24th January 2020

Leicestershire UK

How Leicestershire consultsHow Leicestershire Consults 2

Can anyone else see the elephants in the room with the ivory towers?

Dyslexia, Dysteachia or lazy, must try harder

Turning Tankers?

19th October 2019

The Overview and Scrutiny committees continue to meet and see reports and presentations.

The question that I submitted for the meeting 21st January 2020 was answered before the meeting so could not be included in the meeting and press as well as Councillors would not know the question or answer.

Apparently the question I had asked was an operational question and not an Executive question.

The councillors did ask some excellent questions on some of the reports but there were some questions asked that the officers replied that they would need to check as they didn’t have the information to hand.

Meanwhile it has come to my notice that parents often find it difficult to get answers and information.

Seems that training still needs to take place!!!!

 

First blog post

This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.

Next part of the same journey

https://cherrytreecornucopia.wordpress.com/2020/05/23/next-part-of-the-same-journey/Today it is 23rd May 2020

The world is in various stages of Lockdown due to Corona virus or covid 19 virus.

Just played the family quiz via internet.

Getting to know technology better.

Online livestream church services and prayer meetings.

County council also online meetings plus their website.

New Glossy Brochure just printed and published as well with no mention of the Ofsted/CQC report.

Perhaps it won’t be noticed.

Different parts of the same journey 8th February 2020

The picture of the field in Kenya was taken in 2004 when I was on a study trip with Tearfund transform.

Massive learning curve where I saw so many Christians, who literally had nothing and lived in conditions that I would not be able to cope with, doing so much and having a massive impact on their community.

Back in the UK I thought and prayed about what I could do.

I had no idea at that time what I could do.

I tremble now at the things I have done but it is only because I still feel weak and powerless but The Lord enables through reading the Bible regularly and studying His Holy Word .

There will be some who have stopped reading now but for those still with me i will continue.

Letters were the first things I did and I wrote to every member of the steering committee for EVERY CHILD MATTERS. the replies were very interesting and Education was the last and most dismissive reply.

I found out about local democracy and how to contact my MP.

Some of the original Local Authority officers were helpful and Leicestershire Democratic Services Department deserves a mention.

At first I observed the meetings Of The Leicestershire Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

I very naively thought that was what the committee did!

I found out that I could ask questions as a memberof the public.

There are very strict rules and questions have to be submitted in writing one week before the meeting.

To get the reply it is necessary to attend the meeting and a written reply is given to the questioner before the start of te meeting.

At the appropriate part of the meeting it is possible to ask supplementary questions to clarify the answer given. On occasions the Cabinet lead and Director of Children’s Services are unable to answer the questions and promise to send a written response.

I expected questions and answers to appear in the minutes of the meeting but to start with this didn’t happen and I did need to check the legislation and guide rules in order to challenge this. Even when the questions and answers did appear it was through my MP directly asking a question on my behalf of the then Director of Children’s Services that it appeared Leicestershire had not registered with the British Dyslexia Association to administrate a Dyslexia Friendly training. The reason given was the cost of registration.

However with the equality Act 2010 it was clear that Dyslexia was to be included.

Early Identification and correct provision.

Quality First teaching is usually mentioned but on closer questioning professionals often flounder to explain what that soundbite means.

The 2014 Children and Families Act was an opportunity for early identification and correct provision to happen. I, even wrote to the Lead Cabinet member to seek reassurrance that children with dyslexia would be provided for.

I received a letter back reassuring me that this would be the case!!!!

The Children and Families Act 2014 required Local Authorities to work with Health and Social Services as well as other agencies and partners.

Parents were also to be partners and their information pivotal.

Sadly this again was the vision but the reality was very different so I continued to be contacted by parents as well as asking questions at The Overview and Scrutiny Committee. I am now limited to 1 question and 1 supplementary question.

At the last meeting in January 2020 I had submitted a written question and I did get a written answer but apparently the question was not one that the Councillors needed to see as it was operational rather than executive.

However further back on this journey I have had the privilege of being able to distribute Dyslexia Friendly books of the Bible published by the Bible Society.

