsted’s new framework, which outlines a focus on PSHE education, mental health resource developer Book of Beasties has announced a plan to release free seasonal materials throughout the year to help schools comply.

The resources provide simple wellness exercises, advice, discussion topics and reading materials for the children and teachers to use.

Book of Beasties is an award winning, psychologist endorsed mental wellness resource that raises emotional literacy, teaches empathy and resilience, and normalises the open conversation about mental health.

The creators behind the mental wellness game recognised a lack of affordable and effective mental wellness support for schools and decided to create something simple, accessible, affordable and most importantly beneficial to children.

The developer is also offering 25 per cent off its CPD Accredited Wellness Workshops that provide in depth training for all teaching and support staff, whilst furthering their continued professional development.

Contact info@bookofbeasties.com or visit bookofbeasties.com

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

16

What’s new?

AET Autism Progression Framework 2.0 The newly updated AET Autism Progression Framework is now available to download free of charge from the Autism Education Trust’s website.

Commissioned by the DfE, the highly anticipated new version of the popular progress tracking tool can be used in all types of settings: early years, schools and post-16. It is easy to use and is compatible with most online progress tracking systems supporting tablet compatibility, facility to add evidence, extended progress tracking and printable reports.

For more information and to find out about AET’s award winning training and resources, visit autismeducationtrust.org.uk

Sensory support pods Sensory Nooks are personal mobile sensory support pods. They have been designed by sensory specialists AmbiSpace Ltd to provide schools with an easy affordable way to help pupils and students with SEND. They do this by reducing sensory overload from the wider environment and creating a controllable capsule in which neurodiverse pupils can better cope and function to the best of their ability.

promotional content

Artsmark - the creative quality standard for schools There are over 4,000 schools and education settings engaged with the Artsmark Award.

Artsmark is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited

by Arts Council England.

It’s clear and flexible framework supports you to embed arts and culture across your whole curriculum and can be used to address school improvement priorities.

You can help build young people’s confidence, character and resilience and support their health and wellbeing through arts, culture and creativity. Register today at artsmark.org.uk

Could you foster disabled children for Derbyshire County Council?

Derbyshire County Council is always looking for foster carers for children of all ages and abilities but currently has an increased need for carers for children with complex disabilities.

These carers provide family-based, long-term and shortbreak foster placements for children and young people who continue to live with their families or carers.

These clever little Nooks provide a safe space that avoids isolation and reduces challenging behaviour. They can be wheeled into place exactly where needed in classrooms, corridors, cafeterias and larger open spaces.

The role is self-employed, paid at a rate equivalent to a wage and carried out as a main job.

ambispace.uk

derbyshire.gov.uk/fostering

Downloadable educational resources to engage and enthuse

EHC plan services and products

Apple For The Teacher say they are determined, passionate and fiercely loyal to what education should be about – “these are the badges we wear with pride”.

They design activities with children in mind, which are individual, bespoke, animated and inspiring. No two are the same. “We love the enthusiasm each resource draws from the children they are meant for, giving them a deeper learning experience and a need to learn more”, they say.

Apple For The Teacher work to design teaching resources which “ignite curiosity and imagination” in the classroom. applefortheteacher.co.uk

Carers would have experience of working with young people with complex disabilities.

Enhance EHC offers a range of SEND services and products for local authorities (LAs) and schools. Their EHC Plan Writing Service helps ensure improved timeliness and quality of EHC plans, while their Quality Assurance services enable impartial monitoring and analysis of EHC plans and professional assessment advice.

Also available are EHC plan Good Practice Resource Packs, which share best practice and offer a national perspective, and a range of CPD accredited online EHC plan training programmes, designed to be completed in the workplace.

01245 362 056 enquiries@enhanceehc.co.uk enhanceehc.co.uk

SEN103

senmagazine.co.uk

What’s new?

promotional content

SEN job vacancies on new Equals website

Wheatley House Children’s Home opening soon

A new website from Equals is helping to advertise SEN school job vacancies throughout the UK.

With children and young people at the centre of all they do, Hesley Group is expanding its children’s services. They will shortly be opening a new children’s home within the area of Denaby, Doncaster to support four young people with a learning disability, autism and other complex needs.

As a wellestablished national charity offering services to the SEN sector since 1994, Equals’ websites are very popular and receive thousands of visitors every month.

17

All of the young people living at Wheatley House will attend Fullerton House School for their education, which is just a short walk from their home. Wheatley House is in the heart of the community, affording fantastic opportunities to achieve and learn. hesleygroup.co.uk

Visit equalsmembers.org for more details.

Gold medals for Fairfield student

Online SEND management tool

Harry Humphries, who attends Fairfield Farm College, is celebrating after representing Team GB at the European Down Syndrome Swimming Championship in Sardinia, competing against 19 other countries.

SENDiT™ by Impact Education Software® brings together years of front-line teaching experience, SEND leadership and government cyber expertise to offer a comprehensive SEND management tool.

Harry took home gold medals for the 200-metre freestyle relay with a world record for the race category! He also won bronze medals in the 100 and the 50-metre freestyle relay.

SENDiT™ reduces staff workload, is easy to use and is bespoke for SEND. It is compliance simplified and has powerful strategic features.

The College and Harry’s supporters are incredibly proud of his achievements, which were recognised with his award of Young Individual Sportsperson at the 2019 Westbury Young People Awards earlier this year.

Complicated and repetitive SEND paper systems only add to the burden of staff teams’ work, stealing schools’ ability to achieve maximum impact for students. This easy-to-use online tool helps staff collaborate and package the evidence needed for reviews and evaluation.

ffc.ac.uk

impacteducationsoftware.com

The essential guide for the families you work with

Literacy boost at specialist school for boys

Parents with children who have additional needs are frequently overwhelmed with reams of paperwork, piles of pamphlets and confusing jargon. Contact’s Helpful Guide For Families with Disabled Children gently guides parents through what can be a confusing system of support and helps them find the best ways to help their child and family.

Students at Notton House Academy (part of Learn@ Multi-Academy Trust), for boys with complex SEMH needs, have welcomed their new library thanks to £5,000 from the Foyle Foundation.

Professionals can order copies easily and at an affordable price by emailing info@contact.org.uk – just let them know how many copies you’d like and they’ll send you a quote.

Visit contact.org.uk for more information.

senmagazine.co.uk

Most boys joining the school are behind their peers for reading and writing.

The library – opened by Cllr Desna Allen, Mayor of Chippenham (pictured) – will contribute to the school’s combined approach to literacy, including: one-to-one speech and language therapy; additional teaching support; personalised learning with a tailored curriculum; a weekly communication focussed lesson; and reading materials in residential areas. notton.learnmat.uk

SEN103

18

What’s new?

promotional content

Bringing the magic of theatre to school

New Play Therapy Pods

There is clear evidence that attending theatre performances can help enhance social bonds and play a useful role in helping children develop emotional intelligence.

However, this can be an organisational minefield, incurring transport costs and accessibility issues.

Newlife’s Play Therapy Pods provide quality play opportunities and support all areas of a child’s development, whilst creating joy for the whole family.

M&M Theatrical Productions transform gyms and dining halls, creating a fully immersive and authentic theatrical experience using state-of-the-art lights, sound and special effects. Their inclusive, cross-curricular productions can be relaxed and tailored to meet audience needs, ensuring children of all ages and abilities are equally engaged, educated and entertained.

Play Therapy Pods have been developed thanks to feedback to encourage visual, auditory, interactive, tactile and communication skills. They are accessible to children of any age and ability. New pods include Adventure Pods in four themes: Space; Animal; Underwater; and Transport, Explorer and Discovery.

Families can apply for different pods, each loaned for 12 weeks, to better understand their child’s individual needs and the toys they respond best to.

magicoftheatre.com

newlifecharity.co.uk/play

Children’s epilepsy seizure alarm from Medpage

Free 30-day trial of Rapid Plus online

The Medpage Model MP5V2 epileptic seizure movement detector is designed to detect a variety of seizure types in people of all ages, from babies to adults.

The high-sensitivity, high-performance sensor and control software positively identify seizure movement from a sleeping person, ignoring usual sleeping movements.

Detected seizures are notified via two carer pagers.

Additionally, the included camera is automatically triggered to record seizure activity.

A Rapid Plus online subscription gives you and your students access to all of the Rapid Plus texts in online eBook format, both in-school and at home.

Designed to give maximum support to struggling readers, each eBook contains a wealth of features to help your students become more confident with their independent reading.

In the Reports section, teachers can also monitor student reading progress and track their performance in comprehension activities, helping to identify areas of difficulty.

For more information, search “MP5V2” at easylinkuk.co.uk

You can request your free trial at pearsonschools.co.uk/SENRapidtrial

Autism Professionals Conference 2020

Adolescent mental health and child trauma training

The National Autistic Society is holding their annual Autism Professionals Conference on 27 and 28 February 2020. The two-day conference is a unique opportunity for professionals to discuss best practice and share learning on a variety of specialist autism topics. Hear the latest information from leading experts and learn from case studies illustrating best practice.

Highlights from the programme include: school for children with mental health and anxiety issues; dogs in the classroom; reforming the curriculum; improving communication; autism and very strong interests in the classroom; and multidisciplinary working. autism.org.uk/conferences

SEN103

The Centre for Child Mental Health provides CPD and training for all child professionals, including those from education, social work, counselling, psychology and occupational therapy.

Staffed by expert trainers from here and abroad, events include one-day conferences, skills-based trainings and part-time accredited courses, providing practical tools, techniques and key innovative strategies.

Specific conferences cover working effectively with children on all key areas of child mental health, including: children with SEND; mental health diagnosis; sensory integration disorders; children/teenagers who are violent, anxious or depressed; autism spectrum; and ADHD. childmentalhealthcentre.org

senmagazine.co.uk

What’s new?

promotional content

New features and resources on Pearson’s education page

Relaxed Performance: Carols at the Royal Albert Hall

Pearson believe that everyone’s ability to learn is as unique as they. So their new education homepage has been updated to feature resources and assessments tools to help you identify your students’ specific area of need, so that you can give each individual the additional support they need to succeed throughout their education.

Sing along to beloved classics in the spectacular surroundings of London’s Royal Albert Hall. The iconic venue will host a relaxed carols concert on Monday 23 December.

You can explore the new homepage to find resources and tools to measure ADHD, autism, dyslexia and mental health in children and young people. pearsonclinical.co.uk/educationsen

19

The performance is suitable for children and adults with autism, sensory and communication impairments and learning disabilities, as well as individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and partially sighted.

Chill-out spaces will be available outside the auditorium and BSL interpretation will be provided. Expect traditional carols and modern arrangements, brought to life by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. royalalberthall.com 020 7589 8212

Special Yoga

In-ground Rebound Therapy trampoline

Established in 2002, Special Yoga aims to reach as many children as possible by providing accessible and sustainable therapeutic yoga and mindfulness programs.

Their training courses provide skills that can be used in classrooms, at home and in yoga classes.

The first wholly UKmanufactured in-ground Rebound Therapy trampoline has been launched by Sunken Trampolines.

Special Yoga teaches specific breath, movement and relaxation practices giving children with special needs invaluable coping strategies. These practices support reduction in stress, tension, worry, anxiety and depression.

Relieving these stresses results in improved wellbeing, positive engagement with others, the ability to self regulate behaviours, and the ability to learn and attend.

Two sizes have been made, a standard school trampoline size (15’ by 9’) and a 12’ by 8’. Both comply with sporting equipment safety standards, meaning schools and residences can have an easily accessible sunken option instead of a heavy and clumsy above ground trampoline.

Compatible for outdoor and indoor use, the ST100 and 110 are perfect for Rebound Therapy and recreational use with great responsiveness and power combined.

For more information, visit sunkentrampolines.co.uk

specialyoga.org.uk

High-quality SEND training Steve Brown Behaviour Support and Training offer a high-quality service to mainstream and specialist settings from preschool to adult services.

Specialising in ASC and associated conditions and pupils at risk of exclusion, they have a wealth of knowledge and skills to enable staff to support pupils with a range of needs.

Their bespoke training courses include ASC awareness and strategies, attachment, language and communication, using visual support, sensory differences, PDA, supporting parents, tic disorders, ADHD, behaviour management, Team-Teach and Talk Boost KS2. stevebrownbst.co.uk stevebrownbst@gmail.com 07946 728713

senmagazine.co.uk

Would you like to create an outdoor sensory space but have no funding?

The outdoor sensory space in any setting should be fully inclusive and provide the same opportunity for everyone to explore regardless of their ability or special need. It should be a place where diversity is respected and valued, enabling children of all abilities to explore their surroundings in a safe childcentred inclusive environment.

Timotay Playscapes have a free funding guide and free inspiration guide to outdoor sensory play spaces and outdoor sensory play equipment.

For a free copy, email enquiries@timotayplayscapes.co.uk or call 01933 665151.

SEN103

20

What’s new?

promotional content

New features at Bett 2020

AISC 2019

Advancing education is what Bett is all about. The show provides a platform for 34,000+ educators and leaders to engage with 800+ EdTech providers, and to learn from 300+ of the most influential voices in the landscape.

Asia-Pacific International Schools Conference (AISC) – the annual event for international school leaders, educators and investors in the Asia Pacific region, now in its fifth year – returns to Hong Kong on 11 and 12 December 2019 with an exciting programme of world renowned education experts.

New for 2020, the Education Show will be fully integrated inside the event. There will be six different solution zones to aid navigation, more CPD content sessions in the conference programme, six new inspirational themes and more networking opportunities with a Staff Room for educators and the app Connect@Bett.

The AISC 2019 themes have been confirmed as Innovations in Education, Coaching to Cultivate Learner Agency, Inclusive Education, Leadership in Education and The Business of Education. The conference speakers and delegates will share their innovative learning ideas and the challenges they are addressing in their international school environments.

Bett 2020 is open for registration. bettshow.com

LTE 2019 Learning and Teaching Expo (LTE) 2019 visitor online registration is open.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary, this December’s show promises to be the most comprehensive yet, featuring educational supplies and school resources from around the world, as well as a wide range of inspiring expo programmes for professional development.

LTE 2019 will have over 350 exhibition booths presented by global education suppliers showcasing their innovative education solutions. Over 250 free programmes, including seminars, open lessons and hands-on workshops, will be hosted by more than 300 local and international education professionals on the show floor. ltexpo.com.hk/LTE/

aisc.com.hk/event/

Gladstone Primary receives mental health award Gladstone Primary School in Barry is the first school in Wales to receive a Trauma and Mental Health Informed School Award. The Award was presented by not-for-profit The Centre for Child Mental Health and Trauma Informed Schools UK, providers of trauma and mental health training for teachers and education staff nationwide.

Gladstone Primary implemented a relational approach towards challenging behaviour and interventions to support a whole school cultural change. The intervention showed significant improvements in behaviour, academic attainment and staff wellbeing, and reduced disruptions and exclusions. childmentalhealthcentre.org

Dr Emma Tremaine included in Disability Power List 100

London bus finds a home at Yorkshire school

At an October reception in the House of Lords, a doctor from Totnes in Devon was announced as one of the most influential people with a disability.

Funds raised by Friends of Thornhill Junior and Infant School have enabled the purchase of a red, double-decker London bus which will become a community space for pupils and parents in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Dr Emma Tremaine (pictured), who has dyspraxia, is a psychiatrist, the founder of a specialist service supporting individuals who have dyspraxia and the author of The Dyspraxic Doctor.

The Shaw Trust Disability Power List 100 is an annual publication – with an independent judging panel chaired

by Kate Nash OBE – of the 100 most influential disabled people in the UK. thedyspraxicdoctor.com

SEN103

The bus recently arrived in the school’s playground and will be used as a space where parents can run events. It will also be easily accessible to pupils during break times and will give them a sheltered outdoor space where they can play board games and interact with other children. focus-trust.co.uk

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN products / services

senmagazine.co.uk

21

SEN103

22

Point of view

Point of view: Person with Asperger’s

Back from the brink My school failed me but I didn’t let that stop me, writes Sophie Crockett I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome when I was nine years old; I suffered from crippling anxiety which made daily living very difficult for me.

When I received my diagnosis from a professor in autistic spectrum disorders I thought things would improve for me at school but I was very wrong. I was an incredibly gifted pupil, already reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky when I was just eight years old. Unfortunately, the school I attended did not understand me, or even try to understand me.

I was given a statement of SEN, which the school should have followed but they didn’t. I had a phobia of germs and did not want to go swimming because of this, but I was made to get into the swimming pool and left feeling totally humiliated by the teachers who seemed to revel in my discomfort.

I just couldn’t take it anymore and I decided not to go back to school.

I was ten years old Due to my severe Asperger’s, I did not like making eye-contact.

On one occasion, I was very upset due to teasing by the other girls about my being a vegetarian, so my teacher took me into the classroom and, because I couldn’t look at her directly in the face, she grabbed my chin and made me look into her eyes, which made my gut wrench.

I was made to feel like a total alien and outcast and I was constantly targeted by other pupils.

Escaping school One day I just couldn’t take it anymore and I decided not to go back to school. I was ten years old. Nothing anyone could do would have made me go back. I was given home tuition for one hour per day; the tutors provided by the local education authority were totally inadequate and I felt I knew more than they did. Very soon I started to go into a deep depression and I did not want to work at all.

SEN103

About the author Sophie Crockett’s memoirs are due to be published by Harper Collins in 2020.

When I was 16 years old, the tutors stopped coming. It seemed like the local education authority was glad to be rid of me. I then fell into a terribly abusive relationship with a man and I suffered two years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse which was so severe that I was given an Osman warning by the police saying that my life was in immediate danger.

I managed to run away from this man and I threw myself into education, starting with the Open University, which I feel saved my life. They totally understood my problems and it was a different world to the one I encountered when I was a child.

I am now on a gap year, ready to start studying cellular and molecular medicine at a top university. I am a qualified counsellor, CBT therapist and mindfulness therapist. My memoirs have been accepted for publication and I have started writing a children’s book on mental health, which is also helping my recovery. I know how these children feel as I myself felt that way. I want people to know that they are not alone and I want schools to really start changing their attitudes to children who are different and have unique gifts.

Not everyone is just a brick in the wall and with the right guidance we can all become something really special.

What’s your point of view?

Email editor@senmagazine.co.uk

senmagazine.co.uk

Point of view

23

Point of view: lawyer and parent

Putting children first The SEN system must be overhauled to meet children’s needs, writes Caroline Klage There needs to be a shake-up of the systems and processes in place for accessing help for children with SEN whose needs are too acute to be met through their schools’ own resources.

The consequences for children with SEN who are refused the support they really need for their development and education can be ruinous. Not only will this impact the child and their ability to lead as much of an independent and fulfilling life as they can, the family and the state will have to pull together more resources to support them later down the line.

Reform would help create a fairer system where the interests of each child with SEN are put first. Based on my professional and personal experiences, to follow are the key pain points in the system.

1: The financial cost Unfortunately, the applications for a workable education, health and care (EHC) plan tend to be granted to those who have sought expert guidance from a variety of specialists. Many families can’t afford to pay what may amount to around £2000 for expert assessments. Yet this can help provide the clear evidence the local authority demands to determine that a child’s needs aren’t being met by the school.

For those who can’t afford to privately instruct specialists, the local authority does provide experts to assess children, however sometimes due to budget and time constraints, they are unable to give full and detailed reports on the needs of the child.

2: The emotional investment It is often a long, drawn out process to secure an EHC plan, which can put enormous pressure on all family members.

Although an education lawyer can be brought in to help, this isn’t a realistic option for many. This means many parents have to take on this stressful and often exhausting process themselves.

3: You have to pay the whole way Unless you have been able to prove that a local authority has acted unreasonably in providing care for your child (which is incredibly difficult to show), in a SEND Tribunal, you as well as the other party must pay the costs of legal advice. You won’t be able to get any money back, even if you appeal a specific part of the plan that you disagreed with and win. The local authority is not obligated to pay for your lawyers and expert advice. senmagazine.co.uk

About the author Caroline Klage is Head of the Child Brain Injury team at Bolt Burdon Kemp, a clinical negligence and personal injury firm in Islington. Two of Caroline’s three children have autism, dyspraxia and sensory modulation disorder. boltburdonkemp.co.uk @BoltBurdonKemp @BBK_ChildABI

Many parents have to take on this stressful and often exhausting process themselves 4: The playing field in Tribunal proceedings is not a level one It can be very much a David versus Goliath scenario. Many parents, who are juggling a job with family life are having to conduct the litigation alone, against the local authority and their lawyers. It really is unjust.

