Send magazine september 2017 digital

SEND Special Educational Needs & Disability

ISSUE 17 September 2017

MLD

Is Moderate Learning Difficulties a thing of the past?

SEND UPDATE

From Lorraine Petersen OBE

PEARSON

Shine A Light Awards

FROM DISENGAGED TO ENGAGED

A new lens on behaviour management

LOST TRIBES

Why social connections matter for children & young people with SEND

IDE S N I ALSO REVIEWS, , NEWS TURES, FEA HOP, S BOOK LIER SUPP LES I PROF

SEND Magazine www.sendmagazine.co.uk @sendmagazine

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Welcome to SEND Magazine

SMagazine END

Publisher Director Nick Clarke BA (HONS) 07984 306 664 nick@sendmagazine.co.uk

YES, I know, where on earth did that Summer go? Some of you have just returned to school and some have already been back a week or two. With holidays annoyingly staggered across the UK, I’m sure many are already looking ahead to the October half-term. So, what’s in store over the next few months? Well it’s hard to tell, with the ever changing landscape of education, particularly when in comes to Special Educational Needs and Disability.

Recently I was fortunate enough to attend the launch of ‘Going to Church’, at Lambeth Palace in London. The latest ‘book without words’ published by Books Beyond Words, was co-authored by the wonderful Katie Carpenter, a young lady with Down’s syndrome. More information about this book can be read on Page 8.

This month, we have a packed edition with vital information and updates to help you through the coming months. Leading SEND consultant Lorraine Petersen OBE talks about the latest SEND updates on Page 10. Lorraine will also be speaking at this years’ Special Needs London in October.

Also speaking at the Business Design Centre will be another two contributors to SEND Magazine, the wonderful Professor Barry Carpenter CBE and the powerful figure of former NASEN CEO Jane Friswell.

Professor Barry Carpenter CBE this month talks about behavioural management in his article entitled ‘Disengaged to Engaged’ on Page 16, and Jane opens a potential can of worms as she discusses the points of Moderate Learning Difficulties and “are they really a thing of the past?” on Page 18.

On Page 14 we publish the winners of the 2017 Shine A Light Awards by Pearson Assessment; this years’ event was hosted by singer and musical theatre performer Gareth Gates. The Shine A Light Awards highlight achievements of those working with Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disability. Next years’ date is also announced within the article.

One Page 22, Arran Smith talks about Microsofts’ innovation with technology and Dyslexia, and on Page 24 we look at differentiation strategies for those with severe learning difficulties and Downs syndrome.

Heather Stack writes about the importance of social connections with children and young people with SEND on Page 26 and we finish this edition with a list of some of the latest books available to add to your teaching toolkit on Pages 32-34.

Finally, I just want to draw your attention to the next SEND Conference in May 2018. This years’ event at the Sketchley Grange Hotel was a big success so we will be running another event with information to follow in the November issue of SEND Magazine. If you would like to register interest in attending and get an early bird ticket discount email me on nick@sendmagazine.co.uk Thank you once again for reading and supporting SEND Magazine.

Nick Clarke

SEND Consultant Simon Carnell

Office Manager Helen Clarke info@sendmagazine.co.uk

Accounts accounts@sendmagazine.co.uk

Subscriptions subscriptions@sendmagazine.co.uk

Contributors Professor Barry Carpenter CBE, Lorraine Peterson OBE, Arran Smith, Heather Stack, Jane Friswell. ©SEND Magazine is published by SEND (UK) Ltd Managing Director Nick Clarke

The views and opinions expressed in SEND Magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publisher cannot be held responsible or liable for any incorrect information, opinions of any third parties or omissions.

No part of this publication can be reproduced without prior permission from the publisher.

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Contents

P8 NEWS

Books Beyond Words’ new book co-authored by Katie Carpenter.

P10 SEND UPDATE

Lorraine Petersen OBE talks about all the latest policy and development within Special Educational Needs.

P18 MLD A THING OF THE PAST?

Former NASEN CEO Jane Friswell questions whether moderate learning difficulties really are a thing of the past.

P22 MICROSOFT & SEND

Technology and Innovation column from Dyslexia consultant Arran Smith.

P26 THE LOCAL OFFER

Why social connections matter with children and young people with SEND.

P14 SHINE A LIGHT AWARDS

Winners of Pearson Shine a Light Awards, hosted by singer Gareth Gates.

P16 DISENGAGED TO ENGAGED

Professor Barry Carpenter CBE writes about behavioural management.

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SEND Magazine September 2017

P32-34 BOOKSHOP

Latest book releases for SEND.

www.sendmagazine.co.uk

NEWS

Applications open to create 1,600 new special free school places

Nineteen local authorities open applications to sponsor new special free schools

MORE than 1,600 new special free school places will be created across England as 19 local authorities invite applications to run new special free schools.

It will mean 19 new schools, providing high quality provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities, will be built through the government’s ambitious free schools programme that provides choice, innovation and higher standards for parents.

Organisations ranging from successful Multi-Academy Trusts to specialist charitable organisations can now apply to the 19 local authorities, setting out how they will be able to meet the specification for each project. Criteria have been developed by the local authorities, in conjunction with the Department for Education, to ensure they meet the needs of each local community and provide much-needed places for special educational needs and disability (SEND) pupils.

Among the special free school specifications are: • A 200-place school with both early years and post-16 places for pupils between the ages of three and 19 in the Borough of Bedford.

• A 100-place school with post16 provision for pupils between the ages of five to 19 with www.sendmagazine.co.uk

with proven track records in SEND provision to run special schools that will help hundreds of children fulfil their potential.”

complex communication and interaction needs, Autism spectrum disorder and other social and mental health needs in Doncaster.

• A 125-place school for pupils between the ages of four and 16 with social communication needs and Autism spectrum disorder in Hampshire.

• A 150-place school with early years and post-16 provision for pupils between the ages of two to 19 with Autism spectrum disorder in Croydon.

Schools System Minister, Lord Nash, said: “Free schools are providing many good new school places in response to the needs of communities across the country. This process will give

local authorities the chance to identify expert organisations

The new schools are part of the most-recent wave of free schools approved in April, and are separate from government plans to open 30 free schools in partnership with local authorities – as recently announced by Education Secretary, Justine Greening. Since 2015, the government has committed £5.8 billion of basic need funding to deliver the school places needed by 2020.

Applications close on November 24 2017.