Nancy Munyi and her sister Phyllis formed the Raregem Talent School in Kenya and when I met Nancy in England I was able to give her some of these to take back with her.

Also I was privileged to meet Jackie Hewitt-Main in Doncaster and her correct title now is Jackie Hewitt-Main OBE.

Her work in prisons and with the Cascade Foundation in Doncaster was really amazing.

I met Tania Tirraoro from Special needs Jungle

She and her team have done so much and I can definitely recommend the e book

Show Me the Evidence:      www.specialneedsjungle.com

I did not think I would ever write a blog and my use of technology is not good

but I am so pleased that I have been able to have the confidence to do so.

More importantly there are now more parents asking questions and aware of the different legislation that is relevant.

Another person I have known for many years is Arran Smith.

He does a huge amount and SENDGroup webinars are suitable for teachers and parents.

http://www.sendgroup.co.uk

Dyslexia Show 2020 at the NEC 20th-21st March 2020

Children welcome at the seminars but do need to be booked in.

40 years ago I could not have envisaged what the Lord had planned for me.

I did not expect to see my children grow up.

I knew that I might go out of the hospital in a box and the baby also.

I did have  a live baby and have lived to see my grandchildren growing up.

I thank the Lord Jesus for my life.

Some interesting publications

Friday 7th February 2020

For many weeks now I have been receiving an email from Australia with a free download each week.        www.getintoneurodiversity.com

These pages build into a very useful  manual for parents and carers as well as teachers.

There are  some excellent tips and all are in a dyslexia friendly font (not like this one as I still need to find out how to do that)

An excellent ebook has been produced by Special Needs Jungle with the Authors Dr Jane Hood and Rob Webster.

The title is:-                          Show Me the Evidence:

Why Parents are Pivotal to

Successful SEND Provision, and

the Questions They Should Ask

About Assessment

http://www.specialneedsjungle.com

The other document that I have found interesting is UK Ofsted framework, evaluation criteria and Inspector guidance for inspecting Local Authorities Children’s Services

A very useful document available on the UK government website.

All Local Authorites in UK are being inspected and there is some extremely useful informtion that parents would find valuable when their Local authority is being inspected.

 

 

 

19th October 2019

Leicester England.

Leicester City playing a football game at the King Power stadium against Burnley.

Many people in the city centre.

A face book Flash  mob in Town hall square reading books by Black authors. 12;15pm

A group raising awareness of the cuts to disabled children’s transport in Leicestershire

started in Town Hall Square and then walked round to BBC radio Leicester in Jubilee Square.

Video links put on twitter and facebook.

London Parliament Brexit or no Brexit.

Walking back to the centre of Leicester a homeless lady sits near the Fairtrade shop.

 

 

 

Turning Tankers?

This a phrase I have heard recently to explain why Local Authorities are not doing what they should be doing for the children in their Corporate care and also children with SEND.

How many years does it take to turn a tanker around?

If it is as long as it seems to be we would have run out of oil many years ago.

The tanker currently stuck in Land Locked Leicestershire is well and truly stuck.

Today I have seen an EHCP that has so many woolly phrases and meaningless jargon that any lawyer could have a field day withand this is just in Section B.

Perhaps Ofsted would like to come back for another focused visit.

Then there is the access for another child stopped because the petrol has run out.

I would love to be a cartoonist but I cannot draw.

 

If this seems totally random and out of touch please let me know but many parents in Leicestershire are now realising that Leicestershire’s provision for SEND is woefully inadequate.

