IOA welcomes the retention of acoustic design regulations in schools

The UK professional body for those working in acoustics has welcomed the news that acoustics is among eight out of 24 regulations that are to be retained in the government’s new School Premises Regulations due to be announced in September.

Professor Trevor Cox, the president of the Institute of Acoustics, IOA, said: “We are delighted that good acoustics is seen by the government as crucial in the design of schools as there is a wealth of evidence that shows that the better pupils can hear a teacher, the better they learn, while poor acoustics has a detrimental effect on their progress, with pupils with special educational needs being particularly disadvantaged.” 

The announcement by Mairi Johnson, the deputy director-design at the Education Funding Agency, at a schools acoustics event in Westminster on 24 May, marks a successful conclusion to an institute campaign launched last year following the government’s announcement that it was to carry out a full-scale review of Building Regulations.

Changing lives through colour

Sally Webb at Connect 2 Colour believes all of us can benefit from an amazing new creative art process which is captured on canvas. Newly launched Connect 2 Colour offers creative, inclusive workshops for special educational needs (SEN) children and adults using a unique technique with paint, glitters, stones and other embellishments with not a paintbrush in sight.  

Sally Webb has a brother with severe learning difficulties and a daughter with special needs. She has also been working with special needs individuals and families for the last 25 years and knows quite a lot about how to make activity inclusive.

Sally Webb said: “In the children’s workshops everyone learns the new skills together. This encourages the children to communicate with each other and find a connection that is fulfilling and positive. This is much the same for adult groups.”

Launching a new charity in June she hopes the Connect 2 Colour Community Fund will ensure that low income families and groups can access the Connect 2 Colour experience.

For more information see www.connect2colour.com.

Academy system blocking applications with no right to appeal

The parents of a gifted 11 year old boy with cerebral palsy have begun a legal battle to have him accepted at one of the government’s flagship academies, after the school turned down his application.

Mossbourne Academy in Hackney, East London, recently rejected applications from a boy with special needs and refused to accept that the Special Educational Needs Tribunal should hear the case, after the school claimed it was not governed by the legislation but its own funding agreement with the secretary of state.

The school’s response to his application was that his admission “would be incompatible with the efficient education of other children in the school.”

The case is set to test how far academies can be forced to comply with the special needs legislation which applies to other non-fee paying schools.

Elaine Maxwell, a partner at solicitors Maxwell Gillott who is representing the boy’s mother said: “His condition only affects his ability to get around school at busy times as he can walk but is not always steady on his feet. The only real additional provision he needs is a bit of support during these times to make sure he is safe, and as he has already obtained an A* in Maths GCSE at the age of 11, he certainly has no problem keeping up with lessons, although he will also need appropriate IT which his parents have offered to provide.

“It is difficult to see why this particular disabled boy who has worked hard to do his best could be anything other than an asset to the school.”

What is difficult in this case is that the parents are not allowed to appeal against the school admission process as their son has a statement which means the school he attends should be decided by the Special Educational Needs Tribunal.

Student earns international research role to explore performance and disability

An Edge Hill University drama student has been selected to join a international research panel for her innovative work on performance and disability.

Kara Spencer, a wheelchair user due to the condition Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, ME, is part of the International Federation for Theatre Research which promotes the exchange of information between individuals and organisations concerned with theatre research.

The 21-year-old from Derbyshire, who is in her third year on the BA (Hons) Drama degree programme, was chosen after her investigations to ensure people with disabilities could enjoy the same type of theatre experiences as mainstream audiences. 

Kara Spencer said: “I’m very passionate about this area of work. I am a performer myself and I’ve been looking at ways to ensure that people of all abilities can enjoy a full interactive theatre experience without detracting from the artistic values for my current production. 

“For people with hearing problems, I would have subtitles right underneath the stage. My other idea is to develop the audio description concept further by introducing a poetic element so that those with visual impairments can still feel the emotions, rather than just listen to the words.

“My boyfriend is blind and when we go to the cinema I describe to him what is on the screen, but I do it in such a dramatic way that he can understand the feelings and hopefully visualise the scenes.”

Kara’s research and ideas impressed members on the group so much that she has also been invited to attend their annual conference Mediating Performance in Santiago, Chile, in July.

SEN proposals: British Assistive Technology Association 

The government has missed a golden opportunity to ensure children with special educational needs benefit from assistive technology in plans for the biggest shake-up of the SEN system for 30 years, according to the British Assistive Technology Association.

 Under reforms announced by Children’s Minister Sarah Teather, parents are to get a new legal right to buy in specialist SEN and disabled care for their children. They will be given the option to control their own personal budgets for their disabled children, rather than local authorities.

