The SENDcast

This week's guest is Fintan O'Regan. Fintan was the Head teacher of the Centre Academy from 1996 -2002, which was the first specialist school in the UK for students between the ages of 7-19 specialising issues related to ADHD, ASD and ODD.

He is an associate lecturer for Leicester University, the National Association of Special Needs, the Institute of Education, the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre and the former Vice Chairman of the UK ADHD Network and of the European ADHD Alliance.

Fintan now works as trainer and consultant for schools and school support systems including, Social Services, Health, the Police and Foster carers with regards to providing behaviour management strategies for children and families struggling with SEND and behaviour issues.

Website – www.fintanoregan.com

Email – [email protected]

Twitter – @fintanoregan

For more podcast episodes from the SENDcast click below… https://sendcast.wpengine.com/sendcast-episodes/

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Sarah Jane Critchley.

Sarah-Jane was previously the Programme Manager for over 10 years at the Autism Education Trust. Pupils with autism often struggle with attending school for a number of reasons. Her daughter Beth is autistic and also suffers from migraines which meant from Year 3 onwards she missed a lot of school and missed over 50% of her GCSE classes, eventually dropping out of school in year 12.

Twitter: @SarahJaneCritch

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sarahjanecritchley/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/differentjoy/

For more podcast episodes from the SENDcast click below… https://sendcast.wpengine.com/sendcast-episodes/

Listening to and valuing their views has implications for children's confidence and attitude to learning, this is true for all children including those with SEN/SLCN. However, research suggests that there are inherent challenges in effectively listening to and gathering views of children with communication needs.

In this episode our guest is Wendy Lee, is a speech and language therapist with over 30 years experience in a wide range of settings. We will be discussing the importance to involve and listen to children with SEN.

Have you ever thought your students are like icebergs? If not then you will after listening to this episode!

We all know what icebergs are and we all know that the largest part of an iceberg is hidden underwater. Comparing students to icebergs is a great analogy.

Our special guest for this episode is Dr Susie Nyman, the Curriculum Manager at The Sixth Form College, Farnborough. Susie takes us through innovative tried and tested techniques she has used in the classroom setting and even brings her very own iceberg and pick to the studio! We discuss how students are like icebergs and how we need to support the whole child, not just what we see on the surface. There are a lot of factors hidden under that iceberg that we need to consider, particularly for students with SEND.

An awareness of the background information about a student can help educators and parents breakthrough to individual pupils, particularly those with SEND or mental health issues.

Website – drnymanconsultancy.co.uk

Email – [email protected]

Twitter – @DrSusieNyman

For more podcast episodes from the SENDcast click below… https://sendcast.wpengine.com/sendcast-episodes/

Useful Links:

Nyman, S (2021). 'Live Literacy Strategies with Julia and Susie'.

Nyman, S (2021). 'All Aboard Assistive Technology and Student Empowerment'.

School INSET is definitely a topic that divides staff in terms of whether they believe it adds value or is a waste of time and money. In this podcast we will consider what makes a great INSET in terms of not just the content and presentation but whether the INSET provided should achieve in both short term and long term Impact.

This week's guest is Fintan O'Regan. Fintan was the Head teacher of the Centre Academy from 1996 -2002, which was the first specialist school in the UK for students between the ages of 7-19 specialising issues related to ADHD, ASD and ODD.

He is an associate lecturer for Leicester University, the National Association of Special Needs, the Institute of Education, the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre and the former Vice Chairman of the UK ADHD Network and of the European ADHD Alliance.

Fintan now works as trainer and consultant for schools and school support systems including, Social Services, Health, the Police and Foster carers with regards to providing behaviour management strategies for children and families struggling with SEND and behaviour issues.

Resources:

The teachers toolkit: Paul McGinnis When the adult changes everything changes Paul Dix Successfully Managing Children ADHD Second edition : Fin O'Regan

Supporting behaviour in the classroom: Fin O'Regan The Defiant Child: Dougles Riley Mood Mapping Liz Miller Mindset Carol Dweck SEN L. Peer and G. Reid

The practise of mindfulness has become increasingly popular over the last few years. With the ever-increasing challenges we are facing and busy lifestyles we rush through life without stopping to notice the world around us.

Mindfulness allows us to pay attention to our thoughts, sounds, reconnect with our bodies and the sensations they experience. Basically it's about becoming aware of the present and living in the moment, which can have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing.

In a school environment learning has to take place in the moment and often children are unable to focus on the task. So how can you use mindfulness to benefit your pupils?

In this week's podcast, we're discussing the use of mindfulness to support emotional literacy with my guest Dr Trisha Waters. Trisha is an educational therapist who began her career supporting pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. After that she led the MA in SEN & Inclusion at the University of Chichester and is now a director of the Centre for Therapeutic Storywriting.

Listen now to find out how to help children come into the present, help them let go of their worries and improve their wellbeing and emotional literacy as a result.