There are some incredible charities out there but they can only help a small number of people. It’s clear the system needs to change so that all children with SEN have a chance to live a fulfilling life. Not having the support a child needs at the crucial stages of their development and education can have a detrimental impact, not just on the child but on their families too.

SEN103

24

SEN law

What the law says about making EHC plans Douglas Silas outlines what should happen following an education, health and care assessment

I

n the last issue of SEN Magazine (SEN102, Sept/Oct 2019) I discussed education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments. I now want to look at the question of whether an EHC plan should be drafted following an assessment. The primary law is set out in the Children and Families Act 2014, which provides for as many scenarios as possible, from the preparation and finalising of an EHC plan and the naming of duties of schools, to reviews and transfers, and maintaining and ceasing EHC plans and more. I will highlight some of the main issues here.

What’s in an EHC plan?

EHC plans must take account of: the views, interests and aspirations of the child and his or her parents or the young person; the child/young person’s SEN and health needs and social care needs related to their SEN (or to a disability); the outcomes sought for the child/young person by the education provider; the SEN provision required by the child/young person and any health provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child/ young person having SEN. EHC plans should also include: any social care provision which must be made for a child/ young person; the name and type of education provision to be attended by the child/young person; details of how personal budgets (if applicable) will be used and how they will support particular outcomes; and appendices including all the advice and information gathered during the EHC needs assessment.

SEN103

Decisions about the content of EHC plans should be made openly and collaboratively Key principles behind EHC plans The SEN Code of Practice (CoP) says the local authority (LA) and those contributing to the preparation of an EHC plan should acknowledge the following principles: • the LA must take into account the evidence received as part of the EHC needs assessment • decisions about the content of EHC plans should be made openly and collaboratively with parents, children and young people • EHC plans should be clear, concise, understandable and accessible to all concerned (and to professionals in any LA) • EHC plans should describe positively what the child/ young person can do and has achieved; it should also be clear how the child/young person has contributed to the EHC plan and how their views are reflected in it • EHC plans should specify outcomes which are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound) and the LA must also consider how best to achieve the outcomes sought senmagazine.co.uk

SEN law

Some local authorities apply their own policies rather than what the law says

25

About the author Specialist SEN solicitor Douglas Silas is the Managing Director of Douglas Silas Solicitors.

SpecialEducationalNeeds.co.uk

• EHC plans should show how education, health and care provision will be coordinated wherever possible to support the child/young person to achieve their outcomes (specifically if possible) • EHC plans should be forward looking; they should anticipate, plan and commission for important transition points in a child or young person’s life • EHC plans should have a review date (which should link to other regular reviews, such as a child in need plan or child protection plan if appropriate).

@douglassilas

@douglassilas

schools, in favour of reports obtained from their own (usually strained) services, which are sometimes questionable. This can sometimes lead to bizarre situations, where LAs refuse an EHC plan because the child or young person is already receiving a high level of provision or specialist placement, which their parents are paying for privately.

What timescales apply?

What have the courts said?

Time limits are set out in the SEN and Disability Regulations, as follows:

As I mentioned in my previous article about LAs determining whether it is necessary to make an EHC needs assessment, the view of the courts on EHC plans can be a little confusing.

They have previously said in relation to statements of SEN (the pre-cursor to EHC plans), that we should focus on the practical question of whether, without the relevant document, the child or young person would receive the provision they require for their SEN or disability. To put this simply, the courts have said that the LA and the SEN and Disability Tribunal should generally ask themselves, without an EHC plan, “can” the child or young person’s SEN be met.

• LAs must give their decision in response to any request for an EHC needs assessment within a maximum of six weeks from when the request was received or the point at which a child/young person was brought to the LA’s attention • if an LA decides, following an EHC needs assessment, not to issue an EHC plan, it must inform the child’s parent or the young person within a maximum of six weeks from the request • if an LA decides to issue an EHC plan following an assessment, a draft EHC plan must be issued to the child’s parent or the young person within a maximum of 16 weeks from the request • the child’s parent/young person must be given 15 calendar days to consider and provide views on a draft EHC plan and ask for a particular school or other institution to be named in it

In the next issue of SEN Magazine, I will look at the legal duties relating to the naming of schools or other placements in an EHC plan.

• the final EHC plan must be issued by 20 weeks.

What does this mean in practice?

The most important thing for LAs after an assessment is the decision about whether or not to issue an EHC plan. However, the Children and Families Act simply says: “After an EHC needs assessment has been carried out, the local authority must notify the child’s parent or the young person of— a. the outcome of the assessment, hether it proposes to secure that an EHC plan is prepared b. w for the child or young person, and c. the reasons for that decision.”

The CoP adds that the LA should consider all the information gathered during the EHC needs assessment, alongside what is available to them prior to the assessment. Unfortunately, some LAs apply their own policies rather than what the law says, or they ignore information sent to them by parents or senmagazine.co.uk

■ The quality of EHC plans can be affected by heavy workloads for council staff.

SEN103

26

PMLD

The class that roared Emma Maskell-Ludlow explains how high expectations and some technical know-how have made a huge difference to her pupils with PMLD

B

eing very excited about the prospect of having a class consisting of students with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), I started the 2017/18 school year at our special school with great enthusiasm. I followed the usual model for PMLD students, with a sensory curriculum focused mainly on improving communication and functional movement, and I introduced a new assessment system that we found to be effective at assessing students on achieving skills that would be useful to them in the future. I have always followed the least dangerous assumption, which is that children with PMLD understand everything but cannot yet tell us.

Things were going well and every student had personalised targets that they all made progress towards. But then things started to get even more exciting; after a taste of being able to control things with switches and simple voice-output communication aids (VOCAs), my students wanted more.

And I found out, as I’d suspected for years, that each student had a far better understanding of the world around them than people assumed. The next step was to unlock them.

I enlisted the help of our school’s speech and language therapist, Helen Dixon, to see if some of my ideas for different students were appropriate. Helen explained how each idea might work in practice and encouraged me to try them out.

So I trialled lots of different methods of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with each student until I found one that worked for them.

SEN103

Each student had a far better understanding of the world around them than people assumed Opening up communication Learning the different AAC methods took time and patience from my class team as well as from the students themselves – especially finding ways for them to access the devices using different pieces of physio equipment – but the results were beyond anyone’s expectations. Using trial devices with access methods for auditory scanning, touch-to-talk and eye-gaze, non-verbal students thought to be cognitively well below their age told us things on a par with their verbal peers.

In six months, we went from students who just used yes/no eye pointing and selecting objects to make a choice, to a situation where we were requesting funding for three of them to have their own VOCA. A fourth student in my class also met the criteria to get her own eye gaze system but, sadly, she has now passed away.

Before this happened though, she showed the world how intelligent she was; despite being the most profoundly physically disabled child in the class, she picked up the new technology the quickest and could tell us when she needed medical senmagazine.co.uk

PMLD

The students now have much greater power to control what happens to them

interventions before it was visibly obvious; she could ask us to put on her favourite films, tell us what she liked and disliked, ask for more of an activity, tell us how she felt and let us know how we could help her if she was uncomfortable. We showed her how to use the “rest” function and the “clear” button on the device, and after one demonstration, she could do it whenever she needed to. She could also play computer games with her eyes, which she really enjoyed. I fondly remember the time when I asked her if another student could borrow the device for five minutes and her initial reaction was “No”, followed by a disapproving look. After reasoning with her, she then said “Maybe,” and when I said “you can have it to play games with straight afterwards”, she finally said “Yes”. This young lady who needed help with every aspect of her life finally had a voice and used it to gain some control over what happened to her.

Expressing themselves After almost two academic years since our PMLD class came together for the first time, the students now have much greater power to control what happens to them. They can provide opinions, ask questions, comment on things, tell us how they are feeling, let us know when they are tired or unwell, and so much more. One young lady, armed with two switches, answered yes/no questions that showed her understanding was way beyond what medical experts had always said. One day several months ago, she helped to choose her own outfit; her carer showed her a series of subtly coloured outfits that she thought suited the day, and after every one, the young lady raised her “no” arm and looked cross. When the carer showed her a brightly coloured outfit, however, she gave a beaming smile and raised her “yes” arm. This young lady currently finds it more difficult to raise her arms and gets frustrated when she can’t use them to say “yes” or “no”, so we are working on

■ Communication devices can be hugely empowering for students with PMLD.

senmagazine.co.uk

27

About the author Emma Maskell-Ludlow is a class teacher at Sandside Lodge School in Cumbria, a special school for pupils with learning difficulties, many of whom have additional and complex needs. sandside.org.uk

helping her learn some alternative yes/no responses so that she can still use auditory scanning.

A young man in the class has absolutely flourished over the past two years and uses his eye gaze device both at school and at home. He recently said “I love my mum” to his mother for the first time ever, because he had the means to voice this.

He also brought us all to tears by telling us how much the passing of another of his classmates affected him. Despite having a vocabulary limited to what is currently on his device, he found a way to tell us how sad he felt, how much he liked his friend and how difficult he was finding the situation. It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like for him before he was enabled to express his emotions.

Another young lady who now has her own eye gaze device enjoys using it to interact with people at home and school, and she has recently discovered how to take selfies. She even chose her own voice with the help of her twin sister; it sounds very regal and she loves it.

Creative thinking Perhaps it is time to phase out the PMLD label, which carries with it low expectations and assumptions about poor cognitive impairment. Maybe the phrase “complex access needs” would better suit these young people, because many of them can learn on a par with their peers if they are given a chance; they can do so much more than so many people think they can.

I would strongly encourage anyone who works with students under the broad umbrella of PMLD to do as my inspirational speech and language therapist colleague suggested and just try things out. Be creative, try lots of different types of AAC, and find ways to help individuals overcome their access barriers. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. Technology, professionals with sky-high expectations willing to take risks, and unwavering support from families is all it took for my students to have a voice; now everyone can hear them roar.

SEN103

30

Spina bif ida and hydrocephalus

Ready to learn Jan Tippett explains how to create the ideal learning environment for a child with spina bifida and hydrocephalus

Y

ou may have a child with spina bifida and hydrocephalus in your school right now. Typically, a child with these complex conditions will often appear to have good communication skills and be friendly, keen to learn and a positive role model for their classmates.

As educators, we need to know about the enormous effort that has gone into getting this child into your classroom at all. Medical staff have been life savers, as well as cognition, mobility and sight savers, by completing a series of operations and procedures to stabilise a child’s condition in order to help them attend school. Parents have acted as their child’s advocate through consultations, appointments, meetings and emergency admissions to hospital, sometimes under frightening circumstances. And now their child is here in your class this year, so you need to know how to provide them with the best possible environment for learning.

Spina bifida is a pre-natal condition affecting the spine so, in extreme cases, it can lead to severe lower limb paralysis and continence control issues. Some children maintain their movement and physical independence yet may still have continence management difficulties. There may also be differences in brain development arising from spina bifida.

SEN103

Teachers must learn how these two complex conditions can affect a child’s development and their learning

Hydrocephalus can result from some forms of spina bifida, causing a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain.

Hydrocephalus can also be caused by conditions other than spina bifida – such as infections, brain injuries, brain cysts, tumours or genetic conditions – or by an unknown cause. The resulting increased pressure in the brain, followed by treatments and procedures, can have a minimal or a profound effect on cognition, communication, mobility and sensory needs with a resulting impact on self-esteem and social, emotional and mental health. senmagazine.co.uk

Spina bif ida and hydrocephalus

Having a good vocabulary often hides the difficulties children have with pragmatic meanings

A child with spina bifida and hydrocephalus has the double difficulty of gaining physical access to school life, as well as the full school curriculum. Education lecturers often say to student teachers, “In order to teach the child, we must first ‘learn’ the child”, so teachers today must also learn how these two complex conditions can affect a child’s development and their learning in education settings.

As educators, we recognise the individual needs of each unique child. It is certainly a good idea to view spina bifida and hydrocephalus as spectrum conditions with very severely affected children at one end of the continuum and relatively unaffected ones at the other.

Many medical professionals will adopt a “wait and see” approach, but educators cannot use the same strategy because we only have the limited time of each school year to help a child to make progress. From the outset of the new academic year, teachers must work hard to understand how best to support children.

Physical and sensory needs

31

About the author Jan Tippett is National Education Officer for Shine charity, which works with children and young people with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus, and families and professionals, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Information about supporting children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus is available on the charity’s website. shinecharity.org.uk @ShineUKCharity

@ShineUKCharity

Medical needs Medical needs should be closely considered because pupils with spina bifida and hydrocephalus can also have additional health concerns like epilepsy or vision difficulties, which can affect their educational opportunities and their health throughout life. Personal care can also be an issue for some pupils because of the complicated aspects of their support.

Self-help and independence skills can take longer to learn than for neuro-typical children because children don’t remember to stay hydrated for health and take charge of other personal care.

When a pupil has mobility difficulties arising from spina bifida and hydrocephalus, one of the first considerations for education settings is physical access to classrooms, toilets, dining rooms and outside spaces. Schools should have an accessibility plan on their websites, making buildings accessible for physically disabled pupils, and “reasonable adjustments”, promoting inclusion in all aspects of school life. Schools also have an “anticipatory duty” to take note of changes that need to be made in advance so that every child is fully included.

Due to the sheer effort of moving around over long distances around a school setting, pupils often need rest breaks and opportunities to stay hydrated factored into the school day, along with continence management time. Dignity when addressing medical needs should also be carefully considered.

The daily routine and timetable of a pupil can become focused on physical and health needs rather than learning, but even here there are opportunities for teaching pupils counting, concentrating and sequencing.

Pupils with spina bifida and hydrocephalus can have visual perception problems affecting their tracking from left to right, judging distances, figure-ground discrimination and their internal map when finding their way around a new space.

Pupils need practice moving about in a new environment, with supervision to become confident when getting around school.

Classroom re-organisation should be kept to a minimum, along with seating plan changes, to provide feelings of security.

Hydrocephalus, and its resulting treatment, needs to be constantly considered and monitored throughout life, both medically and in every pupil’s educational setting.

Some pupils have sensory processing problems, which appear similar to those experienced by children with autism.

Hypersensitivity to noise, lighting levels, tastes, textures and being in crowds are quite common. When making sense of sensory behaviour, schools may wish to conduct a sensory audit so supportive strategies are in place at an early stage as part of children’s daily routine. senmagazine.co.uk

Communication needs Given all the professionals involved in the care of a pupil with spina bifida and hydrocephalus it is easy to lose sight of the child. Fortunately, children with these conditions are generally able to communicate at some level, be a positive presence and often a shining light in the classroom. Having a good vocabulary often hides the difficulties children have with pragmatic meanings. Educators needs to consider literal understanding and rigid thinking that can make communication

SEN103

32

Spina bif ida and hydrocephalus

with peers and school staff difficult at times. Role play activities help pupils to learn language norms expected in school.

An inclusive school provides pupils with a range of conditions with opportunities for self-advocacy. Understanding and describing their own condition, learning to speak up for themselves and expressing their needs and responsibilities are important skills, which pupils with spina bifida and hydrocephalus can master with repetition, time and patience.

You might notice that the way they think, learn and behave has similarities to other conditions, such as ASC or ADHD

Social, emotional and mental health needs A child with physical needs can often feel isolated and cut off from other pupils by their physical environment, so inclusion should be considered when creating the right learning environment for pupils. Emotional factors can affect concentration, so a happy child has a better chance of learning.

Every child has a right to sit with their class, be called upon to answer questions, not have an assistant as their group partner, develop authentic friendships, experience being a group leader and be a pupil in their class, not a guest.

Not only will there need to be physical adaptations for limited mobility and continence management differences, spina bifida can also affect cognition and social, emotional and mental health.

Cognitive needs Being a verbally fluent speaker and able to read at an ageappropriate level during Key Stage 1 often masks the problems that a pupil with spina bifida and hydrocephalus faces in the classroom. School staff should consider a range of potential neuro-cognitive effects such as issues with memory, attention, concentration, flexibility of thinking, assembling and processing information, time management and executive functioning.

These difficulties have many overlaps with other neurological conditions. Teachers need to consider the precise effects of these conditions in order to modify teaching methods and

make small changes to classroom management to enable every child to thrive.

As a child with spina bifida and hydrocephalus develops, you might notice that the way they think, learn and behave has similarities to other conditions, such as autistic spectrum condition (ASC) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Sometimes, it can be useful to have a diagnosis, as this can effectively describe the way a child learns that educators will easily recognise and points us towards resources and strategies to support children’s learning. It isn’t that there is an “extra” condition on top of spina bifida and hydrocephalus, but it is a description of how a child’s neurological development is affecting them.

Let’s consider the cognitive effects of just one aspect of these conditions, memory, and how school staff can create a positive learning environment. Children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus are often rule-governed and can be very good at remembering through regular practice so that it passes from their short-term memory (their “post-it notes”) to their longterm memory (their “library”).

The learning environment needs to be less busy, with fewer visual, auditory and sensory distractions. Working memory – being able to hold information in mind and manipulate it – will need the scaffolding of memory aids that are simple, prominent and regularly brought to the child’s attention in a positive way.

Rehearsal and repetition are necessary to store information in our long-term memory, so time and providing cues for retrieval are vital for information to be accessed. Pupils may have genuine recall difficulties, filling the gaps with confabulation.

Helpful technology is important in the classroom, such as evidence-store software, visual timetable apps for organisation and social stories to embed routines and reminders.

■ Good speaking and reading skills can mask issues with learning.

SEN103

The low profile of spina bifida and hydrocephalus and the complex subtleties of how the conditions present in different children can lead to difficulties in education settings. By “learning the child”, educators can provide the same learning experiences as they do to typically developing children, explicitly teaching pupils in an ideal learning environment, so expected development is not derailed. The adaptive capacity of the brain gives us as educators the opportunity to teach children how to adjust to their conditions, by helping them to form new neural connections in order to function in mainstream life. senmagazine.co.uk

SEN products / services

33

Advertisement feature

Hamilton Lodge School and College The primary need of learners at Hamilton Lodge is their deafness; in addition to this, we cater for a range of comorbidities. To help ensure we can do this successfully we have developed our offer significantly to include a range of integrated therapies and other professional partnerships.

We have built upon our recognised outstanding practice in the field of joint planning and delivery with speech and language therapy and extended this to include occupational therapy, physiotherapy, mobility training and our Independence Programme. We also ensure all learners have access to an audiology service on site.

We have expanded our safeguarding team to enhance our “highly effective” safeguarding culture, thus guaranteeing a qualified DSL is available to all staff, at all times within school and residential provision. All of these enhancements were recognised to add significant value to our provision in our two most recent Ofsted visits – social care (March 2019) and education (July 2019). hamiltonls.co.uk

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

34

Professional support for teachers

Help is at hand Rosamund McNeil outlines key sources of professional support for teaching staff

C

urrently, up to 8,587 children and young people with SEN and disabilities are classed as “awaiting provision” for a school place and have no access to any type of education provision at all. This is a disgraceful situation and one which the Government should be ashamed of.

93 per cent of local authorities have lost out on funding for SEN and disabilities since 2015 because of central government’s cuts to special needs provision. Campaigning by the School Cuts coalition and a range of parent groups won £250 million in high needs funding for 2018 to 2020, and in September the Chancellor announced that funding for SEN and disabilities will rise by £700 million. This still leaves schools £1 billion short of what is needed.

These cuts to SEN funding have severely hindered the work of schools, pupils, parents and local authorities, and their ability to create the most inclusive environment in which all children and young people can thrive.

Children with SEN need quicker assessments, timely access to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), and SEN103

Cuts to SEN funding have severely hindered the work of schools, pupils, parents and local authorities flexibility in how they access the curriculum. More widely, we need to see an end to the testing culture in schools, which impacts negatively on young people with SEN. Every school wants to provide the strategies and support that work best for each individual pupil, but the real-terms funding crisis has had a devastating impact. In a recent survey of members in primary and secondary schools, 81 per cent told the National Education Union (NEU) that their school did not have enough staff to provide that service. In addition, 73 per cent confirmed that since 2017 there had been a drop in the number of teaching assistants, as a direct consequence of funding pressures. senmagazine.co.uk

Professional support for teachers

Peer coaching can be a useful way of teachers sharing classroom management techniques

35

About the author Rosamund McNeil is Assistant General Secretary - Equality, Social Justice and International at the National Education Union (NEU). neu.org.uk @NEUnion

Another casualty of the current school funding crisis is the reduction in training and professional development support and opportunities for teachers, particularly on SEN issues aligned with the loss of teaching assistants from many classes.

The continuing professional support for teachers in SEN is increasingly important as, since 2015/16, the number of children with a statement or education, health and care (EHC) plan has risen from 240,000 to 320,000 – a 33 per cent increase.

