Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conference

Posted in Events, Towards a Positive Future Conference, Tweets on 03/24/2012 07:44 pm by Janet

One of the sponsors of TaPF2012 Conference, Field Fisher Waterhouse Solicitors, are generously providing bursaries of 50-100% of the delegate fee to enable parents of children to attend.  Early bird rates for bookings made before the 30th April 2012 are £96 per delegate including VAT or £180 for 2 delegates booking together.  This includes all refreshments and a delegate pack. 

 speaker button samcritchley Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conferencesponsors button ffw Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conferencespeaker button janeasher Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conferencespeaker button cliverawlings Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conferencespeaker button tania Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conferencespeaker button janet Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conferencespeaker button charlie Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conferencespeaker button martyn Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conferencesponsors button wordswell Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conferencespeaker button ianross Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conference

 

I am organising this year’s conference.  The 4 keynote speakers at this years conference are Clive Rawlings, Barrister speaking on the future for children with SEN from a legal perspective, Tania Tirraoro, a journalist and parent (Special Needs Jungle) speaking on the SE7 pathfinder and experiences of the system as a parent, Charlie Mead, Educational Psychologist speaking on ‘The Careless System’ and Martyn Sibley, social entrepreneur speaking on what it was like growing up as a child with special needs with one aim ‘to change the world for disabled people.’ 

Jane Asher, Actress, Author and President of the National Autistic Society is coming and there are 12 seminars covering dyslexia, acquired brain injury, autism, deafness and Down Syndrome as well as influencing and communication skills, life after school, the ICAN Secondary Talk Programme,  Applied Behavioural Analysis and the SCAEP Social Skills Programme.  The focus as always is whatever the political context what do we know works and how can we navigatge the system and enable our children to get the support that they need so that they have a positive future.

To book your place go to http://www.wordswell.co.uk/tapf-conference-2012/booking.php

share save 120 16 Field Fisher Waterhouse are offering busaries to parents of children with special educational needs to enable them to attend the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conference
 

Government Urged To Ensure SEN Appeal System Is Made Less Intimidating

Posted in Books and Publications, Events, Towards a Positive Future Conference on 03/05/2012 04:41 pm by Janet

Many families experience an intimidating process when they appeal against local authority decisions regarding special educational needs provision for vulnerable children, says speech and language therapist Janet O’Keefe, who attends many tribunals as an expert witness.

Janet says that special educational needs and disability tribunals are organised by the Ministry of Justice as part of the court system and their hearings are often heard in magistrates’ courts, asylum and immigration buildings, or social security offices which is very stressful for parents who have not done anything wrong other than disagree with the provision proposed to support their child by the local authority responsible for meeting their special educational needs.

This issue will be one of the topics under discussion at a conference called Towards a Positive Future, which Janet is holding in Newbury, Berkshire on Saturday, 16 June, where speakers will include Jane Asher, president of the National Autistic Society.

Janet, who founded Wordswell (Speech and Language Therapy Services) near Ely, Cambridgeshire, says the event is aimed at parents of children with special education needs and the professionals who support them. Janet will be speaking about the daunting and intimidating process of appeal for parents.

Janet says: “It’s disappointing that local authorities do not seem to be currently negotiating with parents, which results in more appeal hearings and higher legal costs for those parents who use expensive specialist solicitors and barristers to represent them. On average I have attended two tribunal hearings a month as an expert witness for speech and language therapy; in January 2012, there were 12 in the diary and I attended eight.

“Since all tribunals came under the Ministry of Justice, hearings have had to be held in government buildings instead of hotels or dedicated tribunal buildings to save money.  This means that instead of a formal business meeting, special education appeal hearings are now held in magistrates’ courts, asylum and immigration buildings, or social security offices.  Often there is security on the door like an airport to scan and search all bags and people entering the building. The whole process is increasingly stressful – and all because parents dared to disagree with the provision the local authorities are offering to support their child who through no fault of their own has special educational needs.

“The legal costs have also escalated for parents who seek legal representation. Just five years ago parents were telling me that their legal bill was on average £7,000, now they are telling me it is more than £20,000.”

Tania Tirraoro, a mother of two autistic sons, Luca, 14, and Giorgio, 12, and author of Special Educational Needs – Getting Started with Statements, believes a much more conciliatory approach is required which would involve a huge culture shift away from the present process so the focus is on the special educational needs of the child, and not the local authority’s budget.

