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The importance of developing flexible programmes of support for learners in schools

Sue Sheppard - One of our tutors

 

Dr Sue Sheppard, our resident specialist educational psychologist, discusses the key notes of her forthcoming talk at the Autism Show

[Hear Sue speak about this and much more at the Autism Show on Friday 17 June 2016 at The Hub: Theatre 1 – from 10.25–10.55.]

I’m looking forward to speaking at the Autism Show about the importance of developing flexible personalised programmes for students on the autism spectrum. This area is explored in-depth on Real Training’s two Autism modules, where the following areas are prioritised:

  • Profiling – creating school-based pro formas.
  • Developing holistic personalised programmes that integrate the findings of the profiles.
  • Autism audits – whole school/staff skills.
  • Case studies – creating a narrative around ‘personal journeys’ to help with solutions.
  • Measuring the impact of interventions on ‘real’ students in ‘real’ schools.
  • Comparative work on interventions.
  • Developing school-based action/research plans.

During the talk, I will highlight pertinent examples of good practice by teachers and support staff, some of whom have overcome great challenges – perhaps due to gaps in their school-based provision, the complexity of their student groups, or a lack of external support services. Such good practice is even more admirable when one considers the fact that delegates on the Real Training programmes are based in diverse settings and include international delegates.

There will be some exploration of the tensions that can emerge as schools strive to measure outcomes and track data using evidence-based practice, while also trying to personalise and support students on a day-to-day basis. The limitations of research into ‘what works’ will be examined to promote the idea that an intervention is only effective if it works for a specific student in a specific setting. I will discuss important dimensions such as resilience, motivation, personal insight and rigidity as being significant factors that can both aid and limit the impact of interventions. The high incidence of secondary mental health issues among young people with autism spectrum conditions means that there is a real need to carefully balance high expectations with young people’s actual capacity to engage and sustain a programme, while maintaining emotional well-being.

I will also draw on my direct experience of working in a range of schools, where my current interests include:

  • Exploring and recognising the impact of learning styles and uneven cognitive profiles on student progress in schools.
  • Dimensional frameworks for understanding and assessing those with autism spectrum conditions.
  • Working with students who ‘school refuse’ (or are at risk of refusing to attend school) in order to analyse the underlying reasons for this pattern of behaviour and identify solutions to move forward.
  • Listening to pupils and, where necessary, using structured and unstructured frameworks to support students in reflecting on and prioritising their goals to help them increase motivation.
  • Addressing anxiety across their day-to-day and assessing levels of personal insight.
  • Working collaboratively with parents to create solutions.
  • Adapting interventions to support the girls in schools who are now increasingly recognised as being on the autism spectrum.

Finally, I will be encouraging those who develop support programmes to build on the available good practice and valuable research around interventions, while remaining focused on the ‘individual’ and dynamic interaction within the learning environment and the broader social context.

About Dr Sue Sheppard

Sue is a senior specialist educational psychologist who is a consultant to the Lorna Wing Centre for Autism (part of the National Autistic Society). She has been a specialist ASD advisor/EP for a number of London boroughs for over 20 years and has also worked as a specialist teacher. Sue has been instrumental in setting up provision for children and young people with ASD across early years, primary and secondary, and has an eclectic career portfolio covering lecturing, training, consultancy and diagnosis and assessment. She is a specialist speaker in autism for EPs in training at University College London and has worked in collaboration with other universities – her doctoral research focused on autism outreach services.

Sue has significant experience of supporting learners online and has been a module leader on a number of ‘special needs’ programmes for various universities. Sue works with Real Psychology to provide extensive specialist EP services across London. She is also the module leader for Real Training’s Autism Spectrum Conditions: Skills & Knowledge (S&K) and Application & Reflection (A&R) modules, which are part of Real Training’s MEd SEND Programme.

Find out more about our modules on Autism Spectrum Conditions.

Useful websites

We’re in Krakow for EU-funded project: Q-Tales

Sarah Norris and Jonathan Bond have worked with a host of European partners to help build Q-Tales.

This project aims to increase children’s engagement with the written word. At its heart is a demographic approach to curation that is needs-focussed and develops specific literacy skills. Q-Tales aspires to become the largest vertical approach in the European e-book and app industry by producing a complex quality book-based app that will make children’s books a more attractive play for publishers.

In their work, Sarah (senior educational psychologist) and Jonathan (senior learning designer) helped to devise the curation strategy objectives that lie at the very heart of the project.

‘The objectives are to:

  • Provide a way of rating the pedagogical quality of a product to ensure that it is appropriate for a given reader and that it helps to improve the literacy of that reader.
  • Develop tools that will not only evaluate a product, but will also provide data metrics that users can access, understand and contribute – creating a virtuous circle.
  • Evolve a curation network to facilitate the above, to support the launch of Q-Tales and inform its ongoing development.’

It’s been a fascinating pan-European project and promises to have a great impact on children’s literacy across Europe.