Where can I get support?

There are many different sources of professional support available to teachers, much of which utilises shared expertise at little or no cost.

Education Unions Contact your union and find out about their SEN training and conferences. Information should be on the CPD pages of their website. They may also provide specialist support and networks for SENCOs or staff working in special schools.

@NationalEducationUnion

from one year group to another – observing practice in each classroom and discussing the best transition and ongoing educational and social experience for the child.

TeachMeets A TeachMeet is an organised but informal meeting for teachers to share good practice, practical innovations and personal insights in teaching. They are organised locally and presentations are usually no longer than seven minutes, but can be shorter. For information about organising a meeting, search online for “TeachMeet” and your area.

SEN specialist organisations Many professional organisations and third sector organisations offer advice on their websites and can also offer training for education professionals. It is worth looking at sharing training with other schools if buying in.

SENCO support In a 2018 survey conducted by the NEU, Nasen and Bath Spa University, SENCOs said that they hate not being able to offer all the support they believe students need because of time pressures and funding constraints. It was clear from the survey findings that SENCO workload is unmanageable, and pupils with SEN are suffering for it. Losing even more teaching assistants from classroom support is likely to lead to increases in the number of pupils who are unable to access mainstream education.

There are also likely to be colleagues in local special schools who have the experience and knowledge to provide training for mainstream school staff. Coordination that would once have been in the remit of the local authority could be undertaken

by SENCO networks where they exist.

If schools are not funded properly so that all SENCOs have the time and resources they need, children and young people with SEN will not be able to reach their full potential. SENCOs should talk to their school union rep in the first instance if they are experiencing increased or excessive workload.

Peer-to-peer coaching Peer coaching is a confidential process through which two or more professional colleagues work together to reflect on current practices; expand, refine, and build new skills; share ideas; teach one another; conduct classroom research; or solve problems in the workplace. It is also often called peer support, consulting colleagues or peer sharing and caring. For support with working with pupils with SEN, peer coaching can be a useful way of teachers sharing classroom management techniques with colleagues in a supportive and non-pressured way. It can also be helpful for teachers and support staff to peer coach in primary schools when a pupil with SEN moves

Initial teacher training The development of the Early Career Framework (ECF) for new teachers provides a unique opportunity for a meaningful inclusion of teaching on SEN and the importance of creating an inclusive classroom environment as they access the entitlement to two years of additional support and training. The ECF early rollout is in September 2020 with national rollout expected in September 2021. Whether the final version does offer the knowledge and support that beginning teachers need to be confident in teaching all pupils in their classes, including those with SEN, remains to be seen – but many of us in the sector will continue to advocate for it.

If you need advice and support relating to workload, your workplace rep or local union rep can support you.

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

36

Teacher wellbeing

How to survive as a teacher Viv Grant offers some essential tips to help take the stress out of teaching

I

f you are a teacher, you would not have reached where you are today if you didn’t know how to harness the power of hope to help you overcome the stresses associated with your profession. We know though, that hope can be incredibly elusive. When external demands and pressures mount and crisis follows crisis, the light at the end of the tunnel can appear to be a very faint and distant glimmer. In such times, hope is just as essential for your own wellbeing, as rain is for flowers in the desert. Here are four tips for keeping your hope alive and reducing feelings of stress when the challenges arise.

Keep one eye backward and one eye forward In order to live more fully and to make progress in our lives, it is helpful to have a process in place that enables us to develop a greater understanding of our own personal and professional journeys. Such a process enables us to develop a greater understanding of where we have come from and where we are heading and to hopefully move forward with deeper levels of insight and wisdom.

When this becomes a regular pattern of behaviour, it becomes much harder for you to be knocked off course by the challenges of school life, and you have a wider perspective for viewing events and understanding how they relate to the bigger picture, both personally and professionally.

SEN103

Teaching does not happen in a vacuum. We need others to help it on its way

Stay connected Teaching does not happen in a vacuum. We need others to help it on its way. The connections that you make as you move forward will have a great impact on the degree to which you are able to deal successfully with the challenges of your role.

Paying attention to the relationships that you invest in and develop outside of school is just as important for your health and mental wellbeing as the amount of time you spend developing relationships in school.

Be smart in your affiliations. Some relationships drain your energy and sometimes, if not often, this is unavoidable in a professional context. Wherever you can, take great care in your personal relationships to ensure there is a balance and that others give back to you and do not leave you emotionally depleted. senmagazine.co.uk

Teacher wellbeing

If a parent or a colleague has been rude or abusive, don’t avoid dealing with the situation Bend and do not break The phrase “bend and do not break” – which some say has its origins in either Aesop’s fable The Olive Tree and the Reed or an old Chinese proverb – relates to the capacity of the bamboo to bend (and not break) even in the severest of storms. For too many teachers and school leaders resilience has meant putting on a brave face while becoming detached from all feeling and emotion; they have become so “brittle” that when the storms break, they have forgotten what it means to “bend”.

If you want to be able to withstand the storms that come with working in education, you have to be able to bend. You have to be able to allow yourself to feel and in so feeling to be receptive to what your mind and your body are telling you – and take action that shows you have understood these messages.

Know you have a choice During everything that school life throws at you, it is important to remember that you have a choice as to how you respond.

When we understand this, we put our conscious selves back into the driving seat of our lives. We stay in control of ourselves,

37

About the author Viv Grant is an executive coach, author and public speaker. She is the Director of Integrity Coaching, a provider of coaching services for school leaders. Viv has worked in the teaching profession, including as a headteacher, for more than thirty years. integritycoaching.co.uk @Vivgrant

@integritycoachingltd

as opposed to life’s events taking control of us. This is not always easy.

It takes discipline and conscious effort to choose how we respond to life’s calamities. However, when we master the art and become better at taking control, we experience the peace that comes with no longer letting others unduly influence our experience of our roles. We also promote hope in ourselves and promote it in those who are close to us.

The teacher’s guide to looking out for number one • Learn to put yourself first. Only when your own needs have been met can you effectively meet the needs of others.

• Make time to think about what you want from your career and your life outside school. Ensure that, as far as possible, you make quality time for youself, your friends and your family.

• Stop and reflect on times when you have been praised for your work and try to focus in on the positives.

• Be brave. If a parent or a colleague has been rude or abusive, don’t avoid dealing with the situation. It will only get bigger and become more of an irritant. Ask yourself: “What do I want the outcome to be from this meeting or conversation?” Then identify the actions that you will need to take.

• Learn to ask for help and recognise that this is one of the ways in which we build inner strength. When we ask for help, we accept that we need relationships and meaningful connections with others to help us overcome life’s challenges.

senmagazine.co.uk

• Find a fellow professional who will create a safe space where you can be vulnerable, let down your mask and talk through the impact your emotions have had on your thought processes and behaviour. In doing so, you will gain a deeper understanding of how your thoughts and emotions have shaped your ability to be resilient.

• Regularly take time to think about your skills and unique qualities. Learn to identify “peak” times in your career when you have performed at your best.

Ask yourself: what skills, knowledge and qualities did I display? Have I developed these attributes any further? What else do I need to do to develop myself as an educator.

• Don’t allow your diary to become so full that you don’t have time to stop and think. Plan for thinking time and book it in, where possible, during the work day. This means you will do less worrying and fretting at home in the early hours of the morning.

SEN103

38

Safeguarding

Working together on safeguarding Emmet Murphy addresses the challenges of keeping pupils with severe and complex learning difficulties safe

T

he September 2018 update of Keeping Children Safe in Education, the Government’s statutory guidance on safeguarding, introduced the term “contextual safeguarding”, explaining it as follows:

“Safeguarding incidents and/or behaviours can be associated with factors outside the school or college and/or can occur between children outside the school or college. All staff, but especially the designated safeguarding lead (and deputies) should be considering the context within which such incidents and/or behaviours occur. This is known as contextual safeguarding, which simply means assessments of children should consider whether wider environmental factors are present in a child’s life that are a threat to their safety and/or welfare… This will allow any assessment to consider all the available evidence and the full context of any abuse”.

SEN103

A careful risk-based analysis of each context needs to be put in place

Looking online, there are many examples showing how highquality contextual safeguarding has been used by practitioners in mainstream settings to provide meaningful, impactful, interventions for young people who are at risk of being drawn into criminal activities such as gangs or drugs. Because of these interventions, the safeguarding responses are enhanced with the risks to these young people being reduced.

senmagazine.co.uk

Safeguarding

Whilst our links with families were strong, there was still so much more we could do

However, there is less material available for those who work with young people who experience severe and complex learning difficulties. Whilst it could be argued that the risk to young people with this profile of need of being directly drawn into those types of criminal activities is much lower (simply because they do not yet possess the skills required), the need to consider the context of incidents and/or behaviours outside of school remains, and is something we are now required to do. So, how do we do this for young people with severe and complex learning difficulties in a way that is meaningful?

39

About the author Emmet Murphy is Vice Principal and Designated Safeguarding Lead at Dysart school, Kingston Upon Thames, a school for young people with severe and complex learning difficulties. It is part of Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust. dysartschool.org @dysartschool @OHCandAT

For those of us working in this sector, this question poses a real challenge. To begin the process of ensuring effective contextual safeguarding, we need to go back to basics and isolate those physical “contexts” within which, over a typical 24-hour period, the young people we work with are most likely to be. I would categorise these as: • school • home • transport to and from school • end-of-day clubs and respite.

Following this, a careful risk-based analysis of each context – identifying generic risks and looking at how those risks can be reduced to an acceptable level – needs to be put in place.

Obviously, there will be some variation in terms of daily routines between different provisions, and contextual arrangements for holidays may also require additional consideration, but broadly speaking, these are the four main term-time contexts that would need to be considered to ensure meaningful safeguarding arrangements are in place for young people with severe and complex learning difficulties. It is worth noting that, whilst contextual safeguarding focuses on areas outside of school, I would recommend including school alongside those external contexts, not least because it encourages active critical review of safeguarding practice, and discourages any potential complacency, within school.

Home Strengthening safeguarding at home involves the school putting in place a number of measures to further develop relationships with families. Many young people with severe and complex learning difficulties are non-verbal and/or have significant communication issues, which means it is hard for them to tell staff when things are not working. In these circumstances, the relationship between school and the pupil’s family becomes their voice; the stronger the connection, the stronger that pupil’s voice will be. senmagazine.co.uk

■ The lives of siblings can affect safeguarding at home.

It’s worth sounding a note of caution here: many educators reading this article will probably think, as I did, that their relationships with families are already strong and do not really need that much more effort. At the school where I work, we completed a certified award focussing on our links with families earlier this year – a project that has taken around two years and is still very much ongoing. However, a key part of the journey was simply the realisation that, whilst our links with families were strong, there was still so much more we could do to make those relationships even better.

It is also worth pointing out that the “risks” at home are not necessarily of actions by the parents or carers themselves; the vast majority of families are hardworking and passionate and care deeply about their children’s welfare and education.

Instead, the risks at home are often broader and look at “what if” scenarios; what if mum or dad becomes unwell? How will they cope managing their child’s needs? What would happen if an older sibling was to become involved in criminal activity

SEN103

40

Safeguarding

or become a victim of online exploitation? Robust relationships with families are essential if we are to be able to answer questions such as these accurately and honestly.

A key hurdle to overcome in this process is trust

Transport Suitable school provisions for pupils with SEN and disabilities can be spread very thinly across the country and pupils often have to travel long distances to reach their setting. This, combined with their profile of needs, means that many young people with severe and complex learning difficulties will use transport provided by the local authority to get to and from school. This presents obvious issues in terms of contextual safeguarding, including: ensuring that safeguarding information is being shared appropriately (both the school sharing with the transport provider and concerns that the driver or escort have flagged being shared with school); making sure that the driver or escort are using support strategies which are consistent with those used in school; and ensuring there are effective lines of communication with staff who are employed by an external agency.

These concerns can be addresses through regular meetings with key personnel who have responsibility for transporting pupils, including transport managers as well as the drivers and escorts themselves. Schools should help to facilitate honest and open discussion about what is working well and what might need further improvement.

Developing this inter-agency trust enables a two-way conversation, with constructive feedback being offered by both parties. This ensures the service provided to pupils and their families is safe, and that the support given is consistent and of the highest standard.

Of course, it is inevitable that there will continue to be occasional problems for individual pupils who will sometimes struggle on their routes to and from school. Regular collaborative meetings, which are based on openness, should help all involved to create

a framework to problem-solve these individual cases, as well as looking at more systemic issues. Whether it is providing drivers and escorts with bespoke training that encourages a more consistent approach to supporting individual pupils, or agreeing how, when and by whom safeguarding concerns will be shared, ensuring that there is a good interaction between the school and transport providers will go a long way towards reducing risk for pupils.

A key hurdle to overcome in this process is trust. An initial lack of trust – perhaps fuelled by the misconception that it is merely one agency telling another agency how to do their job – is a distinct possibility and this can create some additional obstacles to begin with. However, over time these obstacles should be overcome as the relationships between schools and transport providers grow and develop.

End-of-day clubs and respite The majority of respite facilities and end-of-day clubs are funded by social care, so it’s crucial that schools have good links with key members of the social care team, including social workers. It’s important to set aside time for regular meetings with social care personnel and with the managers of the main after-school clubs pupils attend.

Maintaining positive relationships with colleagues in social care can sometimes be problematic on both sides. Whilst a relatively rare occurrence, many of us responsible for safeguarding in schools will have some experience of occasions where we have disagreed with our social care counterparts on a specific course of action for a pupil or family; there can also be issues regarding continuity when, for example, a social worker has left their team to work elsewhere. However, as with providers of transport, these meetings must be very much a two-way discussion founded on openness and transparency. Individual pupils may sometimes be discussed – for example, where there are specific concerns that may be leading to an imminent referral – but in general the conversation should focus on systemic issues, identifying and discussing current strengths, and potential areas for further development.

Building relationships

■ Good relationships with staff transporting pupils are vital.

SEN103

As we have seen, contextual safeguarding can have its challenges but when it is implemented well, the benefits, particularly in terms of reduced levels of risk to pupils, are profound. The key to ensuring all pupils are kept safe, across all of the “contexts” they experience, is effective relationships.

Strong links between schools, external providers and families provide the glue that holds the whole process together. Building and maintaining these relationships can be tricky but with honesty, a readiness to listen and an openness to new ideas, we can all help to keep the young people we work with safer, both at school and away from it. senmagazine.co.uk

42

Bullying

Transforming attitudes to bullying Nicola Murray sets out positive steps schools can take to prevent bullying involving pupils with SEN

T

wo new pieces of research have highlighted once again the link between bullying and disability, and remind us that this isn’t an issue that’s going away.

The first, analysis of data from the Millennium Cohort Study by University of York, found that children with autism are more likely to be bullied by both their siblings and their schoolmates. The second, published by Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL), found that disabled pupils and those with SEN experienced disproportionate amounts of bullying and social exclusion compared to their non-disabled peers.

These reports add to a wealth of research over several years showing that disabled young people and those with SEN are amongst the groups most likely to experience bullying.

Although some schools may deny that they have a problem with disablist bullying, we cannot disregard this evidence.

We need to acknowledge that prevalence is much too high, understand the issues, and embrace the solutions.

Listening to young people Our understanding of bullying and disability has evolved slowly.

As is often the case, it is only through listening to the voices of young people that we begin to understand the underlying issues and how we as adults can be part of the problem. From surveys of thousands of young people with SEN, the AntiBullying Alliance often heard the perhaps shocking revelation that the attitudes of adults to incidents of bullying are potentially as damaging as the incidents themselves.

SEN103

The attitudes of adults to incidents of bullying are potentially as damaging as the incidents themselves

Young people said the bullying they experienced in school regularly went unnoticed and unchallenged. They described how bullying behaviour is not always recognised by teachers as such, and is becoming an “accepted behaviour”. This is particularly the case in relation to verbal abuse or derogatory language about disability in general. This often leads young people with SEN to accept bullying behaviour, blame themselves for what is happening to them, and develop a very negative self-image linked to their impairment.

The view from young people was reinforced by what was heard from teachers. Incidents of disablist bullying often revealed a barrier in teachers’ attitudes, where they would focus on the pupil’s impairment as being the problem, and try to resolve bullying by changing the victim’s behaviour. They said things such as “they wouldn’t bully them if only they were better at making friends” or “if only he’d stop making that noise”. The perception was that the target of bullying had to change, not senmagazine.co.uk

Bullying

To make a change, we must examine our role in the problem

the behaviour of those doing the bullying or the approach of the school.

So it is hardly surprising that disabled children and those with SEN are particularly at risk of being excluded due to their involvement in bullying (both as perpetrators and targets). As one young person said, “I got excluded because all the winding up like, it got… it happened so often that I just got really angry and couldn’t control myself anymore. Eventually I ended up taking my anger out on someone… and as a result I ended up getting excluded… because I was considered a ‘health and safety matter’ by the school.”

43

About the author Nicola Murray is Head of Programmes at the Anti-Bullying Alliance, which runs Anti-Bullying Week and the All Together Programme: a whole school anti-bullying programme with a special focus on bullying of pupils with disabilities and SEN. anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk @ABAonline

@antibullyingalliance

Changing the school’s culture Understanding the issues that lead to disablist bullying can help schools re-define their attitudes towards bullying and disability and find solutions.

By adopting the social model of disability, schools can reduce bullying and improve pupil wellbeing. This approach enables teachers to identify the elements of their school’s culture and environment that make disabled pupils and those with SEN more likely to experience bullying in the first place. When bullying does happen, schools can refocus their energies from trying to change the young person who is being bullied, to instead concentrating on changing the behaviours of those doing the bullying.

This change of approach is the basis of creating a positive school climate. There is strong research evidence¹,² that shows that bullying is less likely to happen in schools where pupils feel safe and happy, and where there are good teacher-pupil relationships. The evidence shows this to be particularly effective in preventing bullying of vulnerable groups, such as pupils with SEN.

Anti-Bullying Week 11 to 15 November 2019 Anti-Bullying Week takes place in schools across England each November. This year’s theme is “Change Starts With Us” and the aim is to inform schools and settings, children and young people, parents and carers, that it takes a collective responsibility to stop bullying. By making small, simple changes, we can break the cycle of bullying and create a safe environment for everyone. anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/anti-bullying-week

senmagazine.co.uk

■ A positive school climate is key to preventing bullying.

Changes in school culture and climate must start with school leadership. Schools that have been most successful in reducing disablist bullying have been ones where the senior leadership team monitors data on bullying and reviews action plans on a termly basis. It is important too that schools involve their pupils in developing their anti-bullying strategies, and many have peer support as part of this. These initiatives can be very effective when carefully planned and executed. It is vitally important, however, that peer support schemes are inclusive, with representation from across the student body.

At the heart of successful approaches to reducing disablist bullying is the view that it is everyone’s business. To make a change, we must examine our role in the problem. It is the behaviour we exhibit, the environment we create, and the support we offer that profoundly affects bullying experienced by young disabled people and the impact that it has on them in the long term.

Footnotes 1. Astor, R. A., and Benbenishty, R. (2019). Bullying, school violence, and climate in evolving contexts: Culture, organization, and time. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2. Birkett, M., Espelage, D. L., and Koenig, B. (2009). LGB and questioning students in schools: The moderating effects of homophobic bullying and school climate on negative outcomes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 989–1000.

SEN103

44

Dyslexia

Sensory support for dyslexia Susie Nyman reveals how a multi-sensory approach can help dyslexic students with their learning The secret of any student’s success lies in finding the thing that makes them “tick”. Students should be given the opportunity to shine in their areas of strength; focussing on what really works for them will help promote confidence and enable them to flourish in the future. Consequently, it is essential to identify the student’s individual strengths and weaknesses, and to focus on their strengths when developing strategies to help them overcome their weaknesses.

Dyslexic students experiencing auditory processing difficulties will often feel completely overloaded

Many students with dyslexia will be low in confidence and self-esteem, and experience difficulties in class, because of a range of difficulties including visual processing, auditory processing, working memory, processing speed and phonological awareness. Every student is unique though, and strategies and interventions need to be developed to meet their individual needs.

when difficult terminology is involved. During a biology lesson, a very able student would mix up the spelling of “meiosis” and “mitosis” in her notes and strategies had to be developed in order to help her remember the difference. Simple word association, using words that sound similar to the word she was trying to remember, worked well for her: “meiosis occurs in my ovaries and mitosis occurs in my toes”. Attaching images to the words also strengthens the associations, making remembering them easier.

