The SENDcast

The podcast features Eugene Dwaah, who was highly commended for his work in the 'Change Maker of the Year' category. He discusses his innovative approach to education, focusing on holistic development through sports and addressing social inequality and youth violence.

Eugene emphasises the importance of engagement and belonging for young people, particularly those facing adversity. His initiatives at Dagenham's future youth scene have significantly improved school attendance, demonstrating the positive impact of his methods.

He shares his personal journey, including overcoming trauma after losing his mother at 15, and how influential teachers and mentors guided him. Eugene transitioned from a career in football to education, aiming to create an inclusive environment for students who struggle in traditional schools.

He highlights the unique facilities and low staff-to-student ratios in his program, which foster a supportive atmosphere. Eugene believes in the power of relatable educators who share their own experiences to connect with students and motivate them to pursue their potential.

Eugene, the driving force behind Evolution Sports Group, has a diverse background that uniquely positions him to understand the challenges faced by disadvantaged youth. His career has spanned various sectors, including education, community development, and professional sports. As a head of behaviour and engagement in an inner-city school, he gained valuable insights into the systemic issues that can limit young people's potential. Subsequently, he served as a community development manager for Genesis housing association, further deepening his understanding of the social and economic barriers faced by marginalised communities. Eugene's passion for sports led him to join Fulham Football Club as Head of Recruitment. Drawing on his extensive experience, he founded Evolution Sports Group to provide a platform for young people in alternative provision settings to develop their skills, build confidence, and pursue their dreams through sports.

The nasen awards celebrate outstanding contributions to the education and support of children and young people with SEND. These annual awards recognise individuals, schools, and organisations that demonstrate exceptional commitment to inclusive education and the advancement of SEND practices.

nasen is a charitable organisation that supports children and young people with SEND. nasen's goals include Influencing government policy, providing information, training and resources to support practitioners and contributing to the debate and effecting change to improve outcomes for children and young people.

https://evolution-education.com/

nasen website

nasen events and CPD

nasen live conference

nasen Awards 2025

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
• Email Dale – [email protected]
• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

"CALM DOWN!"

"I've already asked you THREE times to put your shoes on!"

"How dare you talk to me like that!"

Do you ever find yourself standing at the bottom of the stairs, hollering at your child? Or perhaps you're dealing with a child who is sobbing hysterically while you're racing against the clock for work. We all carry 'core scripts' learned during our childhood, which influence our daily interactions with our children. It often feels natural to use familiar phrases and tones from our own upbringing. But do these phrases really work?

Being a parent or educator is hard. But being a SEN parent or educator is relentless.

A few years ago, this was the experience of Ali Fanshawe. Ali couldn't understand why she was struggling to deal with her children's 'fizzy moments' in a more compassionate way. In today's episode Ali joins Dale to discuss 'The power of language with our SEND kids'.

Ali tells us that it is critical to accept that our SEN kids need a different form of communication and interaction in order to support them. Adopting a new parenting language can radically transform family dynamics and help calm the chaos at home or in a classroom. It's about re-learning the way we talk to and interact with our kids so that we're being the parents and teachers they need us to be, not the ones we were taught to be.

Listen to discover tools and strategies to use that can ease the pressure at home and school.

Ali founded FizzyKids in 2018, having left the corporate world to become a full time Parent Carer to her two adopted kids with special needs. Frustrated by the lack of practical resources on parenting her children, she set out to re-learn her parenting approaches and in doing so created a new parenting language which she is now sharing with other parents in the hope that it helps transform family and classroom dynamics.

www.fizzykids.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/@thefizzykids

https://www.instagram.com/thefizzykids/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stop-Telling-Your-Kids-CALM/dp/1036900746

Ali has recently released a new book 'How to stop telling your kids to calm down (and why it doesn't work anyway)'. Ali Fanshawe has been on a journey to better understand and parent her two adopted kids with additional needs. Her work has led to a realisation that you have 'core scripts' learnt during your childhood, that are embedded in the day-to-day language you use when you parent your kids.

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
• Email Dale – [email protected]
• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

In this podcast, Adam Millichip discusses Tettenhall Wood School's achievement of winning the Innovative Technology in the Field of Inclusion award. The school's podcasting initiative aims to teach communication, social skills, and computing while promoting acceptance and awareness among autistic students.