Resources:

storylinkstraining.co.uk (video on home page)

Therapeutic Storywriting: A Practical Guide to Developing Emotional Literacy in Primary Schools by Trisha Waters Research papers: https://www.therapeuticstorywriting.co.uk/research/research-story-links

Video: Introducing Therapeutic Storywriting Groups - https://therapeuticstorywritingtraining.co.uk (video on home page)

'Therapeutic Storywriting: A Practical Guide to Developing Emotional Literacy in Primary Schools' by Trisha Waters - https://www.therapeuticstorywriting.co.uk/book

Therapeutic Storywriting Research Papers - https://www.therapeuticstorywriting.co.uk/research/research-tsw-groups

Contact Trisha:

Website: www.therapeuticstorywriting.co.uk

Twitter: @TherapyStoryhttps://twitter.com/therapystory

Facebook: Centre for Therapeutic Storywriting

The lockdowns imposed during the pandemic have presented immense challenges for all, especially teachers. Everyone has been affected in a multitude of ways and it has had a profound impact on children, particularly those that are vulnerable.

A lot of lessons have been learnt along this rollercoaster of a journey and in this week's episode, my guest Wendy Lee, discusses the impact of school disruption due to COVID, on children's speech, language and communication skills. It has a significant impact on children's learning and future outcomes, but there is also a very high correlation with mental health.

Wendy is a speech and language therapist with over 30 years' experience in a wide range of settings. We explore her experiences, looking at how speech and language therapists worked together with schools during the past 18 months and share what she has seen in terms of children's language and communication and what has worked to support children with language difficulties.

Potential Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Communication and Language Skills in Children - Sara A. Charney, Stephen M. Camarata, Alexander Chern, 2021 (sagepub.com)

Lockdowns hurt child speech and language skills - report - BBC News

Report (ican.org.uk)

Microsoft PowerPoint - APPG presentation - December 2020 - FINAL (rcslt.org)

Helping your school age child and toddler to talk – Afasic

Coronavirus resources for children and families - Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust (sheffieldchildrens.nhs.uk)

Coronavirus: 'Concerning' impact on language development and PSED among four- to five-year-olds | Nursery World

Private and voluntary settings will be able to access early language catch-up scheme | Nursery WorldImpact of Covid-19 disruptions in primary schools: attainment gaps and school responses | Projects | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF

Over the next few years, over 25% of the school population is projected to be on the SEN register!

Teachers are under increasing pressure to be experts in multiple diagnoses, and many are feeling overwhelmed. This is unsustainable and this pressure can result in a retreat from inclusion, with an increasing number of children being positioned outside an ever-shrinking idea of a 'mainstream child'.

Dale Pickles is joined by Clare Ward and Dr Jamie Galpin in this week's podcast. Clare has worked in the world of SEN for the last 30 years in a variety of roles and Jamie also has a long career in SEN. They have both come along to discuss this burning question - how do you become an expert in every area of SEND? Is it even possible?

The Anxiety Workbook for Supporting Teens Who Learn Differently – published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers 21st April 2021.

A classroom can be a terrifying place for a child with autism, but you might not know this and instead witness a child that's aggressive, defiant, and disruptive or a child that's passive and not engaging.

Anxiety and Autism go hand in hand. Helping an autistic child understand what is happening in their body helps them gain self-control and self-awareness. Working with your own heartbeat rhythms can reduce anxiety for you and your pupil as your energy levels can directly affect them.

This week my guest is Tessa Morton, a founder of Act for Autism and is the passionate mum of an autistic boy. She has spent over 15 years supporting autistic children in her community through drama workshops. Tessa talks about autism and anxiety and how to help children to self-regulate. Listen to this episode to discover the power of the heartbeat as a therapeutic approach to support your pupils and find out how to enable them to thrive in an educational setting.

Connecting and Communicating with Your Autistic Child

For more podcast episodes from the SENDcast click below… https://sendcast.wpengine.com/sendcast-episodes/

Contact Tessa Morton:

Website: Act for Autism

Twitter: https://twitter.com/actforautism1

We enjoy listening to and telling stories, they often reflect our own experiences or emotions and we use metaphors to express ourselves. Particularly so in young children, it's almost as though metaphor is their natural language. Very young children tend to imitate the adults around them and they try to make sense of their experience through their make believe play.

Pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties need to be able to share their personal narrative in a safe way in order to make sense of their experiences. Story metaphor is ideal for doing this whilst supporting the pupils' literacy skills.

During today's episode I discuss the use of metaphors within stories to support emotional literacy with my guest Dr Trisha Waters. Trisha is an educational therapist who began her career supporting pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. After that she led the MA in SEN & Inclusion at the University of Chichester and is now a director of the Centre for Therapeutic Storywriting.

Listen to find out how you can support your pupils' emotional literacy and wellbeing through story metaphors.

Resources:

storylinkstraining.co.uk (video on home page)

Therapeutic Storywriting: A Practical Guide to Developing Emotional Literacy in Primary Schools by Trisha Waters Research papers: https://www.therapeuticstorywriting.co.uk/research/research-story-links

Video: Introducing Therapeutic Storywriting Groups - https://therapeuticstorywritingtraining.co.uk (video on home page)

'Therapeutic Storywriting: A Practical Guide to Developing Emotional Literacy in Primary Schools' by Trisha Waters - https://www.therapeuticstorywriting.co.uk/book

Therapeutic Storywriting Research Papers - https://www.therapeuticstorywriting.co.uk/research/research-tsw-groups

Contact Trisha:

Website: www.therapeuticstorywriting.co.uk

Twitter: @TherapyStoryhttps://twitter.com/therapystory

Facebook: Centre for Therapeutic Storywriting