This article draws on my experience working with my own health and social care classes as well as on a one-to-one basis with students in a curriculum support department on science lessons. Most of the students involved had been described as “struggling” by their teachers, and the majority have dyslexia.

Visual processing Many dyslexic students have difficultly copying notes from the board or textbook and often mix up their spelling, particularly

Auditory processing Dyslexic students experiencing auditory processing difficulties will often feel completely overloaded by the teacher’s instructions in class, unless they are broken down into bitesized chunks and the new terminology is explained very slowly and carefully.

Within the first minute of a lesson, if the student does not understand the task instructions, they will easily forget what they are required to do, lose focus, switch off, become discombobulated and start to be distracted. During a chemistry lesson, a student had difficulty understanding the names of the first 20 elements. He was struggling, in particular, with hearing the word “Beryllium”. As it was unfamiliar to him, he was unable to repeat the name.

Consequently, the names of the elements were broken down into different syllables and colour coded using post-it notes. He was then able to see how the different components of the word were made up, say it out loud and eventually spell it.

■ Learning is often most effective when it appeals to all the senses.

SEN103

Another boy was unable to hear the difference between “ureter” and “urethra”. senmagazine.co.uk

Dyslexia

The ways in which different students with dyslexia access learning will be unique to each person

He remembered that the ureter goes from the kidney to the bladder and the urethra goes from the bladder through to the outside of the body. Once more, he had to colour code the separate syllables within each word in order to see and hear the difference.

45

About the author Dr Susie Nyman is Curriculum Manager for Health and Social Care at The Sixth Form College, Farnborough. She also teaches in curriculum support at The Oratory School. She presents at conferences internationally on multi-sensory teaching and is the author of The Multi-Sensory Teaching Toolkit. drnymanconsultancy.co.uk @DrSusieNyman

Working memory Working memory can cause difficulties for many dyslexic students in the classroom. Just being asked to read a passage by a teacher during a lesson can become a major obstacle for students. For a dyslexic student, imagine looking at a book in which all the words often appear to be blurred and moving or dancing around the page. In addition, the student may swap letters in words or even jump over words. This can cause difficulty when reading a comprehension passage.

Often, a student might read the passage and have no idea exactly what they have read, as they are unable to create any concept imagery and visualise what they have just read. For these students multi-sensory teaching is extremely useful, because students do not have to hold on to large chunks of information at any one time. These techniques, using the five senses, may improve the neuroplasticity of the brain which helps with learning and memory (Nyman, 2019). Most students can remember five to seven pieces of information at a time, whereas dyslexic students struggle with retaining three (Nyman, 2019; Eastap and Gregory, 2018).

Multi-sensory teaching is a bit like layers of an onion. If you build up a concept in different ways (onion layers), dyslexic students are better able to understand the idea and terminology.

This could initially, for example, involve explaining the language using different coloured pens with images or stories, through to post-it notes, models, mind maps and diagrams. These techniques may improve the neuro-plasticity of the brain which helps with learning and memory.

In order to relax the students, particularly at the start of a new lesson or topic (for example the heart), key words associated with the heart can be chanted to the tune of a popular song.

This could be followed by making models of the heart out of modelling clay on white boards, labelling them with board markers and using small red and blue sweets to show blood flow. Finally, you could play a popular quiz show game to check and reinforce knowledge.

To help with examinations, past exam questions can be photocopied to A3 size and laminated so that the students see them as they enter the room. They can then practise their answers as they start each lesson. These types of senmagazine.co.uk

learning support can help students’ confidence to grow, while developing learning skills.

Phonological awareness Many students with dyslexia have difficulty with phonological awareness – recognising and working with the parts of spoken language. Often, poor phonological decoding and poor phonological awareness are correlated with poor spelling ability in students with dyslexia. For these students, it is important to break words down into their component parts.

Rhyming words and other verbal clues can also be used to aid recall. For example, which organ produces bile, regenerates itself, starts with “L” and rhymes with quiver? The answer is, of course, the liver.

I have used examples from science lessons here, but these types of multi-sensory activities and learning aids can be used across the curriculum. The ways in which different students with dyslexia access learning will be unique to each person, so it’s important to try to find out what sort of difficulties the individual experiences.

A multi-sensory approach deploying a wide range of activities can be valuable to many, if not all students; to those with dyslexia, it is essential. While the expertise and knowledge of the teacher are clearly very important, sometimes it is the out-of-the-box, multi-sensory ideas that can help them to make the breakthrough with individual pupils, and especially those with dyslexia.

Footnotes • Eastap, L. and Gregory, J. (Ed’s) (2018) Dyslexia Friendly Schools Good Practice Guide 2nd Edition, British Dyslexia Association.

• Nyman, S. (2019) The Multi-Sensory Teaching Toolkit. Chichester: Oaka Books.

SEN103

46

Dyslexia

SEN103

senmagazine.co.uk

Dyslexia

senmagazine.co.uk

47

SEN103

48

Yoga

Moving to mindfulness Jyoti “Jo” Manuel explores how yoga and mindful breathing can help children with SEN to relax and manage stress

Y

oga has been around for thousands of years and finally science is catching up. There is surely now enough empirical evidence to tell us that mind-body practices like yoga support self-regulation, mental health, learning and wellbeing¹.

Applied neuroscience research shows that when your brain and nervous system are dominated by the stress response you are prone to greater anxiety, irritability, negative mood and behavioural rigidity². This is because, when stressed, you lose access to higher cognitive functions like paying attention, listening, planning, reasoning and the capacity to communicate effectively.

Many children with SEN can find themselves in very heightened states of stress and reactivity, particularly in environments that can be challenging for them, such as school.

Using yoga in schools The practice of yoga involves a series of postures that one holds for varying lengths of time with the goals of toning the body and promoting relaxation. Yoga developed over 5,000 years ago and was used by high priests and scholars in their quest for higher levels of insight and knowledge. Yoga can set the foundation for learning by calming the body and quieting the mind. Breath control is also used to support these states.

SEN103

When a child has a sense of inner calm they can interact better with the world around them Therapeutic yoga when used in schools includes practices to help regulate the breath, specific movements (known as “asanas”) that support sensory integration, singing, massage and deep relaxation.

By resetting the nervous system, yoga can help children with autism, challenging behaviour and mental health issues to reduce their stress levels and find a place of calm. When a child has a sense of inner calm, they can interact better with the world around them with reduced reactivity.

Some children with learning difficulties or SEN may have to work harder to achieve these states, because they may not be “connected” to either their bodies or the environment around them to the same extant as their peers. When these connections are weak, their feedback systems are seriously compromised. Most of these children will have used up their very limited banks of coping mechanisms before breakfast, so senmagazine.co.uk

Yoga

The simplest way to bring the mind back to the present is to notice the breath

they have no resources to manage the challenges and stresses of their lives. Their sympathetic nervous system is on red alert.

Their eyes cannot make direct contact, their ears are either over-sensitive or cannot hear, and their extensor muscles are tense. In this state, their digestive system slows down, creating constipation, gas and other digestive issues.

Creating calm Giving children specific breathing strategies and yoga poses can support them in activating the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for rest, relaxation and digestion. This can help to reduce anxiety, release difficult emotions and tension in the body, and prompt the immune system to start to work and heal itself.

The application of yoga practices in schools can be useful for the teachers too, in order to establish a calmer and more grounded environment for the children.

“In school we have seen how the practice of yoga has a profound impact on certain children. They appear to be calmer and more at peace with themselves and their surroundings”, says Chris Edwards, the Headteacher of Reedham Primary School in Norfolk, which took part in a 12-week pilot study providing group yoga sessions.

49

About the author Jyoti “Jo” Manuel has practised yoga for over 40 years and has been teaching since the late 1980s. She is the founder and director of Special Yoga, which provides therapeutic yoga training for children with special needs. specialyoga.org.uk @specialyogaglobal

@specialyogaglobal

This school had a higher than average number of children with autism spectrum disorders, social communication disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). With long waits for receiving diagnoses of these conditions in the county, a number of these children were unable to access the full range of support services available to those with official diagnoses.

The pilot yoga programme seems to have helped many of them to be more relaxed and ready for learning.

Mindful breathing practice The simplest way to bring the mind back to the present is to notice the breath. The breath is the only thing that is constant and not fleeting. If a teacher or the children find that the mind is constantly worried about the future or stressed by the past, bringing awareness to the breath creates a connection to a more present moment.

You can do this by noticing the air come in through the nose and how it feels on your nose. You can follow the breath down the throat and into the belly, and back up again. In addition, you can focus on any part of the body that feels particularly nice when you are breathing with awareness of what you are doing.

If you practise regulation of the breath count, you can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system – which lowers respiration and heart rate and aids digestion – creating calm and regulation.

Breathing in for the count of four and out for the count of eight can help to calm anxiety.

You can accompany this with gentle arm movements. Bring the arms out in front, as if you were holding a ball in front of your chest. Open your arms wide as you count the breath in and bring them back to the centre as you count the breath out. You can take the arms as wide as feels comfortable, as this opens the heart and chest. This can be done sitting or standing.

Footnotes

■ Yoga can help pupils to reset their nervous system.

senmagazine.co.uk

1. see hebdenbridgeschool.co.uk/research-on-the-learning-benefits-of-yoga/ 2. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31024412

SEN103

50

Yoga

Students get moving with dance, drama and drum sessions Students at Communication Specialist College Doncaster (CSCD) recently had a week of special sessions with a team from Deaf Explorer. The students, who are deaf or have communication difficulties including autism, have worked with dancers from Deaf Explorer to investigate dance, drama and poetry as ways to express their feelings.

Deaf Explorer works with groups across the country to break down barriers so more deaf people are confident to take artistic

leadership roles. Their purpose is to provide communication support, so deaf people gain skills and competences in their artistic work to be independent and successful.

The students also had a workshop with drummer Nao Masuda, who brought in instruments to help the group move to the beat through vibrations.

This Arts Council funded project, called Sign Criminal, also involves Billy Read (as seen on BBC One’s the Greatest Dancer) working with young deaf people on participatory dance. Billy blends visual communication with dance and in Sign Criminal he describes visually the experiences of young deaf people. In feedback to the project, young deaf people have expressed that they empathised with Billy’s story and want to use dance to tell their own story about the frustrations of communication breakdown and the privilege of having a secret language.

“Our students have had a really amazing time with the group and have developed so many new skills over the week. It has been fantastic to see their confidence grow and they have really challenged themselves”, says Rebecca Loosemore, Assistant Principal at CSCD. For further information about CSCD and the specialist education it offers to people who are deaf, hard of hearing or who have communication difficulties, visit deaf-trust.co.uk/college

SEN103

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN subscriptions

ADHD

51

New comic seeks to challenge stigma surrounding ADHD and neurodiversity The Liverpool-based ADHD Foundation has launched a new 24-page, graphically illustrated comic that aims to put an end to the disabling perception of neurodiverse individuals and instead celebrate attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and dyspraxia.

Based on the Foundation’s real-life group of inspirational young ambassadors, The Adventures of the Umbrella Gang is also inspired by the charity’s successful Umbrella Project, an art installation which has seen brightly-coloured umbrellas suspended in Liverpool City centre, BBC North in Salford, Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and schools across the UK – all as part of a campaign to raise awareness about neurodiversity and celebrate cognitive differences.

The comic, which has been produced in collaboration with Dekko Comics and with support from Big Lottery and the BFI, will be made available to school children aged six to 12 years old across the country.

Dr Tony Lloyd, CEO of the ADHD Foundation, said: “Based on our incredible young ambassadors, each with a different and equally inspirational story to tell, the hope is that through this comic we can break down some of the negative misconceptions that are out

there about neurodiversity and, through the medium of illustration and words, reassure those children coming to terms with their neurodiversity that everything will be OK. Seventeen-year-old Siena Castellon, a neurodiversity advocate and the inspiration for one of the comic’s characters, said: “I’m thrilled to be featured in the Umbrella Gang comic. I hope the characters help young neurodivergent children who may be struggling to come to terms with being different, to embrace who they are and to see their unique strengths, talents and abilities as a ‘superpower’.”

adhdfoundation.org.uk

Subscribe to

SEN Magazine Practical ideas for parents and professionals The latest products and services Expert articles, SEN news and CPD

£48.50* a year (six issues)

For digital subscriptions, see page 67

Email subscribe@senmagazine.co.uk Tel 01200 409800 * UK only. Call of email for international rates.

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

52

Attachment

What about me?

Andrew Wright and Tony Clifford look at how schools can develop attachment aware practices to meet the needs of all pupils

A

child with identified SEN can, in theory at least, benefit from a range of planned support and input from specialist staff. Most schools also have a differentiated learning offer in place to support the range of academic ability within a particular cohort. There will still be some children or young people, though, who exhibit different learning needs and who may present in an uncooperative and challenging manner. This can adversely affect not just their own progress, but also that of others. Some will have social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs that have been identified, but many – due to a range of factors including changes in educational and/or residential placements and the loss of parents – will not. Unmet attachment needs will be a common feature of many of these pupils.

It can be a real challenge for the school to ensure these young people have an established learning pathway within, or under the close supervision of, the school, whilst ensuring there is a calm and purposeful approach to learning. What’s more, this pathway needs to support the individual learner to regulate their behaviour, develop positive relationships with peers and adults, and prepare them for a purposeful and independent adult life.

Mental health and behaviour It’s important to be clear about the connection between mental health and behaviour, rather than seeing them as separate issues. Our behaviour is connected to our mental state, which in turn is a manifestation of our mental health. Our mental health will always give rise to behaviour, even if the link may not be immediately apparent. With certain types of behaviour, such as self-harm, it is easy to understand that there is a link to underlying mental health issues. With the angry or noncomplaint child it may be harder to make the link but it is there.

In both cases, we have to be aware of, and address, issues in a holistic way. If something is seen as just a behaviour issue, this may lead schools to pursue a behaviour management strategy that has little connection to its approach to mental health and wellbeing. This may waste energy and time and may prove ineffective. An example is the child who regularly sits in isolation without understanding or being able to articulate

Our mental health will always give rise to behaviour, even if the link may not be immediately apparent SEN103

senmagazine.co.uk

Attachment

An integrated approach will generate awareness and understanding across the workforce

the reasons why they are there. This child’s behaviour may be precipitated by fears or anxieties that they have not yet been able to understand or articulate. Sadly, this is often true of children where abuse or neglect has been normalised to the extent that they do not understand the emotions these experiences engender, and struggle to manage their stress in ways that are accepted in their schools.

The Department for Education (DfE) guidance for schools (Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper, July 2018) on how to support young people with mental health issues and how this may link to behaviour, creates an opportunity to join up approaches which too often do not align, and may even clash. A possible response from education settings would be to use the guidance as an opportunity to create a coordinated mental health, wellbeing and behaviour policy, with less risk of gaps or confusion in provision and inappropriate or even illegal approaches being implemented. An integrated approach, through a whole-school training programme, will generate awareness and understanding across the workforce, providing consistency and equality. It will also ensure teachers and support staff do not feel it is their role to assess any unmet attachment needs, as they do not have the tools to do this and such assessments should be done by clinicians. However, an integrated approach will allow staff to gain an understanding of, and insight into, attachment needs. It will enable settings to develop a common language and understanding about how unmet attachment needs and trauma affect the young person and the systems around them.

■ Unmet attachment needs make it difficult to engage with school.

senmagazine.co.uk

53

About the author Andrew Wright is Chair of The Attachment Research Community (ARC) and Headteacher of Dudley Virtual School for Children In Care and Social Emotional Health Partnerships.

Tony Clifford is a trustee of ARC and a former Ofsted Inspector. He has 35 years of experience of working in education, including as a virtual headteacher. the-arc.org.uk @attachmentrc

@attachmentresearch

Strategies for improvement Settings should aim to produce attachment-based strategies that generate evidence-based practice and which demonstrate how they can support children with unmet attachment needs more effectively than the prevailing behaviour policies and practices. Indeed, research suggests that attachment aware schools show improved academic outcomes as well as improvements in wellbeing for pupils and staff (see What works to improve the educational outcomes of Children in Need of help and protection: A literature review, DfE, December 2018).

Attachment aware schools can support all children by providing a learning offer that takes account of unmet attachment needs and the trauma that often lies behind breakdowns in care, education and the family. By bringing together social workers, families, carers and education professionals, schools can develop a shared language with which they can address trauma with young people and the adults who work and live with them.

Undoubtedly, there are many pressures, expectations and influences on our school leaders. The current media focus on behaviour and exclusions provides an ideal opportunity for schools, multi-academy trusts and local authorities to review their approach to managing behaviour and promoting wellbeing.

Being attachment aware should be a vital part of all schools’ policies and practices. Schools need to plan for regular and ongoing whole-school training to make this a reality, using expert trainers and facilitators to help develop the school team.

This will help all settings and educators to gain and maintain an understanding of the entire school cohort and ensure all pupils are fully included.

SEN103

54

Creative arts

Getting crafty Rhuanedd Deroy-Jones explains why creative arts sessions are invaluable for young people with SEN

O

ne of the biggest challenges for children and young people with SEN is communication, especially getting their needs and wants heard.

Communication is also linked to their behaviour.

If they feel misunderstood, they are more likely to become frustrated and revert to challenging behaviour.

Creative arts sessions help children to develop and explore language and choice-making skills in a fun way. Being able to communicate choices is an important skill, especially later in life.

Think about an art session and all the opportunities for communication, such as: • choosing materials and expressing those preferences • talking about what you want to create • talking about reactions that take place during the process, such as the changes that happen when colours are mixed together • t alking about emotions – for example, how a picture or particular colour makes you feel.

Of course, art sessions can also be about not talking and letting the art do all the talking for you.

Communicating Creative art is a great way of expressing yourself. I have seen students’ communication and social skills increase massively following involvement in arts sessions. I have students in my class who are now using longer sentences to ask for things; so instead of just saying “red”, they may now say “I want red paint”.

It can be a good idea for the teacher (or parent) to take charge of the resources and materials children might want to use in a creative art session. This means that the child has to think about and ask for what they want, rather than just grabbing them. For non-verbal students, it might work well to give them a choice of two items to aid choice-making and scaffold speech, such as a blue pot of paint and a green pot; the student makes their choice by reaching for the paint they want.

Art sessions can also be about not talking and letting the art do all the talking for you SEN103

senmagazine.co.uk

Creative arts

I often end up with no work to show but a table covered in paint and a happy student and teacher

Communication skills developed in these sessions can also be transferred to other areas of their day-to-day life, such as asking for snacks or making choices about what they would like to do with their free time.

Developing skills What better way to learn than by having fun? Creative art provides teachers, and parents, with opportunities to teach in a fun way and, as a result, a child’s engagement with the process generally improves.

Art and creative sessions can be great for developing a variety of cognitive and motor skills which promote dexterity, independence and confidence. They can also nurture relaxation and concentration and provide a sense of accomplishment.

Making sessions very hands-on helps the children to make connections with what they see, feel, hear and touch, giving all their senses a workout. Learning through creative art allows children to feel like they have more freedom to explore and create because it can seem less formal than traditional lessons.

Tips for parents/carers • Don’t rush things. Give the child time to explore the materials being used.

• Join in, so you can model each step of what you are going to do together.

• Remember creative arts encompasses many things; you could decorate cakes, make music, make your own play dough or make your own soap.

• Tailor the activities to their interests – their favourite book, music or even food.

• If you’re stuck for ideas, seek inspiration online.

• Reserve judgment. As adults, we can be perfectionists, but it’s not about being a good artist. It’s their own work and if it’s messy or upside down, that’s OK. • Don’t put any restrictions on it, as rigid instructions can curtail children’s creativity and may discourage them from taking part. Mess can always be cleaned up, so go for it!

senmagazine.co.uk

55

About the author Rhuanedd Deroy-Jones is a lecturer at Beechwood College, a specialist residential college in South Wales for young people over 16 with autism, social, emotional and behavioural needs and moderate or profound learning difficulties. lshealthcare.co.uk/ beechwood-college

@sensorhu @beechwoodcoll

Make it multi-sensory!

Try to incorporate a range of sensory stimuli into creative arts sessions; something visually stimulating, something that has a different texture or something with a distinctive smell can all be powerful ways to reach children who face a complex set of communication challenges.

Think about designing activities based around the child’s favourite book. Sessions can also be themed to feature, for example, Christmas or summer. This not only serves to help engage children, it also enables you to incorporate different aspects of learning within creative arts.

Child-led sessions Wherever possible, let the child or young person lead the session and discussions. Rather than dictating what you will talk about, pick up on the things they say and expand upon them. For example, if the student says “flower”, you could expand on this with the description “pretty blue flower”.