• On 12 April 2017, the Department for Education announced the approval of 131 new free schools, including approval of plans to launch special free school competitions in Bedford, Blackpool, Bradford, Cheshire East, Croydon, Doncaster, Enfield, Essex, Hampshire, Havering, Herefordshire, Hounslow, Manchester, Portsmouth, Redbridge, Sheffield, South Gloucestershire, Suffolk and Sunderland.

• More than 9 in 10 free schools have been approved in areas where a need for more school places has already been identified, and the remainder have been created by local communities deciding they wanted more choice. Free schools are ensuring more parents have access to a good local school place for their children.

• There are currently 346 open free schools, 38 studio schools and 48 university technical colleges, which will provide over 234,000 places when at capacity.

September 2017 SEND Magazine

7

NEWS

New picture book by co-author with Down’s syndrome on inclusion in church communities KATIE Carpenter, a young woman with Down’s syndrome, has cowritten a new book to help people with learning disabilities be included in church communities.

Launched at Lambeth Palace in London, Katie wrote Going to Church, part of the Beyond Words series, with Professor the Baroness Sheila Hollins and Professor John Swinton. It is illustrated by Lucy Bergonzi.

Often, people with learning disabilities experience loneliness and isolation from the wider community, putting their wellbeing, health and happiness at risk. Churches can provide an important link back to that community, and help give people meaning and purpose.

Going to Church is a communication tool which uses

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pictures rather than words to help people with learning disabilities or communication difficulties explore themes of church and community.

Additional guidance is provided at the back of the book for families, supporters and churches.

The book tells the story of Alan, a young man who discovers what it means to belong to a church community. Alan finds some of the unfamiliar aspects of church difficult at first, but eventually makes friends who help him to become an active part of the church community.

Many people with learning disabilities are interested in exploring religion or want to be part of a church community, but may not have the confidence or the communication to do so. Many churches want to be more inclusive

SEND Magazine September 2017

and involve people with learning disabilities in their communities but may not know how to go about this.

Co-author Katie says: “Working on Going to Church was brilliant! I had to go on the train to London for meetings. My friends at Blakedown Church helped me with ideas. I hope the book helps people like me when they go to church.”

Katie lives in her own home and attends college, as well as volunteering at two charity shops and running a Beyond Words book club. In September she will begin an apprenticeship at her local school as a trainee Teaching Assistant.

This book will help people to come together and form a common community. Exploring the story will give someone the knowledge and confidence to join in, to meet new

people and to generally have a higher quality of life. It also allows supporters and church communities to understand the person and their wishes, and provide them with the necessary support.

Recently deceased sadly before the launch, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster, said of the book: “I warmly commend Going to Church – a story told so powerfully in pictures. Sometimes we forget people with learning disabilities and our need to connect to them in ways that help them to belong. This book is a marvellous reminder to all of us and I hope that it will be very widely read.”

For further information visit www.booksbeyondwords.co.uk www.sendmagazine.co.uk

NEW BOOK LAUNCHED ‘Going to Church’ ORDER NOW www.booksbeyondwords.co.uk

Our books all tell a story, but they also let the reader tell their own story – the one they see in the pictures. This can tell you a lot about a person’s inner world and their understanding of situations. There is plenty to talk about and each story explores feelings and relationships as well as giving information.

Visit our website to see our full range of books for children and young people with SEND

“Developed by a committed and dedicated team, Books Beyond Words publish books without words, engaging in the reader and provide a valuable resource for children and young adults with special educational needs & disability (SEND).”

Nick Clarke, Publisher SEND Magazine

To order or for further information call

020 7492 2559

SEND UPDATE

SEND update

Leading SEND consultant, Lorraine Petersen OBE, delivers the latest news and statistics.

LATE in July, as schools were breaking up for their well-earned summer break the Department for Education (DfE) published their Special Educational Needs in England 2017 statistics.

The key messages were: • An increase of 15,470 pupils identified as SEN (2016: 1,228,785 2017: 1,244,255) • An increase of 5,380 pupils with a statement or EHCP (2016: 236,805 2017: 242,185) • Primary type of need for SEN Support was Moderate Learning Difficulties (25.2%) • Primary type of need for statement/EHCP was Autistic Spectrum Disorder (26.9%) • An increase in the number of pupils with statement/EHCP attending special school • An increase in the number of pupils on SEN Support in Independent Schools

What does this mean?

This is the first year since 2010 that we have seen a rise in the number of pupils identified as SEN. This is partly due to the overall increase in the number of pupils in the system, including those aged 0-5 and 16-25. The percentage of pupils with SEN remains at 14.4%.

Just over 10,000 of these new pupils are identified as requiring SEN Support. This could be due to a number of factors: • Schools are more confident at identifying SEN in primary years • More pupils are entering school with more complex needs that require additional/different provision • The changes to curriculum and assessment have resulted in

10

schools identifying more pupils not meeting expected standard at KS1 and KS2.

The remaining 5,380 new pupils have been issued an Education, Health and Care Plan in 2016 – due to the overall increase in the number of pupils in the system especially at 16+ the percentage has remained static at 2.8% since 2007.

The year-on-year increase in the number of pupils with a statement or an EHCP in special schools is also a matter of concern as the majority of our special schools are full and above capacity. This is resulting in significant numbers (over 4,000 in January 2017) awaiting a placement many being educated at home. This may also be the reason why we have seen a significant increase in the number of pupils in Independent schools. It would be interesting to know if parents are paying for this provision or if local authorities are placing pupils in the independent sector as there are limited maintained places available locally.

At the beginning of August the DfE announced that they would be providing a special provision fund of £215 million from 2018 – 2021 for local authorities to create places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and to improve facilities for them in mainstream and special schools, nurseries, colleges and other education providers.

Local authorities are now planning on how they are going to effectively use this additional funding but it will take time to establish additional places.

One of the concerns highlighted in these statistics is the number of

SEND Magazine September 2017

pupils identified as having Moderate Learning Difficulties.

This now represents over a quarter of all SEN Support pupils.

This has increased significantly since the new SEND Code of Practice 2015 changed the category Behaviour, Social and Emotional Needs (BESD) to Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs (SEMH). I feel that some schools are using MLD as a “catchall” category for many pupils who have complex needs (many exhibiting significant behavioural challenges) that have not been correctly identified.

This would be rectified with much greater training at both Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and through Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to support teachers in early identification and intervention of the complexity of needs now being seen in many of our pupils. This includes extensive training in supporting mental health and well-being.

Know the Law!

As we approach the end of the transitional arrangements for SEND Reforms (March 2018) it is important that schools fully understand the law that supports children and young people with SEND. All SENCOs should understand what each of these legislative documents say about the duties on schools. They should also understand the duties on local authorities so that they can discourse with knowledge when local authorities are quoting from their own policies and not SEND law.

