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Oxford Brookes University awards Honorary Doctorate to Barry Carpenter CBE, OBE

Barry Carpenter, of Chaddesley Corbett in Worcestershire, has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters after showing incredible commitment to education for children with special needs across his 40-year career.

Barry has a life-long association with Oxford Brookes University, notably the Harcourt Hill Campus from his days as a student at Westminster College (as it was then known) between 1973 and 1976. He was then a Principal Lecturer from 1992 until 1997, during which time he established the Centre for the Study of Special Education. 

Barry said: “My career began and ended with Oxford Brookes, as a student on the Harcourt Hill Campus during the 1970s and finally as Professor of Mental Health in Education, a personal Chair created in response to the national crisis in children’s mental wellbeing. “It has been a life enriching, career shaping association for me, enabling me to promote the love I have of teaching society’s most vulnerable children. I am profoundly moved that the University has chosen to acknowledge this lifelong association, and the impact of the career they prepared me for.”

Barry is the UK’s first Professor in Mental Health in Education, which is a Chair created for him at Oxford Brookes. Barry has also been a Fellow of the University of Oxford. In July 2020 he was awarded the distinguished Fellowship of the Chartered College of Teaching, for his leadership in the field of Education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Barry has also been awarded an OBE and CBE by the Queen for his services to children with special needs.

In 2009, Barry was appointed as National Director of the Children with Complex Learning Difficulties and Disabilities Research Project, by the Secretary of State for Education. His work on Engagement as Pedagogy has recently been revisited by the Department for Education, and is now the statutory model of assessment for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Away from his professional life, Barry has three children. His son is School Principal of Baxter College in Worcestershire; his youngest daughter, also an Oxford Brookes graduate, is a Senior Occupational Therapist in Mental Health. His third child, who has Down’s syndrome, now has a home of her own and published her first book in 2017. She was on an apprenticeship as a teaching assistant; however she has since decided to become an actress! 

Barry Carpenter with honours doctorate

Visual Supports

Many children with SEND have dominant learning pathways which are right hemisphere based, and therefore visual (as opposed to auditory-vocal) modalities are the most successful routes to learning.

These new Guidelines on Visual Supports, (from the South Australia Education Department) may offer some useful insights to Teachers and Teaching Assistants new to this approach.

visual-supports-1Download

What do teachers need to know about child mental health?

As Teachers prepare for the next Academic year, the residual effects of the pandemic and its impact on child mental health, linger.

In thinking about Teacher knowledge this article by Laura Purser, (now at Reading University), gives a refreshing perspective, though her consideration of neurobiology. She explores the impact of trauma on childrens learning, and helpfully introduces Polyvagal theory.

Laura Purser What do we need to teach new teachers about child mental health BJEDownload

The Bereavement Book Activities to Support Children & Young People through Grief & Loss – Tina Rae

To download and view in full, please click here.

To order directly from Hinton House Publishing, please click here.

What would you say to your 13 year-old-self about pain? Thoughts around Self Harm from the Charity, Nip in the Bud

What would you say to your 13 year-old-self about pain?Thoughts around Self Harm from the Charity , Nip in the Bud . (info.nipinthebud@gmail.com)

https://nipinthebud.org/about-us/

Supporting pupil mental health and wellbeing: Call for contributors

The Chartered College of Teaching, in partnership with the Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) and supported by the Bupa Foundation, is developing a series of webinars and bitesize online learning resources for teachers and school leaders on supporting pupil mental health and wellbeing in practice. These webinars and online resources will be aligned with key themes in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum.

The Chartered College are looking for practising teachers and school leaders to contribute to this project as webinar speakers, and for teachers, leaders and researchers to contribute case studies in audio, video or written form. This is a great opportunity to share best practice, showcase the excellent work that schools are doing and recognise the expertise of teachers who are developing and delivering it.

If you are interested in potentially speaking at a webinar or contributing to a case study, please complete this form by the end of May.