This useful short article from Richard Parker and Andrew Wright makes some helpful links with the Recovery Curriculum.
Category: Articles
What do we mean by kindness?
This question deserves at answer at this time of crisis. We have witnessed some incredible acts of kindness in our communities and in Society as a whole.
Now is the time to re evaluate what kindness can give to our own sense of well being, as well as in acts of kindness towards others. It is an essential component of the compassion that will be so essential to our school communities in the processor reconnection and recovery.
This new report from the Mental Health Foundation is timely, and worthy of consideration and implementation.
Click here, or the cover image below to open & view the related pdf.
So what happens when the children come back to school?
The Transition Toolkit at nurtureuk.org by Dr Tina Rae, is a perfect resource for supporting the year 6 to year 7 transition process. At a time when this is likely to be more compressed than planned, the sound evidence base, theoretical underpinning, and brilliant activity cards in the Transition Toolkit are a must for schools.
The design and range of activities would also support many pupils when then come to transition back to schools, and will help teachers support children’s emotional well being, through meaningful and purposeful learning. It can be a dynamic tool, alongside the other Boxes in this series from Nurture UK, in the Recovery Curriculum.
This is an ideal resource at this time of crisis. Highly recommended.
Click the cover image below to download and view attached file below (.docx) file type.
Looking after your Well Being | 1. Stay Connected
Katie Buckingham is a young woman who an amazing entrepreneur , and runs an organisation focussed on Mental Health and Well Being, Altruist . She also has a diagnosis of Autism , and serves with me on the National Girls and Autism Forum . She has been a powerful advocate for our work, has written a chapter in the “Girls and Autism” book , and has undertaken many public speaking engagements , openly discussing her own journey toward diagnosis , and the struggles with her mental health.
Katie writes : –
“As part of our commitment to supporting positive mental health, I will be releasing weekly social media videos with practical tips on how individuals can implement the 5 Ways to Well-being at Home”.
The 5 Ways to Well-being are as follows:
1. Stay Connected
2. Be Active
3. Take Notice
4. Learn
5. Give
2. Be Active
3. Take Notice
4. Learn
5. Give
100 Top Tips for parenting and supporting children and young persons with ADHD
This is a new and valuable booklet resource for Fintan O ‘Regan.
For more information go to www.fintanoregan.com
Click image to download file.
“Super Girls“ – Girls and Autism (Article)
This article published in the “Sunday Times” (2/02/20), has a focus on the abilities of girls with Autism, and the talents they can offer to Society. Through case study examples taken from Limpsfied Grange School, Surrey, and some insightful quotes from the Headteacher, Sarah Wild, the journey made by these girls is illuminated.
The Engagement Model
The DfE has now released the final guidance on The Engagement Model.
The guidance describes the formative and summative assessment of children as “not engaged in subject specific learning”. It will be statutory assessment in schools for those children and young people.
The guidance describes the formative and summative assessment of children as “not engaged in subject specific learning”. It will be statutory assessment in schools for those children and young people.
The guidance is an output of the Rochford Review , who have piloted the Model. It builds on the research led for the ‘DfE’, by Professor Barry Carpenter as part of the Complex Learning Disabilities and Difficulties project.
This project identified, through a systematic review of the international literature around learning in children with SEND, that ‘engagement was the single best predicator of successful learning in children with special needs/disabilities’ (Carpenter et al, 2015.)
From this solid evidence based, a pedagogy evolved through systematic research across UK schools, and a series of International trials , which created the Engagement Framework for Learning, ( www,engagement4learning.com) This includes the ‘Engagement Profile’ which aids baseline assessment, and gives insight into the learning pathways of the child with Complex Needs. The Engagement Profile is a classroom based planning tool which links to formative assessment . Both are compatible, and indeed inform , the summative assessment opportunities of the new Engagement Model.
Professor Robin McWilliam , Professor, Special Education and Multiple Abilities at the University of Alabama, USA , and a prolific writer on the subject of Engagement said of this new DfE publication ,”You are to be congratulated! In the U.S., we have “alternative assessment” for what, in the U.K., is known as pupils with complex needs. But states differ on what they use and none of them that I know of are focused on engagement. So, well done!
Professor McWilliam and Professor Carpenter, will present further on Engagement for Learning to an International Conference in Turkey in April, 2020 . The UK, which leads the World in so many aspects of special and inclusive education, has a major contribution to make in the area of assessment for children with Special Needs through this ground-breaking work from the Rochford Review.
Engagement for Learning Article
On the journey of professional learning, as schools and teachers prepare to implement Engagement more fully as assessment, this article may offer some useful insights.
Click to download and view.
“Earlybird” Book – The Experience of Premature Birth
“Earlybird” – the first book worldwide for parents and children to explore together the experience of premature birth.
Written by Dr Patricia Champion, MBE , Founder of the Champion Early Intervention Centre , in Christchurch , New Zealand , and an international expert in the field of prematurity.
“All the joys and worries of a prematurely born baby are tenderly and openly addressed in this lovely story as Mum, Dad and Pip welcome little Peri into their nest. This book will be calming and centering resource for families to read with their children following their time in NICU and long after as they continue to embrace their newest family member”.
Professor Linda Gilkerson, PhD. Erikson Institute USA.
The book is available internationally and can be purchased online at: http://www.championfoundation.co.nz
Click the below to download and view the Earlybird information sheet.
