Senco News

One of the key problems that many pupils and students with short term memory problems have is that of fully comprehending the concept of time.

The memory problems can manifest themselves in terms of dyslexia or dyscalculia, but in both cases they can be accompanied by difficulties in reading a clock, understanding bus or train timetables, or even remembering the sequence of months of the year, or the seasons.

To overcome this problem I have worked with colleagues on a book that contains hundreds of activities for pupils and students to undertake, all focussed on time. The idea is that by working through the activities those taking part come to see how all the different elements of time fit together.

The book, formerly known as “The Key To Time”, starts with a test which allows you to see what sort of problems the young person has, and from that point on you can select different sections of the book to work on with the pupil or student.

In each case the lesson plan is set out so that any teacher or teaching assistant can use it. The series of lessons starts with “The four phases of the day” (morning, afternoon, evening, night) and ends with the complex interrelationship of months and years. There is also a series of diagrams which show how time (which can seem quite an arbitrary arrangement to people suffering from dyslexia or dyscalculia) relates to the real world.

The book is now available and to make it easy to use it can be supplied either as a CD which can be loaded onto the school IT network, or as a photocopiable volume which can be used throughout the school. Thus once you have one copy, it can be used over and over again. This can be particularly helpful with the timelines and clock illustrations which the pupils can regularly re-use. It also means that teaching assistants can be given copied sections of the book to use as needs be.

The Key to Time by Tony Attwood

Publisher’s reference: T1712emn

SBN: 978 1 86083 707 4

Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/dyscalculia/T1712.pdf

Prices

• Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £25.95.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• CD with school-wide rights: £25.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Both the Ring Binder and the CD £32.94 plus £3.95 delivery

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the book…

• By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
• By fax to 01536 399 012
• On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=540

One of the questions that has interested me considerably over time is how one moves away from the intense practice on individual issues in reading into incorporating them into general practice of use of the language.

It may of course just be me, but I know from experience that I can spend hours with some pupils working in sequences and get to the stage where their work really is developing. But then, when they find themselves faced with a sequencing issue in the middle of something else, much of that progress disappears.

The same sort of thing happens in all sorts of areas. They may have studied homophones – and, of course, they need more and more practice in this area. But then as we start work in other areas so the memory of the work on homophones disappears.

The answer, at least in part, seems to involve moving away from the dyslexia materials that the pupils are following and taking them into other, previously unseen, materials.

In this way the pupils can get a moment’s release from the regular work that they have to go through to overcome their disability.

Furthermore, for those pupils who are unable to undertake this sort of work because of a lack of specialist teachers and assistant teachers, it can be very helpful to have a range of resources that the pupil can work through on his/her own, to reinforce knowledge that has been gained.

For all these reasons, I rather like the Dyslexia Resource Pack which contains activities centring around syllables, compound words, root words, anagrams, synonyms, antonyms, homophones, etc. All the materials are photocopiable for use within the school.

The materials are literacy specific, and as such can be used with pupils and students in key stages 2, 3 and 4 who have problems with any of the areas covered.

You can order the Dyslexia Resource Pack in any of these ways (quoting order number 16026)

• Online at http://bit.ly/a4rMdD
• By phone on 0117 940 6409
• By fax on 0117 940 6408
• By email (quoting a school order number) to sales@classroom-resources.co.uk

* By post to: Classroom Resources, PO Box 1489, Bristol, BS99 3QJ

For what I believe is the first time ever the Advertising Standards Authority, the organisation that oversees advertising in the UK, and checks that it doesn’t go beyond the bounds of reasonable behaviour, has said that making fun of dyslexics is not acceptable.

They were called in to adjudicate on an advert for a student’s nightclub, which incorporated several remarks about dyslexics.

The ASA’s report considered that the advert, “in particular the deliberate errors in spelling and grammar, the letter L facing the wrong way, the dyslexic cooks joke and the Einstein cartoon, was likely to be interpreted as mocking people with dyslexia and suggesting they were stupid. We concluded that the ad was likely to cause serious offence.”

Dyslexics are more likely than many to be criticised for their inability to spell or create grammatically correct written sentences, because their problems are not visible. Indeed it is commonplace for dyslexics who are required to write in the workplace to find themselves unduly criticised in ways that those with more obvious disabilities are not subjected to.

If you want to read the offending advert and the ASA’s commentary on it, it is at http://asa.org.uk/Complaints-and-ASA-action/Adjudications/2010/4/Junkies-Ltd/TF_ADJ_48366.aspx

Somewhere between one in five and one in 20 children are believed to have such profound problems in understanding basic maths that the child can reasonably be called “dyscalculic”.

Although there might be some doubt about the numbers involved there is certainly no doubt that dyscalculia is a special need that affects a large number of children.

