The SENDcast

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Sarah Jane Critchley to discuss school refusals, school phobia and illness. Sarah-Jane has the benefit of both a professional AND personal perspective.

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 has autism 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.

Schools are struggling with an increase in mental health issues in pupils, with escalating numbers of young people unable to attend school as a result. As many as 1:10 pupils were recorded as absent from school in 2016/17. Children not in school, unless they are electively home educated, get offered less education at a lower level with a knock-on effect on their long-term outcomes.

If children are unable to attend school it has a catastrophic effect on the family, often resulting in parents being unable to maintain employment and tipping the family into economic disadvantage.

Where a child's needs are clearly not being met in school, attendance is often impacted, their educational and life outcomes are seriously affected.

Some parents have children who are so anxious they are unable to attend school. In some cases this has led to families being taken to court when the school has made little attempt to work with the family.

School refusal is an odd term. It implies they are simply deciding not to go to school. For lots of pupils it is not a choice, they cannot cope with school. In this podcast we discuss a variety of reasons a pupil doesn't/cannot attend school. We discuss how a school's attitude to a pupils attendance can make a big difference. A child may present themselves as being happy at school, but present themselves very differently at home. They may use all their energy coping with school life and run out of energy when they get home. Schools and parents have to work in partnership to move forward.

There are also a number of options for pupils who are unable to attend school full time. We explore dual registration, flexi-schooling, hospital schools, online schools, home education and visiting tutors. There are a number of options, some may be short term, others could be longer.

Useful Links

DfE Attendance Guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance

Not Fine in School website for parents and professionals https://notfineinschool.org.uk/home

Emotional Distress Detector Toolkit https://differentjoy.krtra.com/t/DMZtVGKHe1Za

How to contact Sarah-Jane:

Twitter: @SarahJaneCritch

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sarahjanecritchley/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/differentjoy/

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Wendy Lee to discuss the language and literacy link, the impact a pupil's language difficulties has on their literacy.

Wendy is a speech and language therapist for over 30 years, with a wealth of experience. Wendy was a professional director of the Communications Trust until 2015, being involved in a range of projects as well as inputting on national policy and research. Wendy is currently the director of LINGO which provides consultancy, professional development, resources and speech and language therapy.

The Language and Literacy link is the link between a pupil's language difficulties and their literacy difficulties. It seems obvious when you think about it, if a pupils struggles with speaking an listening, they will probably be lacking skills when it comes to reading and writing.

Many children with SEN have poor spoken language skills. It is estimated that at least 10% of all children have some difficulties with speech, language and communication, will have SLCN; this may be a primary need, as with Developmental Language Disorder or it may be a Language Disorder linked to another condition, such as cognition and learning or autism. Limited language impacts on literacy.

Sometimes, it is language that is the foundation of literacy difficulties, though rarely is this the focus of literacy teaching or support. The podcast will explore how a focus on language could support those children with limited literacy skills.

Who are poor comprehenders? - https://readoxford.org/who-are-poor-comprehenders

Improving literacy in key stage 1 - https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/literacy-ks-1/

Improving literacy in key stage 2 - https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/literacy-ks-2/

IPEELL: Using self-regulation to improve writing https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/ipeell/

Westerveld and Gillon Oral Narrative Program 2007 - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275017556_Westerveld-and-Gillon-Oral-Narrative-Program-2007

Lingo - www.lingospeech.co.uk

Twitter - @Lingo_speech

Email - [email protected]

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Sarah Jane Critchley to discuss Exclusions, how legal are they and why isn't more being done to prevent them. The statistics are shocking and terrible and more needs to be done. In this episode we discuss the different types of exclusion, when are exclusions are illegal, the two way link between mental health and exclusion and that there are alternatives.

Sarah-Jane Critchley is passionate about helping autistic people, their families, friends and supporters live happier lives of their own choosing. She is the internationally recognised author of 'A Different Joy: The Parents' Guide to Living Better with Autism, Dyslexia, ADHD and More...'. and contributor to two titles on autism and girls.

Sarah-Jane spent 10 years as Programme Manager of the AET. Whilst there she commissioned the AET's guides to exclusions. She also spoke at the NAHT 2019 SEND and the NAS 2019 Professional Conference on exclusions, and what schools can do to avoid them and to parents' groups on Exclusions, Absences and Illness.

