Archive for July, 2012

Children with SEN Statements are 9 times more likely to be excluded

Posted in Tweets on 07/26/2012 02:37 pm by Janet

Statistics published by the Department for Education today show that pupils with statements are nine times more likes to be permanently excluded from school than those pupils without any SEN. Meanwhile, the number of pupils with statements of SEN receiving one or more fixed period exclusions is six times higher than for pupils with no SEN. The Statistical First Release (SFR) provides information about exclusions from schools and exclusion appeals in England during 2010/11. It reports national trends in the number of permanent and fixed-period exclusions together with information on the characteristics of excluded pupils such as age, gender, ethnicity, free school meal eligibility, and special educational needs (SEN) as well as the reasons for exclusion. The key points from the latest release are: There were 5080 permanent exclusions from state-funded primary, state-funded secondary and all special schools in 2010/11. In 2010/11 there were 271,980 fixed-period exclusions from state-funded secondary schools, 37,790 fixed-period exclusions from state-funded primary schools and 14,340-fixed period exclusions from special schools. The average length of a fixed-period exclusion in state-funded secondary schools was 2.4 days, for state-funded primary schools the average length of a fixed-period exclusion was 2.1 days. The permanent exclusion rate for boys was approximately three times higher than that for girls. The fixed-period exclusion rate for boys was almost three times higher than that for girls. Pupils with SEN with statements are around nine times more likely to be permanently excluded than those pupils with no SEN. Children who are eligible for free school meals are nearly four times more likely to receive a permanent exclusion and around three times more likely to receive a fixed-period exclusion than children who are not eligible for free school meals. What are we to make of these statistics?

A mainstream school it would seem is, quite often, unable to cope with the high level of demands placed upon it by children with special educational needs and challenging behaviour and for these children, inclusion is the last thing they need. They need a specialised environment that can help them overcome difficulties of background or learning style or hidden disability so they have the same chance of a successful life as everyone else. Timely intervention is crucial for these children so that they can be identified and assisted long before things get to the stage of an exclusion being considered. When thinking specifically of children with statements, I wonder what percentage of these SEN children, or of children with SEN but without statements, were excluded for persistent disruptive behaviour compared to the other reasons above. A child displaying persistent disruptive behaviour almost certainly has underlying issues, whether BESD, ADHD, ASD etc, that prevents them from accessing the curriculum and hence makes them feel that school is a waste of time. A large percentage were also recipients of free school meals, which also indicates that poor children (with or without SEN) are hugely at risk of not getting the support they need in a mainstream school environment. Many may come from difficult family backgrounds and would be much more suited to a nurture group environment such as those set up by child psychologist Charlie Mead, if only they existed more widely.   See http://www.wordswell.co.uk/tapf-conference/october-charlie-mead.php

There is much interesting analysis that can be taken from these stats aside from the startling SEN figures, for example the comparatively high ratio of exclusions for traveller children (who may or may not have SEN). These would take far more time to ponder than I have available, but I hope someone does and lets me know.

First published by Tania Tirraoro on Special Needs Jungle where you will find links to all the stats

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Learning about dyslexia should be mandatory for all new teachers

Posted in Tweets, Wordswell on 07/19/2012 08:04 pm by Janet

Children who have good speech and language skills are at an advantage when they learn to read and spell as the development of both spoken and written language skills are closely linked.  Conversely, children who are having difficulties with speech and language development are at risk of having associated literacy needs.

Learning  to read, write and spell is an essential part of every child’s early education. 

A child may be considered to have dyslexia if in spite of adequate teaching the child has specific persistent needs with reading and writing in comparison with his abilities in other spheres to a degree sufficient to prevent school work reflecting his true ability and knowledge.  Early identification of the child with dyslexia is essential if these children are to receive appropriate help.  The earlier the difficulties are identified the greater the likelihood of successful remediation.  The case history of a child with dyslexia may also reveal early previously undiagnosed language difficulties that only become of recognised significance in the light of emerging reading and writing difficulties. 

A full multi-disciplinary assessment of a dyslexic child should include an educational psychologist, occupational therapist, teacher, audiologist, orthoptist and paediatrician in addition to a speech and language therapist. 

In therapy given for dyslexia the speech and language therapist must be aware of the relationship between spoken and written language.  Speech and Language Therapists’ knowledge and skills mean that they are ideally placed to contribute to the management of children with dyslexia.  Their training in phonetics is essential to the successful management of a dyslexic child.  Informed phonetics and linguistic techniques have been proven to be successful in intervention. 

In addition, when providing therapy to children with a spoken language need, the Speech and Language Therapist will consider prerequisite written language skills and actual written language skills as part of the overall intervention programme. 

The discharge of a child who is speaking but not reading or writing or showing prerequisite skills appropriate to age cannot be seen as a successful discharge. 

When planning intervention the Speech and Language Therapist needs to be aware of the emotional reaction that the existence of a reading and writing difficulty provokes both in the child and carer.  Frustration and evasion are understandable sequallae to the educational problems and daily ordeal of school work for these children.

Please sign the British Dyslexia Association’s (BDA) – http://bit.ly/ITT_Dys6 online petition – http://bit.ly/ITT_DysC.

Learning about dyslexia should be mandatory for all new teachers.

Dyslexia affects 10% of all school children.

Watch this video explaining what it’s like to be dyslexic http://bit.ly/ITT_Dys8

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