All posts tagged: send

Absent and excluded kids ‘should be assessed for SEND’

Absent and excluded kids ‘should be assessed for SEND’

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles Pupils who frequently miss class or are suspended during primary school should be assessed for special educational needs, a new report into SEND support recommends. The report, by independent research group the Education Policy Institute (EPI) and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, has found evidence of “inequalities and blind spots” in SEND support across schools. The EPI has made a string of recommendations, aimed to tackle the so-called “postcode lottery” and bring parity to the process of getting a SEND diagnosis across children from all backgrounds and schools. The institute found factors such as “the fragmentation of the school system, prolonged school absences, language barriers and living in disadvantaged areas” are currently making make it difficult for pupils’ needs to be assessed consistently. 1. SEND should be considered if pupil frequently off sick Pupils whose needs are hidden because of absence from school or frequent school moves are less likely to be recognised as having SEND in primary school, the EPI report, published on Tuesday, found. For those in …

The experts appointed to SEND inclusion panels

The experts appointed to SEND inclusion panels

Published by skeptic

The government has appointed a team of experts to evaluate how to make mainstream schools more inclusive The government has appointed a team of experts to evaluate how to make mainstream schools more inclusive More from this theme Recent articles Sector leaders have been appointed to two new expert panels tasked with advising the government on how to make mainstream schools more inclusive to fix the “broken” SEND system. Tom Rees, CEO of Ormiston Academies Trust, was in November appointed chair of the government’s new expert advisory group on inclusion, which will oversee reforms aimed at making mainstream schools more inclusive. It has now been revealed he will be joined on the panel by: Susan Douglas, CEO Eden Academy Trust Annamarie Hassall, CEO of the National Association for Special Educational Needs Anne Heavey, director of insights for Ambition Institute Andrew O’Neill, headteacher All Saints Catholic College Claire Jackson, principal educational psychologist at Salford City Council Heather Sandy, executive director of children’s services at Lincolnshire County Council The advisory group will meet monthly to “look at …

‘Umbrella’ SEND label ‘misleading’ says inclusion tsar

‘Umbrella’ SEND label ‘misleading’ says inclusion tsar

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles The government’s inclusion tsar will say today that use of the “umbrella” SEND label is “misleading and obscures individual identities of children”, adding “a lot of what we categorise as ‘special’ is normal and predictable”. Tom Rees, CEO of Ormiston Academies Trust and chair of the government’s expert advisory group for inclusion, is due to speak in Newcastle-upon-Tyne today (Thursday) on how to improve inclusion of SEND pupils in mainstream schools. Opening the Schools North East Academies Conference, Rees is expected to lay out problems in using ‘SEND’ as an umbrella term for a hugely diverse cohort. ‘Binary’ SEND term criticised “The term ‘SEND’ implies a binary between children, and suggests children assigned this label are fundamentally different from the norm, and that their struggles are a product of these differences rather than the systems and structures around them,” he will say. While the term “implies a commonality of experience” among children with SEND, this is “misleading”, Rees will say. “Under the umbrella sit those with physical disabilities, those with identified …

‘We have let down thousands of SEND children’

‘We have let down thousands of SEND children’

Published by skeptic

Former schools minister says there are ‘still too many children for whom mainstream education isn’t appropriate’ Former schools minister says there are ‘still too many children for whom mainstream education isn’t appropriate’ Former schools minister Nick Gibb said today “we have let down thousands” of children with special educational needs who needed a “very specialist approach”. Gibb, speaking at the BETT conference, said while some children with SEND flourished in mainstream classrooms, there are “still too many children for whom either mainstream education isn’t appropriate for their needs. Or the school simply doesn’t have the expertise and experience” to provide for those children.  “I believe that there are some children who need a very specialist approach to how they’re taught because of their special needs, and I think we have let down thousands of those children in the way that we teach them in our schools,” he added. “I believe in inclusion, but I also believe that the specialist nature of special education does require special schools.  “From those special schools comes the expertise that can …

How to Send Cash | WIRED

How to Send Cash | WIRED

Published by skeptic

So you need to send some money. Maybe you want to slip a couple of $20 bills in a birthday card. Maybe it’s a larger payment for some not-at-all-sketchy, off-the-books services rendered. Either way, it can be a pain to send paper money without having to worry that it might mysteriously slip out of your envelope into someone else’s pocket. “Sending cash physically via mail or something is probably one of the least efficient options for moving money around,” says Kevin L. Matthews, a financial advisor who has offered money advice for WIRED before. “It’s not necessarily something that I would recommend.” The problem, he says, is that if something goes wrong and the cash goes missing, there’s really nothing you can do about it. There are better ways to transfer finances, but if you absolutely have to get your coins from one piggy bank to another, here are the best ways to do so without getting ripped off. Don’t Get Scammed To be clear upfront, you should not just stick a wad of cash …