New Law

• Part 3 of Children and Families Act 2014 • The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 • The Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014 • The SEN and Disability Code of Practice 2015

Existing Law

• Equality Act 2010 • Mental Capacity Act 2005 • The Children Act 1989 and Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970

Old Law (until March 2018 for pupils with a statement) • Education Act 1996 • SEN Code of Practice 2001

SENCOs who want to find out more about SEND law should visit the IPSEA website https://www.ipsea.org.uk/. IPSEA also run excellent SEND law on-line training which is inexpensive and would help any SENCO ensure that the needs of their pupils are being met in an effective and legal way. https://www.ipsea.org.uk/training/ online-courses

SEN Support

Schools have a duty to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEN gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEN. The SEND Code of Practice 2015 sets out very clearly what schools should be doing in regard to SEN Support pupils.

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and www.sendmagazine.co.uk

SEND UPDATE

development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff.

Regularly and carefully review and, where necessary, improve teachers’ understanding of strategies to identify and support vulnerable pupils and their knowledge of SEN If necessary, schools should have arrangements in place to draw on assessments from external agencies and professionals Engage with parents and pupils early as early as possible.

This should include sharing a copy of the outcomes that had been agreed together with the next steps to help achieve these outcomes. Schools should also direct children, parents and young people to the local authority’s Local Offer and their Information, Advice and Support Service so they can access Independent Support should they require it.

Schools will also share with parents what support their child www.sendmagazine.co.uk

needs and how this will be provided. Pupils on SEN Support should be receiving additional and/or different provision to their peers. This may be provided by the teacher, a TA or other specialist and the expectation is that the school will fund this additional provision from their notional budget up to £6000 per pupil.

There should be a clear date for reviewing progress and agreed with parents, pupil and teaching staff. Once it is decided that a pupil does require SEN Support , this should be recorded and the pupil’s parents must be formally informed that special educational provision is being made. There is then a duty of providing regular (at least 3 times per year) meetings to review progress.

Schools should then instigated the Graduated Approach - Assess the pupil’s needs, Plan appropriate support, Do what has been planned and Review the pupil’s progress in response to support The school should obtain a wide

range of evidence including the views and experience of parents, the pupil’s own views and, if relevant, advice from external support services. Schools should take seriously any concerns raised by a parent.

Where other professionals in education, health or care are not already working with school staff the SENCO should contact them only if the parents agree. There is no statutory requirement to involve specialists or outside agencies.

All teachers and support staff who work with the pupil should be made aware of their needs, the

outcomes sought, the support provided and any teaching strategies or approaches that are required. This should also be recorded on the school’s information system.

Keeping robust records at each of the above stages is vital to ensure that everyone (pupil, parents and professionals) are kept informed of strategies, interventions, actions and progress at each review point. These records will also form the basis should the school need to apply to the local authority for an Educational, Health and Care Needs Assessment.

Lorraine will be speaking at TES SEN Show on Saturday 7th October – her seminar entitled ‘SEN Policy Update – top tips for effective EHC planning’ will cover the topics included in this article with further information on applying for an EHC Plan, Annual Reviews and the findings from the Ofsted/CQC local area inspections. For more information about TES SEN Show visit: http://www.tessenshow.co.uk/tessenshow2017/en/page/home September 2017 SEND Magazine

11

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PEARSON

2018 Shine a Light Awards

Recognising national communication champions.

SEN School or Group of the Year Award Winner: Ashmount School, Loughborough, Gareth Gates, host, and judges; Malcolm Reeve, AET and Chris Hall, Pearson.

Winners of the 2017 awards categories: Pearson Outstanding Achievement Award Winner: Caspian Jamie

Early Years Setting of the Year Award Winner: Bishop Alexander L.E.A.D. Academy, Newark-on-Trent

Primary School of the Year Award Winner: Parkdale Primary School, Nottingham

Pearson in partnership with the Communications Trust are pleased to announce that the annual Shine a Light Awards (SAL) will be taking place next year, on the 22nd March 2018.

Now in its 6th year, the 2018 Shine a Light Awards will again recognise the incredible contributions of teams, settings and individuals across England who continuously and passionately support children and young people’s communication development.

The Shine a Light Awards has grown in popularity since its launch during the National Year

Secondary School or College of the Year Award Winner: Tor Bridge High, Plymouth SEN School or Group of the Year Award Winner: Ashmount School, Loughborough

of Communication in 2011. To date, the awards has celebrated the work of over 98 teams and a wide range of individuals, including young people with severe and complex speech, language and SLCN.

Entries are opening soon shine a light on your outstanding work Entries for the 2018 award will open in October 2017.

We are seeking schools, teams,

young people and individuals who deliver innovative work and excellent best practice in supporting children and young people’s communication development.

Does your school or setting champion speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) of children and young people?

Do you know a young person with SLCN who supports other

To watch a video of all the winners from our 2017 Awards, hosted by Gareth Gates, Visit: pearsonclinical.co.uk/SAL2017

14

SEND Magazine September 2017

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Award Winner: Ingfield Manor School, Billinghurst

SLCN Innovation Award Joint Winners: Mable Therapy, Leeds & Clearcut Communication (part of County Durham Youth Offending Service), Durham

Communication Champion Award Winner: Ann Shellard, Early Language Consultant, Blackpool Young Person of the Year Award Winner: Gregor Gilmore, Bury Communication Commitment School of the Year Award Winner: Easton CE Academy, Bristol

www.sendmagazine.co.uk

PEARSON

Primary School of the Year Award Winner: Parkdale Primary School, Nottingham with host Gareth Gates, judges Lesley Munro Education & Speech and Language Therapy Manager and Jill Duffy, SVP, UK Schools, Pearson.

Communication Champion Award Winner: Ann Shellard, Early Language Consultant, Blackpool and Gareth Gates.

Young Person of the Year Award Winner: Gregor Gilmore, Bury and host Gareth Gates.

Secondary School or College of the Year Award Winner: Tor Bridge High, Plymouth, with event host Gareth Gates, and judges; Malcolm Reeve, Executive Director for Inclusion at Academies Education Trust (AET) and Chris Hall, Director of Assessment at Pearson.

students and makes a difference?

Are you a Communication Champion? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, we want to hear from you. Don’t delay, let us shine a bright light on your outstanding work.

A full list of award categories will be available towards the end of September, visit: www.shinealightawards.co.uk

“It is an honour to be part of these exceptional awards and to champion what works for children and young people with speech, www.sendmagazine.co.uk

language and communication needs (SLCN). We encourage all settings, individuals and young people to share their achievements so that together we can continue to innovate and raise awareness of best practice.”