The problem is, however, that whereas a large number of resources exist for dyslexic children the number of resources for teachers and teaching assistants which relate to dyscalculic children is much smaller.

Practical Activities for Children with Dyscalculia by Tony Attwood was written for teachers working with individuals or small groups of such children. The book provides a series of activities that will resolve the mathematical “block” that many of these children face, in a series of small group or individual lessons.

By working through these activities children who have fundamental problems in handling the most basic of mathematical concepts will learn how to handle numbers, sequences, addition, multiplication, subtraction and division. The book takes the child from the concept of “higher” and “lower” to division by numbers over 12.

Practical Activities for Children with Dyscalculia works from the basis that just as the standard methods of teaching literacy to dyslexic children are not very effective, so the standard methods of teaching numeracy to dyscalculic children are also ineffective.

For this reason, these children continue to fail even when given intensive one-to-one tuition in maths using the traditional approach is used. And thus an alternative “multi-sensory” approach was devised for this book.

A school using this system will need to provide a series of coloured counters (such as those used with games of Ludo or tiddlywinks) and for some of the later work, a set of cards. (These can be purchased from the publisher, along with the book).

Practical Activities for Children with Dyscalculia is photocopiable throughout and available on CD Rom so that, where it is deemed desirable, sections may be copied and handed over to parents so that they can work with the child at home on simple exercises. The book can also be stored on the school’s network for use throughout the school.

Sample pages of the book may be viewed at http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/dyscalculia/T1654.pdf

Publisher’s catalogue number T1654emn; ISBN: 978 1 86083 710 4

Format of the book

• Photocopiable book: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Text on CD: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Both photocopiable book and text on CD: £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery

Methods of ordering

• By post to First and Best, Hamilton House Mailings plc, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Rd., Corby, Northants NN17 4HH
• By fax on 01536 399 012
• By phone with a credit card or with an official school order number on 01536 399 011
• On line with a credit card at http://tinyurl.com/lvceqn

This story was sent out to subscribers of the free Education Management News service for SENCOs. If you would like to receive the emails direct, please visit www.schools.co.uk/subscribe.html - and complete the very simple form. You can then leave the service at any time.

Ed Balls doubles funding to kick-start national fundraising appeal -

- Michael Palin launches new appeal to expand services and increase training of speech and language therapists -

A further £500,000 was today announced by Schools Secretary, Ed Balls to help fund a new centre which will provide early intervention and support for children and young people who stammer.

The funding is supporting the ARSC (Association for Research into Stammering in Childhood) Appeal for a new centre of excellence in West Yorkshire to complement the existing centre in London. It brings the total contribution to the Appeal from the Department for Children, Schools and Families to £1 million.

The Prince of Wales, Patron of the ARSC Appeal, hosted a reception today at Clarence House, where Michael Palin gave his backing to support the charity’s ambitions to raise a further £2 million to expand services at the centre in London and help set up the new centre in West Yorkshire.

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said:

“It is tremendous news that HRH The Prince of Wales has agreed to become the Patron of this very important appeal, which will ensure that more children than ever will get the chance to get specialist speech and language support with their stammer.

“I want every child to get the support they need to be able to progress and reach their potential, and no young boy or girl should be held back by a stammer or any other special need. If children with a stammer get the right specialist help early on, they can very often overcome any difficulties and go on to excel at school and in later life

“More than 3,500 children and their parents have already been supported at the Michael Palin Centre in London since it opened in March 1993. The Michael Palin Centre does great work to help children and their families and we know the big difference they make.

“The new centre of excellence in West Yorkshire will mean more accessible support for thousands more children across the country.

“That’s why I am delighted we are contributing to the new centre, expanding services and increasing training of speech and language therapists.”

Andy Burnham, Health Secretary said:

“We can do more to give all children the best possible start in life, particularly those whose self-esteem and self-confidence may be low because of a stammer. This extra money will make a huge difference for hundreds of young people. I feel particularly strongly that children in the North of England should have better access to specialist support.

“Work at the Michael Palin Centre has demonstrated the benefits of specialist intervention at an early stage. I am very pleased that the NHS in Yorkshire and the Humber is working closely with the Association for Research into Stammering on the development of a further centre of excellence.”

Michael Palin, Vice President of ARSC, said:

“My own experience of my father’s stammer made me determined to support the Charity’s aim – that every child in the country should be able to get specialist help.

“I am immensely proud of all we have achieved at the Michael Palin Centre but there are many more children who need us.

“I wholeheartedly support the aims of this Appeal and I urge you to join me. Together we can help to change the lives of many more children and make sure that, unlike my father, they are spared the agony of a lifelong stammer.”

Frances Cook, Centre Manager at the Michael Palin Centre said:

“This is a really positive step forward for children and young people who stammer. For too long families have had difficulty accessing specialist therapy because resources have been so scarce. Stammering is a problem that can be helped and with extra funds we can do so much more.”

