Gok Wan, famous for his programme How to Look Good Naked, once advised a young deaf girl: ‘Don’t be self-conscious of your hearing aid! Embrace it and show it off!-Maybe you could customise it with some fabulous diamante, to really make a statement out of it.’
Now young people can put his advice into practice.
Customising hearing aids
On the Buzz, a forum run by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), has a section called Ear Art with ideas for designs and ways of using nail foil stickers to cover hearing aids or cochlear implants.
The forum is where deaf young can find out about events around the country and meet their contemporaries online. It can decrease social isolation and give them ready access to events and links to other online resources such as Your Local Cinema , a one stop site with information about showings of subtitled films.
The Buzz also provides guidance for young people who are trying to make plans for their future. Paul’s story is about going to college and becoming more independent while Sam’s story is about taking up an apprenticeship. Priya’s story will resonate with many young people at this time of year as it is about tactics and resources to counteract the stresses of preparing for examinations. See stories here.
Tell your friends. Sunflower is offering a FREE science pack to every single secondary school in the UK. Click here to register your school
Back before Christmas I had a very nice breakfast in Canary Wharf. It is not the sort of thing I usually do. In fact it was the only time I have breakfasted there but I was meeting Elizabeth Kelly, Director of Schools Operations. We were there to talk about the new science curriculum and the units they were producing for Sunflower for Science
Sunflower has animations for DNA, Natural Selection, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Chemical Reactions and Heat Transfer modules which many teachers enjoyed at Bett his year.
Obviously I was interested in the special needs angle but in fact Sunflower’s materials are differentiated so they cover everyone from young people struggling with basic concepts in science to those who are on the gifted and talented register and are aiming for University or a career in the sciences.
Atoms and ions, bonding, diffusion and the periodic table are just a few of the units for chemistry and many pupils will enjoy following the story of the carbs, fat and protein in a pizza. Every programme comes with worksheets activities, quizzes and sample lessons.
‘One of the key features of Sunflower Science,’ Elizabeth told me, ‘is to make sure that teachers can deliver modules in scientific subjects outside their own specialism.’
Schools can buy one module at a time, ideal for those on a tight budget, but why not start with your freebie?
He has done stand up for Comic Relief, trekked across a desert in northern Kenya and is one of the best known voices on Radio 4. But Peter White MBE, Disability Affairs Correspondent for the BBC, was not an early adopter of technology.
Peter White MBE, Disability Affairs Correspondent BBC
‘I am not a computer expert and not an especially good problem solver,’ he told a packed audience at the annual general meeting of the British Assistive Technology Association (BATA) in London. Like many others he was slow to embrace technology which he attributed to an understandable and all too common ‘fear of the new’.
However as a blind Braille user he was also exceptionally adept with old technology. Despite the cumbersome nature of the Perkins Brailler, he succeeded in the competitive world of media. producing and reading his own scripts. ‘I was a fast Braille reader and won awards,’ he said. ‘In fact, I was praised by TS Eliot and patted on the head by the Queen Mother.’
What converted him to computers was the increasing realisation that he was not a ‘good colleague.’ He could not collaborate with sighted people at the BBC because they could not read Braille and he could not see print. They needed to find a format which would work for both blind and sighted writers. Fortunately a technology enthusiast took him in hand and pointed out that he was missing out on a lot of good books if he just relied on Braille.
Early attempts to use the technology were not always plain sailing, Fifteen minutes before going on air for his In Touch programme, the Braille Embosser linked to a printer ate his script and he had to improvise. On another occasion his script was printed out in Grade 1 Braille. ‘It is very difficult to adapt if you have if not read it for 30 years,’ he recalled, ‘so I used a mixture of reading and desperate ad libbing: not an ideal combination if you are trying to explain the complexities of the benefit system.’
Despite being a convert to technology, Peter is concerned that new developments leave disabled people behind. Access to the digital world is as important as the right to text books or to equipment. The Equalities Act and Disability Discrimination Act have given disabled people physical access to buildings but he is calling for legislation to compel manufacturers to provide equal access to their products and services.