Tania belongs to Family Voice Surrey, a parent carer group to help form the new SEN structure where pathfinder trials are taking place.

She says: “The system has been adversarial for far too long, and it’s not just the framework that needs to change to improve things, but the attitudes of some LEA staff to dealing with stressed and vulnerable parents. Even as the trials are getting underway, parents using the existing system are still being subjected to unnecessary expense preparing for tribunals that the LEA backs out of at the last minute, inadequate proposed statements and fights over placements. A change here would make the biggest difference of all.

“There are many fine ideals in the green paper, but the most important thing is that the pathfinder trials must show that they are workable on a large scale and do, in fact, improve the lives of children with SEN and their families.”

Jane Asher, president of the National Autistic Society, says: “I am very much looking forward to coming to Wordswell’s conference – anything that can help to promote understanding, support and the need for the right education for those on the autistic spectrum is always close to my heart.

“After over 30 years of working with the National Autistic Society I still continue to learn more about this complex condition all the time, and I know I will enjoy meeting the parents, carers, professionals and those with autism themselves who will gather to exchange experiences and to help improve the lives of all those affected. “

413eWDgN8QL. SS500 Government Urged To Ensure SEN Appeal System Is Made Less Intimidating

Janet has edited a book which was launched at last October’s Conference called ‘Towards a Positive Future: stories, ideas and inspiration from children with special educational needs, their families and professionals’ which includes practical information and support for parents and expert witnesses.

The conference is being held at the Arlington Arts Centre in Newbury on Saturday, 16 June. Early bird tickets cost £80, and £100 after 1 May, and can be booked by calling 01954 253525, or email janetokeefe@wordswell.co.uk.  

Please see

http://www.wordswell.co.uk/pdfs/Towards_a_Positive_Future_Conference_2012_flyer.pdf

for further information.

Ends.

Notes to editors:

  1. For photos or interview requests, please contact media officer Ellee Seymour on 01353 648564, 07939 811961, or email ellee.seymour@btopenworld.com
  2. Full details of the green paper for special educational needs, please see the Department for Education, http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/sen/a0075339
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Book Review: Towards a Positive Future:stories, ideas and inspiration from children with special educational needs, their families and professionals edited by Janet O’Keefe published by J&R Press 2011

Posted in Books and Publications, Tweets on 03/05/2012 04:23 pm by Janet

This book is essential reading for anyone currently involved in the upbringing and education of a child or children with special needs. In this well documented and skillfully edited volume, our current process for ensuring a ‘special’ child is appropriately educated is clearly and comprehensively explained. 15 real life stories of special needs children illustrate perfectly the many facets of the problems that face those who are intimately involved with educating children with special needs. We have all known the frustration and coldness of bureaucrats who count the pennies and tick the boxes with scant regard for the identity and needs of the individual’s life they are affecting. The personal accounts in this book bring home the difficulties many have experienced in understanding exactly what was wrong with their child, what effective and positive steps could have been or were taken to address their child’s needs and how these were (or were not) applied (promptly or otherwise). No punches are pulled. There is no kowtowing to those authoritative officials who have learned to become more efficient in their job by making hard and fast decisions that have ignored the human, emotional needs of the people involved. Reading such stories should give new heart to people who may be struggling to cope with a cumbersome, and seemingly cold and indifferent system. They are not alone. I write not as an entirely uninvolved individual, for I have had my own 19-year battle with authorities in seeing to the needs of my husband who has had increased requisites as his health has deteriorated and I have been observing the difficulties my own daughter has been having with her severely disabled child. To return to this excellent book: by way of essential contrast, it also highlights the positive side of the children’s achievements, no matter how small. It makes clear how it is important for us to change our attitudes in dealing with our children’s individual impairments and with the authorities that seem to be at odds with their statutory role to support these needy children. The final mission statements exhorting us to be the instigators of positive reform in this field are inspiring and worthy of adopting. It is not ‘the system’ but ‘we’ who can effectively improve matters. Armed with the expert knowledge and lists of supportive organizations and people in this book, and driven by our passionate involvement, we should be able to ensure that the future of our special needs children will be much improved.