Chris Hall, Director of Clinical Assessment at Pearson

Highlights from the 2017 Ceremony

The 2017 awards ceremony recognised 29 individuals and teams across 10 award categories, as well as children and young

people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). The ceremony, took place at Pearson’s headquarters in London and was hosted by singer and theatre star Gareth Gates, who has spoken publicly about living with a stutter and the impact this has had on his confidence.

“It has been a complete honour to host these awards and congratulations to all the winners and highly commended finalists. Being able to communicate with confidence is often taken for

granted but for many it is an everyday struggle. I have found my stutter crippling at times but I have learnt ways to manage my difficulties with the support of others”.

Gareth Gates, Host of the 2016/17 Shine a Light Awards.

September 2017 SEND Magazine

15

ENGAGEMENT

From Disengaged to Engaged: a new lens on behaviour management

In Education, Engagement is the cornerstone of good practice.

Engagement is fundamental to high quality teaching; it is the lifeforce for effective learning. Professor Barry Carpenter CBE ENGAGEMENT is inclusive of all learners of all ages and abilities.

When you think about it Engagement for Learning is blindingly obvious and perfectly logical. If the ‘A’ Level student is not fully engaged in their key subjects, then they will not achieve the grades they need to be accepted at the university of their choice.

If the GCSE student does not engage and attain a higher grade in say, French, they may not be accepted on to the ‘A’ level course for this subject. The Year 6 child who falls below the age-expected level in literacy because they did not engage deeply may struggle to access the secondary curriculum when they transfer into Year 7.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage the child who has not been authentically engaged in the listening, speaking and understanding aspects of Communication & Language, may find themselves on the periphery of classroom dynamics when they join the faster paced Key Stage 1 classroom.

For children with Special Educational Needs, Engagement is the platform for their participation in learning. At times that Engagement may be fleeting; it may be sustained only in short bursts, but this will enable some acquisition of skills, knowledge and concepts, which, over time, will be integrated into effective daily living, and success and achievement will follow.

For all children of all ages, Engagement is the liberation of

16

intrinsic motivation. To keep them engaged as active participants in learning is the task of all teachers, not least so that they enjoy learning and appreciate the intrinsic rewards the process itself can bring. Only then will success, achievement, attainment and progress flow.

Obviously, some children are disengaged. This may be for a variety of reasons; they see no relevance in the curriculum offered; they find the social dynamics of school incomprehensible; they struggle to ‘fit in’ and find rewarding friendships.

SEND Magazine September 2017

Our goal as teachers for these children remains Engagement. Our quest is the process of reengagement. In the past, disengaged children were those described as having behaviours of concern. Our response was to pull out the repertoire of Behaviour Management strategies.

Increasingly in recent years, a plethora of Behaviour Management programmes have emerged, which appear to have little to do with the process of learning or ensuring that the child is an active learner. Many such programmes advocate selfregulation which is helpful, but others have a focus on control

and, maybe, restraint. They in themselves reinforce the child as a disengaged learner.

We need to draw up approaches to Behaviour Management and Support, which are rooted in Engagement, with a constant focus on improving, little by little, the quality of the child’s engagement in learning; a process I described earlier as ‘re-engagement’. Every child is a learner; every child can achieve. We have to believe this as a profession of Educators. But then, so does the child. They have to believe that they can learn, and value themselves in that role by their own measures, not the externally imposed indicators www.sendmagazine.co.uk

ENGAGEMENT

alone. We have to constantly strive to liberate that ‘intrinsic motivation’ I spoke of earlier, that enables the child to thrive as a learner.

How might this learning model of Behaviour Management look in practice?

Figure 1 above lays out three positions – the goal of full, authentic Engagement against its antithesis – Disengaged. The linking process is the dynamic of Reengagement. This process is activated by a series of interventions (in reality there are likely to be more than 4 which I have used for this illustration).

Whereas traditionally these interventions would have focussed on behaviour and its management, in this model the lens with which the child is viewed is that of learning. Our quest is to take the child from being disengaged as a learner to being engaged as a learner. This is achieved by asking ‘What motivates the child?’ and planning interventions that maximise the motivational intent, using it as a force to re-engage the child on a journey towards being a fully engaged learner.

The interventions suggested in this model (Figure 1), are therefore not just about Behaviour per se. For example, Intervention A may be www.sendmagazine.co.uk

about Communication, Intervention B may be an Emotional Well-Being activity focussed on self-esteem, Intervention C may be a group task encouraging social interaction with peers, and Intervention D may have a Behaviour focus around selfregulation using visual strategies.

At the heart of this model the entitlement of the child as a learner, and to be dignified by the learning process, remains central.

The more enlightened approach to assessment advocated by the Rochford Review (2016) enables teachers to use Engagement as a key principle in practice across a range of learning domains.

Understanding how the child engages can illuminate so many pathways to learning that may previously have been closed to them.

Engagement is the key to effective learning; it is the liberation of intrinsic motivation in all domains of learning and behaviour for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. ( This article is based on a blog originally posted on www.engagement4learning.com ) Professor Barry Carpenter, CBE, PhD.

September 2017 SEND Magazine

17

MLD

Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)

Is MLD a thing of the past? Former NASEN CEO and MD of SEND Consultancy, Jane Friswell debates.

ACCORDING to the latest Statistical First Release, July 2017 published by DfE, Moderate Learning Difficulty (MLD) is the most common primary type of need overall. This has been the case since January 2015 with 22.7% of pupils with SEN having this primary type of need recorded in January 2017. There has however, been a percentage decrease from 24.2% in January 2016.

Just over a quarter of pupils on SEN Support have Moderate Learning Difficulties as a primary type of need, with 12.6% of pupils who have Moderate Learning Difficulties, having a statement of SEN or EHCP. So, prevalence of MLD is significant and yet the concept of moderate learning difficulties is not clearly understood in its definition and in its general use but we have adopted MLD as a distinct area of special educational needs (SEN). On what basis has this happened?

Why are we identifying so many pupils with MLD? Is our identification of MLD accurate?

How do we know?

In 2003, the DfE School Census definition of MLD is described; “Pupils with MLD will have attainments significantly below expected levels in all or most areas of the curriculum, despite appropriate interventions. Their needs will not be able to be met by normal differentiation and the flexibilities of the National Curriculum.