BATA supports this stance. With members drawn from charities, commercial organisations and specialist schools, BATA  provides expert and informed opinion and  impartial advice to government departments and agencies. They are calling on government to improve the availability of communications aids and assistive technology in schools.
‘As I get older I get more enthusiastic about the potential of technology.’ said Peter. ‘Speed of development must not leave blind people behind. New vistas have opened. It is crucial these opportunities are not snatched way.’
‘Technology, Special Needs and Disability ‘- Peter White MBE ,Disability Correspondent, BBC was sponsored by BATA member Noel Duffy from Dolphin Computer Access
Nasen was 21 last week and like all 21 year olds they had a bit of a knees up. This one was really good as it was at the House of Commons and the guest of honour was Roberta Blackman-Woods MP.
Nasen has long campaigned for better training for teachers and in the last two years they have worked with over 4000 SENCOs. The feedback they have received shows that teachers do not feel confident that they can cope with the increasingly diverse range of needs in schools today.
Lorraine Petersen celebrates nasen's 21st with Roberta Blackman-Woods MP
‘We need to ensure that teachers are supported and empowered to deliver the first class education that all children deserve, no matter what their abilities are,’ said Lorraine Petersen, nasen’s CEO. ‘We have come to rely very heavily on additional support- Teaching Assistants and Learning Support staff– often resulting in the least qualified being responsible for the education of the most vulnerable young people.’
Nasen is now to launch its Every Teacher campaign, with three main objectives, drawn from Sharon Hodgson’s recommendations in the Labour Party SEN Review:
• Every new teacher should undertake a minimum module on SEN as part of their initial teacher training to support them in identifying and intervening with pupils
• One inset day per year given over to promoting good practice on inclusive teaching, sharing experience and knowledge of SEND
• SENCOs should to be part of the Senior Leadership Team
The campaign is very timely. SENCOs and teachers will soon have to cope with many changes to special needs provision: new SEND legislation, the single school based assessment process, the introduction of Education, Health and Care Plans with optional Personal Budgets, radical changes to school funding plus the growth in academies and free schools will all provide huge challenges to educational professionals over the next two years.
It’s good to know that nasen will be looking after their interests.
I have always loathed the voices on speech synthesis. I know disabled kids who think it is a laugh to sound like a Dalek but I think it’s sad and particularly depressing for adults who might have all their materials for a degree course read out in a robotic voice. But voices are getting better and I have two good news stories
First JISC TechDis commissioned CereProc to create Jack and Jess, two new high-quality voices that can be used with text-to-speech tools. The big story is TechDis has managed to obtain a wonderful licensing agreement so that all staff and learners in publicly funded post-16 education in England should be eligible to download the voices free of charge.
That means that if you are studying in Adult & Community Learning; Further Education; Higher Education; Offender Learning; Sixth Form Colleges; Specialist Colleges; UK Online Centres; Voluntary Sector; and Work-based Learning you won’t pay a penny. Ask at your education centre or college now.
Alistair McNaught, Senior Adviser at JISC TechDis is excited about the prospect of real voices for the estimated 4.5 learners out there who could benefit. ‘Now hundreds of thousands of print impaired learners have a decent voice to listen to while they are studying and won’t be embarrassed if they want to access talking materials while they are out walking or doing household chores. The stigma about using such software tools vanishes. This will have a massive impact on their productivity and confidence.’
Click here for more information
Voices for children
It’s not just adult voices which are improving. Rosie and Harry were shortlisted for the BETT ICT Special Educational Needs Solutions 2013. 74,000 children and teens in England cannot speak for themselves and need a voice for their assistive technology. Rosie and Harry are the first English voices for children. Acapela Group and AssistiveWare best known for former BETT winner Proloquo2Go have pioneered the development of these voices which in time will become available in other products too.
Harry sounds pretty normal but Rosie is definitely Home Counties which means girls will sound more like Hermione from Harry Potter than Lisa Simpson. More news here.
