SEN ? Parent Support

Are you worried because your child is falling behind at school and may have special educational needs?

Go to the pages above and you will find guidance in identifying some Special Educational Needs, what to ask, who to ask and how to ask – and links to the people who can provide further expert support & advice. If you have any questions, please go to the ‘Contact’ page and email us. Or contact Kent Parent Partnership Service on the helpline.

Follow our blog below to get the latest local, (Kent), and national news, views and advice on additional educational support.

Mabel Cooper 1944 – 2013

A LEADING LIGHT IN SELF-ADVOCACY

Mabel Cooper, who has died, aged 68, was a charismatic and inspirational figure in the changing world of learning disability. She had a tremendous ability to draw on personal experience to tell stories that, written or spoken, engaged and inspired her readers and listeners in many walks of life.

Born in 1944, Mabel was separated from her family in infancy and spent her childhood in a succession of children’s homes. Eventually, aged 13, she acquired the label of ‘learning disability’ which led to her being admitted to St Lawrence’s Hospital (a long-stay institution) in Caterham, Surrey where she remained for the next 20 years.

In the 1990s, aware of the sweeping changes in learning disability policy and practice, Mabel began telling her story. Published to much acclaim in a book called Forgotten Lives (1997), her story proved an inspiration to people with and without learning disabilities, in this country and beyond.

Mabel’s testimony was put to practical use in work with children and young people in schools. She helped children understand the discrimination and the bullying faced by people with learning disabilities and how these might be countered.

Mabel was skilled at enabling children to understand the discrimination and bullying faced by people with learning disablilites. An inspirational speaker, she encouraged people with learning disabilities to self-advocate, to tell their own stories and , in this way, improve education and understanding.

http://www.scld.org.uk/sites/default/files/mabel_cooper_obituary.pdf

Photo:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2013/apr/04/mabel-cooper-obituary

IPSEA Petition is live

Protect children’s rights to a proper education

Responsible department: Department for Education

I urge you to take action to ensure:

1. That the Children & Families (C & F) Bill is amended to ensure all existing essential protections and entitlements for children with special educational needs are maintained. Specifically the Government should address the points of concern raised in IPSEA’s detailed analysis of the C & F Bill.

2. That the Bill is amended to introduce a single assessment process and a single plan across
education, health and social care with equal duties to / enforceability by individuals across all
three elements. Until this is done, the system only covers education. Without this amendment,
only children or young people with special educational needs will be entitled to a new Education, Health and Care plan. Those children who are disabled but do not have special educational
needs will not be covered.

3. Explain clearly why these amendments cannot be made (if they are ignored). Transparency is
essential as parental confidence in the system is low

Sign the petition here:

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/46383?dm_i=PWP,1BPTB,6RIQFF,4HLVA,1

Apps for Kids with Special Educational Needs

A fresh look at learning

Common Sense Media have produced a “Power Up” guide to apps for children with SEN or learning difficulties.

The say that “Working with kids who face challenges requires lots of time, attention, and patience on the part of a parent, teacher, or other adult caregiver. Our goal is to offer you a host of fun, well-designed apps that were recommended and tested by field experts. We hope they can become a part of your toolkit as you work with your child”.

Find out more and download the free guide here:

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/guide/special-needs

 

Glue Ear – symptoms and treatments

Glue ear is one of the most common childhood illnesses and without treatment can affect the way a child’s speech develops and cause them to fall behind at school. Read the ndcs leaflet here:

http://www.ndcs.org.uk/family_support/glue_ear/index.html

Kent PEPs Parent Confidence Survey

This survey is open to all parents/carers of children and young people (aged 0-25) with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities living (or accessing services) in Kent. This includes those children who are in care or home educated.

When the SEND Green Paper was launched, Kent was part of a successful joint application with seven other local authorities (known as the SE7 / South East 7) to be a pathfinder for the SEN reforms.

The purpose of this survey is to gather evidence about how confident and satisfied parents in Kent are with the services they receive for their children from Social Care, Health and Education, and whether there are any particular areas of concern, or areas of good practice. This will enable the parents on the various work streams within the Pathfinder to represent the wider view of parents in Kent.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KP_ParentConfidence

 

 

 

Special Schools

A list of Kent Special Schools and Units with their Ofsted reports,  (updated in February 2012), can be found here:

http://www.kentadvice.co.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=179&Itemid=90

The Secret Life of Shane Lynch

In this channel 5 programme Shane Lynch from Boyzone talks with sometimes startling honesty about the anger and rage he still feels because of his illiteracy. We often hear discussions about the pros and cons of having a label and this programme gives an refreshingly honest and revealing insight into his reaction to the prospect and results of the dyslexia assessment:

http://www.channel5.com/shows/my-secret-past/episodes/shane-lynch-dyslexic

 “Shane struggled with reading and writing all the way through school. Although he developed a number of coping strategies to get through, he was eventually asked to leave as he was thought to be lazy and disruptive. He then worked for his father in his garage until he was plucked from obscurity to become a member of Boyzone. Since then, he has never looked back.

Now at the age of 35, Shane still struggles to read and write and finds his inability embarrassing, but having a young daughter has finally prompted him to do something about it. He was told a couple of years ago that he may have dyslexia, but it has never been officially diagnosed. He is given a proper assessment, but he worries about the outcome – what if he is not dyslexic after all”?

(The programme contains some strong language). Image: www.channel5.com

Getting Help for Special Educational Needs

 

This short guide has been put together by a parent who lives in the Faversham area.

It outlines the actions she recommends you take if you are asking for extra help, (possibly a statement) because you believe your child has special educational needs that are not being met by their school.  A mother of three children with dyslexia, this parent is now going through the statement process for the third time, this is her advice and a list of the people she recommends that you contact for help. Download the guide here: 

GettinghelpforSEN

 

Dyspraxia Deserves more Recognition

“Knock yourself out by objecting to the label if you like but it won’t change how someone’s brain works. The terminology just makes it quicker to explain.

My attitude towards dyspraxia is best summed up in the words of a recently diagnosed woman who took part in an employment workshop: “I don’t want to be a poster girl for anything. I just want to be me, and for it to be acceptable to be me.”

Maxine Frances Roper talks about her experience of having dyspraxia, undiagnosed until the age of 19: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/29/dyspraxia-serious-recognition

 

What parent’s say about the SEN clauses of the Education Bill

Bill Esterson: “The draft legislation suggests that anyone will be able to ask for an assessment to be carried out. At the moment, there is a limit to who is able to. Do you think this is an improvement on the current system”?

Sharon Smith:” I think it is definitely an improvement that anybody can ask for an assessment. There is concern around the current wording though. Although anybody can request an assessment, the local authority does not have a duty to respond to that within six weeks, as they do currently. At the moment, if a parent or a school requests an assessment, the local authority has to respond with a decision within six weeks. If their decision is no, then the parent has the right to appeal.

The wording in the draft Bill at the moment is quite vague, and if that duty to respond within six weeks is not included in the new legislation, then the local authority do not actually have to respond. So if there is no response saying “no”, then parents cannot actually appeal that decision. So it would mean that parents would be in limbo for longer. So whilst I would welcome anybody being able to request an assessment, I think the local authority still needs to have a duty to respond to that request within a set period of time.”

Read the transcript here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmeduc/uc631-ii/uc63101.htm