Senco News

One of my particular interests within special needs is dyscalculia, and the question I am asked most is that of how people can be tested for dyscalculia. It is also a difficult question to answer.

The main reason for testing for dyscalculia would be to ensure that they are getting the right sort of maths education. However, it is my belief that the methods that can be used to help overcome maths problems in children – and indeed in adults – are the same whatever the cause of the inability to do maths.

A child might struggle with maths because he/she is dyscalculic. Or because the child missed a lot of education through illness. Or because the child misbehaved in class, or didn’t like the teacher. Maybe the child heard the parent say, “Don’t worry I was no good at maths either” and so thought it was ok not to be able to do maths, and so stopped trying. Maybe the maths teacher was off sick for a long time and the replacement wasn’t very good.

No matter what the cause – the solution is invariably the same. Teach the child step by step from the start, and use either computer technology or a multi-sensory approach, and the child will be able to get up to a level around GCSE. Because virtually every child can be helped through this method, there is no need to test. We would still teach the child in the same way, no matter what the test results said.

The simplest way to check if you think a child might be dyscalculia is to look at the very quick (and I fully admit, rough and ready) test that is published on the Dyscalculia Centre website.

This does not give a definitive view of dyscalculia, but any person experiencing a number of these problems is likely to benefit from a dyscalculia recovery programme. If you are testing a child you will need to remove those questions which relate to areas that the child has not covered at school. If you are not sure if a topic here is a problem you can test your child yourself. For example, point 1 says, “I sometimes see a number written down, but when I copy it, I write the numbers in the wrong order.” Try this and see what the result is.

The test, along with links to other organisations that can test for dyscalculia (at a cost), is within in the article at http://www.dyscalculia.me.uk/testing.html

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A complete list of all the nation’s schools with links to their websites now appears in the Schools Directory at www.schools.co.uk If your school’s website link is missing or is faulty, please let us know the correct entry and we’ll get it changed. Tens of thousands of parents use this site every year to check potential schools for their children. All listings are completely free.

Tony Attwood
Hamilton House Mailings Ltd

It is singularly disappointing how the government in England has failed to provide new information on its central website about special needs.

If one does a search on the government’s site there appear to be lots of pages about SEN, and yet almost everything one clicks turns out to be an article headed with the statement that this article may be out of date since the government has changed.

Quite why it takes this long to change articles I don’t really know, but there is one piece which dates from April this year, that doesn’t carry the warning message: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/toolsandinitiatives/tripsresearchdigests/a0013259/themes-special-educational-needs-sen

It is a page of digests of research projects looking at aspects of special educational needs, including:

• social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL)
• the effects of a movement programme
• engaging ADHD students with hand gestures.

It would be churlish to say that the articles are not of interest in themselves, but really one would hope for more. However there are four articles, and they are:

• Primary Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL): Evaluation of Small Group Work
• What are the effects of a movement programme on pupils with learning difficulties?
• Engaging ADHD students in tasks with hand gestures – a pedagogical possibility for teachers
• Can self-management interventions influence the academic achievement of students with emotional and behavioural difficulties?

If you can find any other interesting government statements on special needs do let me know.

Oh, and if by chance you find that the government appears to have got hold of your personal home (as opposed to work) email address without you giving it to them, you are not alone. Thousands are up in arms about this. There’s a full discussion of this, and details what you can do if you are concerned about the issue, at http://community.tes.co.uk/forums/t/536912.aspx

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If you have a press release relating to your school, or a piece of work by a pupil or student in your school that you think should reach a wider audience, it can become the featured item of the day on UK Education News (www.ukeducationnews.co.uk)   Please send it to chris@hamilton-house.com and we will do the rest.
Tony Attwood
Hamilton House Mailings Ltd 

I think it is commonly agreed that when children are struggling to grasp the basics of synthetic phonics they need not just additional support but also daily activities to help them to consolidate their understanding.

But, as we all know, creating worksheets, making simple card games appropriate to the needs of the child, and recording progress, all take a significant amount of time.

The key point, of course, is to ensure that each pupil gets daily activities focused upon the personalised areas where there are weaknesses.

Over the years I have looked at a range of software that targets this issue, and one of the most interesting is Booster Phonics which has been designed with exactly these pupils in mind.

What has brought them to my mind at the moment is that in the Summer term of 2010 five UK schools took part in a pilot to identify any improvements in reading when using Booster Phonics, with the software also being used by the majority of pupils at home. The results of this pilot showed just how much help Booster Phonics could be when used regularly, with significant gains in reading ages during the study. The findings can be found at www.wishtrac.co.uk/Booster_Phonics_Case_Study.pdf.

The program’s aim is to provide daily independent work for pupils to complete on a computer, along with precision-teaching probes to motivate pupils and monitor progress. One of the benefits is simplicity; the program is simple to administer and thus really does save a lot of preparation time. Not only can the activities be targeted at the specific needs of individual pupils, but the software can also be purchased for home use, so that pupils can supplement their work in school with work at home.

One other benefit is that Booster Phonics is available on 28 days’ free approval, so you can look at the software before committing to making a purchase. There’s also a video outlining the software which provides a helpful guide. There are details of both the video and the 28 days’ free approval at www.boosterphonics.co.uk

The news on the radio in the last couple of days has been about ADHD, and on those programmes that encourage listeners to text in there has been the inevitable range of opinions suggesting that no matter what research has been done by a team at Cardiff University, it’s all rubbish. Just another middle class excuse for bad parenting.

One of the interesting points that never comes out in such discussions however is the fact that many children with ADHD type problems can be helped through behaviour management. The point here is that this sort of behaviour management works whether the origin of the child’s behaviour issues are genetic (as in the work being done in Cardiff) or due to the child’s experiences and environment, or indeed specifically because of bad parenting.

In other words, in many cases, the origin of the problem doesn’t matter when it comes to looking at this approach.

Now I have to admit that behaviour management programmes work best when the same programme is used at school as at home – and there are programmes around in which there are not only guidance materials for use in the school, but also materials for use by parents. Of course where the home life is thoroughly chaotic the home side of the programme is not going to be of much help, but even then the behavioural management programme in the school can still do a lot for the pupil or student.

But I do firmly believe that large numbers of parents have difficulty with the behaviour of their children not because they are “bad parents”, but because they simply don’t know how best to handle the problems that can arise in a modern family. Throw in the pressures that most of us experience at one time or another, and it can all seem too much.

So my thought is that, whether ADHD has its origins in genetics or in bad parenting or in any other area, there are behavioural solutions that really can help many children that suffer the symptoms of ADHD.

Of course there is also the issue of using Ritalin, but I’m not qualified to speak on that, and a decision to use Ritalin or other chemicals is out of the hands of the education service. Ritalin might well help, but it is by no means the only solution.

And I’d throw in the thought that I believe that “bad parenting” is a bit too much of a catch-all phrase, including as it does many parents who would be able to handle the situation better, if only someone showed them how.

For me, with regards to ADHD children there is plenty we can all do, irrespective of the origins of the problem.

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 is setting 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 download sample pages free of charge here.

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 sales@Firstandbest.co.uk

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