The SENDcast

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...

In this, our second Corona BONUS episode Dale Pickles, Managing Director of B Squared is joined by his guest Jane Friswell. Jane is one of the legends of the SEN World who has seen lots of good practice, but also bad practice. Jane support's school and authorities to turn things around and provide the right support for students. Moving on from last week's BONUS episode, this week are looking at wh...

DLD is one of the most prevalent childhood conditions, but is still little known and understood, especially in comparison to conditions such as autism, dyslexia, etc. It continues to be misinterpreted and misunderstood, despite affecting a significant number of children and young people In this episode our guest is Wendy Lee, is a speech and language therapist with over 30 years experience in a wi...

This episode was recorded at 11:30am on Monday the 16th of March.  At this time there was minimal guidance for schools around COVID-19/Corona virus and even less guidance for pupils with SEND. In this BONUS episode we will be talking about the Corona virus and the implications for special schools, pupils with SEND and their families. Our guest is Lorraine Petersen OBE. Lorraine has over 25 years e...

Sensory issues can have a big impact on school life, whether they are sensory-seeking or sensory avoidant and how schools can make reasonable adjustments. This week's guest is Sarah-Jane Critchley. Sarah-Jane is passionate about helping autistic people, their families, friends and supporters live happier lives of their own choosing. She is the internationally recognised author of 'A Different Joy:...

Arran Smith 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...