 

Dyslexia, Dysteachia or lazy, must try harder

31/1/2019 Logan Hall UCL Travelling to this event provided me with the opportunity to read for pleasure as I went on a train, Walking to the venue from Euston provided me with the opportunity for exercise. Finding the venue provided me with the opportunity to ask directions. Waiting for the Event to start provided me with the opportunity to talk to others. A couple from Devon. The wife was  a teacher and taught reading. An ED Psych and another person from Milton Keynes Local Authority. A mainstream Secondary SENDCO from Bromley. Waiting inside the hall gave me an opportunity to take in the surroundings and notice the signers in converstion with a group on the front row. The technical difficulties that were being experienced and dealt with by the camera team. The event was entitiled Dyslexia Diagnosis Scientific Understanding Belief in Flat Earth Greg Brooks chaired the Debate and Introduced Vivian Hill from UCL to explain the context of the debate. The title had been taken from a Debate in the House of Lords on 30/1/2018. Lord Addington, Lord Agnew, Lord watson and 2 Lords with names beginning with S also spoke in this debate. Equality Act2010 and Children and Families Act 2014 were mentioned as well as Medical Condition and is the Earth Flat until science moved on? This had  been debated because Warwickshire Local Authority had put forward a a paper which mentioned Dyslexia. The next speaker was Jules Gaulby, now freelance and previously with Dorset Local Authority and Driver Youth Trust. She made the case for retaining Dyslexia, She argued that many adults and children are relieved and openly acknowledge dyslexia as being a valuable description for part of Who they are. The alternatives she mentioned  were Lazy and Must try harder. She mentioned case studies and her argument resonated with the emotional and mental damage that happen when the descriptors are Lazy or Must Try Harder for children but having a profound effect in adults who have been diagnosed in later life. Next was Professor Julian Elliott from Durham. He then put the argument for dyslexia being removed from the descriptors of poor readers.   I did take many notes but would need to check the sources to put the full argument here. However the point about teaching all children with reading ages below chronological ages I am totally in agreement with. After the short break there was a presentation by Associate professor at University of Warwick of using real books and assessment by teachers to inform direct instruction. Training of teachers, consistency and Local Authorities all being an important part. Then Jo Ward an EP from Staffordshire and Sarah Crawford an EP from Staffordshire gave a presentation on the paper they had written which had been the starting point of the debate in the House of Lords. I cannot possibly do this excellent presentation Justice but have contacted them today for further details, Then question Time from the Audience. I did manage to ask a question about How are we going to train teachers to teach reading in initial teacher training. Professor Elliott   the question by saying there isn’t enough time on the PGCE timetable but perhaps Continual professional development was the answer. (And what about the schools and Academies who are School Centred  Initial Teacher Trainers?) I thought but was unable to ask. When a Dyslexia Assessor from behind me raised the question about the 3% who still do not respond to the interventions for all children with less than age appropriate reading skills  as dyslexia is more than just reading? there was some murmuring on the platform but the fire alarm rang so we all had to file out. I found myself talking to another teacher who hadn’t been asked to sign in so we walked to Euston together and concluded that much of the evidence in the debate had been around for many years but we are still failing to understand how valuable the skill of teachers in Early Years and Foundation is in early identification and early correct teaching. The featured image is of Jackie Hewitt-Main of Cascade Foundation. People like her will obviously be needed for many years to come as we seem to be notoriously slow learners as a nation.  

https://www.getrevue.co/profile/undefined

29th September 2020 The Dyslexia Battle continues and the SEND crisis continues with the addition of Covid. Many Local Authorities have to submit Written Statements of Action to OFSTED/CQC to address the Significant weaknesses found at the Inspection. Leicestershire is just one of these authorities and there has been a more inclusive effort to include parents and children in the consultation. Councillors have also been involved. However Dyslexia is still being missed out of EHCPs or the wording changed to possible. There are still no places for children who have been out of school since before COVID because their needs have still not been assessed or if they have been assessed there is no provision in the county to meet those needs. October is Dyslexia Awareness month and the theme is Dyslexia Creates. Australia has a CODE REaD campaign which has gone global this year and I have seen posts from Kenya and USA promoting this as well as UK. The Write offs have been produced and available on Channel 4 UK. First programme was aired on Tuesday 22nd September 2020 and the second Episode is to be broadcast this evening but both episodes are available online. Jackie Hewitt-Main OBE and Georgina Holden (Codebreakers) have been involved with the making of this programme with Sandi Toksvig. My blogs are very intermittent and not viewed very often but I am intrigued when I notice that they have been viewed and this update is because some have been viewed recently.

How Leicestershire Consults 2

Have lessons been learned?

