Positive Psychology (PP) Wellbeing & SEMH with Dr Rob Long
The SENDcast
Often, when children are labelled with a 'problem,' they are perceived as different or failing, which can create a cycle of negativity. This can lead to challenges such as anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression, as the brain tends to hold onto these negative perceptions. In the last 10-15 years, the field of positive psychology has emerged as a valuable counterpoint to the traditional focus on fixing mental health issues. Dr Rob Long, a Chartered Psychologist, joins us to discuss how positive psychology can offer a transformative approach to supporting children and young adults, particularly...
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Identifying Language Needs in Primary Through Screening
The SENDcast
Schools invest in tools to identify and support students with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN). But are these investments paying off? Many schools struggle with poor implementation, wasting valuable time and resources. We're excited to welcome back Angharad Welch, Speech and Language Therapist, to the SENDcast! Four years after her debut, Angharad returns to discuss ‘Identifying language needs in Primary through Screening’. In this episode, Angharad emphasises the importance of effective screening practices and the challenges schools face in implementing them. Here are some...
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Awesomely Autistic with Tigger Pritchard
The SENDcast
Having had several chance encounters at the Autism Shows, we're delighted to finally have Tigger Pritchard as a guest on the podcast! ‘Awesomely Autistic’ is a profound and insightful exploration of Tigger's personal journey as a neuroaffirming advocate, consultant, and trainer. Tigger shares a heartfelt and deeply honest insight into his experiences growing up as an autistic individual. He describes the challenges he faced, particularly during his school years, when he felt alienated and misunderstood in a world that didn't seem to embrace his unique way of thinking and engaging with the...
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The Magic of ‘High Value’ Strategies for Pupils with SEND in the Classroom with Angela Scott
The SENDcast
Schools often invest in professional development to make classrooms dyslexia, autism or speech language and communication ‘friendly’. However, this can overwhelm teachers with too much information, making them feel they can no longer effectively support all of their students’ different needs. Angela Scott joins Dale for this week’s podcast to discuss ‘The magic of ‘high value’ strategies for pupils with SEND in the classroom’. Angela highlights that you can make the lives of teachers manageable by introducing them to relevant ‘high value’ teaching strategies, which if...
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Identifying Dyslexia and Why it Matters with Dr Helen Ross
The SENDcast
In today’s podcast we delve into the profound mental health effects of dyslexia and the crucial need to address them. Dyslexia not only presents self-esteem challenges but also carries significant implications for individuals' overall well-being. However, there are numerous ways to mitigate the detrimental effects of dyslexia, especially when it is openly discussed and destigmatised. Once again, we are joined by Dr. Helen Ross, who shares her insights on 'Identifying Dyslexia and Why it Matters'. In our conversation, Helen emphasises the importance of screening to identify dyslexia, enabling...
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Getting Your Voice Heard as a SENCO with Ginny Bootman
The SENDcast
The SENCO role is unique and crucial, as SENCOs champion the needs of students who require additional support. However, other priorities in schools often mean that SENCOs themselves don't receive the support they need to be effective. To better champion these students, the SENCO's voice needs to be heard. But how do you, as a SENCO, ensure your voice is heard? In this week's podcast, Dale is joined by Ginny Bootman, a SENCO working across 4 schools. Ginny brings a wealth of experience and insight to discuss ‘Getting your voice heard as a SENCO’. Ginny points out that it could be as simple...
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My Journey With Behaviour with Catrina Lowri
The SENDcast
At present, challenging behaviour in school is off the scale and largely this is due to unmet needs. You can’t ‘punish or reward the neurodivergent’ out of children, so the traditional methods of classroom management and behaviour control won’t work. Joining Dale today is Catrina Lowri, who shares her personal journey with behaviour management spanning over 25 years. Catrina provides a glimpse into her early experiences in the classroom, reflecting on the techniques she initially believed to be the "best" and how her perspective evolved throughout her career. From facing challenging...