Pupils with MLD will have much

18

greater difficulty than their peers in acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills and in

SEND Magazine September 2017

understanding concepts. They may also have associated speech and language delay, low self-

esteem, low levels of concentration and underdeveloped social skills.”

www.sendmagazine.co.uk

MLD

Given this definition, with emphasis on the “much greater difficulty” significance in determining MLD, only 12.6% of those identified with MLD have a statement of SEN or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This presents a mixed and confused picture of the needs of the group of pupils who we identifying with MLD. So how helpful is the term MLD for children and young people, parents and providers?

Historically we have developed a system in England of identifying SEN and labelling accordingly, which has assumed a differing degree of learning difficulties. It was only in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s that children were categorised according to their level of learning difficulty as educationally subnormal mild/moderate (esn (m)) and educationally subnormal severe (esn (s)). With this propensity to label those with a level of learning difficulty which we identify as moderate, what diagnostic and research evidence supports this practice? In short, www.sendmagazine.co.uk

very little!

Norwich et al (2014): Moderate Learning Difficulties: searching for clarity and understanding, indicates that the label of MLD is “often overused in an overgeneralised way in schools”.

Compared to other areas of SEN research this is a neglected area and yet as a group of learners identified by us in schools, it is proportionally significant.

We do need further research – I do not believe the category of MLD is helpful or informs educational arrangements sufficiently well enough today but what is the alternative? This category of primary need could in fact be a “red herring” in analysing national data sets of pupil needs for SEN and not helping us to better understand what works for those pupils identified with MLD. This could explain the significant numbers of pupils identified with MLD across England. MLD has become the “catch-all” category which a significant proportion of pupils end up in because

perhaps we do not know where else to put them OR perhaps we haven’t undertaken sufficient work in better understanding where the pupil’s learning begins to dip and tail off and why?

The Graduated Approach which is the constant revisiting, revising and refining of not just assessplan-do-review but often the case of plan-do and repeat and repeat and repeat as we constantly readjust and refine our approaches to find what works for students in better accessing the curriculum but importantly in improving their outcomes, has to be one of the solutions here.

Is the term MLD helpful for the pupil and teacher? Does the MLD group of pupils in our schools contain a mixed economy of scale of learning difficulty and include a significant proportion

of low attainment? The lowest of the low-attainment group? How well does the term MLD distinguish this group of learners from other groups? How well does MLD inform our professional understanding and our specific teaching approaches, resourcing, provision?

So many questions and too few answers… perhaps it is time to lift the lid off the category of MLD and allow us an opportunity to open up professional discourse, commission good research to explore exactly what MLD really means and how we can better support the significant proportion of pupils identified?

Jane Friswell SEND Consultancy jane@friswell.com Jane will sharing her thoughts and opening up the debate around MLD at the TES SEN Show, 5-7 October, Business Design Centre, London

References

September 2017 SEND Magazine 19

THE RONNIE GARDNEER METHOD

Rythym is life

The Ronnie Gardiner method (RGM) is a multisensory stimulation method developed by the American drummer and jazz musician Ronnie Gardner. How does this benefit in SEND? Caroline Russell explains.

"Nothing activates the brain so extensively as music," said Oliver Sacks, M.D., professor of neurology at Columbia University and author of ‘Musicophilia’. Brain imaging shows how music lights up so many different areas of the brain so it is the ideal tool to use to encourage and activate neural networks when working with children.

The Ronnie Gardiner Method (RGM) is a multisensory stimulation method driven and measured by rhythm. It aims to increase activity across the networks of the brain and the corpus callosum using music as the portal.

RGM was developed by the American drummer & jazz musician Ronnie Gardiner. It uses several specially developed

20

The white matter of the brain and the extensive Corpus callosum communicating between the 2 hemispheres.

RGM aims to increase activity within the networks and across the corpus callosum using music as the portal.

symbol/sound/movement codes which are used to perform

SEND Magazine September 2017

exercises to the rhythm of music.

The method was initially developed to help children understand rhythm and improve coordination problems before it was discovered to have such a major effect as well on many neurological conditions such as Stroke and Parkinson’s.

As teachers you are taking responsibility for helping to develop the most wonderful and fascinating organ of the human body - yet the part of the body that is the least understood, the brain.

So why not learn about another

tool that can help train these amazing brains to cope with daily life and all the demands we throw at them?

Music is rhythm and rhythm is structure; an ADHD child struggles without structure so we need to provide a therapy that gives structure. A child with Asperger’s takes delight in structure while a child with dyslexia may have problems with phonological skills or timing deficits which relates back to the need for a therapy with structure and rhythym.

Also pleasurable music increases dopamine levels in the brain; this neurotransmitter is responsible for regulating attention, working memory and motivation and has been shown to be at lower levels in ADHD brains. So these children can gain focus and self-control and improve concentration and memory by using music at school or at home.

The Ronnie Gardiner Method (RGM) can provide this structure; delivering a therapy programme that encourages concentration, attention span, reducing hyperactivity and strengthening social skills.

RGM works to improve balance skills and coordination, increase concentration and memory, stimulate left/right brain communication in gross and fine

www.sendmagazine.co.uk

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motor skills, promote sensory information processing, assist with space-time orientation (timing, pacing, sequencing, motor planning) encouraging fitness and social skills. The Practitioner can control energy levels through the choice and pace of music which is a great option for ADHD. The joy of this method is that there are no limits to the creativity of the Practitioner or the class or individual. There is a lot of fun & laughter which encourages social communication in a group especially when working with games. A mixture of visual instructions or memory tests can be used to challenge or give more variety depending on what is required. Body percussion provides tactile feedback which helps teach & guide levels of physical stimulation. It is an incredibly simple method that has endless possibilities which is what makes it so versatile, especially when working with children.

The focus of RGM is on having fun, encouraging laughter, enjoyment and socialisation as much as improving motor skills. It can be carried out as a full session or just to one track of music used to settle down a class and to help improve concentration. It can be used while standing, walking or in sitting position for the less mobile; in groups or for single participants.

However, it is important to remember that RGM is

measureable (unlike some other therapy modalities that use music) so improvements can be recorded easily and efficiently.

Caroline delivered a seminar at the recent SEND Conference Midlands. Here’s what some had to say!

“Fun and practical, can see it being very useful in school.”

Manor High School.

“Loved it!”

Brookfield Primary.

“Found it very interesting and agree with the concept behind the method.”

South Leicesterhsire College.

Next Introduction course:

September 23rd &24th Central London Contact: info@ronniegardinermethod. org.uk

Caroline Russell is a Chartered Physiotherapist with many years’ experience specialising in the field of Neurology. She trained at Guy’s Hospital and has worked in the NHS and private sector before starting her own company in 2007. She started working with RGM in 2008 and took over running RGM UK in 2014. She uses RGM in classes and one-to-one sessions with adults and teenagers with a variety of diagnoses and loves the variety it gives to treatment regimes. Her goal is to see RGM being used and enjoyed by all ages in all areas of the country and, personally, wants to stay as fit as Ronnie is when she reaches his age!