Exclusions continue to increase, nearly 8,000 pupils permanently excluded from school. One of the limited bits of good news is, that is only a small percentage of schools that are excluding pupils, 85% of schools excluded NO pupils at all in 2016-17. Sadly 78% of exclusions were pupils with SEND, Children in need or on Free school meals.

Exclusions have a big lifelong effect on a child. Exclusions can cause a "collision course with failure" (Robert Halpern MP – Chair of the Education Select Committee). Gang members are 5.5 times more likely to have been excluded than the rest of the population. 85% of children in Young Offender Institutions have been excluded.

Useful Links:

1. DfE SEND Code of Practice https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
2. DfE Exclusions Guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion
3. Autism Education Trust exclusions materials https://www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk/exclusions/
4. Timpson Review of exclusions 2019. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/edward-timpson-publishes-landmark-exclusions-review

How to contact Sarah-Jane:

Twitter: @SarahJaneCritch

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sarahjanecritchley/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/differentjoy/

Email: [email protected]

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

In this episode our guest is Lorraine Petersen OBE, who has over 25 years experience as a teacher, and head teacher. She was previously the CEO of the National Association of Special Needs -NASEN. Lorraine received her OBE for her services to education. Lorraine will be talking about supporting Anxiety and Trauma.

This week's show is on Supporting Anxiety and Trauma. The prevalence of 5-15 year olds experiencing emotional disorders (including anxiety and depression) has increased by 48% – from 3.9% in 2004 to 5.8% in 2017. In 2020 that number has probably increased again. This week we have one of our regular guests, Lorraine Petersen OBE. Lorraine is an educational consultant with 25 years experience working in schools and since 2004 has been supporting Special Needs in a variety of ways, as the CEO of NASEN and as a consultant, director of a teaching school alliance and Governor. Lorraine has received numerous awards for her work, including her OBE.

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Wendy Lee to discuss how schools can support children with Speech, Langauge and Communication Needs (SLCN) in mainstream schools.

Wendy is a speech and language therapist for over 30 years, with a wealth of experience. Wendy was a professional director of the Communications Trust until 2015, being involved in a range of projects as well as inputting on national policy and research. Wendy is currently the director of LINGO which provides consultancy, professional development, resources and speech and language therapy.

Around 10% of pupils having Speech, Language and Communication Needs, this is a topic that applies to every teacher. In areas of social disadvantage, upwards of 50% of children can have speech, language and communication needs impacting on learning and life chances.

Some of these children will need expert support from speech and language therapists, working with school staff and parents, some will benefit from targeted support. All are part of the school community and learning in mainstream classrooms. They will benefit from teachers and support staff understanding how their language and classroom strategies can support these children to access the curriculum and to be part of the classroom and wider school community.

The Communication Trust – Online CPD

https://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/projects/professional-development/online-short-course/

The Communication Trust – What Works

https://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/projects/what-works/

The Communication Trust - Supporting Children and Young People's Speech, Language and Communication online training

http://www.platform3online.org.uk/index.html

Lingo Speech – Products and resources to support SLCN

https://www.lingospeech.co.uk/resources/

Bercow Report – 10 years on

https://www.bercow10yearson.com/

Inclusion Development Programme (DfE)

https://www.idponline.org.uk/

Website: www.lingospeech.co.uk

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @lingo_speech

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

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Sarah Jane Critchley to discuss Autism Girls, why so few are identified, the lack of support that is available and why this all needs to change.

Autism in girls is a big topic, and Sarah Jane has lots of experience, both professionally including through her work with the Autism Education Trust and personally as her daughter who is soon to be starting university has autism. Autism is one of Sarah Jane's passions. She is a member of the National Autism in Girls Forum and a contributing author to the book 'Autism in Girls' as well as her own book 'A Different Joy: The Parent's Guide to Living Better with Autism, Dyslexia, ADHD and more…'.

We talk about how, due to the different types of play, boys and girls engage in at a younger age, the traits were often hidden for girls due to how they played. Girls are often better at masking symptoms. There is no typical profile, they can all be very different, we discuss all the different things you can look for.

There are lots of girls and women now being diagnosed with autism. What can be done and where do you get support? The earlier the diagnosis/recognition, the better. A leading cause of death in late diagnosed autistic adults is suicide, with women being more at risk. More needs to be done to prevent this, and it needs to start as early as possible. We share a few tips on how to make school better for girls with autism.

