Ask Don't Tell with Alison Knowles
The SENDcast
How often do you ask children what they think about something instead of simply telling them your opinion based on your own experiences? Often adults give answers based on their model of the world and views which aren’t necessarily right. In today’s podcast, Alison Knowles, Emotional Therapist, joins Dale to discuss ‘Ask don’t tell’. Alison tells us that by asking WHAT? and HOW?, you can transform your conversations with children. These simple questions not only build their confidence but also show them that you genuinely care about their thoughts. Encouraging...
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SEND Briefing Preview: What will the new Government mean for SEND? with Jane Friswell
The SENDcast
Ahead of Jane’s FREE SEND Briefing on 24 September, she joins Dale for this special episode to give an insight into what she will be presenting in her session ‘What will the new Government mean for SEND?’. “I think what we’re going to see from this government is a real push down that early intervention route.” Jane Friswell Listen to hear Jane’s thoughts on the government changes, focus on inclusion, early intervention, resource allocation and more…… Useful Links Vote for B Squared at the Education Today Awards: B Squared Website – ...
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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...
info_outlineHow often do you ask children what they think about something instead of simply telling them your opinion based on your own experiences? Often adults give answers based on their model of the world and views which aren’t necessarily right.
In today’s podcast, Alison Knowles, Emotional Therapist, joins Dale to discuss ‘Ask don’t tell’. Alison tells us that by asking WHAT? and HOW?, you can transform your conversations with children. These simple questions not only build their confidence but also show them that you genuinely care about their thoughts. Encouraging them to problem-solve fosters independence and resilience.
Alison emphasises that children often hold the keys to understanding life’s complexities. Sometimes, it’s far more impactful to invite their opinions rather than overwhelm them with adult explanations.
Join us as we explore real-life examples of how empowering children to voice their thoughts can lead to positive outcomes.
“Just by asking rather than telling, you're actually encouraging that conversation so that you can move through situations in a more positive, empowering way.”
Alison Knowles
Listen now to discover how to enhance your communication with the children in your life.
About Alison Knowles
Ali is a practising emotional therapist, author of the Ollie and his Super Powers series of books, public speaker and creator of the Ollie Model. Ali’s strength is the unique way she views the world and her instinctive ability to empower you or your child to find the solutions from within.
We recognise the uniqueness and individuality of every client we see. We know they don’t fit in boxes and that labels can be very generic.
We don’t take months and months to help you move on, Ollie Coaches encourage you to take charge by empowering you with our skill sets so that you can make the changes that will make all the difference to make the difference at a pace that is right for you.
We believe you have everything you need inside you. We show you how to access your immense knowledge and skills so that you can be in control of your emotions rather than being controlled by them.
You can contact me if:
- you, a member of your family, a staff member or a child in your school needs 1-2-1 emotional resilience support to overcome a limiting belief, fear or phobia, a habit you would rather not have or an emotion that is making decisions for you.
- you are interested in having us run an introductory Ollie workshop for your group, team or staff.
- you need help with conflict resolution, change management, communication breakdowns.
- if you would like more information about having an Ollie Coach in your school or having staff trained in the Ollie Model
- you would like to find out more about becoming an Ollie Coach and joining Ollie’s Army.
Ollie is currently active in the corporate world, schools, universities alternative provision, foster and adoption.
Contact Alison
https://twitter.com/bemoreollie
https://www.instagram.com/ollie_and_his_super_powers
https://www.facebook.com/OllieandhisSuperPowers
Useful Links
Vote for B Squared at the Education Today Awards:
https://educationtodayawards.co.uk/vote/
- 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
The SENDcast is powered by B Squared
We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.