The SENDcast

This week's guest is Dr Susie Nyman. Susie is passionate about discovering how children learn and supporting them in ways which enable them to succeed and is the Curriculum Manager for Health and Social Care at The Sixth Form College Farnborough, where she has strived to raise students' achievements and support them in a way which enables them to succeed. This episode is a lively discussion of eas...

If we are really going to make a difference to pupils with SEND in our schools, then the development and organisation of provision needs to be led from the top. No matter how good an individual SENCO or SEND team in a school might be, they will only ever be able to make real improvements if the senior leadership team are on board. This is why a whole school approach to developing SEND provision is...

This week we welcome Lana Grant to the show. Lana is a specialist advisor and advocate for people with autism and their families. COVID has changed many things and children have been out of formal education for many months.  There is talk of catch up lessons, extra homework etc but how does this look for our most vulnerable pupils?  Is it time for a new way of teaching and learning? The curriculum...

This week on the show Fintan O'Regan returns to discuss good mental health and the power of mood. Fin is one of the leading behaviour and learning specialists in the UK. He is currently an SEN and Behaviour Consultant for the Schools Network and an associate lecturer for Leicester University, the National Association of Special Needs, Tribal Education and the Institute of Education. Contact Fintan...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Sarah Jane Critchley to discuss the Recovery Curriculum, designed to help heal the trauma of COVID 19. This is the second part of this episode, so if you missed the previous episode, please go listen to that one first. In a post-COVID world, many children in our schools will have experienced a number of losses and the schools they are...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Sarah Jane Critchley to discuss the Recovery Curriculum, designed to help heal the trauma of COVID 19. We ran a little longer than normal, so this show has been split into two parts, but don't worry the second part will be available as soon as you've finished this one. In a post-COVID world, many children in our schools will have expe...

In this episode we will address some of the concerns but also consider some of positives that returning to school will have for children and young people and Fintan O'Regan is joining us to discuss. Fin is one of the leading behaviour and learning specialists in the UK. He is currently an SEN and Behaviour Consultant for the Schools Network and an associate lecturer for Leicester University, the N...

In this week's podcast, Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Angharad Welch to discuss Speech and Language in children with Down Syndrome. Angharad Welch is a Speech and Language Therapist who runs Find the Key Speech and Language Therapy. Angharad has worked with a number of organisations including NASEN and ourselves at B Squared, she also speaks at various events. Children and young people...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Carol Allen and John Galloway to discuss CPD for Inclusion. Apart from this obviously amazing podcast, we are discussing where can teachers go to access the information and support they need in order to improve their inclusive practice.   Carol is an education advisor for ICT and Inclusion in particular supporting the London Grid For...

In this week's podcast, Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Angharad Welch who is giving us an introduction to Augmentative and Alternative Communication, more commonly referred to as its acronym AAC. When people think about AAC they often think of high tech solutions, but there is lots of low-tech options which can be very effective. Angharad Welch is a Speech and Language Therapist who runs...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Angharad Welch to discuss communication friendly environments, also referred to language rich environment or communication friendly spaces. Angharad Welch isa Speech and Language Therapist who runs Find the Key Speech and Language Therapy. Angharad has worked with a number of organisations including NASEN and ourselves at B Squared, s...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Carol Allen and John Galloway to discuss education technology and how to do it for low cost or no cost.   Carol is an education advisor for ICT and Inclusion in particular supporting the London Grid For Learning and Hartlepool LA.  She was named one of the top ten educators for 2018 in the field of educational technology. This was dow...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Angharad Welch to discuss verbal reasoning and how to use questions to help extend these skills. Angharad Welch isa Speech and Language Therapist who runs Find the Key Speech and Language Therapy. Angharad has worked with a number of organisations including NASEN and ourselves at B Squared, she also speaks at various events.  Verbal r...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Lorraine Petersen OBE to discuss how schools can support transition from primary to secondary school. A significant number of young people, especially those identified with SEND will encounter difficulties in the transition to a new school if not properly supported. During this session Lorraine will give practical examples of how to m...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Sarah Jane Critchley to discuss school refusals, school phobia and illness. Sarah-Jane has the benefit of both a professional AND personal perspective. Sarah-Jane was previously the Programme Manager for over 10 years at the Autism Education Trust. Pupils with autism often struggle with attending school for a number of reasons. Her da...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Wendy Lee to discuss the language and literacy link, the impact a pupil's language difficulties has on their literacy. Wendy is a speech and language therapist for over 30 years, with a wealth of experience. Wendy was a professional director of the Communications Trust until 2015, being involved in a range of projects as well as input...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Sarah Jane Critchley to discuss Exclusions, how legal are they and why isn't more being done to prevent them. The statistics are shocking and terrible and more needs to be done. In this episode we discuss the different types of exclusion, when are exclusions are illegal, the two way link between mental health and exclusion and that th...

In this episode our guest is Lorraine Petersen OBE, who has over 25 years experience as a teacher, and head teacher. She was previously the CEO of the National Association of Special Needs -NASEN. Lorraine received her OBE for her services to education. Lorraine will be talking about supporting Anxiety and Trauma. This week's show is on Supporting Anxiety and Trauma. The prevalence of 5-15 year ol...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Wendy Lee to discuss how schools can support children with Speech, Langauge and Communication Needs (SLCN) in mainstream schools. Wendy is a speech and language therapist for over 30 years, with a wealth of experience. Wendy was a professional director of the Communications Trust until 2015, being involved in a range of projects as we...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Sarah Jane Critchley to discuss Autism Girls, why so few are identified, the lack of support that is available and why this all needs to change. Autism in girls is a big topic, and Sarah Jane has lots of experience, both professionally including through her work with the Autism Education Trust and personally as her daughter who is soo...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Lorraine Petersen OBE to discuss how SENCOs and class teachers are meeting their legal requirement for pupils on SEN Support. 8 out of 10 pupils with a SEND are sitting in mainstream classrooms requiring SEN Support – that means they are in receipt of additional and/or different provision to their peers – or are they? With the tighten...

In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Wendy Lee to discuss how schools can support pupils in Early Years settings with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN). With many children are starting school with poor speech, language and communication skills, more needs to be done to support them. There is strong evidence around prevalence, with numbers rising to over 50%...

Arran classes himself as one of the 4% of the population as a severely dyslexic adult. When Arran was aged 9 he was diagnosed with dyslexia. He uses the metaphor that dyslexia is like going to the dentist, well that's how it was for him all the way until he was 14, this was the age when he realised that dyslexia is a difference not a disadvantage. During Arran's working life he has worked in many...

In this, our third Corona BONUS episode looking at Anxiety within the context of the current Corona pandemic, Dale Pickles, Managing Director of B Squared is joined by his guest Sarah-Jane Critchley. Anxiety is a big topic normally, but right now with all the changes that have happened over the last few weeks to our every day lives, it is huge. In this episode we start with the question 'What is a...

In this, our third Corona BONUS episode looking at Anxiety within the context of the current Corona pandemic, Dale Pickles, Managing Director of B Squared is joined by his guest Sarah-Jane Critchley. Anxiety is a big topic normally, but right now with all the changes that have happened over the last few weeks to our every day lives, it is huge. In this episode we start with the question 'What is a...