Useful Links

Sarah-Jane Critchley: A Different Joy: The Parent's Guide to Living Better with Autism, Dyslexia, ADHD and more…https://www.amazon.co.uk/Different-Joy-Parents-Living-Dyslexia/dp/0993255140

I have a chapter co-written with Beth in Judith Hebron and Caroline Bond. Educating Autistic Girls https://www.amazon.co.uk/Educating-Girls-Autism-Spectrum-Developing/dp/1785924605

Barry Carpenter, Francesca Happe and Jo Egerton: Girls and Autism: Educational, Family and Personal Perspectives https://www.routledge.com/Girls-and-Autism-Educational-Family-and-Personal-Perspectives-1st-Edition/Carpenter-Happe-Egerton-Hollins/p/book/9780815377269

A Different Joy Website. Lots of useful information including a Mastermind group for autistic women – https://www.differentjoy.com

NAS Autism in girls and women online training module https://www.autism.org.uk/professionals/training-consultancy/online/women-and-girls.aspx

Scottish Autism's Women and Girls SWAN https://www.scottishautism.org/services-support/support-families/women-and-girls-online-support

Not Fine in School website http://notfineinschool.org.uk/

How to contact Sarah-Jane:

Twitter: @SarahJaneCritch

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sarahjanecritchley/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/differentjoy/

Email: [email protected]

For more podcast episodes from the SENDcast click here…

https://www.thesendcast.com/sendcast-episodes/

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Lorraine Petersen OBE to discuss how SENCOs and class teachers are meeting their legal requirement for pupils on SEN Support.

8 out of 10 pupils with a SEND are sitting in mainstream classrooms requiring SEN Support – that means they are in receipt of additional and/or different provision to their peers – or are they?

With the tightening of school budgets, lots of schools have had to reduce the numbers of support staff which has had a direct impact on SEND pupils and the support they receive. Class teachers have a duty and a responsibility to ensure that these pupils are in receipt of the additional and/or different provision required however many have not been trained to support their complex needs.

What is the SEN Register for? Is it just a list of names or is it a list of names you are tracking and monitoring, ensuring they are receiving support and is it effective? What should schools be doing for pupils on SEN support?

Are you looking for barriers/issues? When progress in English or Maths is low are you just working on the areas they are struggling with? Are you looking at the wider picture? Asking why?

There is lots of information and guidance out there, but before you access that you need to aware of your pupil's needs, asking questions and looking at the wider picture. This is something the whole school needs to think about, not just the SENCO and it needs to be led by the senior leadership team.

This will start with the curriculum you are teaching, making sure the pupils have the foundations to build on when the progress up the school. Before moving on and chasing progress, make sure pupils have the basic stepping stones.

Useful Links

Graduated Response guidance from Norfolk LA - https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/-/media/norfolk/downloads/children-and-families/send/education-and-training-0-25/sen-support-guidance-provision-expected-at-sen-support.pdf?la=en

Cheshire East Toolkit for SEND - https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/livewell/local-offer-for-children-with-sen-and-disabilities/education/supporting-send-in-education/send-toolkit.aspx

Graduated Response Guidance from Worcestershire - http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11603/send_graduated_response.pdf

The SEND Gateway - https://www.sendgateway.org.uk/

SEN Suport – Research Evidence on effective approaches and examples of current good and outstanding practice - https://www.sendgateway.org.uk/download.sen-support-research-evidence-on-effective-approaches-and-examples-of-current-practice-in-good-and-outstanding-schools-and-colleges.html

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

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Wendy Lee to discuss how schools can support pupils in Early Years settings with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN).

With many children are starting school with poor speech, language and communication skills, more needs to be done to support them. There is strong evidence around prevalence, with numbers rising to over 50% of all children in areas of social deprivation having poor language that impacts on wider development.

The impact of poor understanding, limited vocabulary, poor sentence and narrative skills can have wide reaching and long-term impact, not just through primary education, but through secondary school and beyond. The early years is the first port of call for many of these children and early years teachers and practitioners can go some way to identifying needs and supporting language development.

Useful Links

Education Endowment Fund (EEF) – Early Language Development

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/evidence-reviews/early-language/

Education Endowment Fund (EEF) – Preparing for Literacy

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/preparing-for-literacy/

The Communication Trust – Online CPD

https://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/projects/professional-development/online-short-course/

The Communication Trust - Supporting Children and Young People's Speech, Language and Communication online training

http://www.platform3online.org.uk/index.html

The Communication Trust – Talking Point

https://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/projects/talking-point/

Lingo Speech – Products and resources to support SLCN

https://www.lingospeech.co.uk/resources/

Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) – Language as a wellbeing indicator

https://www.eif.org.uk/report/language-as-a-child-wellbeing-indicator

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

Arran classes himself as one of the 4% of the population as a severely dyslexic adult.