Thanks to everyone who joined in so enthusiastically at the workshop at the SEND Conference at Sketchely Grange Hotel, PICTURED LEFT. An excellent conference and I look forward to seeing you all again at the next one!

www.sendmagazine.co.uk

September 2017 SEND Magazine 21

TECHNOLOGY

Dyslexia, Accessibility, Microsoft!

Dyslexia consultant Arran Smith talks about Microsoft, innovation and technology.

FOR the past 20 years I’ve been interested in technology, especially the innovation of technology. I remember my school having that first computer (which was on a trolley and you had to carry it up the steps to your classroom to use it) only had windows 3.1 and the CD Encarta to browse for information, which was a huge advance in technology 20 years ago.

Nowadays within schools we see iPads and tablet devices, cloud-based products and online solutions to support our young people’s learning.

This innovation has not stopped Microsoft from really concentrating on the education market. In the past three years, I feel that Microsoft have grown in understanding education and particularly even more so understanding that we are all different.

Within our classrooms we have many young people that have complex needs and the word differentiation is bandied around all the time, we also hear the words inclusive teaching and access to learning through accessibility.

I do feel that Microsoft have really started a revolution within some of these fields. Back in 22

2016 I attended the Bett Show and came across the Microsoft stand where they were demonstrating a new add-on that had been developed from a Microsoft hackerthon (where Microsoft employees can work on projects and ideas which are then presented and could go forward) Learning Tools as an add-on for One Note.

For those who have never used One Note or One Note Classroom this is a unique cloudbased and desktop application that allows you to gather information and collaborate with others across your organisation.

One Note is a product that allows you to add notes, comments and scribblings in one unique filing system. Not only having the ability to convert handwritten scribbles into typed text with the add-on of learning tools it can really create an accessible friendly product designed for those people with dyslexia.

Learning Tools gives you the add-on of inclusive reader and dictation capabilities. The inclusive reader is on the same lines of any text-to-speech program but the major difference is that it will only work within One Note. Any typed text within One Note can

SEND Magazine September 2017

be read by the inclusive reader, when you apply the inclusive reader it takes you into a reading panel either a black on white background or a white on black background with the play button at the bottom, when you press play this will read out any text written. Along which synchronized highlighting, one of the added benefits include changing the colour of background to a pastel colour.

Along with the ability to identify verbs and adjectives, nouns and also break up syllables to support with reading, it’s a comprehensive reader which I feel is very good for those children that just need a little bit of support and it would work very well for a severely dyslexic adult or child with low literacy that does not have access to accessible software, but for those who have used other text-to-speech engines may not find it useful.

For the wider community of education Learning Tools has created very powerful accessibility across the board.

Along with the inclusive reader it also has a dictation application which allows you to dictate by talking to your computer. Again, if you are used to using accessible software you will find

this a little bit difficult as it does not learn your voice pattern and therefore can create more mistakes depending on your accent, the benefit though is if you have a child or young person that has difficulties with single word spelling they can dictate single words rather than sentences and can really improve productivity; it also creates that collaborative supportive application and is an inclusive product within your school.

Microsoft has gone one step further and early in 2017 another add-on was released www.sendmagazine.co.uk

SPIRITED ARTS

from Microsoft which is for all Microsoft Office Windows applications, which is called Dictation. This add-on within the Microsoft Office ribbon or any Microsoft product like Outlook, Excel etc, allows you to dictate in the same way that One Note Learning Tools does by using the same kind of algorithms again creating an accessible and free add-on from Microsoft to give you more support within Office 365.

The benefit that is very recent within Microsoft Word really shows that Microsoft are thinking about the hidden www.sendmagazine.co.uk

disabilities. Within the reading view of Microsoft Word this now has a read out loud functionality which is taken from the One Note Learning Tools application and has been embedded into Microsoft Word, again another great innovation to support those young people with low literacy skills.

For many years Microsoft has had an accessibility mode which checks your documentation for accessibility, this is a very useful tool if you’re working within a multi-ability organisation which we all do because everyone is different.

The majority of these accessibility tools like the inclusive reader and dictation are also available within all Office 365 applications online.

For those schools that don’t know it, Microsoft Office 365 is a free application for schools. The online version is very beneficial as it is all cloud-based and you can still use other accessibility features that Microsoft have embedded into their PC desktop applications.

When we look at ways to support children with dyslexia free solutions do work quite well, but without testing when

using them with young people to see if they do get benefit out of it is probably one of the most important things we should do.

Training is also important; this can be done by having a trainer or by doing CPD through webinars and YouTube videos.

The most important thing to me is understanding the child’s needs, understanding their difficulties and their capabilities and by understanding their approach to technology and ascertaining these difficulties can really help you find the solution to help them and improve their lives.

September 2017 SEND Magazine 23

DIFFERNIATION STRATEGIES

Down’s Syndrome & Severe Learning Difficulties

Meet Georgia: She is a good reader. She likes football and peanut butter. She has lots of friends. She likes responsibility. She can do jobs around school and at home.

Georgia understands more than she is able to tell us about and so needs support to express herself.

FACTS

• Down‘s syndrome is the most common form of learning disability.

• Most but not all children with Down’s Syndrome have severe learning difficulties.

• An extra chromosome gives rise to some shared physical and learning characteristics.

• Children with Down‘s syndrome vary as widely in their development as typically developing children.

• They will make progress given the right opportunities to do so • 80% of children with Down‘s syndrome attend mainstream primary school.

• People with Down‘s syndrome are going to college, living semi independently, working and getting married.

• Children with Down‘s syndrome do better socially and academically when they are immersed in mainstream school and their communities.

WHAT TO BE AWARE OF LEARNING PROFILE

• Children with Down‘s syndrome have a specific learning profile.

They are all individuals but have some strengths and limitations in common.

• It is important that we see the child first, understand the profile of the child and plan and support accordingly- don‘t just provide a diluted curriculum.

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STRENGTHS

• Visual learning - all children with Down‘s syndrome navigate the world best through what they see.

Written word, sign, symbol and picture are their key tools.

• Building relationships – engaging people with a strong motivation to communicate.

• Modelling behaviour – copying others, doing what others do; routine and structure.

• Kinaesthetic learners - using practical, hands on materials to understand and enjoy different concepts and experiences.