 BATA, which represents leading assistive technology organisations, professionals and users, believes that the Department for Education has failed to recognise the benefits assistive technology can bring in its proposals for reform.

 “The paper essentially overlooks the potential for assistive technology to enhance lives and improve educational outcomes for children with special needs,” said Mark McCusker, chairman of BATA. “In addition, assistive technology has the potential to save money, which in a times of austerity, surely should rank highly.

 “There is a strong focus in the Government’s response to the public consultation on its green paper on more profound disabilities with relatively little emphasis on cognitive, non-visible disabilities. However, children with cognitive disabilities account for the biggest proportion of the SEN group: many assistive technologies offer great potential to improve academic performance for this group, for example, assistive technology has helped deliver improvements of up to 40 per cent in reading comprehension within a targeted SEN group.”

Association calls for wider access to alternative formats

Proposed changes to copyright law should go further in making it easier for disabled people to access alternative formats of documents, music, films and photographs, says the British Assistive Technology Association.

 At present, the Intellectual Property Office proposes to relax restrictions on copying to allow anyone to copy materials that they own to any format or device, as long as it is for their personal use.

 “This is terrific news for print-impaired people, because it would mean that they can shift digital material from one format to another at will,” says Ian Litterick, a council member of BATA and chairman of assistive software company iansyst.

 “They could, for example, take a document, scan it and adapt it to large print with blue type on a yellow background, if that is what they find more comfortable to read. Or they could take a PDF file from the web and convert it to an audio file to listen to on their iPhone as they commute to work.

 “This change could be hugely beneficial to people with a reading impairment – not just visually impaired or dyslexic people but also those with mobility problems and general learning difficulties.”

 Up until now disabled people have had to rely on an exception to the Copyright Act, made for visually impaired people. But this exception has not applied, for example, to people with dyslexia, who have been left in many cases to break the law if they want to adapt something so that they can read it.

 However, BATA, which represents leading assistive technology organisations, professionals and users, wants to see the Government go further and allow an individual to copy material not only that they own, but also that they have legal access to.

SEN proposals: Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities

Christine Burke, senior development manager said: “We welcome the news that the Government intends to push ahead with proposals for parents to have a personal budget for their children. Personal budgets can be extremely beneficial as they put the needs of the child and their family at the centre of their health, social care and educational needs. They provide individuals with greater control over their lives, allow them to get better support and inclusive lifestyles. We agree that for too long too many families have had to ‘battle’ a complex system that doesn’t always put the child’s needs first.

 “We do however know that changing the system will be difficult and will require a real commitment and concerted effort from all the services involved. Joint working between education, children’s services, health and social care services (and subsequently adult services) does not always work well. These changes will require a new and radical approach if we are to make sure that this situation changes and offer real support to families and young people to be able to use their budget positively.

 “The systems will have to change their way of working from one of wanting to control what and where children belong, to one that is flexible, puts the child’s needs and their family first, and works in partnership with families and children. In this way the support will be in place to better support families to plan and ensure that their child’s interests are at the centre of planning. Working in partnership with families and children for some services will be a challenge. This should be identified early on and actions taken to ensure the right supports are in place in finding good local services that can support families and young people to have a good life in the community.

 “We need to see a support system in place that helps families to understand personal budgets, to support them in planning and managing that budget effectively and to understand what it is possible for their son or daughter to purchase with personal budgets. Personal budgets for adults have been on the agenda for years, yet we continue to see problems in their widespread adoption. We need to see a greater urgency if thousands of children are to have the meaningful lives in the community they deserve.”

SEN proposals: University of Reading Institute of Education

Dr Cathy Tissot, director MA in education, said: “One of the things that this report is not really addressing is the fact that schools need to increase the number of teachers with specialism in this area, such as allowing SEN to be a focus for initial teacher training as well as continuing funding for the SENCO Qualification. Both of these will start to address the real issue which is to provide trained staff to meet the very diverse needs of the current school population which reflects the ethos of inclusive education. 

 “The main concern I have is not about the children who are very affected by their disabilities and have a strong parental advocate, it is for the largest group of children who are falling behind their peers and need targeted timely support. Those who come from families with other priorities or challenging circumstances, or perhaps lack awareness of what resources and support would best meet their child’s needs would also need considering. 

“Quality first teaching can address this to some extent, but the expertise and interventions that are offered in schools around the country will no longer be funded to the current extent if schools and Local Authorities do not have the resources to provide support.

 “The Government’s announcement today is welcome in many ways. The main complaint heard from both families, teachers and SENCOs is the bureaucratic burden that accessing support can bring. To have a joined up system where health, social services and education work together is a positive step forward, provided that this new system is transparent and timely in making decisions.”