Editor’s note: Sarah is meeting with our EU partners in Krakow today (27 June 2016). While the recent EU referendum vote will have an impact on our involvement in this project, we are pleased to report that we will continue to support the project until such time as we are unable to do so.

In the wake of the EU referendum result

A word from one of our directors

‘While we’re still trying to work out the implications of the Brexit vote, we’re secure in the knowledge that our two main courses are a firm favourite with schools. In times of uncertainty, people tend to upskill to ensure that they are future-proofed. So, with all of this in mind and with many unknowns ahead of us, we will continue to carry on what we are doing well while the dust settles.

‘Clearly, the result will have an impact on the EU projects that we are working on. We will keep you posted, but please be aware that these projects are a small part of our operations and will not have a negative impact.’

Dr Mark Turner

The HE White Paper

Edward Farrow

In mid-May, the government published its higher education White Paper. The mixed reception that it received hinged on legislation that will, ultimately, enable new education providers to confer their own degrees. While the university sector, including the NUS and MillionPlus, responded warily to the publication, other voices were more positive.

Read more about it in our SEND Practitioner here.

So, what are the government’s key proposals and why are they controversial?

New universities, improved standards and greater choice

The government states that the ultimate aim of the legislation is to improve the quality of teaching standards by ensuring that universities are more accountable. Through this, the government hopes that this will not only enable graduates to benefit from enhanced standards, but will also ensure greater choice and access when alternative education providers are able to confer their own degrees. Understandably, the notion of new providers being given degree awarding powers strikes its critics as the next step towards marketisation/privatisation of the higher education sector. To them, the prospect of alternative institutions/corporations offering learning courses in ways that undercut the traditional higher education sector’s prices and modes of delivery threatens the very fabric of the university structure and its world-renowned reputation.

To counter this claim, the government has stated that each new university that wishes to enter the higher education ring will be rigorously tested for quality. As an additional safety and enforcement measure, the government stated that each new awarding organisation will be policed by a newly created regulator called the Office for Students. This ombudsman-type entity will have the regulatory power to take action whenever and wherever needed.

A regulator and watchdog with teeth

As mentioned, this regulatory body, in partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will replace the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) – something that was most probably set in train in 2011, when teaching funding was taken out of its hands and replaced by tuition fee loans. To the chagrin of its critics, this organisation will promote student choice and competition and, even more dangerously in their eyes, will be funded not by the government, but by the universities themselves, prompting questions around the importance of regulators being independent.

A new framework to drive up teaching quality

The government claims that more than 60% of students are unhappy with their course [editor’s cheeky note: this is in stark contrast to our courses, which enjoy exceptionally high approval ratings from past delegates]. To mitigate this perceived shortfall, they intend to introduce a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). This form of assessment will be student-focused and will look at the standards of teaching, the teaching and student experience, etc. Through this, they not only want to give each student as much information as possible about each institution, when they are going through the selection process, but want to also ensure that each university’s performance is directly linked to the fees that they can charge. This new focus is intended to ensure that the quality of teaching (of each course and of each student outcome) is directly linked to the funding that each university can set. In addition, the government also hopes that such a move will encourage universities to do as much as possible to enable their students to find employment after graduation.

Improve accessibility and social mobility

To improve accessibility and encourage social mobility, the government will demand that all universities produce detailed demographical information on their students. This announcement has been received positively by some groups. However, critics of the aim state that charging students higher fees via student loans will reduce accessibility and put poorer students off degrees.

This is just a snapshot of the changes envisaged in the government’s recent HE White Paper.

To find out more, read the government’s HE White Paper.

If you have any questions about this topic, or any suggestions for future topics, please email the editor: edward@realgroup.co.uk

Why nasen’s free CPD training can help SEND practitioners

Over the past six months, Jonathan Bond has worked with nasen to develop ‘Focus on SEND’. This free DfE-funded online CPD takes nine hours to complete and has been created for all mainstream teachers and settings across England.

This key resource launches at nasen Live on 29-30 April.

Jonathan, our head of learning design, discusses the project and outlines its vital significance:

‘This was developed to square the circle of delivering practical change in teaching practice through a very short training course. Teachers face a great deal of competing time pressures and many existing courses simply add to this workload.

‘With this nine-hour course, we created a series of short, engaging activities that enable teachers to experience the key aspects of the graduated approach – which is now central to the new Code of Practice.

‘Experiential learning is not only the cornerstone of this course, but also lies at the heart of truly effective CPD.’

Find out more.

Snapshots from the world of SEND

 

April

March

Dr Temple Grandin to feature in April’s issue of The SEND Practitioner

We are absolutely delighted to be interviewing Temple Grandin in the first week of April and warmly invite you to email your questions to edward@realgroup.co.uk by midnight on Sunday 3 April. As ever, all those who submit a question will be in with a chance of winning a copy of Temple‘s remarkable books: The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum and Thinking in Pictures.

We look forward to receiving your questions for April’s issue of The SEND Practitioner.

Read previous issues of The SEND Practitioner (including our recent interview with the brilliant Steve Silberman).

Sign up to The SEND Practitioner.

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