Perhaps and then again perhaps not.

The latest consultation was announced in the SEND Leicestershire Local offer Spreading the Word Edition5 Autumn/Winter 2018.

This edition also featured the dyslexia awareness event from October 2018.

The link for the Improving specialist SEND provision was on the front page

The online consultation is http://www.leicestershire.gov.uk?send/consultation

Consultation ends at midnight on on Sunday March 31st 2019

Hard copies can be sent out if it is difficult to complete online

Phone 0116 305 7150

email SEND-Consultation@leics.gove.uk

There are also meetings being held at some of the special schools

Birkett House, Birch Wood, Ashmount, Forest Way and Dorothy Goodman

Is the consultation document and questionaire in Dyslexia friendly format? No

Is there a dyslexia friendly version? Not yet

Is there going to be any provision for Dyslexia? Not sure

Is this blog in dyslexia friendly format? Not yet

 

 

2018

Another year ends.

Highs and lows, newfriends and contacts, travelling, conferences, Festableuk so amazing.

Democracy and asking questions at Leicestershire Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee as a member of the public.

This was the year that parents ‘roared’ with huge thanks to Tania Tirarao, Marguerite Haye and many others.

Interesting looking at the stats for my blog and finding that Dyslexia Awareness week 2017 keeps getting read.

Just some strengths

that many dyslexics have

 

How many do you have and how do you use them?

 

Happy new Year

Can anyone else see the elephants in the room with the ivory towers?

Literally speaking the ivory towers would be made from the elephants tusks. Thus if the elephants were not dead they would have been disabled.

Metaphoically speaking the room in question can be any room but especially the largest room in the world.

The room for improvement. The ivory towers metaphorically represent the people who refuse to see the disabled elephants.

2004 was quite a momentous year for me. I visited Kenya with a Tearfund Transform Study Group.

All volunteers, some of a more advanced age than others.

We did see some elephants and on one of the farms I asked the lady who was planting beans what the men did. Her answer was that all the men guard the fields at night to stop the animals destroying the crops. The animals are the wonderful animals that roam free in Africa like Elephants and Giraffes.

It made sense that the hard work of hand planting each bean in a whole field needed guarding at night so that a crop could be harvested and the large animals could roam away from these hand planted fields.

 

There were many children who lived a long way from any school so education was often later rather than at 5 years old.

In the UK churches,dame schools,ragged schools, workhouses and charities provided education for the poor and working class children back in the 1800s.

Great strides were made for all children to be entitled to a basic primary education and my Grandma was one of those children. Born in1876 she attended the local school.

At age 12 she went into service in the nearest town.

I don’t know much about her early life and never knew my grandfather as he died 3 weeks after I was born.
I do know that she valued education and 2 of her children were able to go to the local grammar schoolas they were awarded scholarships. This meant that many sacrifices would need to be made by the rest of the family.

My father was one of those children who went to Grammar school but he helped a local farmer with his milk round before he caught the train to school.

My grandmother was 70 years old when I was born and had seen many changes.

She died 6 months before my wedding.

Her daughter was the other child who went to Grammar school. She then went on to train as a nurse, midwife and health visitor. She didn’t have any children and married just before she retired a few years after my wedding.

My visit to Kenya was just after I retired and it was a steep learning curve.

In the mornings there were many people walking miles into Nairobi to work and then in the evenings walking back to their homes.

For many children education was provided by charities.

I met a lady who was doing a lot of work with adults and teaching adults to read and write.

She didn’t believe me when I said that in the UK there were adult basic literacy classes.

She said “You have had state education for over a hundred years.”

Over a decade since that visit I know Nancy Munyi and the RareGem school.

Nancy and her sister Phyllis have a school for dyslexic children in Nairobi.

There are some excellent private schools in the UK for dyslexic children but there is no provision in many State primary schools.

Many local councils are cutting Children’s services and many teachers are leaving because of the stress and paperwork.

The focus is on Secondary schools but Early Years provision and Sure Start centres are being closed.

 

Many unanswered questions and still no real provision for dyslexic children