SEN proposals: Sense replies

Commenting on the Government’s changes to support given to children with special educational needs laid out in ‘Support and Aspiration’, John Dickinson-Lilley, deputy head of public policy at national deafblind charity Sense, says: “We welcome the Government’s commitment to improve the special educational needs framework because currently too many disabled children are not getting the support they need at critical times. There are at least 3,000 deafblind /multi-sensory impaired children out there now who are not identified by the system. 

“It is crucial that the proposals ensure every deafblind child is identified from an early age or onset of their disability – otherwise these reforms which are set out to help vulnerable children will be pointless.

“Presently families are enduring a fraught and complex system and are often subject to significant delays within local authorities so we welcome a single assessment and plan for health, education and social care for disabled young people aged 0-25. It is critical for these reforms to have any effect that there are clear statutory obligations on all education, health and social care agencies and settings including academies and free schools.”

Sign language provider marks 30th anniversary

The provider of British Sign Language qualifications Signature is marking 30 years of successfully promoting excellence in deaf communications this week – but its chief executive says there is still a long way to go to achieve full accessibility for deaf and deafblind people in society.

The charity started in 1982 and has grown from a small organisation to become the nation’s largest awarding body for BSL qualifications – over 300,000 people from across the UK have achieved Signature BSL or Deaf Awareness qualifications.

The charity started in 1982 and has grown from a small organisation to become the nation’s largest awarding body for BSL qualifications – more than 300,000 people from across the UK have achieved Signature BSL or Deaf Awareness qualifications.

Chief executive Jim Edwards praised the work of the people that had helped make Signature, previously known as CACDP, such a success.

He said Signature had grown to become far more than simply an awarding body for qualifications – it is now a leading voice in BSL learning, as well as a powerful lobbyist for equality and accessibility for the UK’s deaf community.

He said: “For 30 years Signature has campaigned for better inclusion and accessibility for deaf people across the UK, improving lives and enhancing independence.

“Our success is testament to the many hard working, talented people in the organisation who have dedicated so much to helping deaf people overcome barriers to communication.”

Paracyclist unveils new track at school

World record-breaking para-cyclist Jon-Allan Butterworth has opened Chadsgrove School and Specialist Sports College’s new cycling track as part of this year’s Olympic and Paralympic celebrations, as well as promoting an active and healthy lifestyle for children at the school in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. The initiative is part of Jon-Allan’s partnership with AKW.

Following the opening, Jon-Allan Butterworth answered questions from children at the school and awarded certificates to children who had excelled in the recently-launched Cycle Challenge 2012, an in-house cycling proficiency course. The project is the school’s own take on the cycling proficiency test, with the new track providing the opportunity to put the programme into action.

Jon-Allan Butterworth also met 11-year-old Jayson Yates, who produced the winning entry in a recent ‘design a mascot’ competition run by AKW in support of the paracycling champion. The design is being transformed into a toy for Jayson to keep. AKW will be supporting the school with further projects in the future.

Young entrepreneurs with special needs vie for title of ‘Best Company’

Students with special educational needs who have set up and run their own businesses as part of a unique Young Enterprise scheme will compete to be judged ‘Best Company’ at global law firm Clifford Chance at Canary Wharf on Thursday 24 May.

The Young Enterprise Team Programme is the only programme of its kind in the UK and is specially designed to help young people who have difficulties with learning and/or disabilities learn about business and set up their own companies.

Twenty-seven schools and educational centres across London are currently taking part in the scheme with more than 470 students creating and running a total of 33 companies over a two year period. 

Teams of students from eight schools will now take part in the annual ‘John Laing Charitable Trust Team Programme Final’ to find this year’s ‘Best Company’ and celebrate the success of all the students involved in the programme. 

 Miranda Hoogewerf, team programme manager for London, said: “The Team Programme is a unique experience that can be life changing for these young people. With the support of their teachers and local business volunteers, the students set up and run their own companies, select a board of directors from among their peers, raise share capital and market and finance a product or service. 

 “By taking part they gain increased confidence and self esteem as well as effective work, social and life skills that give them the ability to work with adults outside the home or school environment.”

 The schools are: Dysart School – Kingston; St Philips School – Kingston; Pield Heath House School – Hillingdon; Lewisham College – Lewisham; Little Heath School – Romford, Essex; Haverstock School – Camden/Chalk Farm; Oak Tree school – Southgate (Enfield); Hillingdon Manor – Hillingdon; Newham College – Newham; College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London; Plumstead Manor School – Greenwich.