LIMITATIONS

• Weak Auditory Memory – learning through listening is difficult. Holding on to and processing lots of auditory information is problematic.

• Communication Difficulties – expressive language skills much

SEND Magazine September 2017

weaker than receptive skills.

Particular difficulties with hearing and reproducing speech sounds and using good, grammatical sentences.

• Delayed motor skills – fine and gross.

• Auditory and visual impairment – hearing and vision problems common.

• Avoidance strategies – developed early on in response to all of the above.

WHAT TO DO

• Make life visual for the child. Use visual timetables and work-boards.

Use lots and lots of picture and symbol in everything the child does.

• Give the child TIME to respond.

Don‘t overload them with language and instructions.

• Ask them to do one thing at a time. Use visual clues and cues

when communicating.

• Reinforce speech with facial expression, gesture or sign.

• Treat the child age appropriately.

Expect them to do all the same things as the other children in terms of structure and routine.

• Take responsibility for the child‘s learning with support from the teaching assistant.

• Don‘t abdicate responsibility for the child to the TA, work as a team.

• Ensure the child is not overly supported by adults. Give them space to avoid tiredness and behaviours that can arise from intense one-to-one support.

• Make sure there is time for planning and preparation of differentiated resources so that the child can be accessing the curriculum as independently as possible.

• Use peers to support child.

• Start with what the child can do unsupervised and build up.

• Ensure that all staff are firm and consistent at all times. Do not allow staff or other students to ‘baby‘ the child.

• Work closely with family.

Communicate successes to them and listen to their expertise.

WHERE TO FIND HELP

School SENCO Educational Psychology Service Down‘s Syndrome Association Speech and Language Therapy Service The School Nursing Service www.sendmagazine.co.uk

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The Local Offer

Lost Tribes

Why Social Connections Matter for Children with SEN or Disabilities. Heather Stack writes.

NONE of us are immune to periods of loneliness or social isolation. Times of ill-health, or financial difficulty, or house moves, or family separation, all have the potential to create havoc with friendships, routines and engagement with familiar places and people.

Children with special educational needs or disabilities, and their parents, are more vulnerable than most to experiencing protracted periods of loneliness and social isolation, even within the midst of busy lives, crowded communities and large school populations.

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In the early 2000s, in my work with schools, constant themes in pupil assessment advice were that of a growing disconnect between the child with SEND and their peers, and the frustrations experienced as friends were few, or else absent altogether. At times, the absence of real-time friends was compensated for by a strong digital tribe, a network of anonymous characters met online through gaming apps and social media. Those same concerns are manifold now despite advances in technology, and reforms of our SEND policies. That disconnect is an ever-growing feature of the

SEND Magazine September 2017

lives of young people with SEN or disabilities.

In this past decade, the appetite for and interest in positive psychology has increased awareness of children’s emotional and mental health. Martin Seligman, author of ‘Flourish: A new understanding of happiness and well-being’ (2011) states there are five key elements to happiness and well-being: 1. Positive emotion 2. Engagement 3. Meaning 4. Positive relationships; and 5. Accomplishment.

In encouraging children with

SEND to find their ‘tribe’ we meet each of these key elements in a neat synchronicity.

I have frequently recommended, as a high priority need, children with SEND being encouraged and supported to develop friendship skills and to have new friends by the end of a designated time, usually the interval between two review dates. Often children know precisely who they want to be friends with, and can name several individuals whose interests meet their own.

What they lack is the confidence to make new friends, or the courage to strike up a www.sendmagazine.co.uk

The Local Offer

conversation, or to skilfully merge into an existing playground game.

What they need are opportunities to explore those fears, to practice new skills and to try out different ways of reaching out, without fear of rejection.

Seth Godin, international bestselling author of ‘Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us’, 2008, and ‘We Are All Weird: The Rise of Tribes and the End of Normal’, 2015, has popularised the notion of ‘tribes’ in the work place and in our communities.

“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another… For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe; a shared interest and a way to communicate.”

‘Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us’ There are many ways we, as professionals, parents or educators, can actively encourage and support children to find their ‘tribe’, both digital and in the flesh. It may take some creative www.sendmagazine.co.uk

thinking, but as always, a good knowledge of the child’s interests, habits and enthusiasms is the starting point.

One Page Profiles, appropriately used, can help gather information that is personal and relevant.

Drawing on my own work with children, and particularly supporting those most vulnerable to the extremes of loneliness – depression, despair, anger, selfharm – special interests that feature highly include: • Rocks, unusual stones and fossils • Drawing and doodling and colouring • Machinery, including dumper trucks, trains, engines and construction vehicles • Exploring, the outdoors, camping and climbing • Dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures • Lego, building and creating sets and landscapes and communities • Model making, including air-fix aeroplanes and ship building • Minecraft, Mario Kart, Disney Fantasia, Zoo Tycoon, Angry Birds

& other games • The Police, the Armed Forces, Firemen and other uniformed services.

Once you’ve established an interest, there are multiple routes into finding a child’s tribe and making the aspiration of new friends and new social outlets a reality.

Here are some strategies to consider when helping a child find his or her tribe, from a parent or educators’ perspective: 1. Work from and with the child’s own interests, expressed, displayed or indicated.

2. Make use of information already gathered at SEN Support or in the EHC plan and of strategies that relate to friendship and social interaction skills.

3. Know your local offer well and seek out all services that run events and activities especially for children and young people with SEND. 4. To fill in any gaps in information at local authority level, research local clubs using libraries,

community centres, museums, newspapers and other local knowledge.

5. Once you’ve identified your activity, club, or group, make it more concrete by adding dates, times and venue to a visible home or school class calendar.

6. Begin to drop into everyday conversations information about this new activity, so that the language and terms used are absorbed and begin to become familiar.

7. Make use of technology to look at images of where the activity will take place, or use social media to research any recent posts of similar activities.

8. Find out, where possible, a few first names, the organiser or instructor, those attending.

9. Discuss and share a vision of what life may be like with new friends and interests.

10. Remember that to find a tribe is to step outside the comfort zone for children who have become accustomed to social isolation, or a reliance on just one or two friends.

September 2017 SEND Magazine

27

The Local Offer

In laying the foundations for successful friendships and projecting into the future, there is far more chance that this new experience will work out, and not flounder at the first hurdle.

Children who grow up accustomed to having few friends, or else are dependent on the company of adults paid to support them through the school day, can struggle to navigate the complex world of friendships in the playground and in the classroom.

Far too often, families struggle on, believing themselves to be their child’s only source of social support, anxious for the future and dependent on good health and longevity to continue to provide that sense of belonging.

