On the continuing theme of the ingenuity of SEN teachers, some are now using the programming environment Scratch http://www.scratch.mit.edu with students with learning difficulties. Scratch is designed to help young people (aged 8 and up) to create interactive stories, animations, games, music and art - and in doing so, also think creatively, communicate, and collaborate. Scratch also provides excellent tools for teachers to create personalised switch games for students with a range of disabilities.
Larger onscreen keyboards for web searches
Onscreen keyboards not only dispense with the need for a real keyboard, they are vital for switch users and others who would struggle with real keys. However, most are small (including the built-in XP version and ones on interactive whiteboards), and many users need to be able to send text to a search engine in order to use the Web. Recommended options included the free Click N Type onscreen keyboard which also features keyboard click, dwell click, and a switch/scan feature and can be resized and configured for word prediction http://www.lakefolks.org/cnt/. There is also a utility that enables the XP onscreen keyboard to be resized
The SENCO-Forum debate, 'Should the role of the SENCO always be held by someone with a teaching qualification?' at Special Needs London (17-18 October), was kicked off on Senco-forum itself. In a heated discussion, it was hard to generalise although the majority seem to support the need for teaching qualifications. More important, though, was the need to be a good SENCO - someone who had made a positive career choice to support children's needs, however challenging. A summary of the debate and discussion will be disseminated via the forum.
SpLD Assessment Practising Certificate
Another busy thread this month concerned the fact that the SpLD Assessment Practising Certificate now needs to be renewed every three years - and paid for. SpLD teachers will need to 'demonstrate commitment' by participating in courses and/or conducting training, coaching, research or writing articles - actually assessing and working with pupils appears not to count. CPD - professional qualifications in access arrangements
In an interesting piece of lateral thinking, now that learners with special needs may be entitled to access arrangements for taking exams and tests (extra time, a reader etc.), there is now a qualification in it - the Certificate in psychometric testing, assessment and access arrangements. CPD - Inclusion Development Programme
With the first set of IDP materials available (on dyslexia and speech and communication difficulties), the SEN Hubs are arranging Inset sessions and offering funding not just for those attending, but also to pay for two days of creating Inset materials for their own school. Several posts found the materials and the sessions confusing, and the burden of having to cascade learning back in school is putting people off. Online application for GCSE access arrangements
SENCOs and Exams Officers now have to make all applications for access arrangements online through the NAA http://www.naa.org.uk/naa_18139.aspx. The verdict is that the online application process is working, and the 'practice' area is much appreciated. However, because of Data Protection issues, schools will also need to gain the candidate's consent before processing their application, and the consensus is that parents will need to be informed too - which ironically creates more paperwork.
A number of schools seem to be entering pupils for GCSEs in Year 9, but also applying for special access arrangements - usually extra time. If allowed, access arrangements can be made for any/all subjects, but only last for two years, which means that they need to re-apply (if necessary) for Year 11 exams. This also raises issues of progress, and many parents confused as to why their child was eligible in Year 9 or 10, but not in Year 11. TA time
The perennial question of how many hours of TA time was allocated to pupils on the SEN register rose once again. One post commented that in her London authority children no longer have the support time written in their statement, as statements are now 'descriptive rather than prescriptive' - which would appear to be illegal. Others recommended that this should be challenged by parents, but very few, if any, are prepared to do so. Several posts also commented on the difficulty of recruiting (and retaining) TAs, as pay is low. LA funding of SEN
Evidently some LAs have devised 'interesting' ways of allocating funds to schools for SEN pupils. In Hertfordshire, schools no longer get funds for statemented children, but receive a 'Predictable Needs Fund' instead. In extreme cases, schools can apply for 'exceptional needs funding', a position another poster described as 'barely legal'. Disapplication: what can pupils manage without?
In a crowded Y10 curriculum, how do you find space for a very able pupil with dyspraxia and Asperger's who needs 1:1 support (and has 15 hours of LSA time), but would need to be 'disapplied' from a subject to enable the 1:1 to take place? Subjects suggested that he could drop included MFL (but he's good at it), RE (he enjoys it), ICT (but it's a specialist IT college) and PE (his choice, but school wants him to do it). Result? The 15 hours of support are not being delivered as the school can't decide how to do it, and the pupil is becoming very reluctant to attend school at all. The consensus was that the pupil's choice should override everything else, his parents should be consulted - and PE was the favourite candidate to be dropped.
Level 2 (52 points)
