The Education Detective

I have to read the new Government White Paper 📚through fully and digest it 🤓but the SEND reforms seem progressive on the one hand…

areas of development as opposed to categories of need (I very much like executive functioning as an area, replacing cognition and learning and also that sensory needs are identified);

and a return to three tiers of support; (anyone recall, school action/school action + and statements) on the other.

As an aside… back in the day - as a rule of thumb (never saw it written down) - statements were given to the children on the 1st percentile. So a primary school with one form entry might have 2-3 children with statements.

The transition to EHCPs changed that.

More children had their needs ring-fenced within a legal document and along with that came additional funding.

We all agreed it was progress.

The new reforms as a model in one respect look like a return to the previous one. I’m not necessarily seeing that as a criticism - more an observation, but if that previous model needed reform back then, why revert back to it???

I’m not sure how this will pan out in the great scheme of things.

Additional funding will help obviously and I welcome any additional focus and funding for our young people with SEND - but will it be enough??

And the specialists?

Where do they come from?

EP shortage. SALT shortage. Specialist teacher teams - many disbanded years ago (sore point!!!).

I really hope the reforms make a positive difference and retains the best of what we have learnt over the last 35 years…

We didn’t need major government reforms for schools to start applying adaptive teaching strategies or creating their own hubs as solutions to the high need children who didn’t fit our ‘system’.

Schools got on with it - because they had no other choice.

But it’s good to see that this solution finding is reflected in what the reforms aspire to look like.

Maybe my musings on those are for another time.

Off to read the 120 pages in closer detail when my brain fog has lifted. 😶‍🌫️

Happy reading 📖

When you do your first bit of face to face training in 6 years and you get this afterwards. ❤️

“Thank you soooo much!! Was the best training we’ve had for the longest time - everybody really buzzy! “

So so so good. I love an analogy/metaphor.

I’ve used the plant 🪴 one myself in training.

Agriculture all the way!!!

We’ve built our education systems on the model of fast food. 
Standardised. Predictable. Efficient… but ultimately impoverished. Sir Ken Robinson argued that human beings don’t thrive in one-size-fits-all environments. 
We are diverse. Our talents vary wildly. Our passions even more so. When you’re doing something you love, an hour feels like five minutes.
When you’re doing something that drains you, five minutes feels like an hour. So many people opt out of education not because they lack ability, but because the system doesn’t feed their spirit, energy or curiosity. Sir Ken believed we need a new metaphor. Education shouldn’t be an industrial system based on conformity. It should be an agricultural one, focused on creating the conditions in which people can flourish. You can’t force growth.
You can only cultivate it. 👇 Comment INSPIRE and we’ll send you a free mini-course from Kate Robinson: Imagination, Creativity & Innovation, inspired by her book Imagine if... Creating a Future for Us All with Sir Ken, and built around the ideas they championed together. This mini-course is the perfect starting point for anyone who wants to understand creativity more deeply, in yourself, in your work, and in the world around you and is yours for free in the hope it inspires you.

Looks like another very useful piece of work from EEF!! They just keep churning them out!

Metacognition is the key to our learners success. Know how you learn best and you play to your strengths and find strategies to prop up your weaknesses.

I’ve had a few people ask about whether I’m intending to put on training in the future. I think I’m ready to do this…what do people want?? What’s needed the most??

Reduced to £200

FOR SALE: Never used- still in packaging.

£250 including postage. Retails new at around £350.

Grab a bargain!!

FOR SALE: Never used- still in packaging.

£250 including postage. Retails new at around £350.

Grab a bargain!!

For the last year I’ve done various things workwise.

One being working with dyslexic /neurodiverse students in higher education.

One of my students got her result today! She proudly wanted to ring to tell me she had been awarded a 2:1!!! 🥰

This is made all the more wonderful as she was a pupil diagnosed with dyslexia and learning difficulties at primary school and had a Statement for her learning needs (remember them?).

She worked hard post 16 on a childcare course at her local further education college, accruing enough points to get her a place as a mature student at university.

And now she has achieved her dream of gaining a degree - and a fabulous 2:1 at that!

It’s been hard work - her learning needs mixed with health issues has made the journey a challenging one at times.

But she has been so committed and focused!

What has been particularly amazing is that her dissertation was all about whether provision for those with high needs is adequate!

She cares so much about children just like herself who just need the time, patience and understanding to demonstrate what they can do.

So incredibly proud to have supported such an inspiring young woman!

And delighted to have been asked to support her through her next goal to gain her Masters….

Bring on September!

Congratulations Renee 🤩

If you haven’t seen this already, it’s useful guidance I think. 😊EEF stuff is always worth a look.

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/teaching-assistants

New definition of Dyslexia!

Hot off the press!!!

Replaces Rose Report of 2009.

www.patoss-dyslexia.org

Lovely to have posted something and know there are still people out there! Hope you’re all doing well. Sarah xx 😘