Find inspiration from multiple sources. There is so much out there and the internet and social media can be fantastic sources of ideas. And remember, it’s not about creating a masterpiece; the process is often more important than the final result. I often end up with no work to show but a table covered in paint and a happy student and teacher.

It’s essential to consider the specific needs and preferences of the child. You may want to adapt the materials and tools used to suit the child’s ability. Instead of giving them scissors, which they may not be able to grip very well, allow a child to tear their own pieces of paper or give them a pre-cut template.

If you were going to create messy art, ask yourself, do they like getting messy? If they don’t, you could use cling film on top of the paper and paint or use gloves. It’s good to have an alternative method available for them to choose. For example, if you are using fingers to paint with, they could use a cotton bud instead.

SEN103

Creative arts

57

Stars of the show at Premier event Performers from a national specialist college received standing ovations from more than 5,000 people when they performed on the same stage as singers Pixie Lott and Craig David, and met television personality Rylan Clark-Neal.

Derwen College sign, song and dance group Derwen on Tour (DOT) performed in front of their largest ever audience at the nationwide Premier Inn Celebration in Hampshire this autumn. The group was made up of a mixture of experienced and newer DOT members. Three Derwen College graduates returned as guests, whilst student Ben Moore-Hill only joined DOT this term.

Former students Thomas Shacklady, Amy Roach and Sara Tustin stayed at Derwen College’s short breaks provision to attend rehearsals with DOT. The three were greeted back onto campus like celebrities. “It’s weird to be back but when I had the email asking me, I immediately said: ‘Yes, yes, yes!’”, said Sara. derwen.ac.uk senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

58

Creative arts

Advertisement feature

Autism and the creative arts

By Sarah Sherwood, Director of SEN at LVS Oxford and LVS Hassocks The creative arts are a vital component in the curriculum for individuals with an autism diagnosis. Unique levels of creativity are often found in those on the autism spectrum due to their different perspective of the world.

Why are creative arts so important?

Creative arts allow individuals with autism to have control over their work, as it is in these subjects that the individual’s unique interpretation is valued. Many young people find that drawing or doodling whilst listening to lesson input enables them to access the curriculum, or alternatively, will use these mediums as calming strategies if they begin to experience elevated anxiety levels. Likewise, the rhythm associated with music can have a calming effect for students, whilst the creative element in music lessons enables them to experiment with rhythm and pace in a safe setting. The opportunities available in music lessons to work with others to achieve a joint outcome can be extremely motivating for some students, especially if this results in a performance, raising both self-esteem and belief in their own ability, which can have a subsequent effect elsewhere in the curriculum.

LVS Hassocks and LVS Oxford offer a range of creative subjects for students including drama, music, art and ceramics. Project weeks have included activities such as upcycling furniture and glass painting. Christmas and summer productions provide an opportunity for students to exhibit their skills in drama and music, set design, posters and leaflet production, photography and media.

Art – providing choices in class and for the future Despite the creative aspect of the arts, lessons require a defined framework, but within this framework, students have the opportunity for choice of materials used, allowing them some control over both the content and outcome of the sessions. As an example, a student at LVS Hassocks wanted to sit an art GCSE but did not particularly enjoy the more traditional approach to art and therefore his submission was a structure made from old computer parts. Having successfully passed his GCSE, this student now accesses a mainstream college placement.

■ LVS Hassocks student Nat’s GCSE art model helped him earn a mainstream college placement.

SEN103

For many students at LVS Hassocks and LVS Oxford, the creative arts can provide a curriculum area where they can excel, gain qualifications

■ Musical performance can help raise a student’s self-esteem and belief.

and move on to mainstream college placements to follow their area of interest, whether this be music, drama, art, photography, or media; Craig, for example, left LVS Oxford this summer and is now enrolled on a music course at a mainstream college.

Choosing art for sensory appeal Although ceramics may not appeal to all students, some relish the sensory experiences this provides, from the initial forming of the clay, to the painting and glazing of the finished article. Photography provides a creative outlet for those who find sessions such ■ Productions help students exhibit as ceramics more their skills in drama. challenging, allowing objects to be captured from unusual perspectives. At both schools, we have used these photographs for calendars and greetings cards, which are sold at fund-raising events, again enhancing students’ self-esteem.

Art can also provide opportunities for joint working on projects, particularly larger pieces of artwork on canvas, or for students to focus on an individual aspect of favoured objects, such as the petals of a flower or the wheels of a car. Drawing portraits can support students to look more closely at faces and facial expressions, an area that many of our students find difficult; in the supportive environment of an art lesson, this can be done gradually, allowing each student to work at their own pace.

For more information, go to lvs-oxford.org.uk or lvs-hassocks.org.uk

senmagazine.co.uk

Wheelchairs / mobility

59

Routes to mobility Yana Albino provides a useful guide to help parents source a wheelchair for their child

C

hoosing the right wheelchair for your child can be a mind-boggling task for many parents. There are so many different powered or manual wheelchairs to choose from and each of these options is generally configurable in terms of the size and position of the seat and back, and has adjustable and detachable armrests and footrests.

Choosing one wheelchair or another will usually depend on three very personal factors – its adequacy for your child, for you and for the surroundings. If your child has more complex postural and seating needs, there is an array of different shapes and sizes of postural back rests, head rests, thoracic and other supports from which to choose. In addition, bespoke solutions and seating can be custom made to meet your child’s needs.

Most importantly, every child is unique with their own individual set of lifestyle needs. With all this in mind, it’s important to look at how parents can get advice and support when selecting an appropriate wheelchair for their child.

NHS statutory services

Services provided by the NHS often fall short of meeting the wider needs of many children

the most appropriate postural seating and mobility equipment is recommended to encourage the development of their mobility, function and independence.

In my experience, having worked as an occupational therapist with and within different statutory wheelchair services, the choice of wheelchairs and the service prescription criteria can vary greatly from county to county. In addition, services provided by the NHS set up to meet the child’s health needs often fall

If your child has limited mobility and postural needs, they would benefit from an assessment by an occupational therapist or physiotherapist at their local wheelchair service. This will ensure

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

60

Wheelchairs / mobility

When purchasing a wheelchair, it’s a good idea to ask for a prediction of future ongoing costs

short of meeting the wider needs of many children. Too often families find that the child and the family’s social, school and leisure activities are not enhanced, but instead restricted by the limited range and sub-optimal chairs that are supplied.

I would recommend that you contact your local wheelchair services to request a copy of their criteria and details of personal wheelchair budgets, which are newly introduced, replacing the previous wheelchair voucher scheme. Personal wheelchair budgets aim to cater for the wider needs of your child and not just their health needs, to support you and your child in identifying their social and wellbeing needs and goals. They are an opportunity to explore how the provision of wheelchairs can be joined with other care and support agencies, as part of a personalised care and support plan. Personal budgets funding enables clients to purchase equipment outside of the range your local wheelchair services offers and therefore gives you greater choice. It allows you to purchase privately from wheelchair suppliers and top up the costs with private or other social care funds. The downside of personal wheelchair budgets is that you may need to pay for ongoing maintenance and servicing costs, depending on what wheelchair is selected. Your local wheelchair service will guide you through this process.

Some statutory wheelchair services are run directly by NHS trusts and are within community or hospital settings, whilst others are contracted by the NHS to independent companies, or organisations such as the local council, to provide this service on their behalf.

Wheelchair charities You may also wish to consider charity funding for a wheelchair.

There are a number of charities that provide an assessment service and fund different types of wheelchairs, with some

■ It’s crucial to get the right advice about your child’s postural needs.

SEN103

About the author Yana Albino is a postural care and wheelchair specialist therapist for adults and children.

She has worked for children’s charities, wheelchair services and the NHS, and is currently a Case Manager and Specialist Occupational Therapist in association with CCMS - UK. ccmservices.co.uk

specialising in different types of chairs such as powered chairs. An internet search should provide a good range of organisations active in this field. Give the charities a call to discuss your child’s needs. Please note, that funding may be means tested. In addition, many charities generally do not offer an assessment service but do request a supporting letter from an occupational therapist or physiotherapist, confirming that the selected wheelchair meets their clinical needs. Again, the responsibility for ongoing servicing and maintenance costs usually becomes yours.

Private purchase If you are considering buying a wheelchair yourself directly from a wheelchair supplier, it is important to do your research and choose a supplier that has a good reputation, is needs led and not sales driven, and will offer you a good after care service. When purchasing a wheelchair, it’s a good idea to ask for a prediction of future ongoing costs in terms of servicing costs, call out fees and a basket of spares, for example the costs of replacement batteries, foot supports and motors.

Some wheelchair suppliers also have links with occupational therapists, physiotherapists and charities.

However, if you are choosing to go private, I recommend you seek the advice of an independent occupational therapist or physiotherapist with specialist skills in postural management and wheelchairs. Your specialist therapist will do a thorough, holistic assessment and be the expert in terms of your child’s postural and functional needs. The therapist will recommend appropriate equipment and guide the product specialist on how to set up the wheelchair correctly to encourage optimal function, comfort and development of posture. They can also advise on reputable companies and product specialists and charity funding.

To help you find the most appropriate wheelchair for your child, there is help out there from statutory NHS services, charities, independent therapy services and wheelchair suppliers. It is worth taking the time to assess the options and work out the best route for you. The right wheelchair can make a huge difference, helping your child and family to live life to the full. senmagazine.co.uk

Mobility

61

Advertise in Online In print 36,000 readers 18,000

Email newsletter 57,300

per issue (based on four readers per copy) unique users a month recipients

Features in the next issue include: autism • dyslexia • CReSTeD • post-16 options • specialist seating • SEN law assistive technology • outdoor activities • Down syndrome • recruitment hearing impairment • SEN provision overseas • CPD and much more…

To book your space, contact Denise 01200 409808 denise@senmagazine.co.uk

senmagazine.co.uk senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

62

School security

Safe and secure Sue Corrick looks at how schools can balance security and safety, and handle unexpected security breaches

I

mplementing a stable and effective security strategy in schools is one thing. Maintaining a high standard of safety for all those within the premises is another. So where do the two meet? And how can you be prepared for situations you might not be expecting?

Security and safety in schools is high on the agenda of parents and educationalists alike. When it comes to schools, everyone has a role to play in the implementation of an effective security strategy, but getting the balance between safety and security right is often a challenge.

There can be a lot of emphasis on implementing strong, wellrounded security strategies, but this doesn’t always account for unexpected situations. No two schools are the same and being well prepared starts with understanding the building and its physical requirements, as well as those who use it and their specific needs.

Anti-social behaviour Pupils, teachers and all those on-site should be considered when any choices about safety are made.

SEN103

Being well prepared starts with understanding the building, as well as those who use it

When focusing on pupils’ needs, it can be difficult to prepare for all types of situation, especially those that are harder to predict, such as when pupils become involved in anti-social behaviour. This raises a number of issues pertaining to both the security of the premises and the pupils’ safety. If children attempt to leave the premises without permission, or succeed in doing so, this can create further security and safety challenges that may not have been planned for.

To prevent pupils from leaving the premises, there may be a temptation to padlock fire escapes or position the push-pad emergency exits higher on the door so that children can’t reach them. However, this then raises questions about fire safety. senmagazine.co.uk

School security

A school’s policies and practices should work in harmony with the physical systems they have in place

63

About the author Sue Corrick is EMEA Product Manager at Allegion UK, which produces a wide range of products for security around the door. allegion.com

It seems as though there’s no one single answer, especially when individual situations will have their own backgrounds and contexts.

For example, if pupils routinely leave school without permission through an emergency exit, the school will have to carry out a risk assessment in partnership with local safety code experts to see how to safely reduce unauthorised exits. One option would be to ensure an unauthorised exit does not go unnoticed. Other options may include layered security. A careful evaluation of each situation and a clear understanding of what’s important to ensure student safety is essential.

Addressing internal risk There is increasing pressure on schools to ensure external security measures are in place and in good working order.

Physical perimeter security and effective access control are at the heart of any successful school security programme, but creating a safe and secure environment requires significant planning and internal security shouldn’t be overlooked.

Schools that focus on keeping potential risks out of the premises can easily forget about risks that may occur from within. Children who have been left without an adult’s assistance may unwillingly put their own safety at risk if they are to wander into an area they’re not supposed to be in, such as a supply room or classroom laboratory with cleaning chemicals. Visitors, contractors and employees who have been authorised to enter the site may also invite certain risks, including theft. Yet, the majority of people on a school campus have good intentions and it’s important to have an environment that allows parents and others to be part of the school community.

Tackling internal security and safety from all angles is complex and requires a holistic approach. However, designing effective internal security and safety procedures can be overwhelming for school officials and they will need help from qualified experts as well as input from teachers and parents. Any plan also needs to be pragmatic, consider financial resources and prioritise implementation.

Increasing awareness and preparedness While unexpected situations such as escape are incredibly difficult to manage and understand, there are certain solutions which may help schools to prepare for them.

Electronic access locks or pincode hardware are options for many, as they can help to provide the additional security needed for areas that require further supervision. Consider high senmagazine.co.uk

@AllegionPlc

@AllegionPlc

risk areas such as supply cupboards or science classrooms that possess hazardous chemicals and the challenges that come with the inflow of access. Spaces such as these can be controlled with electronic access so that only authorised personnel (and those they supervise) can enter, while still providing the flexibility for multiple people to access without a physical key.

Delayed egress systems are a solution commonly used in the United States. If a pupil, employee or visitor should attempt to exit the building, an alarm is triggered and a fifteen-second delay allows staff the time they need to respond. The hardware is linked to the fire alarm and therefore provides a system override during a fire emergency. These systems are yet to be CE marked to the required standard that many check for here in the UK. The UK is still waiting on the harmonisation of BS EN 13637 (the standard that specifies the requirements for the performance and testing of electronically controlled exit systems) after recent revisions. The revised standard is now set to go through a review process, meaning it could be at least another year until the standard is published and these exit devices become CE certified.

With this in mind, the importance of staff training cannot be understated. Ultimately, for a building to minimise risk, multiple security measures may need to be in operation, with staff tying these different measures together. A school’s policies and practices should work in harmony with the physical systems they have in place, and for this, staff need to have a clear understanding of the procedures and systems that are being used.

A high level of understanding about a building and its inhabitants is incredibly important; however, some situations may require expert guidance. For example, fire safety officials, contractors and manufacturers may be able to offer direction when it comes to those situations that seem difficult to address. Ultimately, it’s about balancing safety and security so that a building and its inhabitants are protected. When security might be adversely affecting safety or vice versa, it might be time to accept a helping hand.

SEN103

64

Epilepsy

Are you epilepsy confident?

Simple measures can help schools get the right support in place for children with epilepsy, writes Catherine Hodder

E

pilepsy is one of the most common long-term conditions in childhood, affecting 112,000 children and young people across the UK. You may be shocked then to learn that four in ten education professionals say they would not be able to help a student having an epileptic seizure.

Commissioned by the charity Young Epilepsy, a new survey of 600 adults working in the education sector – including teachers, administrators and catering assistants – highlights the urgent need for education professionals to be better supported.

Eighty-eight per cent of education professionals surveyed think more needs to be done to raise awareness in schools about how epilepsy can affect children. Two-thirds of education professionals say they received no training in how to support children with epilepsy in their care, including what to do should they have a seizure. A third say they wouldn’t know when to call for an ambulance in the event of a seizure. Experts recommend you ring 999 if it lasts for more than five minutes or you know it’s their first seizure.

Most seizures stop without the need for emergency treatment.

However, it’s crucial that schools have the information they need to keep a young person safe and to know when to give emergency medication or call an ambulance. Prolonged seizures can result in a potentially fatal condition known as status epilepticus.

Misconceptions and poor information Many of those polled were not aware of the different types of seizure a young person can experience. Three quarters were unaware that falling to the ground and getting straight back up again could indicate that a young person is having a seizure, or experiencing strange tastes and smells (55 per cent), or staring blankly as if daydreaming (29 per cent).

Only 29 per cent knew that they should time the length of the seizure, only 17 per cent would protect them from hazards, and only 26 per cent knew to cushion their head – all essential actions to keep the young person safe.

Two-thirds of education professionals say they received no training in how to support children with epilepsy SEN103

senmagazine.co.uk

Epilepsy

Epilepsy can have a significant impact on learning, even if seizures are controlled

65

About the author Catherine Hodder is the Policy and Advocacy Manager at Young Epilepsy. The charity has created a free online guide for schools on supporting young people with epilepsy.

Commonly held mistaken beliefs were also prevalent in the survey; six in ten respondents wrongly think that a person having a seizure can swallow their tongue, and 15 per cent incorrectly believe that flashing lights will always trigger an epileptic seizure.

youngepilepsy.org.uk/ GuideForSchools @YoungEpilepsy

@YoungEpilepsy

A further survey of young people with epilepsy and their parents found that 37 per cent of young people do not have an individual healthcare plan (IHP) at school. These plans set out key information to ensure young people are safe and included in all aspects of school life. Since 2014, state schools in England (including academies) have been legally required to support children with medical conditions such as epilepsy so they can participate in all aspects of education.

There are more than 40 different types of seizure which affect the brain and every young person’s epilepsy is unique to them. This means it’s essential that schools have accurate, up-to-date information to keep a young person safe and adequately supported.

How does epilepsy affect learning and school life?

Epilepsy can have a significant impact on learning, even if seizures are controlled. Young Epilepsy’s 2014 research – The identification of educational problems in childhood epilepsy: The Children with Epilepsy in Sussex Schools (CHESS) study – shows that a high proportion of young people with epilepsy have difficulty in at least one area of cognition or behaviour.

These difficulties are often missed because of the pressing medical needs of epilepsy. The survey results show that only four in ten IHPs include how epilepsy might affect learning.

Children with epilepsy and other conditions should be able to access all aspects of education, including school trips and sport. However, one in six young people with epilepsy are excluded from activities or opportunities at school. Some young people are unable to take part in activities due to specific medical advice. However, in most circumstances young people with epilepsy can be included with the right support in place.

Those working in education settings are facing many challenges every day, and most are doing a fantastic job. However, these latest figures show that children with epilepsy are struggling to have their conditions fully understood by the people who play an essential role in their educational and emotional development.

Getting it right

■ Regular meetings with parents will help schools support pupils with epilepsy.

“My child receives very good pastoral help and care at school”, says one parent. “All staff are regularly trained, she has had support from the school counsellor and the SENCO (and all staff) is/are very supportive of her needs. They have also offered some recent SIBs [sibling support] talk to give to her brother.”

Another parent says: “I have a meeting with the new teacher each new school year to talk about what she should know.

[My daughter’s seizures are] currently controlled but as it can change the teacher needs to understand her diagnosis and the risks attached. They provide an extra teacher to solely

Although families can experience challenges in getting effective support in place, many children with epilepsy are benefitting from great support at school. senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

66

Epilepsy

Key elements of good support at school:

Many children with epilepsy are benefitting from great support at school

• an individual healthcare plan (IHP) for each young person with epilepsy (including where seizures are controlled or only take place whilst sleeping) • a school policy on supporting pupils with medical conditions • regular communication between the school, the parents and the young person • staff training to ensure everyone has an understanding of seizure first aid and how epilepsy can affect young people.

observe her during swimming lessons. When she was first diagnosed they brought in a council nurse to help understand more what she may need while struggling with side effects.

They also suggested a buddy system so a few friends would understand.”

With effective support, young people with epilepsy can thrive at school and beyond. Getting the key elements of support right can go a long way in ensuring young people with epilepsy are safe and included in all aspects of school life.

■ Children with epilepsy should be included in all areas of school life.

Seizure first aid Time the seizure • Time the duration of the seizure.

• Let the seizure run its course.

Keep the person away from hazards • Move any hazards out of the way.

• Cushion their head.

• Make sure nothing hinders their breathing.

Make a record of what happened Don’t restrict their movements • Don’t restrain them.

• Include what happened before, during and after the seizure.

• Don’t put anything in their mouth.

Call 999 for an ambulance if: Stay with them

• they have never had a seizure before

• Reassure them.

• they are not breathing or are blue around the lips

• Stay with them until they have fully recovered.

• the seizure lasts more than five minutes

• After the seizure, put them in the recovery position (if they are on the floor).

• they are not responding after the seizure has stopped

SEN103

• they have sustained an injury during the seizure.

senmagazine.co.uk

Epilepsy

67

Want a digital version of

SEN Magazine?

Each issue of SEN Magazine is now available online at issuu.com/senmagazine

Just ÂŁ6 per issue or ÂŁ24 for the next six issues Back issues also available

For print subscriptions,

Get your digital SEN Magazine now at issuu.com/senmagazine

see page 51

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

68

Autism

Diagnosing ASD Srinivas Gada outlines some of the main things to look for if you think a child may have autism

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination”, said James Dean. In my opinion, a similar mindset is required, if you wish to enable a child with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).

