C.E. Jottings

In defence of the amateur tradition on charity boards

When did the word "amateur" acquire such strong negative connotation? In The Times a week or so ago, the headline to a Philip Collins' opinion piece states "These amateurish charities aren't fit for purpose". And in The Guardian the day before an Editorial headline ran "The Guardian view on charity trustees: no role for amateurs". These confident assertions arise from the Kids Company débâcle. Yet if there was one thing that the Board of Kids Company was not, it was... Read more →

Thinking differently about special education (from Carter and his review of ITT)

The Carter Review of Initial Teacher Training has been published. I struggle to imagine who could possibly find it an essential and inspirational document. It is a little more than a re-hash of the prevailing orthodoxy. It has nothing of value to say about special education or special pedagogy. In contrast, and coincidentally, I am at the moment reading "Vygotsky and Special Needs Education: Rethinking Support for Children and Schools" (Continuum International Publishing Group 2011. Eds Harry Daniels and Mariane... Read more →

Special Education reforms: opportunities for conductive education in the UK

Andrew Sutton left a Comment on my recent blog posting "Some SEN Statementing questions answered by Special Needs Jungle" in the form of a link to a posting on his own blog where, after leading in with a clip from Tania Tirraoro in the SNJ posting, Andrew ponders the coming "tsunami" of change, how real the change might be, what it might mean for conductive education in the UK and our readiness for it. For everyone in conductive education, Andrew... Read more →

Response to Commons question on SEN teacher training less than informative

The oral question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck (S Shields Lab) of the Children's Minister, Edward Timpson: “What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the training and support available for the teaching of children with special educational needs." The Minister's reply was, "Teachers tell us that the quality of their training in SEN has improved significantly, with 69% of primary teachers and 74% of secondary teachers rating their training as “good” or “very good” in helping them to... Read more →

Stephen Twigg supports Conductive Education!

The Shadow Education Secretary, Stephen Twigg, I read in this morning’s press, is in favour of all teachers being trained. Conductors are trained. Ergo Stephen Twigg is in favour of Conductive Education! Well, no. I’m kidding. It’s a fantasy as well as a non sequitur. Actually, it’s also a case of misreporting. The Shadow Minister is not, as I wrote, "in favour of" all teachers being trained, certainly not if by that we mean initial training. He’s not actually “in... Read more →

Teachers and training and special education - and Tom Peters

Tom Peters argues that "The very best and the very brightest and the most energetic and enthusiastic and entrepreneurial and tech-savvy of our university graduates must—must, not should—be lured into teaching. (They need not stay for life—one would be happy with 5 years, ecstatic with 10.)" Me? I'd settle right now just for teachers of children with cerebral palsy to be trained to do so. Read more →

New report points to systemic failure in teaching of children with statements of SEN

I have been reading (and re-reading)a new research report from the Institute of Education: “The Making a Statement project Final Report. A study of the teaching and support experienced by pupils with a statement of special educational needs in mainstream primary schools” by Rob Webster and Peter Blatchford. The Executive Summary of the report concludes: On basis of the evidence from our research, we suggest that the new EHCPs avoid expressing support for pupils in terms of hours, and instead... Read more →

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 →

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 →