Helping children and young people find their tribe might be one of the most significant things any of us can offer.

Anecdotal Case Study I came to know Matthew, a Year 5 child at a village primary school, with learning difficulties

28

and withdrawn, anxious behaviour. His social isolation was compounded by a complex home life split between care by his maternal grandmother in South Wales at the weekends and care during the week divided between his mother and father.

Over and above the school’s initial concern about literacy skills and academic progress, Matthew was unhappy and very lonely. Many months of support and involvement ensued. There was a move to persuade the mother not to send him away to his grandmother’s. It was complicated.

In one of my weekly conversations with Matthew, he shared his experiences of staying with his grandmother. They spent their time walking the beaches and exploring rock pools, with his grandmother encouraging him to collect rocks and fossils. From there sprang a keenness to read and find out more about each addition to his collection. There was a source of joy in this young

SEND Magazine September 2017

man’s life for the first time in a long while.

An opportunity arose at school for Matthew to bond with his classmates. The school held a sleep-over and encouraged each child to take along an item to share, or just to help them settle. Matthew took his shoe box of fossils and made his first tentative foray into sharing his passion with a few, carefully chosen classmates.

Here was a beginning, founded on that new-found knowledge of what made Matthew happy. His class teacher did not share that optimism; “Why can’t he be like the other children and have taken a cuddly toy. Who wants to look at rocks!”

Well, Matthew did. And what he

really needs in his life are more people who like looking at rocks, not those who tell him to put them away.

Later, I was pleased to share information on the Young Archaeologists with school and home, and even more gratified some months later to discover, the YA had become Matthew’s first ‘tribe’.

What can you do to help the children in your care to find their tribe? How can you support them to find their passion and connect with others who share that passion? What more can you do to ensure that children with SEND grow up accustomed to friendship, and social connections, and not to loneliness, and the quiet despair of social isolation?

Heather Stack is Founder of The Local Offer, www.thelocaloffer.co.uk, a social enterprise that seeks to increase access to specialist and targeted services for children and young people with SEND. She is a SEND Consultant and can be contacted on heather@thelocaloffer.co.uk. www.sendmagazine.co.uk

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SEND BOOKSHOP

Disability and Inclusion in Early Years Education, Edited by Chris Collett.

Supports practitioners in understanding and implementing inclusive practice relating to disability in early years education. Offering a detailed explanation of recent developments in the field, such as the 2015 SEND Code of Practice, it provides straightforward and accessible guidance on implementing the crucial procedures that help to promote good practice.

More broadly, the book provides guidance on creating a fully inclusive early years environment that will support all children, focusing on high-incidence needs around communication, behaviour and learning. Chapters offer a wealth of practical tools and strategies to support the inclusion of children with disabilities more effectively, covering key topics such as: · assessment, early identification and individualised learning · working with parents, carers and families · the key role of picture books · multisensory approaches to learning · supporting behaviour and communication This text will be valuable reading for all early years practitioners and students who want to promote the inclusion of children with SEND in mainstream provisions.

Routledge

Special Needs and Legal Entitlement (2nd Edition): the essential guide to getting out of the maze.

Melinda Nettleton and John Friel Fully updated, this essential, accessible guide to the legal entitlements of children and young people with special needs explains the new system of Education, Health and Care Plans which replaces the Statement of Special Educational Needs. It provides information for parents about how the system works, what they can expect and how they can appeal.

Jessica Kingsley Publishers

30

SEND Magazine September 2017

www.sendmagazine.co.uk

Sensory Being for Sensory Beings: Creating entrancing sensory experiences.

Joanne Grace

Sensory-being: the enveloping of natural presentness and awareness in an unfolding sensory moment. Sensory Beings: people whose experience of the world, and meaning within it, is primarily sensory.

Often these are people who do not have access to language. If you support someone who understands the world in a primarily sensory way, for example someone with PMLD or later stage dementia, you will recognise that they often face periods of time in which they are left without an activity they can access. This unique, practical guide helps you to plan and deliver sensory activities that lead people into a calm, focused state. You are even invited to let the person you support lead you into a state of sensory focus. Written by a leading sensory specialist this book will help you to: · View the world as the person you support may view it, and identify times when a sensory-being activity may be appropriate. · Understand how to select and create the most engaging, low cost, sensory foci to suit the specific needs of the individuals in your care. · Effectively facilitate sensory-being sessions from start to finish so that the people you care for receive the full and many benefits of calm, focused time.

Tried and tested in a diverse range of settings, these techniques and practical tools have already helped many people provide an enriched experience of life for those in their care.

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Self-Control to the Rescue: Super powers to help kids through the tough stuff in everyday life.

Lauren Brukner

An illustrated resource packed with strategies and exercises for children aged 4-7 to regulate emotions and overcome the challenges of the most difficult times in a typical day. Simple solutions and guidance can be adapted into any child's daily routine with tips and extra resources for parents and educators.

Jessica Kingsley Publishers www.sendmagazine.co.uk

September 2017 SEND Magazine 31

SEND BOOKSHOP The Essential Guide to Mindfulness with Young People.

Tina Rae, Jody Walshe and Jo Wood

A practical, user-friendly introduction to key tools and strategies.

Mindfulness can help young people to develop the ability to calm themselves; to pay attention to themselves in the world and to think about and reflect upon their actions and relationships. These practical skills can help build resilience and manage anxiety and stress through increased sensory awareness; regulation of emotions and attention and acceptance of thoughts and feelings. Through these easy to use techniques, young people will be better able to manage social relationships, anxiety levels, memory, self-understanding and relaxation.

Hinton House

Motivating Children with Specific Learning Difficulties: a teacher’s practical guide.

Gad Elbeheri, Gavin Reid, John Everatt

Provides a comprehensive and definitive guide to what teachers need to know about motivation in pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties, including dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD. Written by three of the world leaders in research on motivation and classroom learning, this book seeks to provide teachers with an increased understanding of why particular strategies should be used with their pupils. It recognises the challenge of motivating children with learning difficulties and looks to help teachers enhance their skills and self-sufficiency. The authors address what motivation is, how to encourage it and the links between motivation and learning. They consider a range of Specific Learning Difficulties in relation to literacy, numeracy, motor development and co-ordination and attention factors in learning. Key issues on learning differences are presented in order to identify and address pupils’ specific needs, and the role parents and educators can play in motivation is also examined.

Routledge

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SEND Magazine September 2017

www.sendmagazine.co.uk

www.sendmagazine.co.uk

September 2017 SEND Magazine 33

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SEND Magazine September 2017

www.sendmagazine.co.uk