C.E. Jottings

"If someone can propel a manual wheelchair, they are not eligible for benefits"?

"For employment support allowance, we talk about mobilising, which means being able to transfer from point A to point B either by walking, walking with aids, which is crutches, walking sticks, Zimmer frame or using a manual wheelchair. So if someone has no legs but they have good hands, they can sit and propel a manual wheelchair, they don't score anything." Trainer's guidance to new trainee ATOS assessors. "During the assessment [claimants are awarded] points reflecting the apparent severity of... Read more →

NAS NUT & former Ofsted Inspector support disability specific training for teachers?

I'm really pleased that Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, Mike Tomlinson, the former chief inspector of schools have all supported my call for teachers of children with cerebral palsy to be trained and to have some understanding of cerebral palsy. No sooner had I queried ("No training for teachers of children with cerebral palsy?") why it appeared to be that there were "no training programmes for those who... Read more →

No training for teachers of children with cerebral palsy?

Perhaps worth reading in full is an interesting SEN blog posting from the National Association of Head Teachers relating mostly to training. This caught my eye: "The Autism Education Trust (AET) has rolled out Level 1 of their materials through 7 regional Training Hubs (see www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk/TrainingHubs). Already, over 1,500 people have been trained. Levels 2 & 3 are being piloted at present and will become available in the Autumn. At the same time, the DfE has funded the AET to... Read more →

Number of Free Schools rising - see map & list #freeschools #CondEd

Mostly a simple alert to: 1. DfE Press Release issued today "Prime Minister: More new Free Schools than ever before to raise standards and increase choice: The Prime Minister and Education Secretary Michael Gove today announced that 102 new Free Schools have been approved to open in 2013 and beyond." Of these just 5 are special free schools. That adds to the 3 special free schools due to open in September 2012. Does anyone know how these are doing? 2.... Read more →

Change is inevitable – the Law and SEN

Jane McConnell, (parent, CEO IPSEA) who was one of the Panel of Witnesses who gave evidence to the recent Education Select Committee, writes for SEN magazine (“A change is gonna come“) on how the law is going to change and what it all means for SEN provisions like Paces School and adult services. It is very well worth a little of your time to read. She is particularly good on the outstanding areas of concern, though some will not share... Read more →

Education Committee hears SEN evidence

Missed this when it happened a couple of weeks ago. This is a lengthy read in total but if you can find the time it’s a useful guide to the ‘current state of play’ in what the Minister Sarah Teather calls a “complete re-engineering” of the system of special educational needs. House of Commons: Oral Evidence: Taken Before the Education Committee – Special Educational Needs. Wednesday 20 June 2012 If you’ve no time at all, then have a glance at... Read more →