Written by Dr Rosemary Westwell PhD, MA TESOL, MA Ed, B Mus, BA Hons

PhD thesis “The development of language acquisition in a mature learner” : http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/48/

www.reviewsrjw.wordpress.com

www.elyforlanguage.wordpress.com

 

share save 120 16 Book Review: Towards a Positive Future:stories, ideas and inspiration from children with special educational needs, their families and professionals edited by Janet OKeefe published by J&R Press 2011
 

Review of Towards a Positive Future: stories, ideas and inspiration from children with special educational needs, their parents and professionals – published by J&R Press on 14th October 2011

Posted in Books and Publications on 10/20/2011 04:15 pm by Janet

 

As an SLT working both for the NHS, Privately and for a major Charity I must say a huge thank you for all the time you have invested writing this book.

 

Put simply it’s a fantastic reference point for any professional working with children and adolescents with SEN and their families.

 

I like how the vastly complicated process of statementing is clearly described in terms of not simply what happens but when it should happen. When I was a newly qualified SLT I wish I had such a resource to refer back to as it has taken years of experience to get my head around (and I still don’t feel overly confident). I will definitely recommend this resource to NQT (and experienced) professionals who work with children with SEN.

 

Whilst the book does not expect a particular level of prior understanding of SEN having some certainly helps. The majority of (affected) families greet having more information on the SEN ‘with open arms’ however I do feel that due to the complexity of the process, and hence the complexity of the book itself, it is not accessible to all families. Personally I would recommend reading particular chapters to some of my families and the whole book to others.

 

I think the icing of the cake are the inspirational stories. Whilst they are heart breaking at points, the positive messages found are clear. I like the way they are categorised into SLCN diagnoses/disorders as it helps the reader to relate to particular children they know.

 

Finally, with all the cuts and changes happening across the UK it is very easy to become disillusioned; the ‘making it happen’ has lit my fire of enthusiasm and I can’t wait to go into work tomorrow and begin to make a difference!

by Chris Wade

share save 120 16 Review of Towards a Positive Future: stories, ideas and inspiration from children with special educational needs, their parents and professionals published by J&R Press on 14th October 2011
 

Review of the Conference – Towards a Positive Future – 14th October 2011 by ‘Special Needs Mum’ Tania Tirraoro and orginally published on her site ‘Special Needs Jungle’

Posted in Events, Towards a Positive Future Conference on 10/20/2011 12:26 am by Janet

The event was held at the Mary Hare School for hearing impaired children near Newbury. The school does inspirational work in providing an education for its pupils, helping each through individually designed hearing equipment. As a non-maintained state school, the school’s head, Tony Shaw, said they are ‘not considered to be part of inclusion’ and have had their funding cut by central government. This, despite the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, himself having a sister with a hearing impairment.

The school has had to diversify to survive, establishing an ear mould lab that services the NHS. Despite this, Mr Shaw says they never forget what they’re there for. He said, “At the core are the children we have the passion of serving.”  It’s a sad fact that, in the politics and cost-cutting of government both local and national, this message is too often overlooked.

Another speaker was Kevin Geeson, CEO of Dyslexia Action, who talked about the opportunities and risks of the Green Paper. He highlighted concerns about the assessment of hidden disabilities such as dyslexia in that it may not be picked up early enough and the question of who will control the personal budgets given to children to provide for their SEN. Mr Geeson said the Green paper brought an opportunity to provide the proper skills and support for teachers to include all children in the curriculum. He said, “Good teaching for children with hidden disabilities is good teaching for all.”

Education solicitor, Inez Brown of Anthony Collins solicitors, set out the legal framework and funding of special needs and pointed out the problem with parents appealing against SEN decisions for children at the new Academies because the Academies do not fall within the Education Act. She also pointed out that the Green paper removes speech and language and occupational therapy out of educational provision – something every parent of a statemented child should be aware of. This means that the local authority cannot be challenged about these things at a Tribunal.  

The conference also heard from internationally acclaimed academic, Professor Heather Van Der Lely who has developed an early-identification test for dyslexia called GAPS.  The professor pointed out that seven per cent of children have a specific language impairment – seven times the incidence of autism. She is trying to bring about the widespread use of GAPS which, she says, is quick, efficient and highly accurate. The crucial issue is, of course, that there are not enough Speech and Language Therapists to help all those that the test could identify.