 Some of the products the students have produced this year include T-shirts based on an Olympic theme, decorated crockery which they are selling at Surbiton farmers market and a flower arranging business. One team arranges lunches and dinners where they are waiters and waitresses and use symbols for customers to order their food. All the profits from their lunches and dinners then go to charity.

University makes good on community pledge

A morning spent volunteering in the Peak District National Park achieved far more than the clearing of a public footpath for a group of Buxton College students recently. Their four hours of hard work completed ‘Project 2012’, Buxton College and the University of Derby Buxton’s pledge to complete 2,012 hours of voluntary work in the local community.

 The group of 12 Living for Learning and Work students, who all have extra support needs, spent the morning lopping overhanging tree branches and cutting back bushes on a popular public footpath into the village of Baslow, clearing the way for walkers. 

 It is just one of the projects to have benefited from Project 2012 over the last year. Age Concern, Buxton’s ‘Streetsafe’ campaign, Volunteer Bureau Buxton, Blackbrook Zoological Park, Scope, the Salvation Army Hawthorns Nursing Home and High Peak Kennels are also among the 48 organisations and charities to have received help from volunteers.

 Dr Peter Dewhurst, Dean of the University of Derby Buxton, said: “I am delighted that we have passed our target of volunteering 2,012 hours to our local community. This is a fantastic achievement for our students who have shown great commitment and enthusiasm for supporting the community they live in.”

Young artists on the autistic spectrum called upon to unleash their creativity

Beechwood College in Cardiff is calling upon young artists on the autistic spectrum to release their creativity, with their final call for entries to the national art competition, Create! Art for Autism.

 Launched on 19 March, the competition is open to all young people aged 11-25 years who are formally diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Condition, including Asperger’s Syndrome. Artists have until 18 May to submit their entries before the judging begins.

 Create! Art for Autism aims to dispel the myth that people with autism cannot be creative and to show that art can significantly improve their quality of life, facilitating experiential-based learning and instilling life-long skills. 

The competition also highlights that art and creativity can greatly enhance the ability to communicate for young people on the autistic spectrum who previously struggled to express themselves. 

In its second year, the competition has attracted a stellar line-up of judges including Jane Asher, Gaby Roslin and Mark Lever, chief executive of the National Autistic Society. For details see website www.createartforautism.co.uk.

School receives new minibus

Columbia Grange Primary, a co-educational school for children with pupils with severe learning difficulties and or autism in Tyne & Wear, has a new school bus. 

The school relies heavily on having its own transport because it not only provides a home pick-up service for some of its 85 pupils, it also transports children from the surrounding main stream schools with special needs.  

The bus which will also be used to take the pupils on outings to the Metrocentre, local parks and museums, has been donated by the north east branch of The Lord’s and Lady Taverners, a cricket club and charity founded to give children a sporting chance.    

Head teacher, Katherine Elliott said: “Having this additional vehicle allows us to maximise the service we provide not only to the pupils who regularly attend the school but to those pupils and teaching staff from the surrounding schools who come to Columbia Grange to use the facilities and learn from our teaching methods. I can’t thank the Lord’s and Lady Taverners enough for this generous donation.”

Pupils check-out the new school bus, from the left Oliver Morrison, Gilbert Tolentino, head teacher Katherine Elliott, Lady Taverners Debbi Clarke and Louise Robson and Paula Lockheart  the chair of governors

Information day for schools working with children with SEN

Dore, creator of the personalised ‘drug-free’ exercise programme aimed at people with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, asperger’s and other learning difficulties, is to hold a free open day.

The event for teachers, SENCOs and education professionals will be held on Saturday 16 June from 9am-2pm, at its headquarters at Bridgeway House, Bridgeway, Stratford upon Avon.  

As well as giving teachers a walk-through of the Dore Programme, the Dore team will be on hand to discuss how the programme works in the school environment.  

Telephone 0333 123 0100 for further information or contact Dore on info@dore.co.uk to register.

Research project to involve those with autism

A project to identify the priorities for future research into autism will be launched at a Parliamentary Reception this week. 

Research Autism said the need for a better understanding of the lifelong neurological disability, which impairs an individual’s ability to communicate, has never been greater. 

Remapping Autism Research: Identifying Priorities for the Decade Ahead will involve people with autism, parents and carers having their say in how an issue is researched, how it is funded and who undertakes the research. The charity said this re-mapping exercise will continue a much-needed dialogue between families and researchers, enabling parents and people with autism to shape the future UK research agenda.

The business secretary Vince Cable is due to attend the launch and speakers will include Professor Tony Charman from the Institute of Education and Claire Enders of Enders Analysis. The research project will be led by Professor Tony Charman and Dr Liz Pellicano from the Institute of Education.