Sally Devlin Tutoring

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/4Kbgauos5gPTqpLw/?mibextid=WC7FNe

I was talking to a grandmother last week about schooling. ‘I can see the difference’ she said. ‘When my children were young, primary school was relaxed. If the weather was good, they went outside and ran around. If they were sick, they stayed at home. Now with my grandchildren they are seated in desks for more of the day and if they are ill, they are worried that they’ll lose their 100% attendance for the term. The pressure is on to pass their phonics test when they are six and then to learn their times tables at speed by the time they are nine. They feel it and and their parents feel it too’.

There’s lots of talk about SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) at the moment, and how increasing numbers of children are being identified as SEND. It’s less common to ask questions about what SEND really means, and whether the education system creates more children ‘with SEND’ as it becomes more pressured and rigid.

For what SEND really means is that a child cannot learn in the way which mainstream education expects. They cannot keep up with expectations, either for academic work or for behaviour. SEND is something which happens in the interaction between a child and the education system. In a system where no 6-year-old is expected to sit still and learn to write their name, then a 6-year-old who just wants to run around outside isn't a problem. In a system where everyone is meant to be able to read by age 6, then they are.

We know from research that if a child is young in their year, they are more likely to be identified as ‘having SEND’. We know that summer born boys are far more likely to be identified as ‘having SEND’ than autumn born girls. We know that the impact of this immaturity resonates through the years, with the youngest in the year doing less well at GCSE. We know that the number of children ‘with SEND’ is going up year on year.

It's not really plausible that more children each year have difficulties in learning, nor that being born in August makes you more likely to have learning problems than if you are born a few weeks later in September.

It’s far more likely that in the push to ‘drive up standards’ the education system is becomes less, not more, suited to how children develop and learn. It’s more likely that the system is penalising immaturity – and children are inherently immature. That isn’t a lack or a defect, it’s a defining part of childhood.

As the education system becomes more rigid and pressured, we’d expect more children not to be able to manage without adaptations. This is exactly what we see. Those children are holding up the flag for all the others, saying that this system is not child-friendly and doesn’t take account of developmental needs and differences.

What if, instead of having higher expectations of the children, we had higher expectations of the education system? What if those expectations were of flexibility, reducing pressure and prioritising lifelong learning and wellbeing instead of short-term testing?

What if we saw the increasing number of children ‘with SEND’ as a sign that the system isn’t working for the many ways in which children develop, rather than a sign that more and more children have learning difficulties? We’ll never sort the ‘SEND crisis’ until we start looking at SEND as an interaction between children and the education system. The more rigid the system is, the more children it will fail.

Illustration by Missing The Mark from the book A Different Way to Learn.

Teacher friends and home school learners - I might be late on this one - but just discovered TeachMateAI
- what a game changer 😄 📚

Alarming statistics released today on exclusions and suspensions show unprecedented levels of both for 22/23. Once again it highlights that the most disadvantaged in our schools are disproportionately impacted by exclusion., those with SEN, accessing FSM and pupil premium. Whilst the pandemic undoubtedly has had a pervasive impact on our young people and on the school workforce the trajectory was already rising before Covid. The response to increased levels of challenging behaviour has seen a rise in increasingly strict, high control regimes, this has not had the effect of reducing exclusions or indeed improving standards of behaviour, particularly for those most vulnerable students. If we continue to do what we have always done, we will continue to see rising exclusion rates coupled with poor attendance and escalating numbers of parents electively home educating rather than continue to bear witness to the impact of the school environment on their child's mental health and well being. Schools require increased funding, support and training to create the environments and provision that will inclusively support ALL of our children to succeed in education. We implore the new Government and Bridget Phillipson to take action urgently to reduce the current crisis. https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england

https://www.place2be.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/2024/july/solutions-for-school-attendance-roundtable-unites-sector-leaders/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0rwagKN0vCKgTN5FWI9w0udWuXx5uN3zFjCGzX078gRHsQtbgaXMeIoBs_aem_3LEbwiaD-5UbSakfFDv63A

Solutions for school attendance roundtable unites sector leaders Place2Be hosted a cross-sector roundtable to discuss the impact of persistent absence and identify practical solutions.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C89sx38g_qu/?igsh=cWo5dTd4bmNiMmNi

10 Best Quotes From The Movie #InsideOut2 💛❤️💚💜💙 . Repost from @6secondseq • We can learn a lot from Inside Out 2 and the quotes the characters say. What’s your favourite quote from the movie and why? #insideout #insideout2 #disney #pixar #emotions #emotionalintelligence

Summer special block booking offer -
6 for 5 . First one free for assessment and introduction.

Summer Holiday tutoring offer
English
Block booking
6 for price of 5

Another lovely end of year review (year 10 student) :

Sally has supported my son for the last 12 months. During this time she has arrived on time, been very professional, organised and has developed my child’s skills in English Literature.
My son is feeling more confident in this area of English.
Gem x

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0w0yl41r32o?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2yK8gImyzclloxbziJj3I3EZpuKtRR2kM8yLSa8oS4Ub2PGH1Vc-BUHWY_aem_AYcqtS8DuZnXNqREzxwIYFZ9miqZYAiy6_NSC-ofX3IrOZjLRZyX6IpNIrUbFZM5ZVjrUhhKr9Jdw3NOTXYSDT5E

Herefordshire primary school to offer 'tailored' schooling The idea originated in the 1980s but Colwall Primary School say it is "not widely known".