Phillipson grilled on funding, SEND reforms and admissions

Phillipson grilled on funding, SEND reforms and admissions

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles The national funding formula is under review, Ontario and Ireland are inspiring SEND reforms and a warning has been issued to councils and academies not co-operating on admissions. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson appeared before the education committee for the first time today, alongside Department for Education permanent secretary Susan Acland-Hood. Phillipson made a big admission on academy pay freedoms (you can read the full story here), but also had lots of other interestings bits to say. Here’s the highlights… 1. National funding formula under review Phillipson said she regularly hears of the “challenges” relating to the national funding formula, which decides how school funding is dished out. She said it would be “impossible to find a system that delivers what everyone wants all the time in every area”. Susan Acland Hood But she added: “We are looking at this area and what the mechanism might be for determining school funding into the future.” However, she was unable to give a timeframe for any decisions. “We want to make sure …

Ofsted to assess provision for SEND pupils not in school

Ofsted to assess provision for SEND pupils not in school

Published by skeptic

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will visit council areas to assess support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who are not in school. Ofsted said the number of children with SEND who are not in full-time education “has been growing to a concerning extent”. It will use its series of “thematic visits” – carried out to examine particular aspects of the SEND system – to look at the issue this year. It comes as the government’s children’s wellbeing and schools bill seeks to enact a rule requiring parents of special school pupils to get council permission to withdraw their child for home education. The visits, taking place between spring and summer, will focus on the experience of children who are of compulsory school age but are not registered at any independent or state-funded school, and how they are being supported. The visits “will also consider the experiences of children who are on a school roll but are flexi-schooled…on a part-time timetable, receiving education otherwise than at school, or are severely …

Eye tests in special schools will create ‘unfunded burden’

Eye tests in special schools will create ‘unfunded burden’

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles The government is ploughing ahead with delayed plans to offer students in all special schools in England free NHS eye tests – but it has been warned it could create a “huge unfunded burden”. In October, the government and NHS England re-committed to a pledge that eyesight checks would be carried out annually for students in all day or residential special education needs schools. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said NHS England will provide up to £12.7 million in funding annually from next year to support this national rollout, following a pilot in 83 schools. Sight tests will be done in participating schools, and children who need glasses will be given two pairs of their choice, with specialist frames included, free of charge, NHS guidance states. SeeAbility, a charity, says children with learning disabilities are 28 times more likely to have a serious sight problem, and thousands across the country are missing out on eye care they need. But it fears that the model from the …

Government NPQ review to look at SEND and exec leadership

Government NPQ review to look at SEND and exec leadership

Published by skeptic

Sector expert group will help government review national professional qualification framework Sector expert group will help government review national professional qualification framework More from this theme Recent articles The government has announced a review of national professional qualifications (NPQs), with sector experts to advise on how to boost SEND, executive leadership and workload reduction skills in courses. The previous government reformed the suite of NPQs, alongside introducing a new early career framework, as part of its ‘golden thread’ of teacher development reforms. NPQs were offered for free as part of a £184 million Covid recovery plan scheme, but funding was massively scaled back by the Conservatives last year. Labour has vowed to stick with the golden thread reforms, but has said it will “update” the ECF. Review to focus on four key areas The government announced a review of the NPQ framework on Friday. The review will look at making sure NPQs are providing better training in four key areas: SEND, leadership progression, workload reduction, and operational leadership. The review will look at ensuring the …

Guantánamo Convict Sues to Stop U.S. Plan to Send Him to Prison in Iraq

Guantánamo Convict Sues to Stop U.S. Plan to Send Him to Prison in Iraq

Published by Sam

An Iraqi who pleaded guilty to commanding insurgents who committed war crimes in Afghanistan filed suit in federal court on Friday, seeking to stop his transfer from the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to a prison in Iraq. The petition, filed by his lawyers, made public negotiations that had been underway for some time to transfer Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, 63, to the custody of the Iraqi government despite protests from him and his lawyers that he could be subject to abuse and inadequate medical care. Mr. Hadi, who says his true name is Nashwan al-Tamir, is the oldest and most disabled prisoner at the offshore detention site as a result of a paralyzing spine disease and six surgeries at the base. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to war crimes charges, accepting responsibility for the actions of some of the forces under his command, in a deal to have his sentence expire in 2032. The deal included a possibility that he would serve the sentence in the custody of another country better suited to …