ASD is a condition that affects a person’s performance or functioning. It is not caused by anyone. Children with ASD see, hear, learn about, perceive, think about and relate to the world differently to others. It’s no surprise then, that some of the greatest inventors, musicians, painters and sculptors the world has ever seen have been attributed with ASD.

Characteristics of ASD Every child with ASD has three major characteristics. They are: • difficulties or deficits in social communication • difficulties or deficits in social interaction • restricted patterns of behaviour, interests and activities.

Yet, ASD is a very diverse and varied condition. While I have diagnosed twins and many siblings with ASD, I have not seen two children with ASD who were same. This is because the degree of impairment in communication, social interaction, learning and adaptive functioning varies in each child.

Leo Kanner first described Autism in children in 1943. The term “autism” derives from the Greek word “autos”, which means “self”. Autism can be translated as meaning “alone”.

Symptoms of ASD are usually present by 18 to 24 months of age But individuals with ASD are not generally lonely. Autism was included as part of a spectrum in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual fifth edition (DSM-5) classification, a diagnostic tool used in USA and around the world. Autism and Asperger’s syndrome are two well recognised prototypes of the ASD spectrum.

ASD is common. It is present in one to two per cent of children.

Some studies show prevalence to be as high as one in 40, while others report this to be as low as one in 400 children.

Possible explanations for increases in ASD prevalence could be changes in the way it is diagnosed, increased awareness of ASD and the shift to viewing autism as a spectrum condition.

When can ASD be diagnosed?

Symptoms of ASD are usually present by 18 to 24 months of age.

Some children appear to achieve early language milestones, but then regress or plateau in their communication and social skills. In general, the more severe the impairments in social interaction and communication, the earlier they present. Some children present in school years when the social demands exceed their limited capacities. Currently, most children are diagnosed between the ages of four and five years.

senmagazine.co.uk

Autism

Early diagnosis and intervention can improve a child’s behaviour, social functioning and communication There are innumerable examples of attributes of ASD. I have listed below some of the more common ones, without being too fussy about the categories I’ve put them in; for example, one can debate whether “preference to play alone” should be under “play”, “behaviour” or “social interaction”.

69

About the author Dr Srinivas Gada is a consultant paediatrician in neurodevelopment and neurodisability who has edited the Oxford Handbook of Community Paediatrics. A former consultant at Oxford University Hospitals, he now has an independent practice, the Oxford Centre for Neurodevelopment. ocnd.co.uk linkedin.com/in/dr-srinivas-gada

The main features of ASD Features

Attributes and qualities to look out for

Play

Repetitive play limited in variety. Mechanical or noisy play. Lacking imagination. Preference to play alone. Distress when others join in.

Communication

May lack intent to communicate. Impaired use of non-verbal communicative behaviours such as eye gaze and gestures; for example, not nodding their head for “yes” or shaking their head for “no”. Impaired turn taking in conversation. In school years, difficulty in understanding humour, sarcasm or deception. Literal interpretation of what others say.

Social interaction

Not pointing to objects to show interest. Not looking at objects’ others point to. Limited or no eye contact when interacting with others. Disinterest or indifference to social hugs and affection. Absent or limited interest in social interaction with peers.

Difficulty in modifying one’s behaviour according to social context. Difficulty in understanding

Social and emotional others’ thoughts, feelings and intentions. Consequently, difficulty in responding appropriately to others’ distress and needs. Difficulty in understanding the difference between strangers and reciprocity family relationships.

Behaviour and interests

No shared interest. Content to play by themselves. Narrow, specific and intense interests, for example in dinosaurs, Thomas the Tank Engine, Pokémon, TV listings, football teams or train schedules. Fixated with personal interests.

Language

Language delay or regression. Repeating words or phrases they have heard. May use rote learned phrases or words. Limited or no use of language to share thoughts or make requests.

May speak in single words or very short phrases. Delayed language development. Inability to adjust the complexity of language or choice of topic to others’ needs or according to the context. Understanding of language is more delayed than expressive language.

Preoccupations

Unusual attachment to certain objects. May be obsessed with wheels, spinning objects, edges, lights. Sniffing or licking non-food items.

Mannerisms

Could be self-soothing or self-injurious. This may involve, for example, hand flapping, rocking, tip-toe walking, head banging, running around in circles. Could be brought on by excitement, anger and frustration.

Routines and rituals

Insistence on sameness. Prefer routines. Certain things, like sitting down for a meal, order of dressing, bedtime routine or the route taken to school, must be undertaken in the same specific order. Any change can cause distress, anxiety or temper tantrums. Difficulty with transitions.

Sensory reactivity

Unusual or abnormal sensory perception. May be hypersensitive or hyposensitive to certain tastes, smells, sounds and tactile or visual stimuli. Resists certain textures or touch but may prefer deep pressure. Low/high threshold to pain. Prefer to eat food of only certain colours, textures and tastes.

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

70

Autism

Having a diagnosis can help with long-term planning, and seeking help and support

impact the child’s functioning and learning. The cost of lifelong care can also be reduced significantly with early diagnosis and intervention. Delays in diagnosing autism can lead to disengagement from learning, secondary mental health conditions such as depression and even family breakdown.

What other conditions can be present with ASD? ASD is often accompanied by a range of neurodevelopmental and other conditions. These can include:

Age-related pointers to possible ASD Some of the key signifiers that may suggest a child is on the autistic spectrum include: • lack of responsive smile by three to six months • not babbling by ten months • lack of joint attention by six to nine months • not responding to their name by ten to twelve months • not waving goodbye or giving affection by 14 to 16 months • not pointing to items of interest or objects by 12 to 18 months

• learning disability • language impairment • anxiety (which is often one of the main issues) • attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) • oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) • challenging behaviours • sleeping difficulties • feeding difficulties • dyspraxia • depression • tics.

• not enjoying sharing a book by 18 to 24 months • not obliging with simple requests, such as “give me the spoon”, by 18 to 20 months • lack of pretend play, such as Pat-a-cake, by 18 to 24 months • no symbolic play, such as riding a broomstick for a horse, by 30 to 36 months • not taking turns in play by three to four years • lack of imaginative play, for example playing with dolls, by four years • not joining in play with other children or group play by four to five years.

Who can diagnose?

Diagnosis of ASD in children can be undertaken by a: • neurodevelopmental paediatrician • community paediatrician • psychologist or • child psychiatrist.

Depending on the child’s needs and difficulties, the following professionals may also be involved in the assessment: • speech and language therapist • child psychologist • occupational therapist • audiologist.

Why is it important for ASD to be diagnosed early?

There is no cure for ASD, but early diagnosis and intervention can improve a child’s behaviour, social functioning and communication. Evidence shows that interventions are more effective the earlier they are commenced. In some cases of children who receive appropriate interventions, the ASD symptoms can be reduced to an extent that they no longer SEN103

Each of these conditions, when present, could vary in severity.

Some comorbid conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, learning disability and language impairment can present as ASD itself; hence, the neurodevelopmental assessment needs to be detailed and thorough.

Does diagnosis help?

A medical diagnosis may help to avoid a child being labelled as “weird”, “difficult” or as having a personality disorder.

Moreover, a comprehensive and individualised management plan can be created to build upon the child’s strengths and address their unique needs.

Numerous behavioural, educational and environmental interventions can be implemented to address the (above mentioned) three main characteristics of ASD. Medications can be used to treat symptoms of comorbid conditions such as ADHD, anxiety or sleeping difficulties. This can improve a child’s functioning and learning.

Diagnosing early helps parents and teachers to seek extra help at school through SEN support and the provision detailed in an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

Having a diagnosis can help with long-term planning, and seeking help and support with respite and leisure services.

A comprehensive diagnostic report can help in applying for disability living allowance (DLA) and certain other benefits and help with housing when required.

“Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know it, so it goes on flying anyway”, said Mary Kay Ash. With hope, perseverance and some hard work, what may appear improbable with a diagnosis of ASD can become possible.

senmagazine.co.uk

Autism

senmagazine.co.uk

71

SEN103

Autism

73

Advertisement feature

Developing young people In July 2012, Toby arrived at Hesley Group to start his residential school placement. From the beginning, his behaviours of concern were very severe – extreme property damage, physical aggression and self-injurious behaviour. Toby’s quality of life was very poor. His engagement in property damage at any opportunity meant his flat had to be entirely covered in specialist Perspex. Toby didn’t have bedding, wardrobes or access to any breakable items in his living space in order to keep him and others safe. For community access, Toby required his own highly adapted bus, again covered in Perspex, but trips out were still very rare, such were the difficulties and risks presented.

Hesley Group knew that Toby desperately needed help to make progress. A detailed assessment process was started by the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) of education, care and clinical/therapy professionals to better understand Toby’s complex needs and create plans to support him effectively. The applied psychology professionals put in place property damage, aggression and self-injurious behaviour monitoring as part of their assessment. The data collected informed Toby’s functional behaviour assessment; the outcomes of this assessment was shared with his core team along with proactive strategies to reduce behaviours of concern and reactive strategies on how to support/manage these behaviours during crisis.

The speech and language therapy (SaLT) professionals assessed Toby, developing his individual communication plan (ICP). SaLT and occupational therapy (OT) provided focused training for his core team including on Intensive Interaction approaches. Toby was supported to develop his expressive abilities via the use of PECS, activity choice boards and social stories in both his education and care environments. OT looked at Toby’s sensory needs and how they were impacting on his day-to-day functioning, leading to the development of appropriate calming and alerting activities throughout his day.

An educational support plan was developed and implemented to help Toby have more community access via his minibus.

Real progress Seven years later, Toby has made amazing progress. The property damage, physical aggression and self-injurious behaviour have reduced dramatically; instances of these are rare and when they do occur, the severity is far less than it once was. All of the Perspex in Toby’s flat has been removed with furniture added, giving him a far more homely, warm environment to live in. He accesses his community daily and recently had a three-night residential trip to Center Parcs; having never spent a night away from his flat since arriving in 2012, this was an outstanding achievement.

seemed almost impossible when he first arrived at Hesley Group. Toby, his family and the team that support him are all rightly proud of the vibrant, lovable young man he has developed into.

Our commitment to developing the young people we support in Hesley Group extends to the development of the services themselves. By investing in our children’s services, we hope to keep making those key interventions for young people like Toby. For example, we have just developed new, specialist children’s homes to support the learning of young people at Fullerton House School – homes in the heart of their community affording fantastic opportunities to achieve and learn.

For more details about Hesley Group services, please visit hesleygroup.co.uk or call our Freephone Referral Enquiries line on 0800 055 6789.

Supported by a consistent, motivated MDT of education, care and therapy professionals, Toby’s progress and development has been truly phenomenal. He is now a young man who engages with his learning, activities and community in a way that senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

74

Autism

Conditions linked to high-functioning autism Concluding her three-part series on “high-functioning” autism, Pearl Barnes looks at co-occurring and overlapping difficulties

I

ndividuals with “high-functioning” autism (HFA) experience difficulties associated with social communication and interaction alongside difficulties in repetitive patterns of behaviours, activities or interests. However, alongside these difficulties are often other, secondary or consequential difficulties, which might be equally debilitating. Individuals with HFA often experience difficulties associated with overlapping (or co-occurring) conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Since autism is a spectrum condition, there are subjective cut-off points, with some individuals experiencing difficulties which may not be considered severe enough to warrant a diagnosis, preventing them from accessing support. To add to this complexity, some individuals experience difficulties which present with similar behaviours and difficulties to those with HFA, but the cause of the behaviour is different.

The SEN Code of Practice (2015) says that “a detailed assessment of need should ensure that the full range of an individual’s needs is identified, not simply the primary need. The support provided to an individual should always be based on a full understanding of their particular strengths and needs and seek to address them all using well-evidenced interventions targeted at their areas of difficulty and where necessary specialist equipment or software.”

Children may display behaviours in school for a number of reasons and it is essential that the root cause for the presenting

SEN103

The diagnosis itself is less important than the profile of individual strengths and needs

behaviour is determined before support and differentiated strategies are provided. Clearly, it is imperative for all areas of strengths and weaknesses to be identified in order to provide a holistic approach to intervention, and design effective personalised support plans for individuals identified with HFA or who display characteristics which do not meet the subjective cut-off points. Essentially, the diagnosis itself is less important than the profile of individual strengths and needs, which are teased out through assessment.

Language and communication There is an obvious link and overlap between autism and speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). However, individuals with HFA tend to express themselves well, with clear phonology (clarity of speech), morphology (vocabulary) and syntax (the way words are held together/grammar), whilst individuals with SLCN tend to struggle with these specific

senmagazine.co.uk

Autism

Individuals with HFA often struggle to regulate their emotions and may display anxiety or frustration

areas from an early age. Many children with SLCN struggle to interact socially due to their difficulty in expressing themselves clearly with appropriate vocabulary, whilst children with HFA tend to struggle to interact socially due to their difficulties in semantics (being able to choose the right words that string together) and in particular, pragmatics (interpreting and responding to the social situation). The presentation of difficulties is the same (difficulties in social interaction) whilst the underlying root causes for these difficulties are very different, requiring very different intervention approaches.

Assessment should address the following areas: • use of age-appropriate vocabulary in context; are there word-retrieval difficulties?

• ability to follow simple age-appropriate instructions • ability to initiate a conversation without prompting

75

About the author Pearl Barnes is a past President of nasen and a SEND consultant and specialist assessor for Special Educational Needs and Disability Independent Support Service (SENDISS), offering bespoke training, SEND coaching and auditing of SEND provision. sendiss.co.uk @pearl_sendiss

Individuals with HFA may struggle with mental imagery – which is essential to support thought and processing information – planning, predicting and visualising possible alternatives.

Essentially, the impact upon cognition and learning is that the individual may appear to be able to rote-learn the information verbatim, but struggle to apply, evaluate and critically analyse through inference and deduction.

Assessment should address the following areas:

• reciprocity; difficulty in seeing other people’s point of view (due to lack of theory of mind/empathy)

• reading; is it accurate but lacks expression and intonation? Does the individual struggle to take in information whilst reading, and interpret hidden information? Does the individual take the information at face value or literally?

• difficulty in recognising social clues, facial expressions, body language and hidden meaning.

• spelling; is spelling rigid with an over-reliance upon rules?

Cognition and learning

• writing; does written expression lack organisation, sequencing and planning and often miss the point of the argument?

• is speech pedantic, a monologue or one-sided?

• understanding of social boundaries

Individuals with HFA tend to excel in certain subject areas and their cognitive development appears to be largely unaffected.

However, there may be subtle similarities to other difficulties, such as dyslexia. For instance, an individual with HFA may experience weak spelling due to their over-reliance upon spelling rules. Similarly, they may struggle to internalise or fully comprehend meaning when reading, due to their difficulty in language comprehension. These difficulties may be misconstrued as dyslexia but intervention would need to focus on developing an understanding of spelling which breaks the rules, in addition to improving inference, deduction and hidden meaning within texts.

Central coherence difficulties can lead to difficulties in generalisation (or over generalisation of a rule which has been learnt) and transferring information across a range of contexts.

In addition, it may lead to: a narrow focus; not learning from experience; difficulties in extracting and filtering key information; and struggling with mistakes and finding it difficult to work beyond their comfort zone. Subsequently, difficulties occur associated with analysing information to predict outcomes and viewing the information critically from an objective (not their own subjective) viewpoint. senmagazine.co.uk

• does the individual tend to over-generalise rules in maths and other subjects?

• does the individual appear to understand the concept and use appropriate vocabulary, but struggle to transfer the information across contexts and/or struggle with objective analysis or evaluation?

Emotional and social behaviour Individuals with HFA often struggle to regulate their emotions and may display anxiety or frustration which appears to be out of proportion to a situation. Central coherence difficulties may lead to impulsive behaviour, concentration issues and difficulties ignoring distractions and filtering information. Individuals may struggle with switching attention from one thing to another.

People with ADHD experience difficulties associated with maintaining attention and concentration, which often leads to defiant and oppositional behaviour. Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) is where the individual is compelled to refuse to carry out functions which have been requested of them,

SEN103

76

Autism

leading to oppositional and defiant behaviour. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) relates to unwelcome reoccurring thoughts and a compulsion to carry out repetitive behaviours, but may present with or without difficulties in social interaction.

While PDA is a condition on the autism spectrum, ADHD and OCD can often be misinterpreted and sometimes overlap considerably with autism to display a complex web of difficulties in emotional behaviour.

Although HFA is sometimes seen as a “milder” form of autism, it is a highly complex condition

Assessment should address the following areas of concern:

In addition, assessments should consider whether writing is perfectly written but lacking in cohesion and argument or missing the point.

• has there been an unexpected change which has led to the behaviour?

• is the defiant behaviour a consequence of difficulties in coping with changes to routine or moving on from one activity to another?

• does any repetitive behaviour impact their ability to interact socially?

• does the behaviour stem from a lack of theory of mind – the ability to understand what is requested of them and why it has been requested?

• is the behaviour impulsive and lacking regulation?

• does any hyperactive behaviour result from anxiety and/ or frustration?

Physical and sensory behaviour Although individuals with HFA tend to develop sound motor and physical skills, there is a general consensus that there is a significant proportion of individuals who experience sensory difficulties. Central coherence difficulties can lead to difficulties with organisation and planning, which can overlap with dyspraxia.

Assessment should look at whether there are any obvious sensory issues, such as hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to: • touch – leading to avoiding/seeking certain textures (including food textures) or avoiding/seeking physical contact • smell – leading to avoiding/seeking specific smells • light – leading to distractions or visual stress • taste – leading to avoiding/seeking specific foods or eating inedible objects • sound – leading to distraction or anxiety.

■ Pupils with HFA can struggle to take in written information.

SEN103

General functional analysis questions Assessments should seek to describe the behaviour being exhibited precisely, including when it most/least often occurs, and during which activities or parts of the day. Does it seem to be stimulated by specific events, environments, people or circumstances? Could it be associated with a medical or physiological issue?

Individuals with HFA often have a number of strengths which need to be borne in mind when planning support, including: • talents and strong curriculum interests, such as music, science, maths, engineering or history • enjoying routine and coping well with the school environment (providing it is logical) • an intense attention to detail and perfectionist approach • being able to persevere and maintain a single focus.

Personal and social factors Other contextual and personal factors – such as gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class and ability – can interact significantly with autism and influence a person’s behaviour; assessment needs to be mindful of any other personal or external factors which may play a significant role in the life of the individual with HFA. Above are outlined some of the overlapping, co-occurring and secondary difficulties associated with HFA. There are other conditions, such as epilepsy, Tourette’s syndrome and bipolar disorder, which have not formed a part of this discussion, but need to be borne in mind. Individual assessment should ideally be ongoing (as needs change over time) and should be undertaken over a range of contexts and settings, involving parents, teachers, specialists and, most importantly, the individual themselves. No two people with HFA are the same, have the same personality or resilience, or present with the same profile. However, individuals with HFA are more likely to be excluded from school, under-achieve and experience significant secondary mental health conditions later in life (such as depression) than their peers.

Although HFA is sometimes seen as a “milder” form of autism, it is a highly complex condition. The good news is, though, that many individuals with HFA can perform well and live happy and fulfilling lives, if they are given the right support at the right time, and if that support works to their strengths whilst addressing their individual areas of need. senmagazine.co.uk

Autism

senmagazine.co.uk

77

SEN103

78

Autism

SEN103

senmagazine.co.uk

Autism

79

Project to improve hospital experiences for autistic patients Young people from the charity Ambitious about Autism are to lead a new 12-month project aimed at improving the experience of autistic patients in hospitals across England.

The charity has been granted funding from the Health Foundation to carry out the work at Whittington Health NHS Trust – with the aim of sharing its results with NHS teams across the country.

Ambitious about Autism has been working with the Whittington Health Trust for several years on projects aimed at improving the experience of young autistic patients in the paediatric areas of the hospital.

There are around 700,000 people on the autism spectrum in the UK and many face health challenges. However, according to research by the National Autistic Society, most autistic people and their parents feel that doctors don’t make changes to meet their or their child’s needs.

Meanwhile, a study in Sweden, peer reviewed by the British Journal of Psychiatry, found that the average age of death for a person with autism was 54 years.