Anna Reeves, National AAC Coordinator for England
Anna Reeves, National AAC Coordinator for England said, ‘These new voices will further transform the lives of children who cannot speak and the lives of those around them. It may be the very first time that families hear their own children speak with a child’s voice – you can’t put a price on that.’
Tonight I am meeting Caroline Wright face to face. I interviewed her for Merlin John OnlineÂ
We have emailed and talked on the phone so much that I feel as if I know her quite well but in fact we met just once – very briefly – at the farewell do for Ray Barker.
Caroline is not the new Ray. Nor is she a replacement. One thing I have learnt is that as the new director at BESA Caroline will put her own stamp on the organisation. She has a formidable pedigree with extensive overseas experience which will be of great benefit to the UK software community but she also has great charm
Most importantly she has a very clear set of values: ‘Education matters and is always likely to be featured in the first few pages of a newspaper because it is relevant to most of the population. We have all had an education and we nearly all know someone who is having one now. The role as a director at BESA ticks every box for me. I love education and this job lets me be part of a team and puts me back at the heart of strategy and delivery.’
Tonught I shall enjoy being BESA’s guest at their annual House of Lords reception.
Education and Childcare Minister Elizabeth Truss has announced that calculators will be banned in maths tests for 11-year-olds from 2014. She claims that children are over-reliant on calculators and miss the rigorous grounding in mental and written arithmetic, “By banning calculators in the maths test, we will reduce the dependency on them in the classroom for the most basic sums.”
There are so many reasons why children should be allowed to use calculators. They let pupils explore data, spot patterns and number crunch fast and accurately. They help pupils develop a sense of what is a plausible answer. If left to their own devices, many children, especially those with dyscalculia, will struggle to do 3 or 4 questions. With a calculator they can do a whole page and start to build a feeling for what is a sensible answer. Calculators can be used to check answers too so pupils who have done a calculation in their head or on paper can try a bit of self-checking and become more independent learners.
Pupils need to learn estimating skills and a problem solving approach. These are the foundation of mathematical thinking whereas the four rules are numeracy. Interestingly, Ms Truss talks about ‘sums’ which immediately shows her ignorance. Sum only covers addition and I doubt that children are just adding up day after day.
Years ago I was asked to run a class on using calculators in an FE college because children were leaving school without this skill and employers, especially in the building trade, needed young people who were confident users of this very basic piece of technology. Similarly there have been a number of Trade Union courses on using a calculator to work out percentage increases, members’ pensions and other benefits. I wonder if the government does all its calculations on paper? Maybe this is why so many of their statistics are so suspect.
Financial expert Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com has said, ‘We’re a financially illiterate nation with a massive personal debt problem, about to treble student loans.’
So when we are faced with large scale poverty and unprecedented levels of debt, the government suggests we should stop young people being ‘over-reliant on calculators.’Â They have to be joking!
Stephen Robinson is a music trained teacher who works at Green Park Special School in Wolverhampton. It is an all age special school for pupils aged 3-19 with severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties and those with autistic spectrum conditions. Here, and in his previous post at Beaufort School in Birmingham, he has used music extensively, as a means of developing communication skills, of adding an extra dimension to curriculum topics and also as a subject in its own right.
Stephen first saw Sing Up in a magazine and went online to see if it was as good as it looked. Sing Up is an online resource which has a song bank with over 500 songs cross referenced to curriculum targets and different theme. There is lots of help for teachers too including training and personalised support. The initial good impressions were reinforced when he attended a day organised by Sound Futures organisation. These training days feature classroom practitioners and artists who have been involved in projects with pupils who have a range of special needs.
Sing Up is a really flexible and versatile tool. It is online so teachers can use it anywhere that they have Internet access: in class, the hall, clubs, at home. There are plenty of different backing tracks which can be useful if a teacher is not especially musical or if there are no facilities for making music.
In theory, any school could put together a bank of music resources. Stephen thinks this would be a false economy as it would be a very time-consuming process and the end result would not be as comprehensive. Sing Up has been designed by music specialists and introduces pupils to different rhythms and tempos and the musical culture of different countries.
