New role as director of education

The developers of an online video publishing platform, used by schools and universities has appointed Apple’s former head of education.

An expert in UK, EMEA and emerging education markets, Alan Greenberg is the new director of education at MediaCore, where he will manage and oversee the company’s education strategy, program and platform development and advocacy.

Alan Greenberg said: “MediaCore is bringing about an era of change in 21st Century teaching and learning which I’m really excited to be a part of. As a new member of the team, I relish the opportunity to help cultivate the paradigm shift in education, extending the role of teaching and learning beyond the classroom in a self-paced and personalised way.”

Nasen to study draft legislation on SEN reform

Nasen plans to spend time looking in detail at the draft legislation launched on 3 September reflecting the radical changes that were initially proposed in the SEND Green Paper published in March 2011.

Initially the association has welcomed the news that Sarah Teather the Minister of State for Children and Families, has asked the education select committee to carry out the pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft clauses. Nasen hopes the select committee will consult widely and during the next few weeks nasen said it will be seeking the views of its members to hopefully feed into that consultation process.

Lorraine Petersen, nasen’s chief executive said: “We need to ensure that all the work that is currently taking place, especially within the Pathfinders and the voluntary and community sector, is not wasted and will support the final legislation as it passes through parliament. We have a real opportunity to make sure that this legislation secures a better future for all children and young people.”

The initial points to highlight are:

· Legal definition of special educational needs remains the same

· Local authorities and clinical commissioning groups must make arrangements for jointly commissioning services for children with SEN in their area

·  Local authorities must produce their ‘local offer’ of available education, health and care services

·  Education, Health and Care Plans (0 – 25) replace statements of SEN

·  Section 139A assessment (Learning Difficulty Assessments) cease to apply and is replaced by a re-assessment /annual review of the EHC Plan

·  All of the provisions of the Bill will apply to all schools including Academies and Free Schools

·  Schools must still have an SEN Co-ordinator

·  Right to a mainstream education remains the same

·  Local authorities must prepare personal budget in relation to an EHC plan where a request has been made by the parent or young person

·  Compulsory requirement for a parent or young person to participate in mediation before they can appeal to the Tribunal

·  There will be a revised Code of Practice

Sense welcomes draft SEN reforms

Sense is looking forward to working with the government on its SEN reforms because John Dickinson-Lilley, the deputy head of public policy at the deafblind charity said the current statementing system is “extremely fraught and complex.” 

He said parents of deafblind children tell Sense they have to fight for up to two years to obtain a statement for their deafblind child.

Commenting on the draft legislation on the government’s draft SEN reforms John Dickinson-Lilley, said: “Sense welcomes the principles driving the draft clauses published today, however, we are deeply concerned that a legal obligation on health is not included in the proposed single plan.  

“We are calling on the government to ensure the single plan for children with special education needs and disabilities is legally enforceable on education, social care and health providers.

Using singing to understand serious issues

A  new resource which aims to get youngsters thinking – and singing about global issues – has been  launched in a joint venture by Sing Up and Oxfam.

The not-for-profit organisation that provides singing solutions for schools and Oxfam’s Youth & Schools team have joined forces to create the KS2 resource. 

The free, downloadable pack, available from 11 September,  includes teaching resources, activities and a song collection, which aims to offer a fun and expressive way for children to learn and think global poverty and food and farming across the world.

The resource has been designed to meet the recommendations of The National Plan for Music Education and the government’s call for every school to have a ‘singing strategy’. It supports the practice of singing as a classroom activity, enabling teachers to integrate music into the classroom in an inclusive way and ensuring every child sings and performs regularly.

 For more information on Sing Up see website http://www.singup.org/ and for more information on Oxfam visit: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/

Zainabu Jalloh (right) participates in singing activities during class, held in the newly renovated building at Early Learning School in West Point, Monrovia, Liberia. Aubrey Wade/Oxfam GB

Games Makers engaged with local schools during their training

To prepare the Games Makers at the London 2012 Olypmic and Paralympic Games for their volunteer roles a number of young people have been involved in projects with children with disabilities. 

The volunteers have also worked closely with local schools and charities to complete their Young Leaders training, designed to improve inter-personal, communication and leadership skills.

Over a two-year programme, more than 50 Young Leaders received training and mentoring from BP employees, delivered by national youth volunteering charity, vInspired, the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust and Aberdeen Foyer. 

The Young Leaders programme fulfils a commitment made during the London 2012 bid to see disadvantaged young people benefit from an intensive personal development programme, culminating in a high profile volunteering role as Games Makers at London 2012.

The volunteer projects have included working with local councils and charities to deliver sports days and arts and craft programmes for children with disabilities and peer education sessions at local schools.