When Arran was aged 9 he was diagnosed with dyslexia. He uses the metaphor that dyslexia is like going to the dentist, well that's how it was for him all the way until he was 14, this was the age when he realised that dyslexia is a difference not a disadvantage.

During Arran's working life he has worked in many industries including youth work, retail business and the not-for-profit sector. Arran has worked within the dyslexia sector for over 15 years. He is chairman of the Leicestershire Dyslexia Association and previously worked and volunteered for the British Dyslexia Association in varied roles.

Arran has spoken at many large conferences and events across the UK and more recently spoke at a national conference in India.

Despite Arran being severely dyslexic Arran uses technology to support his needs and without technology he would not be doing what he is doing today.

The Dyslexia Show: https://dyslexiashow.co.uk/

In this, our third Corona BONUS episode looking at Anxiety within the context of the current Corona pandemic, Dale Pickles, Managing Director of B Squared is joined by his guest Sarah-Jane Critchley.

Anxiety is a big topic normally, but right now with all the changes that have happened over the last few weeks to our every day lives, it is huge. In this episode we start with the question 'What is anxiety?', this isn't a simple question as everyone feels anxious, it is how much it impacts on your life. Jane provides us with a great way to rate your anxiety and ways to help manage or reduce your anxiety.

Our conversation then moved on to what can be done now, what can be done at home and the importance of exercise. Some of the strategies discussed include:

• Exercise/activity – Joe Wicks, Gonoodle, Yoga for Kids, kitchen boogie
• Structuring the 4 R's (Routine, Rhythm, Rest and Recovery)
• Meditation – Smiling mind, Headspace
• Breathing
• Know your sensory profile
• Self- Care sensory Shoebox
• Anxiety sucks – and blows!
• Dress for happy (and silly)
• Find the funny (and share it)
• Stimdancing

At the end of the podcast we also discussed the difficulty some children will face transitioning back to school when school starts again. We discussed how schools can support transitions to new schools, when the normal transition process cannot be followed.

Coronavirus Trusted Sources:

1. Adults – BBC Daily Briefing - BBC Iplayer - https://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/bbcnews
2. Children – BBC Newsround - https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/51204456
3. Books Beyond words – Beating the Virus - https://booksbeyondwords.co.uk/downloads-shop/beating-the-virus
4. Social Story – Carol Gray - https://carolgraysocialstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Pandemics-and-the-Coronavirus.pdf

Emotional Distress Detector Toolkit - Emotional Distress Detector Toolkit https://differentjoy.krtra.com/t/DMZtVGKHe1Za

Mindfulness Resources:

http://www.researchautism.net/autism-interventions/types/psychological-interventions/cognitive-and-behavioural-therapies/mindfulness-training-and-autism

Molehill Mountain App:

https://www.autistica.org.uk/get-involved/molehill-mountain-app

Smiling Mind App –

'Thrive Inside' - https://www.smilingmind.com.au/ - FREE

Headspace app –

https://www.headspace.com/headspace-meditation-app includes free 10 day beginner's course.

Cards Against Anxiety – Dr Pooky Knightsmith

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cards-Against-Anxiety-Guidebook-Card/dp/1419743759

When My Worries Get Too Big!: A Relaxation Book for Children Who Live with Anxiety - Kari Dunn Buron

https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Worries-Get-Too-Big/dp/1937473805/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ORFMP3458NPU&keywords=when+my+worries+get+too+big&qid=1585827322&s=books&sprefix=when+my+worries+%2Cstripbooks%2C167&sr=1-1

Useful Websites for Anxiety:

Young Minds - https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/conditions/anxiety/

Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino - https://butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/

Energy Accounting – Maja Toudal on Network Autism https://network.autism.org.uk/knowledge/insight-opinion/energy-accounting-interview-maja-toudal

Autism and Adapted CBT: Dr. Joshua Muggleton article for Network Autism https://network.autism.org.uk/comment/3734#comment-3734

Autism Education Trust (AET) Sensory Checklist

http://www.aettraininghubs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/37.2-Sensory-assessment-checklist.pdf

Different Joy Academy

Only £1 a month to access the Different Joy Academy – Exclusive to SENDCast listeners (minimum of 3 months)

https://www.differentjoy.com/ADJMonthlycoronavirus