Ambitious about Autism’s work will involve carrying out a review of complaints and incidents involving autistic patients at Whittington Health NHS Trust, as well as commissioning surveys of autistic people, their families and healthcare professionals to better understand how to improve patient and staff experience.

senmagazine.co.uk

It will be led by a panel of young autistic people from North London who will meet regularly to feedback their experiences of accessing healthcare. It is hoped the research and recommendations resulting from the project will create a blueprint of best practice that can be shared across hospitals in England.

Recruitment is now open for the panel of autistic young people who will lead the project. Any autistic young person aged 16 to 25 from the boroughs of Camden, Islington, Barnet, Enfield or Haringey can apply. ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk SEN103

80

Autism

Inspiring words Kate C. Wilde looks at how parents can enable non-verbal children with autism to talk to them

I

n my experience, most approaches to try to get non-verbal children with autism and complex needs to speak either do not work or they alienate the child, or both. I believe that all children have huge potential to learn, and great courage and desire to do so. What we, as parents and professionals, needs to do is inspire them to do so.

If we want our children to talk to us, give them a good reason to do so

Motivation is everything If we want our children to talk to us, give them a good reason to do so. George, a bubbly, bright, not yet verbal four-year-old with autism is a great example of this. When I met George, his teachers informed his parents that he was “refusing” to even try to talk.

George loved Thomas The Tank Engine and given half a chance he would play with Thomas every moment of the day. Professionals, believing these trains got in the way of his learning, advised his parents to take them away. Would you be inspired to learn from someone who took away your favourite things? So, seeing Thomas as my doorway to connecting with and inspiring George to speak to me, I did the opposite and created games that centred around Thomas. Crucially though, not only did these games focus on motivating George, they also included me. I did not just want George to speak; I wanted him to speak to me. There is a big difference between children speaking to themselves and speaking to another person.

SEN103

In order to get them to speak to us, we need to make ourselves a crucial part of the game.

In one game, I painted my face blue like Thomas and pretended to be the train itself. I drew train tracks on paper to create a route around the room. As soon as George saw me with my Thomas face, his own face lit up. He immediately came over to me, touched my face, looked into my eyes and laughed. I put the train tracks on the floor and moved along them saying the word “move”, with the odd “choo choo” sound effect.

George spontaneously gestured for me to pick him up. As I did so, I pretended he was a passenger boarding the train, and we zoomed along the tracks together. He was so motivated to play with me that I had plenty of opportunity to ask him to talk. By the end of the session he had said an approximation of the word “move’, and a clear “up”. When I played what he liked the most he became super motivated to talk. senmagazine.co.uk

Autism

Just because we can’t see children’s effort doesn’t mean it’s not there

So, find out what motivates your child and put this at the centre of the games you offer them.

About the author Kate C. Wilde is a senior teacher and lecturer at The Autism Treatment Center of America and Director of The Son-Rise Program. She is the author of Autistic Logistics and The Autism Language Launcher. autismtreatmentcenter.org

Trying equals success Celebrate all effort, not just when your child says a word clearly.

Celebrate all sounds, even if it is does not sound anything like the word you asked them to say. If your child is still showing willingness to play the game, assume effort is happening, even if you cannot see or hear it.

The example of Nicky is useful here. Nicky is a delightful girl who has autism and some physical challenges. She had low muscle tone and had not yet mastered the art of grasping an object with her hands. I was observing one of my colleagues working with her who had put a toy in her hand and was asking her to grasp it. Whenever she was asked, Nicky would look at my colleague and then at her hand, but her hand showed no signs of moving. After a few times of asking, my colleague thought that maybe it would help if she supported Nicky’s wrist.

With this added support, she asked one more time for Nicky to grasp the toy. I couldn’t see Nicky’s hand moving, but my colleague erupted into joyful celebration. After the session, the colleague told me that when she put her hand underneath Nicky’s wrist and asked her to grasp the toy, she could feel Nicky’s muscles contracting. She was trying!

Just because we can’t see children’s effort doesn’t mean it’s not there. We want our children to fall in love with trying. Many children with autism and complex needs have to try harder than their neurotypical peers to master the art of talking. The more we assume effort and celebrate effort, the more likely it is they will enjoy trying. Consequently, the more likely it is that they will succeed.

senmagazine.co.uk

81

@autismtreatment

@SonRiseProg

Silliness creates communication No matter what your child’s age or level of language, silliness is a language we all speak. Helping our children speak does not have to be a serious business. Let the silly out. Allow yourself to wear a silly hat, make a sound effect, sing a song, pretend to slip of a banana skin, make a silly face, pretend to be a pirate or bark like a dog.

By allowing yourself to be goofy and silly, you relax. The more you relax, the more your child will relax, making it easier for them to connect and learn from you. Let your playfulness lead the way.

When we use our children’s motivations, celebrate all their efforts and add a flavour of silliness, our children will want to come back and try again tomorrow. True progress doesn’t come through forcing or pushing, it comes from inspiring our children to want it.

SEN103

82

Book reviews

Book reviews 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers

Supporting Pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

R. Howarth

This useful series from Bloomsbury Education has been designed to support all personnel working in primary schools, in terms of accessing relevant and researched professional development. In this book, Roy Haworth provides information and strategies for dealing with students whose behaviour is often extremely challenging, disturbing and disruptive. As a former headteacher of a special school, he is well qualified to author this latest addition to the series.

The book opens with a simple explanation of SEMH difficulties and their implications for daily classroom interactions.

The book includes chapters on: Classroom organisation; Managing teaching assistants; Behaviour expectation plans; Coping with escalation; and Calming strategies.

Teaching tips are included in a sidebar on each page.

The majority of the ideas relate to classroom management but Howarth also advises the reader to make time to nurture their personal wellbeing, through creating a separation between work and life beyond the school gate. He is insistent that teachers need to develop a “YOU routine” that is practised on a daily basis.

This book would be an excellent resource for both new and experienced teachers and members of staff. It would also be useful in staff development sessions.

Bloomsbury Education £14.99 ISBN: 978-1-47296-616-7

Learning Through Movement in the Early Years S. Tredgett

This publication focuses on one aspect of learning, the importance of movement in the early years. The author is an early years practitioner, and a specialist in movement.

She now works as a trainer and consultant, as well as contributing to a learning improvement team for Leeds City Council.

This is a concise publication that draws on case studies from a range of settings and the author’s own experiences.

Tredgett looks at the relationship between early movement and: the brain; learning development; the enabling environment; supporting writing; and supporting boys’ learning

SEN103

Each chapter follows a similar format, opening with an overview and concluding with links to associated references and further reading. Brief case studies provide further background, as well as the opportunity to engage in reflective activities and practical tasks. These chapters are well crafted, and Tredgett is clearly passionate about the contribution movement activity can make to global development. She draws on a wide range of sources as references, some of which might be considered contentious in the context of current exercise, neuroscience and brain research.

This is a useful, practical text and the inclusive activities would be of value in a wide range of settings. Tredgett emphasises that activities for physical development also support personal, social and emotional development, thus making a major contribution to individual development.

Critical Publishing £16.00 ISBN: 978-1-90968-281-8

senmagazine.co.uk

Book reviews

83

by Mary Mountstephen

Twice Exceptional

Supporting and Educating Bright and Creative Students with Learning Difficulties

Editor: S.B. Kaufman

Kaufman has published several books on learning differences and on developing cutting-edge, evidence-based approaches to creating environments where students can thrive. Here, he brings together a wide range of education professionals – including academics, counsellors and child development experts – to explore the concept of “twice exceptional” (2E), meaning students who “demonstrate exceptional levels of capacity, competence, commitment, or creativity, in one or more domains coupled with one or more learning difficulties”.

The book includes contributions on identifying 2E students and on how to support them. There is discussion of

learning styles, visual thinking, creativity and cultural diversity, as well as concepts of deficiency and disorder.

The book also provides a case study of a school that is described as a “dynamic educational ecostructure”, where the curricular and instructional approaches have been designed specifically for 2E students. The school aims to develop self-efficacy and successful intelligence through the application of high cognitive rigour, intellectual-creative explorations and high levels of student support.

Although it is written from a US perspective, the content of this book will be of value to all those working with students whose learning profile may be indicative of 2E.

Oxford University Press £38.49 ISBN: 978-0-19-064547-2

Bringing up babies and young children who have very special needs A 21st century guide for parents, students and new practitioners

P. Limbrick

Peter Limbrick has a background in education and voluntary projects related to learning difficulties and neurological impairment.

He is the author of several books and developed the Team Around the Child (TAC) approach, which is widely known internationally.

In this book, Limbrick identifies three “essential pillars” of effective support for babies and young children with very special needs: health – for the child’s survival and freedom from pain; education – for the child’s understanding, skills and wellbeing; and family support – for the family’s resilience and quality of life.

senmagazine.co.uk

The book provides an overview of the TAC approach, which stresses the importance of practitioners working together to provide interventions that focus more on the natural daily activities of the baby or infant rather than discipline-specific goals.

Limbrick also focuses on the quality of relationships around families with young children with very special needs. He maintains that the relationship between the practitioner and the parent is more effective when there is active listening, an avoidance of making assumptions and a recognition of potential power issues.

This is a thoughtful and readable publication.

Interconnections £14.75 ISBN: 978-0-95776601-6-8

SEN103

84

Recruitment

Dedication and drive Teaching assistants working in SEN settings require that little bit extra, suggests Joshua Tipping

T

he unsung heroes of education, teaching assistants, are equipped with a plethora of skills to support student progress and development. However, fulfilling personal specifications for working in specific SEN settings, compared to general support, might require just that little bit extra. But what do employers and recruiters look for in a teaching assistant for an SEN classroom?

Experience versus character An often-disheartening fact for those seeking to start their careers in the SEN sector is that many roles state the need for expertise in SEN. However, whilst a knowledge of Asperger’s, Makaton or appropriate manual handling can be taught, strength of character cannot. In fact, practical experience of managing specific situations often proves far more desirable than specialist knowledge. Knowing how to adapt a learned approach to a specific child and to communicate appropriately in a certain situation are skills developed through a variety of experiences, not always learnt through a book.

Using your initiative When you first set foot in an SEN classroom, whether on a trial day or at interview, showing a flexibility in your approach will show that you understand that there are different ways of meeting children’s needs. A student-focused approach to learning is perhaps particularly important in an SEN setting, as learning often includes greater emphasis on behavioural and social development than on academic progress. A teaching assistant who can use their initiative to adapt their approach and go above and beyond in their work is highly valued.

Care and commitment Quality of character is essential for those looking to support young people with SEN, and teaching assistants need to see students as more than just a label. Compassion and empathy are crucial in building relationships with students, parents and

About the author An ex-geography teacher, Joshua Tipping is now Training and Development Coordinator and Safeguarding Officer at Prospero Teaching, which provides recruitment services to mainstream schools, special schools and local authorities. prosperoteaching.com @Prospero_Teach_

@ProsperoTeaching

Quality of character is essential for those looking to support young people with SEN

staff. Perhaps even more than in a mainstream classroom, a patient and personable approach is needed to support students with SEN effectively. By demonstrating their dedication and willingness to work hard, the teaching assistant can show that they will be able to provide the consistency that is needed to help bring about positive outcomes for students, as well as helping them to manage their behaviour.

A changing world Increased administration, a more demanding timetable and having to face ever more challenging behaviour can deter candidates, but the promise of increased funding for the SEN sector could increase career opportunities in the future.

In addition, many of those working in SEN talk of the great personal rewards in working with students who are most in need of additional support.

■ Working in SEN can bring great personal rewards.

SEN103

For schools and settings in the sector, it is important to focus on retaining, supporting and training quality teaching assistants who have the character, drive and motivation to make a change.

We need these role models to make a positive difference to students’ lives, not only by supporting their academic progress but also by enabling greater social and community inclusion. senmagazine.co.uk

Recruitment / situations vacant

85

Education professionals afraid to discuss mental health with employers A new study released by independent job board CV-Library shows that 32.6 per cent of education professionals are too afraid to tell their employer that they’re suffering with poor mental health.

The survey of 2,000 UK professionals, further showed that 29.4 per cent of educators fear they’d be judged unfairly if they told their boss about their concerns, while 23.5 per cent believe their employer is unapproachable.

In addition, 32.8 per cent of education professionals surveyed say that they feel anxious about key aspects of their jobs, including: being fired, neglecting personal relationships because of work, turning up late and dealing with senior members of staff.

More than 30 per cent of educators claim that their anxieties affect their performance in the workplace, with 45.6 per cent feeling constantly stressed, 31.4 per cent always worrying about failure and 27.6 per cent being less likely to take on new challenges due to self-doubt. cv-library.com

Find new people... ...through

SEN is read by special needs teaching and support staff throughout the UK. If you are recruiting special needs staff, advertise in SEN Magazine’s recruitment section.

If you have training courses to publicise, let people know about them through the pages of SEN Magazine. With a targeted audience of over 36,000 special needs professionals, it’s the obvious choice.

Call Denise on 01200 409808 or email denise@senmagazine.co.uk

senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

86

Bett / Education Show

Advertisement feature

What’s new at Bett 2020?

The 36th edition of Bett takes place on 22 to 25 January 2020 at the ExCeL London – and with an expanded offer of show features and content, it is an unmissable date in the global EdTech event calendar.

A bigger, better Bett event Advancing education is what Bett is all about. We’ll once again be providing a platform to push the sectoral conversation further. Over 34,000 educators and leaders from the UK and overseas will be there, ready to engage with more than 800 EdTech suppliers, SMEs, and start-ups. What’s more, we’ve arranged a line-up of 300 of the most influential figures in teaching and learning today.

An unrivalled guest speaker agenda The educators, leaders, and EdTech pioneers you need to hear from are coming exclusively to Bett UK this year. We pride ourselves on giving our visitors the chance to hear from those changing the way we think about education and technology.

The Education Show at Bett For the first time in Bett’s history, we will be integrating the Education Show fully inside the event in the North Hall.

Hundreds of suppliers will be there, showcasing the products essential for the health and wealth of educational institutions around the world. We’ll also be offering accredited CPD-led sessions, covering a wide range of topics on educators’ needs in the brand-new Education Show Theatre, for a complete picture of modern education.

Six new inspirational content themes We have introduced six new themes to structure the conference programme, ensuring every learner and educator can benefit from this year’s content. They include: Innovation; Wellbeing; Empowering Teaching and Learning; Inclusion, Social Mobility and SEND; Future Tech and Trends; and Skills.

Our newly appointed Advisory Board, made up of industry experts, has steered our content in the right direction and is making sure our finger is firmly on the pulse when assessing the latest developments in the education industry.

“Bett provides a hub to connect together likeminded and engaged educators a ro u n d t e c h n o l o g y, ” says Advisory Board member Jon Audin of the University of Winchester. “Once a year, everything that you need around the field of EdTech and its use can be found under one roof.”

SEN103

Expanding Bett’s CPD offer Teacher and leader development is essential to what Bett is all about. With this in mind, the event’s programme of educatorled sessions has been expanded. In 2020, visitors will benefit from a diverse range of peer-to-peer learnings, insights and expertise. We have also invested in fresh CPD-focussed features, including the launch of the Professional Development Theatres, offering free workshops to educators of all levels.

Better navigation for a higher return on time We know Bett is busy. Very busy. Getting a strong return on your time is vitally important. It will be easy to navigate around Bett 2020. The floorplan has been simplified, making it simple to find the solutions, products and partners you want to see, have better, productive conversations, and take back better technology and learning to your schools.

The show is now split into six different events zones: • The Education Show • Equipment and hardware • Management solutions • Teaching Tech • Learning Tech • Global Showcase.

Further networking opportunities at Bett Bett 2020 will have more networking opportunities onsite, with a Staff Room for educators to have space to discuss the content sessions they’ve experienced and reflect upon what’s inspired them.

On top of this, the Connect@Bett networking app will enable visitors to set up meetings with relevant exhibitors and fellow educators to help them maximise their time.

Join us at Bett UK 2020 Bett 2020 is now open for visitor registration. Join us now! bettshow.com senmagazine.co.uk

Bett / Education Show

senmagazine.co.uk

87

SEN103

88

CPD, training and events Your indispensable guide to SEN courses, workshops, conferences and exhibitions

SEN103

senmagazine.co.uk

CPD, training and events

89

Free autism progress tracking tool for education professionals from AET The Autism Education Trust (AET) has announced the release of its updated AET Autism Progression Framework. Commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), the new free-to-download resource builds on the success of the previous version, used widely by education practitioners across England, with many new features designed to make it more user-friendly and enable more practitioners to benefit from it.

The AET Autism Progression Framework 2.0 helps teachers and education professionals to identify learning priorities and measure progress in areas that fall outside the National Curriculum. These areas relate closely to autism “differences” – identified within other AET resources – and the impact of these on autistic children’s social, emotional, independence and learning needs.

As with the original version in 2016, the new updated resource has been created for the AET by Autism Associates. It is based on research and consultation with a wide range of practitioners, academics, parents and people on the autism spectrum. The framework can now be used in all types of mainstream and specialist settings including early years, schools and post-16.

The resource is compatible with most online progress tracking tools, and the AET offers a dedicated training module for additional support and to help get maximum benefit from the resource.

Features of the new Framework include: a document setting out contents, accompanying notes and examples and links to related resources; a revised spreadsheet to identify and collate learning goals and record progress over a school year; a revised training module to support use of the new materials; mapping documents providing links to the Early Year Foundation Stage (EYFS), Preparing for Adulthood and AET Standards; and compatibility with many online progress tracking tools.

To access the AET Autism Progression Framework , visit autismeducationtrust.org.uk

Autism

T.E.A.C.C.H. Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children

3 DAY TRAINING COURSE January 3 Day 20-22. 2020 £407.00 June 3 Day 22-24. 2020 £407.00

Course led by: Prof Gary Mesibov Div. TEACCH

This induction training is most appropriate for educators, therapists, administrators, paraprofessionals & families AM/PM refreshments & light lunch

199-203 Blandford Ave Kettering Northants NN16 9AT Tel/Fax: 01536 523274 Email: autism@autismuk.com Book on-line: www.autismuk.com senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

90

CPD, training and events

Rebound Therapy Training Courses

‘ReboundTherapy.org’ – the official UK body and international consultancy for Rebound Therapy.

Responsible for the development and delivery of the genuine ‘Eddy Anderson model’ accredited and approved training courses.

Founded 1972

01342 870543

reboundtherapy.org

MEd Professional Practice in Dyslexia and Literacy

This programme is designed for professionals who are passionate about supporting learners with dyslexia. The programme is quality assured

by Middlesex University and you will receive a Middlesex University award upon completion. dyslexiaaction.org.uk

MA in Education (Early Years) modules

Centre for Research in Early Childhood CREC offers a flexible way for trainees and early years practitioners to gain a post graduate Masters degree in Early Years Education.

All modules are designed specifically for early years practitioners and leaders in the early years. They are offered as part-time courses which can be fitted around a busy, full-time working life. crec.co.uk/ma-in-education

Part-time Training

Diploma in Trauma and Mental Health Informed Schools and Communities

Ten-day training over two terms in many regions.

University validated 12-day training in London. Also available in your own venue. info@traumainformedschools.co.uk traumainformedschools.co.uk

Online learning

Dyslexia course

This supported online CPD course provides an understanding of the impact dyslexia can have on a learner. Available guided or with tutor support. Quote SENMAG for a ten per cent discount.

01273 286 224

info@oltinternational.net

oltinternational.net/senmag

SEN103

Online learning

Autism Spectrum Disorder course Learn how to make your classroom and practice more inclusive for autistic learners with this supported CPD certified course. Available guided or with tutor support.

Quote SENMAG for a ten per cent discount.

01273 286 224 info@oltinternational.net oltinternational.net/senmag

Online learning

Attachment and Trauma course Build upon the model of attachment training and research carried out by Bath Spa University. Available guided or with tutor support.

Quote SENMAG for a ten per cent discount.

01273 286 224

CPD courses from ICEP Europe

ICEP Europe’s 20-hour CPD courses cover a range of topics and are designed

by PhD level experts in positive psychology and SEN. Designed for teachers and other professionals who wish to up-skill, each course will give you the tools and understanding to get the most out of your students. info@icepe.eu icepe.eu/cpd

Part-time Training

Diploma in Trauma and Mental Health Informed Schools and Communities (Practitioner Status) London

Ten days or University validated 12-day training. Also available in your venue. info@traumainformedschools.co.uk traumainformedschools.co.uk

October 2019 29 October

info@oltinternational.net oltinternational.net/senmag

Online learning

Supporting Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools course Create a wellbeing culture in your school that supports mental health with OLT’s new CPD certified course.

Available guided or with tutor support. Quote SENMAG for a ten per cent discount.