It is an ideal resource for special schools. There are suggestions for classroom activities and videos of songs with demonstrations of Makaton signs which teachers can copy. There are lesson plans as well as grids for communication aids so pupils who need assistive technology can join in too. The variety of information on the site means that staff can make sure they have suitable content for pupils with a wide range of needs.
When Stephen was working at Beaufort School he ran a club called Everybody Sings. This was an inclusive club. Some pupils would sign, others would sing; some would use percussion instruments, others would join in via assistive technology. The important thing was that children could all make music together in a way that worked for them.
Some pupils with communication difficulties come into their own if they are given a microphone. It seems to unlock their ability to vocalise and helps them to verbalise. Reuben had limited verbal skills. He went through a phase as an elective mute but an African call and response song unlocked his speech so that he began to say different words and sing in the right pitch. Soon he was trying to express ideas in increasingly developed sentences.
Children with communication aids can join in and become the leader. They can record a line or use a communication device with a switch and speech output to deliver key lyrics. Stephen recalled an occasion when a large group of children were singing A sailor went to sea, sea, sea in assembly. The children with communication aids were responsible for the refrain and really enjoyed their moment of power as they made the others wait for the See See See!
Springfields Academy won the TES Special Needs School of the Year 2012 at a ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in London and to cap it all they also won Overall Outstanding School of the Year award too.
Springfields Academy in Wiltshire is a mixed school for 76 pupils aged 7 to 17 years who have emotional, behavioural and learning difficulties. They board 5 days a week and either go home or go into other residential accommodation at weekends and during holidays. It also provides vocational tuition for up to 500 pupils from both mainstream and special schools.
Head teacher Trystan Williams believes that the school should help the pupils to achieve more than they ever thought possible. The school is well known for being Extreme – in the best possible sense. 10 pupils took part in The Hottest Classroom, one of a series of observational documentaries under the banner of ‘The Extreme Classroom’ broadcast by the BBC. They challenged themselves with a nine day trek across the floor of the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania in 40 degree heat. This was their second extreme challenge as a group went to the Arctic, to The Coldest Classroom where they learnt to walk on icefields, camped in sub zero temperatures, tracked two polar and walked for several hours on glaciers.
The school has many children with dyslexia and dyspraxia and was one of the first to adopt the Dore Programme for its pupils. This is an exercise programme designed to stimulate the cerebellum and improve balance, coordination, eye tracking and concentration.
Now the school has its own Dore room where pupils work on exercises for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the afternoon. Williams is determined that children who lag before will not just catch up with the rest of their class but will build their skills to such an extent that they are turned onto learning and enjoy school.
Pupils at Springfields Academy were delighted with the two awards. “When I told the students we had won the awards, our Head Boy said to me that if everyone is saying he goes to a good school then he must be a good boy. The recognition amongst peers at other schools and from TES and the Department for Education is a big deal for them.â€
Ram Hall Farm was awash with huge puddles as I made my way across to the milking parlour to meet the farmer Stephen Fletcher, chef Idris Caldora and Brian Hainsworth who works for the charity Farming and Countryside Education (FACE).
10 children from Berkswell CE Primary School were on a visit, accompanied by their class teacher Mr Penn and headteacher Tracy Drew. They were there to learn how ewes’ milk becomes the famous Berkswell cheese and to make some simple dishes with Idris, an award winning chef who has worked in many top restaurants and is now Executive Chef of the Adopt a School scheme.
We put on blue plastic hats and put bags on our feet to stop the spread of dirt and headed into the dairy to meet Lin Dutch, the cheesemaker and her team. We learnt about acidity, bacteria and germs, curds and whey and the wash needed to put a rind on a cheese. We sampled the whey and felt bags of cheese at different stage of production and marvelled at the cheese store which contains over 1500 cheeses at any one time.
The children then donned paper pinnies and a chef’s hat (small size) and under chef Caldero’s vigilant eye learnt to make Tomato Tarte and a Greek Salad which they took home with them.
They were joined by Meriden MP Caroline Spellman who turned out to be a good sport as well as a good cook as she pitched in and cooked alongside the children.
