C.E. Jottings

Why and How the Body Changes Shape?

My previous posting was stimulated by the announcement on the PMLD Network of the formation of Postural Care CIC. The same email that alerted me to the new enterprise also pointed to a couple of the company's courses. One of these is "Understanding why and how the body changes shape" (this link downloads .pdf file from the Choice Forum). "Delivered by leading experts in this field, John and Liz Goldsmith "Designed to give an introductory overview to practical aspects of... Read more →

CICs - a social enterprise business model for CE?

I belong to the PMLD Network, which is part of the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities. The constant stream of emails into my Inbox is always informative, interesting and thought-provoking: very well worth taking a look at if you don't know them, bookmarking and maybe joining. Typically "informative, interesting and thought-provoking" was an email I opened today: Hi Everyone, We are delighted to announce the formation of Postural Care CIC. As a Community Interest Company (denoting Not for Profit)... Read more →

Pedagogic nihilism

In a great posting today, "The good news ... and the same old dreary mixture", Andrew Sutton has come up with the truly wonderful phrase "pedagogic nihilism". It's just got to be an invention of Andrew's. It might be the first time the phrase has ever been seen in print. A search on Google produces zero results. In the whole world of the internet, the only occurrence of the phrase is today, on Andrew's blog. And what a wonderful, illuminating,... Read more →

Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship

In 2007, I had the great good fortune to be awarded a Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship. This enabled me to travel in Canada, America and to attend the World Congress of Conductive Education in Sweden. I travelled in total for some 4 weeks, all expenses paid. I met some terrific people working to improve the lot of those with cerebral palsy and their families. Great memories. Fellows rightly report that the experience of the Fellowship is life-changing. That's it. Who... Read more →

Best behaviour - a diversion into Governance

For the few who might be interested in Governance issues in running CE centres and charities .... came across it, oddly enough, via Twitter .... Charity Finance blog, worth a look in itself, for some ... Best Behaviour by Tesse Akpeki "Behavioural governance takes insights from relationships and the human side of leadership and applies this to the rational, the logical and the analytical aspects of governing and oversight." "When these aspects are going well, the board and its surroundings... Read more →

Mainstreaming CE - a key training argument

News of an important breakthrough from Robert Kurz, President of Sixten's Foundation reported on The Conductive World "Big News from Maryland": Following a meeting Robert had with the Director of Special Education for Prince George's County Public Schools, the Director "totally sees how the children have responded during our one year Conductive Education pilot program and sees the value in continuing it long term ..... [She] stated that the long term goal is to hire as many as 15 Conductive... Read more →

High-minded and/or enterprising?

A pair of Guardian articles: In the first, (High-minded Ambition 3rd June), Adam Sampson, recently retired chief executive of the homeless charity Shelter, argues that, with growth and professionalisation, Britain's charity sector "could lose its sense of mission", and that "there is a danger that what makes it distinctive, valuable or essential may get eroded" In the second, (Charities have not lost sight of what is important 18 June), Stephen Bubb, CEO of ACEVO, argues that a modern and enterprising... Read more →

Bubb's Blog

For some time now, I've been remiss in not refreshing my blog page with links and other material. And no, now is not the time, as my daughter's carers are arriving for the morning routine and I'm off to make a cup of tea. When I do get some time, I shall add to my list of links to blogs, Bubb's Blog. This is the blog of Stephen Bubb, Chief Exec of ACEVO. As it says "on the packet": THIS... Read more →

Honours and CE?

A friend of CE asked me today whether anyone else in the world of CE, other than Helen Somerset How, had ever received an Honour of any sort. The award to Helen was perhaps the first to include conductive education in the citation. My colleague, Karen Hague, the co-founder of Paces, and a parent, like myself and Helen, whose daughter is now 27, received an MBE in 2004, I think, but the citation did not specifically mention CE. The question... Read more →

Congratulations - Helen MBE

Congratulations to Helen Somerset How for her MBE awarded in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. When the history of CE in the UK comes to be written, her role and that of the Rainbow Centre will have a very special place. There are a couple of things I find remarkable about Helen's achievement. Firstly, she is a Mum. She has a son with cerebral palsy who is 26. As I write this, it has just turned 5.00am and my daughter,... Read more →