SEND and Share - East Yorkshire

11/08/2026

11/08/2026

‘Autism was originally described largely by what it looked like to a non-autistic observer, rather than by what it felt like to the autistic person.’

Emma
The Autistic SENCo
♾️

11/08/2026

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🤍 Introducing… The Clay Shed 🤍

Something rather special is coming to Thorp & Clay…

The Clay Shed will soon be opening its doors. 🌿

A little self-service home for Thorp & Clay, created to make collecting and choosing something creative that little bit easier.

Whether you’re collecting an order, need a last-minute gift, fancy an impromptu creative afternoon, need something to entertain the children, or simply want to pick up a Paint Your Own kit without waiting for delivery — you’ll be able to pop into The Clay Shed during opening hours and choose something to take home.

Inside you’ll find a changing selection of our kits and collections, seasonal pieces and, when available, some of our Imperfectly Perfect boxes — giving perfectly paintable pieces with little imperfections another chance to be enjoyed rather than wasted. 🤍

The Clay Shed will operate on a simple honesty-box/self-service system, with easy payment instructions inside. For the security of our little shop and its visitors, the area will also be covered by CCTV, with appropriate signage displayed.

The idea behind The Clay Shed 🌿

Thorp & Clay was created around the belief that creativity doesn’t need to be complicated. Sometimes we all need an excuse to put the phones down, slow things down and spend a little time making something with our hands.

The Clay Shed takes that idea one step further.

We wanted to create a beautiful, simple way for our local community to access Thorp & Clay — without postage, without needing to plan days ahead and without the formality of a traditional shop.

A birthday you nearly forgot?
A rainy afternoon that needs rescuing?
A thoughtful gift needed on the way to see someone?
An unexpected playdate?
Or perhaps you just fancy an evening of painting and switching off…

The Clay Shed will be there.

And when we’re closed? The doors simply shut, the Thorp & Clay branding disappears inside, and our little shed goes quietly back to being part of our home. 🤍

We’ll share opening times and collection information here as we get closer to opening.

We cannot WAIT to open those little doors for the first time.

Welcome to The Clay Shed.
by Thorp & Clay 🌿

Where creativity meets peace.

09/08/2026

🤗😍

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10/07/2026

Imagine the Local Authority visits your home...

They are here to ‘safeguard' your child, to ensure they are receiving a 'suitable education' and
protect their ‘wellbeing'...

Your child gets up to go to the toilet, and you say
Where do you think you're going? You cant go to the bathroom for another 20 minutes, we have work to finish'

They tell you they're desperate, and you respond...

'You should have thought about that before we started, now sit down, I dont want to hear you talk again until we are finished.'

They sit back down and get in with their work while you chat with the LA, but after a while your child wets their pants!

You shout... what have you done, go and clean yourself up'

They return after 15 minutes and ask for a snack and drink, you say 'no, you dont have time, you will need to wait until the end of the day'

You go to get your visitor a coffee and dad comes in to take over 'teaching'..

He notices your child is wearing blue trousers, he shouts...

you're supposed to be wearing black trousers'!
Embarrassed, your child quietly explains...

'I wet my black ones and only had blue left'

Dad responds with...

'That is unacceptable, go and sit in isolation for the rest of the day.

Your child is sent to a small cupboard for the remainder of the day; no one can talk to them, they dont get food/drink, they cant stretch their legs, they cant speak!

The Local Authority writes up their report and decides your child should return to school because of what they have witnessed at home...

Quite rightly, this would be a red flag and a concern.
Something the local authority would take action against!

Funny isnt it?
Because when it happens at schools it called an education.

And is something we as parents arent allowed to protect against.

08/07/2026

BITESIZE GUIDE AVAILABLE

Dyspraxia is often misunderstood. A child may know exactly what they want to do, but their brain finds it harder to plan, organise, and carry out the movements needed to get there. What can look like clumsiness, forgetfulness, poor organisation, or a lack of effort is often a brain-body communication difference that requires extra energy every single day.

Children with Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder) are not lazy, careless, or unmotivated. They are often working much harder behind the scenes than others realise. Understanding the challenges they face can help us replace frustration with support, protect self-esteem, and create environments where strengths can shine.

If you’d like a free download of our Bitesize Guide to Dyspraxia (DCD), LIKE this post and comment DYSPRAXIA below.

08/07/2026

08/07/2026

What troubles me most isn’t that Dr Ellie is asking questions about overdiagnosis, consumerism or the commercialisation of ADHD. Those are discussions worth having.

It’s the word ‘deluded.’

Deluded isn’t a neutral medical term. It suggests someone is fooling themselves or has lost touch with reality. When that word is used in relation to thousands of women who believe they have ADHD, it doesn’t just challenge the system. It challenges the people.

If Dr Ellie genuinely believes there are significant problems with how ADHD is being recognised or diagnosed, then I would like to know what solutions she is proposing. Is she calling for better NHS assessment pathways? More robust diagnostic standards? Greater regulation of private clinics? Better education for clinicians?

Those are conversations that could move things forward.

Instead, we have a newspaper headline that is guaranteed to inflame an already polarised debate.

We’ve seen this very recently with Celia Walden’s Telegraph article, headlined ‘Your child doesn’t have special needs. They’re just naughty.’ Many people who read the article pointed out that the piece itself acknowledged that genuine special educational needs exist. Her argument was that some poor behaviour is wrongly attributed to SEND rather than poor discipline. Whether you agree with that argument or not, the headline was far more sweeping than the article beneath it.

When articles sit behind a paywall, the headline becomes the story. It is often the only part that most people ever see. If that headline is more provocative than the nuance contained within the article, then it is the headline that shapes public opinion.

At a time when ADHD and autism are under intense public scrutiny, words matter. They shape how the public sees people who are already facing long waiting lists, stigma and disbelief.

If there is a systemic problem, let’s talk about the system. Let’s improve the system.

But calling people ‘deluded’
risks dismissing those who have spent years trying to understand why life has always felt harder than it seemed to for everyone else.

Emma
The Autistic SENCo
♾️

08/07/2026

Living in constant alert mode isn’t just tiring - it’s survival parenting.

When you’re raising a PDA child, your brain never switches off. You’re anticipating meltdowns. Scanning for triggers. Adjusting plans on the fly. Watching body language. Holding your breath during transitions.

It’s an invisible weight. And it chips away at us even when we’re masking how bad it feels.

If you feel drained, it’s not because you’re weak. It’s because you’ve been living in survival mode for far too long.

Does this resonate with you? What’s the hardest part of living in “always on” mode?

❤🌈

03/07/2026