The SENDcast

In this week's podcast, Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Georgina Durrant to discuss the importance of learning through play. Learning through play is so important for all young children, but perhaps especially for children with Special Educational Needs. Play can help children practise and develop a whole range of skills from fine and gross motor skills to creativity, emotional regulation...

In this week's podcast, Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Dr Susie Nyman to discuss empowering mental health for students with SEND. Susie is the Curriculum Manager at The Sixth Form College, Farnborough. She is passionate about discovering how children learn and supporting them in ways which enable them to succeed. She has provided training to PGCE students at Kingston University, and in a...

Joining Dale today is Ginny Bootman. Ginny is currently a SENCO of 2 Primary schools, but has been a teacher for a very long time (in her own words), a senior manager and headteacher. She has also found time to write articles for TES and speak at a number of events. All too often the home school relationship can become strained for a number of reasons. This episode looks at the role empathy plays...

Dale's guest is Fintan O'Regan, Fintan is a trainer and consultant for schools and school support systems including, Social Services, Health, the Police and Foster carers. He has worked with a number of organisations including NASEN, Institute of Education, Leicester University, the UK ADHD Network and the European ADHD Alliance. And before this he was a headteacher of a specialist school for stud...

Joining Dale today is Lorraine Petersen. Lorraine has 25 years' experience in the mainstream school environment as a teacher and Head Teacher. From 2004 – 2013 Lorraine was CEO of Nasen, a charitable organisation supporting all those who work with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. She has been a chair, keynote speaker and workshop facilitator at many nation...

This week, Dale is joined by Alison Knowles. Alison is an emotional therapist who supports emotional resilience. In this episode we are talking about self preservation as a parent of a child with SEND. Alison is the creator of the Ollie Model, the author of the series of Ollie and his Super Powers books, trainer of Ollie coaches and an emotional therapist. Useful Links: https://www.facebook.com/Ol...

This week Dale is joined by Al Start to discuss some helpful tips to help teachers use music and songs in the classroom. Al has worked with children for over 20 years in a variety of ways and over the last 15 years she has been creating, teaching and performing songs for children. Singing with children can be a scary idea if you're not musically trained, but introducing music and singing into chil...

Joining Dale today is Lorraine Petersen. Lorraine is an educational consultant with 25 years experience working in schools. Since 2004 she has been supporting Special Needs in a variety of ways: She was the CEO of NASEN and she is currently a consultant, director of a teaching school alliance and Governor. Being a SENCO now, more than ever is extremely challenging, so much to do with so little tim...

Every week on the SENDcast, Dale is joined by different guest  to talk about a specific area. This week our guest once again is, Fintan O'Regan. Fintan has been a headteacher, lecturer for Leicester University and now works as a trainer and consultant for schools and school support systems. In this episode we are talking about how you don't need to wait for diagnosis to make a difference for child...

The SENDcast is a podcast we started in 2020, to help improve knowledge around SEND. Every teacher is teacher of SEND, yet the training isn't there to support them. We created the SENDcast to try and help solve that problem, help make schools more inclusive. My guest this week is Alison Knowles. Alison is an emotional therapist, she supports emotional resilience. In this episode we are talking abo...

On this week's podcast we will be discussing how to support children with emotionally based school phobia/avoidance. For this conversation, Dale is joined by Dr Tina Rae. Tina is a consultant psychologist with over 30 year's experience working with children, adults and families. We know that our children and young people who already have existing mental health issues will be finding the current lo...

In this episode we are revisiting anxiety and simply asking the question what is anxiety? Alison Knowles returns to help us explore this. Alison is an emotional therapist. This does not mean that she often cries during therapy. She supports emotional resilience. In this episode we are talking about the reality you created and the impact this has on you.   Useful Links https://www.facebook.com/Olli...