Dame Gail Ronson, Chair of the ARSC Appeal said:

“Stammering is very close to my family’s heart and I am delighted to support this Appeal. This is a wonderful opportunity to increase the help we can give to so many more children and young people, giving them the opportunity they deserve to fulfil their potential. ”

Editor’s Notes
This press notice relates to ‘England’

1. The Michael Palin Centre in London opened in 1993. It provides practical help, advice and support for children who stammer. It has helped more than 3,000 children to achieve their full potential through better communication. The Centre has a team of 11 specialist speech and language therapists. The department provided a grant of £340,000 to the Michael Palin centre in London over three financial years to develop and pilot an effective Stammering Information Programme

2. In October 2009, Ed Balls and Michael Palin launched the Stammering Information Programme. The programme is designed to equip the education work force with skills to support children who stammer; engaging speech and language therapists; encouraging better collaboration across different sectors of the children’s workforce services; and to make sure strategies are in place to help prevent any discrimination or disadvantages these children may face.

Funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the programme offers information, advice and training materials and follows the review by John Bercow, MP of speech, language and communication needs, where communication was highlighted as a key skill children need to succeed.

The roll-out of the stammering programme began in December 2009 and 1,000 members of the educational workforce have already received the DVD giving practical advice on supporting children who stammer.

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0195

3. On top of today’s announcement of an extra £500k making a total of £1m, the government has already pledged £5million in 2009 to help improve services for children and young people with communication problems. This is part of a £12 million investment to implement the Government Action Plan, Better Communication.

The package of measures includes:
- Recruitment of a Communication Champion to raise the profile of these issues, drive delivery of reforms, improve local performance and lead the National Year of Speech, Language and Communication (2011-2012).

- Sixteen pilot areas – backed by £2million investment – have been chosen to identify good practice in providing support for children with speech, language and communication needs through the joint working of organisations such as PCTs and local authorities. This will be used to develop a national framework to improve the way services are delivered for children across the country.
- The University of Warwick has been selected to lead a consortium delivering a three year, £1.5million research programme on the cost-effectiveness of interventions for children with speech, language and communication needs and to improve the evidence base.
- Twelve organisations working to support children with alternative and augmentative communication needs have been chosen to share grants totalling £500,000 this year as part of Becta’s commitment to provide £1.5 million of funding over three years. These grants aim to support delivery and provision of services.

4. Location of the new centre in West Yorkshire is to be decided

While regular work with dyslexic pupils and students using the multi-sensory method is vital, it is also important to give those with dyslexia breaks from the routine of these lessons.

The introduction of new material in a game format, for example, at the end of each lesson, can make the process of overcoming dyslexia seem more enjoyable for the pupil, especially if any frustration at the lack of ability to read fluently sets in.

It is for this reason that the Dyslexia Games Manual was produced – a selection of fifty different games which can be used in different ways according to the literacy ability of the individual pupil.

Each game can be played many times over which means that the manual can be used time and again during the pupil’s work at school. The games can be played just by the teacher and the pupil, or by several pupils at once. All can be used by a teaching assistant with one or more pupils.

The Manual comes as a ring bound photocopiable resource which can be used time and again. It is recommended for developing literacy skills, increasing visual and auditory recall, as well as strengthening sequencing and organisational ability.

The manual costs £24.99 and is zero rated for VAT. Postage and packing is £4.99.

You can order the Manual…

· By phone on 01536 399 018 with a school order number or credit card
· By fax on 01536 399 012
· By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Rd., Corby, Northants NN17 4HH
· By email to Admin@Firstandbest.co.uk

While I like to think of myself as something of an expert on one or two special needs areas, and competent on a number of others, there are (perhaps inevitably) a number of areas where I feel the need for extra information before I jump in.

For example, if I am presented with a child who might be dyscalculic, I’ve got a detailed knowledge of what that means, what tests are available, the value of the tests, and the most effective ways of helping the child get up to speed with maths.

On the other hand, if I am presented with a young person with Tourette’s Syndrome I would immediately want further information before I could be ready to speak to parents or work with the child. I know what the Syndrome is, but I am not sure where to start.

The same can be true for everything from Asperger’s Syndrome to dysgraphia or obsessive compulsive disorder. The issue is not just to know what the condition is, but how the condition can best be handled in school, and what one should be saying to parents in order that they can most effectively help in the education of their child.

To help all teachers who feel like me that they are not fully conversant with every special need that can come their way, Behaviour Solutions has published “A Guide to Syndromes and Conditions” which contains details of the 17 most common but equally most often misunderstood special needs.

In each case the condition is defined in terms of the characteristics and symptoms, and then details of strategies and treatments, followed by details of useful books and websites.