Since its launch in May 2021, the podcast has produced over 100 episodes featuring notable guests, including sports figures and celebrities, and has garnered significant attention, even appearing on BBC News. Adam emphasises the growth of the podcast beyond initial expectations, highlighting its impact on both the students involved and the wider community.

He notes that the podcast has become a rite of passage for older students, with younger students eager to participate as they progress through the school. The podcast serves as a platform for skill development, teaching students essential techniques for effective communication. Overall, the initiative has fostered confidence and engagement among the students while raising awareness in the community.

[email protected]

www.twssportspodcast.co.uk

x.com/TWSSportsPod

www.facebook.com/groups/168443441902250

nasen website

nasen events and CPD

nasen live conference

nasen Awards 2025

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
• Email Dale – [email protected]
• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

Getting to sleep can be challenging for some, often leading to hours spent trying to unwind before finally drifting off. Improving sleep is crucial – not just for children and young people, but also for their parents, families, friends, classmates, teachers, and communities as a whole.

Dr Jill McGarry, consultant clinical psychologist and sleep expert, joins me in today's episode to discuss 'Sleep, Neurodiversity and Learning Disability'. With over 28 years' experience around sleep, Jill discusses:

• Sleep Challenges: How neurodiverse individuals and those with learning disabilities often experience significant sleep difficulties.
• Understanding Differences: How sleep experiences can vary widely among individuals and the need for personalised sleep strategies, as generic advice may not be effective.
• Research: Recent advancements in sleep research, focusing on how understanding brain function and sleep mechanisms can help tailor solutions for different individuals.
• Sleep Hygiene: How light, heat, routine, nutrients and sound impact sleep, with practical advice to create a conducive sleep environment.

Tune in to gain a better understanding of sleep, including the science behind it and some eye-opening (or should that be shutting?) insights!

Jill is a Clinical Psychologist with 28 years of NHS experience in psychological support for people with mental health issues. Throughout this work Jill has supported many people how have had sleep problems. This led Jill to complete both the sleep masterclass at Oxford University's SCNI and the 3-day training course with Sleep Unlimited as well as weekly taking part in the BSM international sleep seminars chaired by Arizona University .She is a member of the British Sleep Society and has supported the Sleep Charity develop a programme. From this she has built up a wealth of knowledge and experience at improving sleep for several client groups, including setting up a reasonable adjustment sleep apnoea clinic for Greater Manchester. Currently Jill runs a private practice for improving sleep. Over the past two years Jill has carried out numerous sleep awareness courses for wellbeing teams in NHS trusts and ICBs; schools/ college forums; counselling organisations; care and respite home managers; More specifically she has provided two bespoke training sessions for UCLH NHS Trust on learning disability and neurodiversity, co-facilitated a national conference on sleep & SEND and presented a webinar nationally for Autism Hears. Recently Jill has advised Baywater and NHS England on a project to develop materials for people with sleep apnea and reasonable adjustments.

www.sleepbetterdoctor.co.uk

[email protected]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jill-mcgarry

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
• Email Dale – [email protected]
• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

The SENsible SENCO, Abigail Hawkins joins Dale for a podcast special episode highlighting what's on at the SENsible25 SENCO conference on 14th February in Nottingham - and why you should be there!

Abigail shares details on her second annual conference dedicated to helping SENCOs including; a conference overview, networking opportunities, speaker line up and interactive sessions.

"SENsible25 has a theme of 'all in the room', so we're all going to be in the room again together. But we also have a sub theme this year. It's about assessment and identification because that's where SEN starts." Abigail Hawkins, The SENsible SENCO

This event brings together exhibitors, speakers, and SENCOs around the same tables. Join us for a day filled with engaging sessions, laughs and a few moments of realisation, led by experts in Special Educational Needs (SEN), where knowledge is shared and connections are made. From sensory needs to identifying speech and language needs in EAL students, we invite you to be part of this fun filled community day where everyone learns from each other.

Abigail Hawkins is a passionate and seasoned SENCO with over 25 years of experience. She is the dynamic force behind SENDCOSolutions and SENsible SENCO CIC. Through her SEN consultancy and not-for-profit networking support group, she champions inclusive education and offers invaluable support to educators and schools across the spectrum.

Having taught a diverse range of subjects to students of all ages, from toddlers to adults, Abigail has a versatile and practical approach to SEN issues. In addition to her consultancy work, she collaborates with software and product companies to create innovative tools for SEN and Safeguarding purposes, develops and delivers teaching assistant apprenticeship and master's degree programs, and has authored several books and resources on SEN and exclusions.