01273 286 224 info@oltinternational.net oltinternational.net/senmag

Online learning

Speech, Language and Communication Needs course This supported CPD certified course looks at the impact speech, language and communication needs can have on a learner. Available guided or with tutor support.

Quote SENMAG for a ten per cent discount.

01273 286 224 info@oltinternational.net oltinternational.net/senmag

Autumn 2019 Twilight Course: Semi-Formal (SLD) Curriculum Broomlea Primary School, Glasgow 4pm to 6:30pm Workshop costs £19 per delegate for EQUALS members and £59 per delegate for non-members. equals.co.uk

November 2019 5 November

Autumn 2019 Twilight Course: Semi-Formal (SLD) Curriculum St Nicholas School, Canterbury

4pm to 6:30pm Workshop costs £19 per delegate for EQUALS members and £59 per delegate for non-members. equals.co.uk

5 to 6 November

EduTECH Asia 2019 Suntec, Singapore

Be part of Asia’s largest education expo with eight feature zones including free seminars, edtech showcase, makerspace and more. Free admission. terrapinn.com/ visitedutechasia2019

6 November

Understanding stress and anxiety in autism and their impact on behaviour London This one-day course explores how you can help autistic people to reduce stress and anxiety, how to understand their behaviour, and how to support them during difficult times. autism.org.uk/events

6 November

Autumn 2019 Twilight Course: Semi-Formal (SLD) Curriculum Kingsbury Primary School, Skelmersdale, Lancashire 4pm to 6:30pm Workshop costs £19 per delegate for EQUALS members and £59 per delegate for non-members. equals.co.uk

6 November

The Education People Show Kent Event Centre, Detling, near Maidstone, Kent The Education People Show (formerly EduKent EXPO and Conference) is Kent’s leading event for effective school management, learning and teaching – featuring inspirational keynotes, interactive workshops and exhibition. theeducationpeopleshow.co.uk

6 November

Smart Education Summit 2019 Dusit Thani, Dubai, UAE Smart Education Summit 2019 is an invitationonly strategic platform designed with the objective of promoting innovation and achieving global competitiveness, thereby future-proofing educational institutions for the next generation. smarteducationsummit.com

senmagazine.co.uk

CPD, training and events

91

Relaxed performance of Strictly in Nottingham Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour are taking their supersized, sequin-filled show to Motorpoint Arena Nottingham and have announced an exclusive relaxed performance on Wednesday 5 February at 2pm.

Relaxed performances at the Arena are specially adapted to be accessible to a wide range of audiences, including those with autism, those with a learning disability or anyone with additional sensory needs. During the relaxed performance the audience will have the freedom to make noise and move about and there will be extra trained staff on hand plus dedicated quiet spaces for anyone who wants or needs to leave their seat.

The tour will star TV Judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood (who directs the live show for the tenth year) and Bruno Tonioli.

Strictly favourite and 2018 TV show winner Stacey Dooley is returning to host the tour for the first time, including the special relaxed performance in Nottingham.

“I’m so excited to be joining the Strictly gang again and can’t wait to experience it from a different perspective”, says Stacey.

“I’m really looking forward to hosting the tour as I know it’ll be a blast. I had such an amazing time last year, I hope I’ll find a way to get those dancing shoes back on again too!” senmagazine.co.uk

During the show, crew, volunteers and Arena staff will be on hand to help make sure that everyone has a wonderful experience.

Motorpoint Arena Nottingham have worked with The National Autistic Society on how to deliver relaxed and autism-friendly performances, including: advice on minor technical adjustments to the performance; making the venue more accessible for autistic people and their families; training; and advising on preshow information.

motorpointarenanottingham.com SEN103

92

CPD, training and events

8 November

15 November

26 and 27 November

4 to 6 December

Autism Learns: Understanding and Managing Distressed Behaviour

Autism Learns: Understanding and Managing Distressed Behaviour

Teen Life Licensed User Training

EarlyBird Licensed User Training

Brought to you by the organisers of The Autism Show, Autism Learns are the new great value learning days for parents, family carers and professionals. Each day offers practical strategies, tips and advice on one key topic, starting with Understanding and Managing Distressed Behaviour this November.

Brought to you by the organisers of The Autism Show, Autism Learns are the new great value learning days for parents, family carers and professionals. Each day offers practical strategies, tips and advice on one key topic, starting with Understanding and Managing Distressed Behaviour this November.

Copthorne Tara Hotel, London

autismlearns.co.uk

Birmingham City Football Club

autismlearns.co.uk

13 November

19 to 21 November

Autumn 2019 Twilight Course: Semi-Formal (SLD) Curriculum

EarlyBird Plus Licensed User Training

Palmerston School, Liverpool

4pm to 6:30pm Workshop costs £19 per delegate for EQUALS members and £59 per delegate for non-members. equals.co.uk

14 November

The WHEEL OF INDEPENDENCE™ Framework

Moor House School and College, Surrey The WHEEL OF INDEPENDENCE™ Framework is an online tool to track progress and measure outcomes for independence and functional life skills. This one-day course demonstrates the Framework and how best to put it into practice in your setting.

01883 712271 training@moorhouseschool.co.uk moorhouse.surrey.sch.uk/ courses-and-conferences

15 November

Social Stories Birmingham

A one-day workshop aims to support people in understanding how to develop and use Social Stories™. For those who are working on behalf of one or more autistic children, adolescents, or adults. autism.org.uk/events

SEN103

Chessington

EarlyBird and EarlyBird Plus are programmes for parents whose child has received an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis aged four to nine. Licensed training to deliver is available to autismexperienced professionals. autism.org.uk/earlybirdtrainer

26 November

QAC Information Day for Professionals Birmingham, West Midlands

Queen Alexandra College (QAC) is a national residential college that supports a diverse range of student abilities and needs aged 16+.

These CPD accredited events provide the opportunity to meet their staff and students plus discover more about QAC. There is no charge to attend and lunch plus refreshments will be provided. qac.ac.uk

26 November

Pathological Demand Avoidance conference Birmingham

Providing professionals and parents with clearer understanding of PDA, plus essential strategies for education, management and communication. autism.org.uk/events

Birmingham

Two-day training course to enable professionals to offer six-session support programme for parents of young people on the autism spectrum aged ten to 16 years. autism.org.uk/earlybirdtrainer

27 November

Plymouth Marjon University Postgraduate and Undergraduate Open Day

You can book your place now or find out more about Plymouth Marjon University Postgraduate and Undergraduate Open Day on Wednesday 27 November at Marjon.ac.uk

29 November

Autism Learns: Understanding and Managing Distressed Behaviour Pendulum Hotel, Manchester

Brought to you by the organisers of The Autism Show, Autism Learns are the new great value learning days for parents, family carers and professionals. Each day offers practical strategies, tips and advice on one key topic, starting with Understanding and Managing Distressed Behaviour this November. autismlearns.co.uk

December 2019 3 and 4 December

PECS Level 2 Training Workshop Birmingham

Learn practical ideas for advanced lessons in expanding language and communication within functional activities, plus tools for identifying communication opportunities across the day.

Successfully problem solve PECS implementation and take it to the next level.

Birmingham

EarlyBird and EarlyBird Plus are programmes for parents whose child has received an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis aged four to nine. Licensed training to deliver is available to autismexperienced professionals. autism.org.uk/earlybirdtrainer

5 December

PECS in Your Curriculum Workshop Birmingham

A practical workshop which will help you maximise teaching time for learners with autism and complex communication difficulties.

Develop effective learning environments, which emphasise functional communication and learn how to use reinforcers effectively in the classroom.

01273 609555 pecs-unitedkingdom.com

7 December

How to Respond to Children and Teenagers Who Hate Themselves, SelfHarm, Take Drugs and Feel Like Crap

The Centre for Child Mental Health Conference. 10.00 to 17.00. £183 020 7354 2913 info@childmentalhealthcentre.org childmentalhealthcentre.org/ conferences

10 December

Understanding and supporting autistic people in higher education Birmingham

01273 609 555

This one-day introductory course builds your knowledge of autism and how to support autistic students at university.

This course meets the BIS criteria for university mentors and non-medical helpers.

pecs-unitedkingdom.com

autism.org.uk/events

senmagazine.co.uk

CPD, training and events

senmagazine.co.uk

93

SEN103

94

CPD, training and events

11 to 12 December

21 to 23 January

25 January

3 and 4 February

Asia-Pacific International Schools Conference (AISC)

EarlyBird Licensed User Training

How to Respond to Children and Teenagers Suffering From Depression and Anxiety

PECS Level 1 Training Workshop

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Register now to attend AISC 2019 and share stimulating experiences and insights with the world’s distinguished speakers in the international school sector. Full speaker list is available at

London

EarlyBird and EarlyBird Plus are programmes for parents whose child has received an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis aged four to nine. Licensed training to deliver is available to autismexperienced professionals. autism.org.uk/earlybirdtrainer

22 January

aisc.com.hk

11 to 13 December

Learning and Teaching Expo (LTE) Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre LTE 2019 visitor online registration is now open. Join the organisers for worldwide educational resources and an inspiring CPD programmes.

Exhibitor list and programme details are available at LTExpo.com.hk

January 2020 9 January

Understanding and supporting autistic people in higher education Manchester This one-day introductory course builds your knowledge of autism and how to support autistic students at university.

This course meets the BIS criteria for university mentors and non-medical helpers. autism.org.uk/events

20 to 22 January

Understanding stress and anxiety in autism and their impact on behaviour Newcastle

This one-day course explores how you can help autistic people to reduce stress and anxiety, how to understand their behaviour, and how to support them during difficult times. autism.org.uk/events

22 to 25 January

Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children. Three-day training course. £407.00.

01536 52374 autism@autismuk.com autismuk.com

SEN103

childmentalhealthcentre.org/ conferences

27 and 28 January

PECS Level 1 Training Workshop London

PECS is an approach that teaches functional communication skills using pictures. This workshop will give you all the practical details you need to start implementing PECS immediately, including: demonstrations, videos and opportunities to practice.

01273 609 555

pecs-unitedkingdom.com

Bett 2020

28 and 29 January

The global meeting place for the education community, bringing together over 34,000 visitors and 800+ EdTech leading companies. You can register now at

PECS Level 2 Training Workshop

ExCeL London

bettshow.com

23 January

Twilight Course: Semi-Formal (SLD) Curriculum Blossom House School, London

4pm to 6:30pm Workshop costs £19 per delegate for EQUALS members and £59 per delegate for non-members. equals.co.uk

23 to 24 January

Autism T.E.A.C.C.H.

The Centre for Child Mental Health Conference. 10.00 to 17.00. £183 020 7354 2913 info@childmentalhealthcentre.org

SCERTS

Introduction and Application to the SCERTS Model. Twoday training course. Using the SCERTS curriculum and practise principles to design programming for children with ASD. £274.00.

01536 52374

autism@autismuk.com autismuk.com

Manchester

Learn practical ideas for advanced lessons in expanding language and communication within functional activities, plus tools for identifying communication opportunities across the day.

Successfully problem solve PECS implementation and take it to the next level.

01273 609 555

pecs-unitedkingdom.com

February 2020 1 February

Intense Emotions and Unbearable Experiences: How to Heal Without Resorting to Diagnosis and Pills

The Centre for Child Mental Health Conference with Dr Dan Hughes and Dr Lucy Johnstone. 10.00 to 17.00. £183

020 7354 2913

info@childmentalhealthcentre.org childmentalhealthcentre.org/ conferences

Plymouth

PECS is an approach that teaches functional communication skills using pictures. This workshop will give you all the practical details you need to start implementing PECS immediately, including: demonstrations, videos and opportunities to practice.

01273 609 555 pecs-unitedkingdom.com

5 February

The Southern Education Show

Newbury Racecourse The Southern Education Show is an exciting event for education leaders featuring inspirational keynotes, interactive workshops and a comprehensive exhibition of innovative products and services. southerneducationshow.uk

22 February

How to Have a Mentally Healthy School, Community or Organisation: Transformational Change From Unwell to Well Cultures

The Centre for Child Mental Health Conference. 10.00 to 17.00. £183 020 7354 2913 info@childmentalhealthcentre.org childmentalhealthcentre.org/ conferences

27 February

The Eastern Education Show

Newmarket Racecourse Taking place at the ideally located Newmarket Racecourse, the Eastern Education Show is part of a series of events that attracts hundreds of school decisionmakers from across the Eastern Region and over 120 key education suppliers and services. easterneducationshow.uk

senmagazine.co.uk

CPD, training and events

95

World Championship medal for autism dance troupe Autism with Attitude street dance group from Hillingdon Manor School, Uxbridge won the bronze medal at the recent United Dance Organisation (UDO) World Championships in Blackpool.

The troupe, which had previously made history by becoming the first special needs team to compete at national and international mainstream competitions, now ranks third globally in the Over 18 category, and is a shining example of what young people with autism can accomplish.

Part of the Outcomes First Group, Hillingdon Manor School provides specialist education and support to pupils with autism aged three to nineteen. Dance teacher Jonathan Baron founded Autism with Attitude in 2013 after students from the school wowed audiences with their act at Autism’s Got Talent, a talent show set up by Outcomes First Group’s Autism Ambassador Anna Kennedy.

Six years on, the dancers have worked incredibly hard to build both their physical abilities and their performance skills, guided

by Jonathan who is a trained professional dancer and winner of an Inspirational Teacher Award from the National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen). Together, they have overcome numerous challenges to achieve phenomenal success – even appearing on the BBC One hit show The Greatest Dancer.

At this year’s UDO World Championships, Autism with Attitude faced stiff competition from 15 other teams in the preliminary round of the Over 18 category; they impressed the judges so much though, that they went straight through to the final. The troupe’s rigorous training – stretching them both physically and mentally – paid off and they gave a world-class performance to earn third place in the final.

Commenting on the group’s latest success, dance teacher Jonathan said, “The team has worked so hard for this and it shows. They’ve made history and had a massive impact at such a mainstream event. Their performance was incredible! There have been a lot of happy tears.” hillingdonmanorschool.org.uk senmagazine.co.uk

Introduction & Application to the

SCERTS Model

2 DAY TRAINING COURSE January 2 Day 23-24. 2020 £274.00 June 2 Day 25-26. 2020 £274.00

Using the SCERTS curriculum & practice principles to design programming for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Course led by: Emily Rubin MS, CCC-SLP Director

This training is appropriate for: educators, therapists, administrators, paraprofessionals & families AM/PM refreshments & light lunch

199-203 Blandford Ave Kettering Northants NN16 9AT Tel/Fax: 01536 523274 Email: autism@autismuk.com Book on-line: www.autismuk.com SEN103

96

SEN resources directory

Sen resources directory Information, advice and support for all things SEN

ADHD ADHD Foundation Training and awareness raising around ADHD. adhdfoundation.org.uk

National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service Resources and information for ADHD. addiss.co.uk

Autism Ambitious about Autism National charity for children and young people with autism. ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk

Autism Alliance Network of 16 UK autism charities. autism-alliance.org.uk

Cerebral palsy Action CP

Epilepsy Action

Charity raising awareness of issues facing children and young people with cerebral palsies. actioncp.org

Advice and information on epilepsy. epilepsy.org.uk

Scope UK Help, advice and support for those affected by cerebral palsy. scope.org.uk

Child support Childline Confidential advice and support for children. childline.org.uk

Down’s syndrome

Autistica

Down’s Syndrome Association

Autism research charity. autistica.org.uk

Information, support and training on Down’s syndrome. downs-syndrome.org.uk

National Autistic Society Help and information for those affected

by ASD. autism.org.uk

Brain conditions Cerebra UK Charity for children with brain related conditions. cerebra.org.uk

Child Brain Injury Trust Charity supporting children, young people, families and professionals. childbraininjurytrust.org.uk

Bullying Anti-Bullying Alliance Coalition of organisations united against bullying. anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk

Bullying UK Support and advice on beating bullying. bullying.co.uk SEN103

Epilepsy

Down’s Syndrome Research Foundation UK Charity focussing on research into Down’s syndrome. dsrf-uk.org

Dyslexia British Dyslexia Association Information and support for people affected by dyslexia. bdadyslexia.org.uk

Driver Youth Trust Charity offering free information and resources on dyslexia. driveryouthtrust.com

Dyspraxia

Young Epilepsy Support for children and young people and training for professionals. youngepilepsy.org.uk

Hearing impairment Action on Hearing Loss Charity for people with a hearing loss. actiononhearingloss.org.uk

National Deaf Children’s Society Charity supporting deaf children and young people. ndcs.org.uk

Learning disability BILD Charity offering support and information on learning disabilities. bild.org.uk

Choice Forum Forum for discussing issues affecting those with learning disabilities. our.choiceforum.org

Mencap Learning disabilities charity. mencap.org.uk

Learning outdoors Council for Learning Outside the classroom Awarding body for the LOtC quality badge. lotc.org.uk

Literacy

Dyspraxia Foundation UK

National Literacy Trust

Dyspraxia advice and support. dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk

Literacy charity for adults and children. literacytrust.org.uk senmagazine.co.uk

SEN resources directory

Mental health MIND

Advice and support for people experiencing a mental health problem. mind.org.uk

NHS National Health Service nhs.uk

Department of Health Northern Ireland health-ni.gov.uk/

Health in Wales wales.nhs.uk

97

Special educational needs nasen Organisation for the education, training and advancement of those with SEN. nasen.org.uk

SEN.fyi (App) Everything You Wanted to Know About SEN – all in one place! Download this app free to your smartphone or tablet for iOS (on Apple App store) or Android (on Google Play store). specialeducationalneeds.co.uk/ senfyi-app.html

NHS Health Scotland healthscotland.scot

Rebound Therapy ReboundTherapy.org

The UK governing body and international consultancy for Rebound Therapy. reboundtherapy.org

SEN law Douglas Silas Solicitors

Douglas Silas Solicitors are the legal experts specialising exclusively in SEN, helping parents successfully throughout the SEN process.

SpecialEducationalNeeds.co.uk

IPSEA

Spina bifida Shine Information and support relating to spina bifida and hydrocephalus. shinecharity.org.uk

Tourette’s syndrome Tourette’s Action Information and advice on Tourette’s. tourettes-action.org.uk

Free, legally-based advice for parents of UK Government children with SEN. ipsea.org.uk For Department for Education, Department of Health and Social Care SLCN and other departments.

Ace Centre gov.uk Advice on communication aids. ace-centre.org.uk

Visual impairment

Afasic

Help and advice on SLCN. afasicengland.org.uk

Communication Matters

Support for people with little or no clear speech. communicationmatters.org.uk

I CAN

Children’s communication charity. ican.org.uk

The Communication Trust Consortium of charities raising awareness of SLCN. thecommunicationtrust.org.uk senmagazine.co.uk

New College Worcester Advice and support for those teaching children who are visually impaired. ncw.co.uk

Royal Society for Blind Children Support and services for families and professionals. rsbc.org.uk

RNIB Support and advice for those affected by visual impairment. rnib.org.uk SEN103

98

About SEN Magazine

Sept •

Findin g a sc for you hool r child with S EN Ten

Oct 20 19 • Iss

ue 102

tip make th s to help you e right choice

Classro om supp for pupi ort ls with ASD Is dysp Cindere raxia the lla of SE N? Relaxed

perform ance the art of inclus s: ion

Contribute

Meeting the men ta health challeng l e SEMH

needs • inclus TES SE ive publi N Show shing • • Kidz to ME • loo SEN law Adultz ked-afte • dysle North r child xia • rec • home ren • ad ruitmen educati option t • CPD on • sch • SEN ne ool trips ws and much more…

Please email press releases, comments and article ideas to Peter at editor@senmagazine.co.uk

Subscribe Subscribe to the UK’s leading special educational needs magazine!

Contact the SEN office on 01200 409800 subscribe@senmagazine.co.uk For digital subscriptions, go to issuu.com/senmagazine

Advertise For the best advertising packages, contact Denise on 01200 409808 denise@senmagazine.co.uk

SEN newsletter

In the Jan/Feb issue of SEN Magazine: • autism • dyslexia • CReSTeD • post-16 options • specialist seating • assistive technology • outdoor activities • SEN law • Down syndrome • hearing impairment • SEN provision overseas • recruitment • CPD and much more...

Sign up for your monthly SEN email update at senmagazine.co.uk (click on Newsletter) or email newsletter@senmagazine.co.uk

SEN Magazine Ltd. Chapel House, 5 Shawbridge Street, Clitheroe, BB7 1LY Tel 01200 409800 Fax 01200 409809 Email info@senmagazine.co.uk senmagazine.co.uk

SEN103

follow us on twitter.com/senmagazine join us on facebook.com/senmagazine senmagazine.co.uk