The book is available from…www.behaviourmatters.com/syndromes.htm

Cost £25 plus £2 p&p for this photocopiable resource.

Attention Deficit Disorder is a most distressing condition for parents to deal with – especially if they don’t fully understand what is going on.
As we all know, if we have ever had an ADHD student in the class, those who suffer from the condition find it hard to concentrate, are often hyperactive, and generally find it difficult to relate to other teenagers. They can be disruptive and need constant support and help from their parents.

And yet ADD is a condition that is often hard to diagnose. Parents ask teachers, is my child simply lively and difficult, or is there a genuine medical condition at work?

To try and help some of the parents I have met over the years I have helped work on a resource that can be given out to parents, and which covers all aspects of ADD and ADHD – what it is, how it can be recognised, how children come to have ADD.

The materials have a positive message, including support and suggestions on how to help and support a child with ADD. It also includes a range of information about support groups and other ways in which the parents of ADD teenagers can be helped.

ADD: The Parents Support Book is a volume which you can copy and give to parents of ADD children. It will rapidly improve their lives and become a major stepping stone on the road to recovery from the difficulties that living with an ADD teenager can produce.
I do hope you find it of interest.

An extract from ADD: The Parents Support Book, ISBN 978 1 86083 142 3, order code T996EMN is available at
http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/attentiondeficit/T996.pdf

Prices
· Photocopiable book, £15.95 plus £3.95 delivery
· CD with school-wide rights: £15.95 plus £3.95 delivery
· Both the Ring Binder and the CD £22.94 plus £3.95 delivery
Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report…
· By post from First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct, Earlstrees Rd, Corby, NN17 4HH
· By fax to 01536 399 012
· On-line with a credit card at http://bit.ly/4z4vDG
· By phone with a school order number or a credit card to 01536 399 011

When ordering the book please quote the reference T996EMN.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls and money expert Martin Lewis today stressed the importance of children learning about money matters so that they learn the best way to save money and how to pick financial products like mortgages and pensions.

But little thought seems to have been given to those children who suffer from dyscalculia – a disability which makes it virtually impossible to comprehend the way in which money works.

As part of the new compulsory PSHE curriculum, all pupils from the age of 5 to 16 will be taught about handling money, savings and the financial skills they need as adults.

Starting at primary school through to secondary school, pupils will learn age appropriate information:

• 5 -7 year olds could be taught how to identify different notes and coins, and how to save money for example in a piggybank
• 7-11 year olds could learn about managing a bank account and savings account, and about budgeting.
• 11-14 year olds might have lessons on how credit cards, mortgages and loans work. Or about managing personal finances including paying household bills etc.
• 14-16 year olds could explore how money problems can have an impact on people – learning about debt and effective budgeting skills.

Tony Attwood, author of a series of books which help dyscalculic pupils and students understand number, said, “It is very sad that the government will spend all this money on one concept, without setting some aside for those who can work in schools in the normal way but simply do not understand number.

Tony runs the Dyscalculia Centre (www.dyscalculia.me.uk) and details of his books for teachers can be found at http://www.dyscalculia.me.uk/teacher.html

When a student finds it hard to tell the time…

One of the key problems that many pupils and students with short term memory problems have, is that of fully comprehending the concept of time.

The memory problems can manifest themselves in terms of dyslexia or dyscalculia, but in both cases they can be accompanied by difficulties in reading a clock, understanding bus or train timetables, or even remembering the sequence of months of the year, or the seasons.

To overcome this problem there is a book that contains hundreds of activities for pupils and students to undertake, all focussed on time. By working through the activities those taking part come to see how all the different elements of time fit together.

The book, “The Key To Time”, starts with a test which allows you to see what sort of problems the young person has, and from that point on you can select different sections of the book to work on with the pupil or student.

In each case the lesson plan is set out so that any teacher or teaching assistant can use it. The series of lessons starts with “The four phases of the day” (morning, afternoon, evening, night) and ends with the complex interrelationship of months and years. There is also a series of diagrams which show how time (which can seem quite an arbitrary arrangement to people suffering from dyslexia or dyscalculia) relates to the real world.

The entire book is supplied either as a CD which can be loaded onto the school IT network, or as a photocopiable volume which can be used throughout the school. Thus once you have one copy, it can be used over and over again. This is particularly helpful with the timelines and clock illustrations which the pupils can regularly re-use. It also means that teaching assistants can be given copied sections of the book to use as needs be.

The Key to Time by Tony Attwood

Publisher’s reference: T1712EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 707 4

Prices

Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £25.95 plus £3.95 delivery
CD with school-wide rights: £25.95 plus £3.95 delivery
Both the Ring Binder and the CD £32.94 plus £3.95 delivery
Prices include VAT.
You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1712emn

By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
By fax to 01536 399 012
On line with a credit card at http://tiny.cc/dcq7U