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Living with Dyscalculia with Peter Cherry and Cat Eadle
The SENDcast
For many of us, everyday tasks such as entering our PIN numbers, not exceeding the speed limit, food shopping or telling the time we take for granted. However, for individuals living with dyscalculia, these seemingly simple numerical activities can pose significant, and often debilitating, challenges. Dyscalculia affects 6-10% of the population (around 4 million people), the same proportion as dyslexia, but unlike dyslexia, most people haven’t heard of it. Dyscalculia is a little-known, much misunderstood and under-researched learning difficulty. Today, Peter Cherry joins us to give us an...
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Effective Use of Visuals to Aid Communication with Kerry Thalia
The SENDcast
Children are not making as much progress communicating as they could be and are losing out on their ability to gain independence and autonomy. The failures in communication can lead to a lower expectation or achievement in academic and social areas. I'm excited to welcome Kerry Thalia to the podcast to discuss ‘Effective use of visuals to aid communication.’ This is Kerry's first podcast with the SENDcast, and we explore how we use visuals everyday with SEND, and more widely in teaching. Visual aids are invaluable tools, but all too often, they are treated as mere checkboxes instead of...
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Looking and Trusting Inside Rather Than Looking For Solutions Externally with Alison Knowles
The SENDcast
We have become victims to the “norm” and we doubt our self-worth based on external benchmarks such as houses, cars, grades, clothes. Parenting is around your child doing better than the next or behaving the way they do and not necessarily celebrating their uniqueness. Alison Knowles returns today to discuss ‘Looking and trusting inside rather than looking for solutions externally’. Alison explores the reasons why we aren’t trusting our judgement and why we’re basing our sense of self on others’ achievements. Asking for advice is healthy, but the problem arises when you’re...
info_outlineAs you know, SENCOs play a crucial role in supporting students with special educational needs, and they often find themselves in the firing line when dealing with parental issues. Despite their kindness and empathy, SENCOs (and teachers in general) are not always equipped with specific training in this area, which poses a significant challenge.
To shed light on this topic, Lynn How joins Dale to share valuable insights and tips for working effectively with parents. In this episode, Lynn explores;
- the reasons why this challenge is a recurring issue for SENCOs
- barriers to parental engagement
- parental perspectives of schools and SENCOs
- reframing the notion of "hard to reach" parents
- practical tips for navigating challenging conversations with parents
Listen for actionable insights to strengthen parent-school partnerships, leading to improved outcomes for students with SEND.
“Remaining positive is a massive part of the role. If I can get parents to leave the meeting at least smiling about something then that's a bonus.”
Lynn How, Educational Consultant
About Lynn How
Lynn How is an educational consultant, editor of Teacher Toolkit website and blogger.
With 20 years of primary teaching and SLT experience, she has been an Assistant Head, Lead Mentor for ITT and SENCO. She loves to write and also has her own SEMH and staff mental health blog: www.positiveyoungmind.com.
Lynn holds an MA in Education, is a fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching (FCCT), NASENCO and NPQH. Her particular areas of interest are wellbeing (staff and pupil), SEND, children's mental health, leadership, mentoring and coaching. Recently she has started an Educational Consultancy business for SEND (SEND support) and Teacher Wellbeing (The Wellbeing Lady). Lynn’s first book, ‘Starting Out As A Primary Senco’, is being published by Bloomsbury in September 2024.
Contact Lynn
https://twitter.com/Positive_Y_Mind
https://www.facebook.com/PositiveYoungMind
Useful Links
Lynn's CPD training for school leaders and adaption training for SENCOs
Want to hear more from Lynn?
Lynn recently joined us in the SENDcast Sessions studio to present 2 CPD training sessions:
1. SENCO wellbeing: Don’t just survive – thrive!
2. SENCO action planning – where to start when the issues seem so big
Register your place now for just £10 per session which can be shared with your whole school.
· B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
· Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
· Email Dale – [email protected]
· Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe
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