Former Head Teacher, Charlie Mead is a consultant Child and Educational Psychologist, advising schools, the NAS and health and prison services about working effectively with young people with complex needs. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of helping children with special needs and makes the analogy of how the system is like an egg timer – with all the resources at the top not being able to filter down to those who need them at the bottom – ie, children. He spoke of how he had introduced nurture groups to a school in Birmingham where children with special needs were taught, mainly in the same classroom without the need to move around the school and given the help they needed, and how this had greatly improved their outcomes and allowed them to participate and be included within the mainstream of education. This is a fascinating idea that, with a some effort and will, could be adopted by every school in the country. It deserves greater public attention than it so far seems to have had.

One form of ‘hidden disability’ is that of acquired brain injury – that is, an injury not present at birth that occurs by illness or accident during childhood. Often these injuries present in a similar manner to developmental disorders. Every year it is estimated that at least 50,000 children and young people acquire a brain injury. Often, it is not until some time after the injury that a connection is made between a behavioural or learning deficit in the young person and the injury or illness that previously occurred. Research shows that 50% of those in custody have some kind of ABI. Louise Wilkinson, Training Manager of the Child Brain Injury Trust spoke at the conference of the issues faces by people with ABI. Her charity has been working to educate teachers on how to deal with such children. The charity is holding a conference in 2012 on the issue.

Finally, conflict resolution & NLP coach, Ian Ross and Lynne Kerry of Vievolve held a session about how to approach and deal with conflict and negotiations. They explained how to negotiate on ‘interests’ rather than ‘positions’ and how to maintain your cool when involved in a difficult discussion. One of the pieces of advice was to put yourself in your ‘opponent’s’ shoes and think what they are thinking. The company offers NLP coaching to businesses and individuals and has a number of courses at its South Oxfordshire venue coming up.

The site for the conference, where a DVD of the presentations will soon be available to purchase can be found here: http://www.wordswell.co.uk/conference/. Another event is being scheduled for next April.

All in all there was great concern over what the future for special needs might bring. It is clear that the green paper is far from perfect and that changes will need to be made. But it is heartening that there are plenty of people who are concerned with SEN that do not forget that the child is at the heart of everything. It is impossible to ignore the fact that money is always an issue, especially in these times, but our priority must surely be with the most vulnerable and childrenwith special needs are undeniably that.

   

 
share save 120 16 Review of the Conference Towards a Positive Future 14th October 2011 by Special Needs Mum Tania Tirraoro and orginally published on her site Special Needs Jungle
 

Ian Ross from Vievolve will be leading a seminar on negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution

Posted in Events, Towards a Positive Future Conference, Tweets on 10/06/2011 03:49 pm by Janet

ian ross Ian Ross from Vievolve will be leading a seminar on negotiation, mediation and conflict resolutionIan Ross from Vievolve will be leading a seminar on negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution. Ian’s skill is built on a long and successful commercial career spanning senior posts in a variety of organisations that include British European Airways and Team Training Europe. He is an experienced facilitator, negotiator, and executive coach based in the UK and working internationally. As a Director of Vievolve Ltd, he offers a rare combination of the highest accreditations possible in NLP (INLPTA Master Trainer), together with negotiation and conflict resolution studies at Harvard. With over 18 years experience of applying NLP in commercial contexts he provides access to learning from the absolute cutting edge of human leadership and personal development technology, alongside the academic rigour of negotiation and conflict resolution models and strategies available from the Harvard Law School.

Book your place now at http://www.wordswell.co.uk/conference/

share save 120 16 Ian Ross from Vievolve will be leading a seminar on negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution
 

Louise Wilkinson, Training Manager at the charity Child Brain Injury Trust, will raise awareness about the issues that children, young people and their families face following the devastation of childhood acquired brain injury ‘The Hidden Disability’.