In this episode Dale is joined by Natalie Packer to talk about how to support NQTs to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. With very little Initial Teacher Training around SEND, they have a lot to learn in supporting pupils with SEND. Yet, they will be supporting pupils with SEND from their first day of teaching. Schools need to provide support and training. This is a special episode, it is our fir...

In this week's podcast, Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Lana Grant to discuss supporting mental health in primary aged children. There has been a history of a lack of support for children's mental health. It needs to change. Lana has a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome and is also a parent of children on the autism spectrum Lana is a specialist SEN advisor and an advocate for SEN children an...

On this week's show Dale welcomes back Dr. Tina Rae. Tina is a consultant psychologist with over 30 year's experience working with children, adults and families. Dale and Tina discuss self harm, how we can understand and support our children and young people. Self-harm is an area of concern for all of us who support CYP in order to foster well-being and mental health. There are many myths and gene...

This week's show is all about neurodiversity. What does it mean, is it a positive term or is it a negative term. Our guest is Fintan O'Regan, Fintan is a trainer and consultant for schools and school support systems including, Social Services, Health, the Police and Foster carers. He supports them by providing behaviour management strategies for children and families struggling with SEND and behav...

In this episode we are talking about the role of the Governing Board in relation to SEND with  Kate Browning. Kate is an independent SEND Consultant who focuses on school improvement for SEND. She has been a SENCo, SEN advisory teacher, local authority school improvement officer for SEND and interim Education Development Officer for NASEN. She teaches the NASENCo course for the university of North...

In this episode Dale is joined by Alison Knowles to discuss breaking down limiting beliefs and how you can take control rather than be controlled by your emotions. Alison is an emotional therapist. This does not mean that she often cries during therapy. She supports emotional resilience. In this episode we are talking about the reality you created and the impact this has on you.   Useful Links htt...

This week's podcast is discussing High Quality Teaching and how to ensure all children have access. Our guest is Natalie Packer, an independent education consultant, specialising in SEND and school improvement. Natalie develops and delivers a wide range of training and support to schools, multi-academy trusts and other organisations. She is a member of Nasen's 0-11 Advisory Group, and also support...

Joining Dale today is Lana Grant. Lana has a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome and is also a parent of children on the autism spectrum Lana is a specialist SEN advisor and an advocate for SEN children and their families. Lana's first book "From Here To Maternity, pregnancy and motherhood on the Autism Spectrum" was published in 2015. Lana also contributes to various articles, podcasts and delivers ta...

On this week's podcast Dale will be discussing building resilience in the early years with guest Dr. Tina Rae. Tina is a consultant psychologist with over 30 year's experience working with children, adults and families. Resilience is a word that some people hate, some understand and other are a bit unsure of what it means. I have met some people who think resilience is made up and dismiss it. I ha...

This week Dale is joined by Carol Allen & John Galloway to discuss the pro's and con's of a fixed curriculum. The curriculum in schools is supposed to be broad and balanced, but it often isn't. Schools are sometimes only focusing on areas they are held to account for. One thing that has been eating away at the over the last few years is the four broad areas of need and the lack of focus on these a...

In this episode Dale's guest is Kate Browning. Kate is an independent consultant supporting schools make improvements around SEND. In this episode we are talking about SENCO time management, focusing on the key elements. In a world where there is less guidance, less money, more demand and continual changes, teachers, SENCos and leaders need a way to keep up, that fits in with their lives. The SEND...

In this episode Dale welcomes Alison Knowles back to the show. Alison is an emotional therapist. This does not mean that she often cries during therapy. She supports emotional resilience. In this episode we are talking about why we are the way we are. We are born different, we are born at different times, different generations with different challenges. We have different experiences, different ide...

This week Dale is joined by Fintan O'Regan. Fintan is a trainer and consultant for schools and school support systems including, Social Services, Health, the Police and Foster carers. He supports them by providing behaviour management strategies for children and families struggling with SEND and behaviour issues. Before this he has worked with a number of organisations including NASEN, Institute o...