With her no-nonsense, hands-on approach, Abigail continues to make a significant difference in the lives of countless students, educators, and schools. She remains unwavering in her commitment to promote inclusive education.

Website – www.sendcosolutions.co.uk

www.sensiblesenco.org.uk

Email – [email protected]

Twitter – @sendcosolutions

Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sensiblesenco

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/SENsibleSENCO

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk

• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast

• Email Dale – [email protected]

• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

In this special episode, Paul Willis discusses All Saints Catholic School in Essex, which recently won the Secondary Provision of the Year award at the nasen awards. The school is recognised for its commitment to inclusive education and its "No Child Left Behind" philosophy, ensuring all students, including those with special educational needs, have access to learning.

Paul outlines a staff action research project aimed at raising awareness of students facing barriers to learning, with over 50 staff members participating. The school employs various strategies to celebrate student achievements and has introduced new initiatives for sixth form students.

Paul emphasises the importance of prioritising student support, highlighting the collaborative culture among staff, including teaching, support, and kitchen staff, all dedicated to student well-being. He discusses the school's inclusive practices, such as tailored interventions for social skills and academic support.

The conversation also touches on the role of communication with parents, the significance of building rapport, and the need for a whole-school approach to inclusion. Paul advocates for continuous improvement and learning from other schools, ensuring that inclusive practices are embedded in the school's ethos and curriculum.

[email protected]

www.allsaintsschool.co.uk

x.com/allsaintscsch

www.facebook.com/allsaintscsch/

nasen website

nasen events and CPD

nasen live conference

nasen Awards 2025

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
• Email Dale – [email protected]
• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

The social and emotional development, mental health, and wellbeing of children have become critical issues, with a crisis now widely recognised. NHS Digital reports that 1 in 5 children face mental health challenges, and we continue to see alarming rates of exclusions and suspensions, even in primary schools.

It's clear that a strategic approach to prioritising children's social and emotional literacy, health, and wellbeing is essential for school improvement and positive outcomes.

In this episode, Clare Williams, author and creator from Hamish & Milo Wellbeing Resources discusses 'Creating an SEMH inclusive school', highlighting the pressing need for schools to adopt practices that foster social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) support for ALL students, not just those with SEND.

Hamish & Milo advocate for inclusive, relational practices while ensuring that staff have access to evidence-based resources, qualitative CPD training, impact measurement tools, and opportunities for collaboration with parents.

Clare focuses on the 8 Public Health England Principles to promote a whole school approach:

1. Leadership and management
2. Ethos and environment
3. Curriculum and teaching and learning
4. Enabling student voice
5. Staff development
6. Identifying need and monitoring impact
7. Targeted support
8. Working with parents and carers

Clare is a primary teacher, educational psychotherapist, author, speaker and advocate for children's mental health and wellbeing.

Clare has worked in primary schools, mental health and education provision and within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). She has led on national initiatives for local authorities as the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) Consultant, leading on training, curriculum implementation and development as well as the local coordination of the National PSHE CPD programme.

Clare was co-author and co-creator of Jigsaw PSHE, a Senior Trainer and Supervisor for Trauma Informed Schools (TISUK) and is an Adviser for the Optimus Education Wellbeing Award. She is the author of Hamish & Milo Wellbeing Resources.

https://hamishandmilo.org/

[email protected]

https://x.com/hamishandmilo

http://www.facebook.com/hamishandmilo/

Research report on the impact of Hamish and Milo

Families Together – ten week programme

Navigator Digital Dashboard and software

Level 3 Accredited CPD -Voyager: Wellbeing in Education Award

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
• Email Dale – [email protected]
• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

In this special episode, Natalie Hay discusses her recognition as a highly commended change maker for her advocacy in changing the UK government's free school meals policy. Over three years, she raised £8,000 for her campaign, which aimed to make the policy inclusive for children receiving education other than at school (EOTAS), aligning with the Equality Act 2010.

Natalie shares her personal journey as a parent carer for her son, who suffers from chronic fatigue and Lyme disease. She highlights the struggles faced by many families, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdowns when disparities in support for disabled children became evident.

The conversation covers Natalie's journey from the creation of a Facebook group that grew to 4,500 members, to engaging with legal experts. Which led to ultimately initiating a legal challenge that pressured the government to revise its policies.