Posted in Events, Towards a Positive Future Conference, Tweets on 10/06/2011 03:44 pm by Janet

copy of louise wilkinson2 Louise Wilkinson, Training Manager at the charity Child Brain Injury Trust, will raise awareness about the issues that children, young people and their families face following the devastation of childhood acquired brain injury ‘The Hidden Disability’.Louise is Training Manager at the charity Child Brain Injury Trust; her role is to raise awareness about the issues that children, young people and their families face following the devastation of childhood acquired brain injury.  She has trained over 2,000 professionals across Education, Healthcare, Social Services and more recently with those working with young offenders and those at risk of offending. The aim of the training is to highlight that 90% of those affected by childhood acquired brain injury (ABI) have no physical sign of their disability and because of the hidden nature and lack of knowledge of ABI there injury is often unnoticed or even misdiagnosed.  Louise has also spoken at many conferences on this subject including SEN, Youth Offending and ABI conferences.  Since joining the Child Brain Injury Trust  in 2008 Louise’s passion for ensuring that these children and young people receive the appropriate support to enable them to achieve their full potential in life, has helped raise the profile of this hidden disability.

Book your place to hear Louise at http://www.wordswell.co.uk/conference/

share save 120 16 Louise Wilkinson, Training Manager at the charity Child Brain Injury Trust, will raise awareness about the issues that children, young people and their families face following the devastation of childhood acquired brain injury ‘The Hidden Disability’.
 

“The grammar and phonology screening (GAPS) test: quick, simple, affordable and accurate: so why isn’t there national screening?”

Posted in Events, Towards a Positive Future Conference, Tweets on 10/06/2011 03:39 pm by Janet

professor van der lely “The grammar and phonology screening (GAPS) test: quick, simple, affordable and accurate: so why isn’t there national screening?”Professor Heather van der Lely is Director of the Centre for Developmental Language Disorders and Cognitive Neuroscience and is one of Britain’s leading researchers into Specific Language Impairment. She will lead a presentation titled, “The grammar and phonology screening (GAPS) test: quick, simple, affordable and accurate: so why isn’t there national screening?”

Book your place now at http://www.wordswell.co.uk/conference/

share save 120 16 “The grammar and phonology screening (GAPS) test: quick, simple, affordable and accurate: so why isn’t there national screening?”
 

Charlie Mead will deliver a presentation which will cover the practical implications of meeting the needs of children and young people in the changing financial and social climate we find ourselves in.

Posted in Events, Towards a Positive Future Conference, Tweets on 10/06/2011 03:35 pm by Janet

charlie mead Charlie Mead will deliver a presentation which will cover the practical implications of meeting the needs of children and young people in the changing financial and social climate we find ourselves in.Charlie was the youngest Headteacher in the West Midlands to run SEBD schools for teenagers who been excluded from the mainstream system. Twenty five years later he is now a Consultant Child and Educational Psychologist providing hands-on services to the National Autistic Society,  Mainstream Academies and Health and Prison services on working effectively with students with complex needs – especially those with Autism and damaging behaviour difficulties.

share save 120 16 Charlie Mead will deliver a presentation which will cover the practical implications of meeting the needs of children and young people in the changing financial and social climate we find ourselves in.
 

Inez Brown, a senior associate with Anthony Collins LLP, will lead a seminar on the legal implications for children with special needs, current funding arrangements and future funding arrangements.

Posted in Uncategorised on 10/06/2011 03:28 pm by Janet

Inez Inez Brown, a senior associate with Anthony Collins LLP, will lead a seminar on the legal implications for children with special needs, current funding arrangements and future funding arrangements.Inez Brown is a Senior Associate with Anthony Collins LLP in Birmingham where she leads on the educational support for individuals. She has vast experience in educational matters providing support on statutory assessment of children with special educational needs and admission/exclusion issues arising from maintained schools. She has experience of dealing with appeals to the SEN and Disability Panel. In the wider field, Inez has also been involved in a number of judicial review cases appealing a failure to comply with the provisions of SEN statements together with a failure to undertake the relevant social care assessments or produce a care plan. Inez has experience of dealing with the practical side of litigation – of issuing proceedings, liaising with the court, other solicitors and Counsel. Inez also has extensive experience representing claimants in Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury claims with a proven track record of achieving successful outcomes for her clients. Currently she leads on a wide range of cases including medical misdiagnosis, obstetric cases resulting in severe brain injury including cerebral palsy, road traffic accidents resulting in brain damage, fatal accident claims and hospital acquired infections. Clients praise her proactive approach and ability to explain the law in simple terms. Inez’s excellent approach to individuals ensures that their needs are always her primary concern.

share save 120 16 Inez Brown, a senior associate with Anthony Collins LLP, will lead a seminar on the legal implications for children with special needs, current funding arrangements and future funding arrangements.
 
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