C.E. Jottings

The emotions of labels: a parent's tale

Some writing just gets to the heart of it. The impact of it. The emotions of labels.Doesn't matter what impairment your child has. Violet is herself visually impaired, a "Mum of 2, wife of one. Disability campaigner. Novice Blogger and tweeter and expert chocolate eater!" she says. One of her children has Asperger's syndrome. Her blog post "High Functioning Autism vs Aspergers: The emotions of labels" is about her response as a Mum. Look, here's an extract, but just take... Read more →

Belated farewell to Dr Sonia Sharp - heading down under to Victoria

Sometimes news travels very slowly. We have only just learned of Dr Sonia Sharp's move from Sheffield to Victoria, Australia. Are there parents and conductors active in Victoria? This is from the City Council website in March 2012. "Dr Sonia Sharp is leaving Sheffield City Council after being personally asked to lead on services for young children for the State of Victoria, Australia - a more senior role than the one she currently holds. She was appointed to this senior... Read more →

Two phrases. Opposite poles. What do they mean for education and upbringing?

Two phrases have been rattling around in my head. I'm just going to share them with you - and maybe come back later to expand on my own thoughts. The first is ... "educated beyond their intelligence"; The second is .... "the transformability of human potential". To put them both into their immediate contexts (emphases mine). The first is from an (otherwise forgetable) article in the Guardian "What's the point of social mobility?" by Zoe Williams: " ... my new... Read more →

Search this blog: Just repaired the search function by adding TypePad's own search widget. Give it a try now. As a test run, try a search for "Hari", Read more →

Training teachers of children with cerebral palsy - what you don't need to know

First, let me say it again: it is not possible in the UK to train to be a teacher of children with cerebral palsy. Second, let me give you an instance of a description of cerebral palsy: Cerebral palsy is caused by injury or developmental disturbances to the immature brain and leads to substantial motor, cognitive, and learning deficits. In addition to developmental disruption associated with the initial insult to the immature brain, injury processes can persist for many months... Read more →

Support & Aspiration - Progress & Next Steps: selection of first responses

A selection of irst responses garnered from Twitter under hashtag #SEN : Guardian article "Special needs education reform offers hope and anxiety for parents" Ambitious About Autism "Our statement on Government’s SEN Green Paper response" IPSEA: "Initial views on the Government's SEN Green Paper Response" BBC News: "Special needs budgets to be controlled by parents" Every Disabled Child Matters: "Government denies ‘single plan’ to disabled children with health and social care needs" NASEN: SEND Green Paper:Next Steps NASEN catches well... Read more →

Support and Aspiration: DfE publish 'Progress & Next Steps' document

This just published and taken straight from DfE web site: This report sets out a summary of the key responses to the consultation questions in Support and aspiration, current progress and our further plans for the vision in the Green Paper, in which: children’s special educational needs are picked up early and support is routinely put in place quickly staff have the knowledge, understanding and skills to provide the right support for children and young people who have SEN or... Read more →

How many children have SEN? Again.

Actually, I was googling "Brinks-Mat" and "Stephen Lawrence". Links between criminals and detectives in the two cases had been mentioned on BBC TV, last Saturday, as I was making myself a slice of cheese on toast for breakfast. Searching for something quite different, in other words, as I find often happens Google threw up "Can 20 per cent of schoolchildren really have special needs?" - an article by "writer, biographer, journalist and broadcaster" Peter Stanford in yesterday's Daily Telegraph. 20%... Read more →

Some first responses to Queen's Speech - SEN

While we wait until next week, when we are promised DfE will put some detail, here are a few first responses to the Queen's Speech. If you know of more, please leave the link in a Comment below. Nasen (formerly the National Association for Special Educational Needs): "Nasen welcomes the announcement that proposals outlined in the Green Paper will be moved forward during this session of parliament." Follow Your Dreams - CEO Sue Sugarman's response to the Queen's Speech: "Although... Read more →

Queen's Speech & SEN - more next week

We can, next week, expect DfE Ministers to set out their detailed response to consultation on the SEND Green Paper "Support and Aspiration" and a timetable for what they are describing as the biggest reform of special education in 30 years. In a DfE press release, accompanying the Queen's Speech to Parliament yesterday, the Minister, Sarah Teather, says, "In our Green Paper, Support and Aspiration, we set out plans for the biggest SEN reforms for 30 years – giving parents... Read more →