Dear Colleagues I hope that you all had a restful and relaxing summer break and the first two weeks of the new academic years have gone well. There have been a number of new documents and updated guidance issued in the last three months. In this update I have included educational news from this period that I think is important for you to know about. On 31st August following a …
Dear Colleagues I hope that you have all had a restful and relaxing holiday and are ready to face the opportunities and challenges that the summer term will bring. In this update I have included all the educational news from the last half term. Transformational reform begins for children and young people with SEND – 2nd March – Press Release The government have finally published their SENDAP Improvement Plan following …
On 3rd March the government finally produced their response to the SENDAP Green Paper that was published in March 2022. The response is in the form of an Improvement Plan that outlines how the government is going to update the current SEND system. I have produced an easy to read summary, reducing the 100+ pages into a short and concise summary of the key points that schools need to be aware …
Can you believe we are half-way through the academic year. It sems to be going faster than ever. We are still awaiting the government’s response to the SEND Green Paper published in March 2022. As soon as it is published, I will get the headlines out to you. In this update I have included all the relevant information and documentation that was released during the last term and a half. …
Half Year Update – SEND and Mental Health – February 2023 Read More »
Dear Colleagues I hope that you have all had a very enjoyable and relaxing holiday and are ready for the academic year ahead. I would like to think that after the last two and a half years of turmoil due to a Global Pandemic we can look forward positively to the next year. However, with the current financial crisis and excessive rises in fuel and food costs many of our …
The SEND Green Paper was finally published on 30th March 2022. It is a consultation document that I encourage all of you to respond to. The consultation closes on 1st July 2022. The SEND review sets out government’s proposals for a system that offers children and young people the opportunity to thrive, with access to the right support, in the right place, and at the right time, so they can …
SEND Review: Right support:Right place:Right time Read More »
I know that the last half term has been very challenging – some say the worst so far! Some of you have already broken up for half-term and are enjoying your holiday and some of you will be counting down the days until the end of this week. Please enjoy your break and take some time for yourselves. I have put together this update of all the news stories and …
I do hope that you have all had a relaxing and restful holiday and that you are ready to face the term ahead. Let’s hope that we can get back to some kind of normality this term. During the holidays a number of documents were issued by DfE, not many about SEND specifically, but I have highlighted the key ones I think will be of most interest. National strategy for …
Well done for making it through the toughest year that I have known in my 42 years of working within the education sector. The challenges and difficulties have been unprecedented and even as I write this, with less than a week to go until the end of term for many of you, we are still seeing bubbles collapsing and more and more staff and students having to self-isolate. The DfE …
Department for Education 2021 Reception baseline assessment: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) – 6th May This statutory guidance contains information for assessing and reporting the reception baseline assessment in the 2021 to 2022 academic year. All the assessment resources should have been delivered to schools at the beginning of June. Schools and colleges to benefit from boost in expert mental health support – Press Release – 10th May Gavin Williamson …
Since school fully opened on March 8th we have seen a number of new reports published about pupils with SEND. In this blog I share with you five of these reports and their findings and recommendations. It is hoped that the Department for Education (DfE) take into account some of the findings in these reports as part of the SEND Review which is currently taking place. Identifying pupils with SEND …
Dear Colleagues I hope you are all well and have enjoyed a pleasant long weekend. BBC Bitesize The BBC has said that it will continue to provide learning support for teachers and pupils into the summer months. A three-hour Bitesize Learning Zone will be launched on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on school days, including new episodes of Bitesize Daily. This means that the Bitesize Learning Zone will continue to be …
As all schools plan to fully reopen from the 8th March I thought it would be a good time to look back over lockdown and share with you some of the key SEND information, guidance and documents that have been published during this time. I would firstly like to say a huge thank you to everyone for your hard work and commitment during these very difficult times. Trying to juggle …
SEND Update – What have you missed during lockdown? Read More »
Welcome to my December News Update. Congratulations on getting to the end of a very challenging year. I do hope that you are all going to have a restful and relaxing winter break to ensure that you are fully recharged for the year ahead. This is my final update for 2020, outlining some the documents and information published in the last month. What maintained schools must publish online – Updated …
On the 3rd December Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education made an announcement about end of KS1 and KS2 assessment arrangements in Summer 2021. The DfE and STA have published a number of guidance documents to support these arrangements. 2021 early years foundation stage: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) PLEASE NOTE: These assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) do not apply to schools participating in the EYFS reforms early adopter …
EYFS, KS1 and KS2 Assessment Arrangements for Summer 2021 Read More »
Welcome to the November SEND News Update. I have included some more general educational updates as well as those for SEND as they may impact on you and your setting. REMINDER: The virtual SEND Conference will take place on 27th November. You can be part of the conference on the day, or watch the sessions later on when you have time. The videos are always available. This year there are …
As we get closer to half-term, I am sure that you are all looking forward to a well-earned break. This half term has been very tough and extremely challenging and I congratulate you all on your perseverance and commitment to supporting the children and young people in your schools and colleges. There have been a significant number of documents circulated during the last few weeks. I have brought them all …
Lorraine has recently had an article published in collaboration with TTS, where she reflects on what children have experienced during lockdown, how this might affect their return to school and what teachers can do to support them. Lorraine uses TTS’ “Calming Cat” as an example of new strategies which can support children and their different needs at this challenging time. Read more Here
I hope that you have all managed to have a summer break although for many of you it will have been very different from other summers. I know many of you will have spent some time planning for the new term and trying to get to grips with what the “new normal” might look like. Over the summer there have been new documents, information and guidance from a number of …