Profile examples: 

* Hally Nguyen, 18 years old, from Newham. Hally is now studying for her A-Levels at college. For her project she ran a talent show for performers in her local community. Hally’s mentor is Julie Amos from BP, based in Canary Wharf. Julie worked to help develop Hally’s personal life skills. She helped to build her confidence and spent a long time getting to know her – they bonded initially over their love of Twilight! Hally eventually grew in confidence and used to join Julie at her desk at the BP offices, she was able to witness Julie at work and build her confidence around people of different ages. Julie also encouraged Hally with her university application and helped her develop her UCAS form as well as practice her interview skills.

* Anjali Parshotam, from Hounslow, enrolled in the Young Leaders Programme and led an arts and crafts session for an after-school club in Hounslow. For her Group Project, Anjali conducted a multi-skills festival with the Aftercare Scheme at her old primary school in Hounslow. It was a project for disabled children and their siblings and allowed them to enjoy a variety of sports and games together. The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust supported the project, with ex-Olympic swimmer Adam Whitehead also participating.  

* Tanya Kemp, from Spelthorne, Surrey, a carer for her disabled brother, led an art project for young people with disabilities. Tanya is also currently planning a social event and Wii Dance night for young carers for her individual challenge.

Well prepared: Young people from Aberdeen, Hull, and London marked their two year participation in the London 2012 Young Leaders Programme, with LOCOG chair Seb Coe, double Olympic champion, Jonathan Edwards and their mentors on the personal development programme. Photo: LOCOG

University expertise used to help deaf children learn

The University of Nottingham has teamed up with the Ear Foundation to provide training for teachers, parents and carers of children with cochlear implants. 

The life-changing technology has been giving deaf people the gift of hearing for over 20 years but training to help teachers, parents and carers of children with the devices has lagged behind,

The JISC/HEA funded ‘Promoting Academic Resources in Society’ (PARiS) project, will increase the number of Open Educational Resources (OER) available to help children with an implant to communicate and develop spoken language.

 With over 80,000 people fitted with cochlear implants worldwide, the Ear Foundation says demand for its education programme inevitably outstrips the available resources. 

It is hoped that the new online modules will help the foundation to support more teachers and carers of deaf students, as well as the wider mainstream teaching community.

The chief executive of the Ear Foundation, Sue Archbold, said: “Deafness in childhood and adulthood has a devastating effect on language and communication developments. Today we have the best possible hearing technologies such as cochlear implants which have transformed the opportunities for deaf children. 

“However, with more deaf children going to mainstream schools there is an urgent need for information as to how to maximise the benefits in teaching. These online resources will help thousands of children and their families all around the world.”

The resources include: an overview of cochlear implantation; the impact of deafness on communication and language; the challenges of using technology at home and school; maximising the benefit of the technology in education; monitoring progress and the family role in language learning.

More information is available from Open Learning support officer Steven Stapleton e-mail steven.stapleton@nottingham.ac.uk and The Ear Foundation website http://www.earfoundation.org.uk/index.php.

Autism competition winners

The winners of the national art competition, Create! Art for Autism 2012, have been unveiled at an awards ceremony at Beechwood College, near Cardiff.

 More than 550 entries were received across the four categories – 2D Art, 3D Art, Digital Art and Poetry. 

The judging panel was led by actress Jane Asher and television and radio presenter Gaby Roslin.

Now in its second year, the competition is open to all young people aged 11-25 years that have formally been diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Condition. 

The fifth category – the People’s Choice – was open for votes from the public in partnership with the Times Educational Supplement and received a total of 1,040 votes.

 Beechwood College, one of the UK’s leading specialist residential colleges for students with ASC, launched this year’s competition in March at a parliamentary reception. 

Following the awards ceremony, the finalists’ artwork will be rolled out on a national art tour visiting Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham and London.

The winners of Create! Art for Autism 2012 included: 2D: David Greenberg, 16, Inscape House School, ‘Scottish Pipers’

3D: Patrick Pearce, 16, Sunnydown School,‘Coral Reefs’

Digital: Photography, Luke Tuckwell, 18, Broomhayes School, ‘Toy Cars’. Animation, Lewis Davies, 16, Risca Community Comprehensive, ‘ She’s Leaving Home’

Poetry: Alexander Philip Nickisson, 15, Woodhey High School, ‘ My Mind’

The People’s Choice: Oliver Coatsworth, 11, Evergreen Primary School, ‘The Owls’

The artwork can be viewed at http://www.beechwoodcollege.co.uk/finalists

Patrick Pearce’s winning ‘Coral Reefs’