The episode emphasises the emotional and logistical challenges parents face while advocating for their children's rights and the importance of community support. Natalie also shares a poem reflecting the struggles of parent carers and the need for empathy and understanding from educational institutions.

[email protected]

Parent Carer group: TIGERS

(The Inclusion Group: Education, Rights & Support)

nasen website

nasen events and CPD

nasen live conference

nasen Awards 2025

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
• Email Dale – [email protected]
• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

Many schools face challenges in demonstrating progress for pupils with SEND, and I know assessment can often feel a bit mundane. However, it's a crucial aspect of our educational practice, especially as it will remain a key element of Ofsted requirements for the foreseeable.

In our latest episode, I'm joined by Jordan, an experienced special needs teacher who works in a specialist provision attached to a mainstream school. With 15 years of experience using our assessment software, Connecting Steps by B Squared, Jordan shares her insights on what effective assessment looks like in the classroom and its impact on staff, pupils, and parents alike.

Jordan highlights the importance of showing the small steps of progress for pupils and the need to adapt assessments to fit individual learners, understanding each child's unique context and experiences.

Listen to hear practical tips on how to effectively assess in your classroom:

"Assessment is literally embedded and interwoven into every single decision I make in my classroom."

Jordan

Jordan is an experienced Specialist Education Teacher in the UK. She shares daily ideas, support and resources to support supporting adults of non-speaking children with SEN.

https://sensoryclassroom.org/

https://www.facebook.com/share/z4JM3rfbXWsuw2Kb/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

https://www.instagram.com/sensoryclass

https://www.tiktok.com/@sensoryclass

Sensory Curriculum

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
• Email Dale – [email protected]
• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

Happy New Year! As we prepare for a new term, I wanted to share the first episode of 2025 with you.

In this episode 'Sensory Uncertainty', my guests Clare Ward and Dr. Jamie Galpin, Speech and Language Therapist and Developmental Psychologist respectively, provide invaluable insights. They discuss their new book, My Senses Are Like Cups, which uses a compelling metaphor to help listeners understand how sensory experiences impact emotions and behaviour.

This engaging metaphor illustrates how our sensory experiences - everything we see, hear, feel, smell, touch, and taste - can be understood as water filling or emptying cups of various sizes.

Clare and Jamie emphasise the importance of recognising our internal body sensations (interoceptive sense) and how this awareness can significantly ease school-based anxiety for young people. They also introduce their 3S framework, with sensory uncertainty at its core, highlighting how our senses shape our experiences in the world.

Listen now to gain a deeper understanding of how we can support ourselves and those around us in recognising and managing sensory uncertainty.

Clare Ward has been working in the world of SEN for the last 30 years as a teaching assistant, Speech and Language Therapist, specialist social worker, researcher, NHS manager, education advisor and CBT Practitioner. She specialises in working with young people with social communication difficulties, some of whom have a diagnosis of autism.

Jamie is a chartered developmental psychologist with over 20 years of experience in inclusion, psychology, innovation, and learning. He builds frameworks around which practice can sit, bringing coherence and connecting disparate or fractured notions and concepts. as a founding member of special networks, Jamie challenges traditional hierarchies of evidence and co-creates solutions for social inequalities as well as addressing universal needs.

Clare and Jamie met when they both started working for the same inner London multidisciplinary outreach team – supporting teachers and young people with a diagnosis of autism.

Clare and Jamie released a new book 'My senses are like cups: What to do when everything feels too much or not enough' in summer 2024. Think about our senses being like cups and everything we see, hear, feel, smell, touch, and taste as we move about is like water going into our cups. Some of our cups might be big and some might be small. Whether big or small, we like it best when our cup is filled enough so that it's just right for us! We are all different. We need just the right amount of information to feel good! Help your child aged 7+ think about, explore and develop ways to manage sensory overload and feeling under stimulated with quirky cartoons that visually illustrate the approach. Sections on each of the eight senses (including your internal 'body signals' like hunger) feature noticing and knowledge-building activities to help kids get their own, unique, senses cups feeling 'just right' for them. Get going on some sensory experiments!

www.specialnetworks.co.uk

[email protected]

https://x.com/UniversalSuppo3

My Senses Are Like Cups

The Anxiety Workbook for Supporting Teens Who Learn Differently

• B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
• Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
• Email Dale – [email protected]
• Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.