C.E. Jottings

If training is the answer, why don't we do it for children with CP? Tell David Weston TDA

From his Speech to Reform “Value for Money” event, 27th-Sep-2012 David Weston, Chief Executive, Teacher Development Trust "In 2007, a team of researchers in New Zealand reported on a school intervention that led to pupils making two and a half years of progress in their writing skills compared to the single year of progress made by their peers in the control group, while the least able 20% – those disadvantaged pupils who had struggled most in school – made even... Read more →

Outcomes for people with cerebral palsy: life expectancy and quality of life

Can't bring myself to pay the $31.50 to buy the article but this abstract attracted my attention, partly for its headline but mainly for two bits that I have underlined (my emphasis). The abstract below is from Paediatrics and Child Health Volume 22, Issue 9 , Pages 384-387, September 2012. Outcomes for people with cerebral palsy: life expectancy and quality of life. Allan Colver MA MD FRCPCH Donald Court Professor of Community Child Health, Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle... Read more →

Being great is rarely a product of not giving a damn

Tom Bennett's latest post "Twilight of the GCSEs; new balls, please" came to me via Twitter and was such an amusing read on a serious subject that I stopped to read others of Tom's posts. That's how I came to read his post on 5th August Lessons from the Olympics 2: Wanting the World is not enough Here's how you inspire a child: Part 1: You tell them they are capable of just about anything Part 2: You tell them... Read more →

New term. New Free Schools. Time for new schools' politics?

This past week [I began this post on 8th Sept], as children returned to school, some of them did so for the first time at one of the 55 new Free Schools opening this autumn term. Also this week, perhaps not entirely coincidentally, Biteback Publishing published "Education, Education, Education: Reforming England's Schools" by former Labour Education Minister, Andrew Adonis. One theme of the book was presaged in an article written by Andrew Adonis for the New Statesman back in March... Read more →

Getting Together in November

It's long been my contention that getting together and collaborating can only be a force for good. With that in mind, Paces is hosting two events on consecutive days in November, with the aim of bringing people together. The venue is the prestigious and de-stressing setting of the Yorkshire Sculture Park (YSP). (By having the events on consecutive days, we gained a generous discount from YSP - but these are two distinct and separate events, so please do not confuse... Read more →

Draft SEN legislation published

In the week that the Prime Minister was busy announcing his new Cabinet, a re-shuffle that saw Sarah Teather lose her job as Minister for Children and Families (and responsibility for what she called the 'greatest reform of SEN in a generation'), the Government has published draft legislation to be included in the Children and Families Bill. The Bill is expected to be put before Parliament in 2013 and be enacted in 2014. The draft legislation follows on from the... Read more →