The Importance of Literacy Education for ALL learners with Chantal Bryan & Sarah Giles
The SENDcast
In today’s episode, ‘The Importance of Literacy Education for ALL Learners’, Chantal Bryan and Sarah Giles from the charity Teach Us Too join Dale for an engaging discussion. The conversation centres around Chantal’s son, Jonathan, who faces significant challenges due to his complex physical disabilities. I was inspired by his incredible journey towards being able to communicate with his family and his progress in learning to read and write! Chantelle shares her experience of taking Jonathan out of special school to provide him with a literacy-focused education, emphasising the...
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nasen awards - Chapman Shum, Young Advocate of the Year
The SENDcast
The podcast features Chapman Shum, the nasen Young Advocate of the Year 2024 winner, discussing his journey as a visually impaired musician. Chapman, who was born blind and has learning difficulties, shares how music has been a powerful tool for connection and expression. He emphasises that challenges can be overcome and aims to inspire others facing difficulties. His mentor, Professor Adam, highlights Chapman's exceptional musical abilities, including his talent for improvisation and participation in the National Open Youth Orchestra. The conversation highlights the importance of recognising...
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Structured Teaching, Pre-empting Barriers and Developing Curriculum Pathways with Tanya Lefort
The SENDcast
As the number of children with SEND in mainstream schools continues to rise, coupled with limited spaces in specialist settings, the demand for effective and inclusive support is huge. More children are entering classrooms with complex needs, placing pressure on mainstream schools to meet those needs. But how can schools do this? This week, Tanya Lefort joined Dale to discuss ‘Structured Teaching, Pre-empting Barriers and Developing Curriculum Pathways’. With 18 years’ experience in SEN, Tanya highlights effective strategies for educators to meet the increasing demands of inclusive...
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nasen awards - Dale Pickles, Resource for SEND
The SENDcast
In this podcast episode, Dale Pickles takes a step back from hosting duties where his colleague Jon asks the questions. They discuss the success of the SENDcast podcast, which won the Resource for SEND at the nasen awards 2024. Dale reflects on the podcast’s journey over four years, highlighting its reach of over 350,000 listens and contributions from 83 experts in the field. Dale emphasises that the recognition from nasen is not just personal but aims to expand the podcast's audience, helping more people discover its valuable resources. He discusses the challenges, why he produces the...
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Foundations of Early Literacy – What Are the Building Blocks? with Dr Sarah Moseley & Ginny Bootman
The SENDcast
This week Dale is joined by Dr Sarah Moseley, Educational Consultant, and SENCO of four schools, Ginny Bootman to discuss ‘Foundations of early literacy – what are the building blocks?’ This is the first episode in a series exploring the foundational components of early literacy, which aims to bridge the gap between theory and classroom practice. They discuss the importance of oral language, vocabulary development, and how these foundational skills set the stage for reading success. Key topics include: The role of listening and speaking in literacy development Strategies for engaging...
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nasen awards - Karen McGuigan, Highly commended Resource for SEND
The SENDcast
In this special podcast episode, Karen McGuigan discusses her work with the ‘Maths for Life’ program, which was highly commended in the resource for SEND category by nasen. Karen explains that ‘Maths for Life’ is designed to help students build foundational mathematical skills, particularly for those who struggle with the national curriculum. Karen emphasises the program's focus on practical applications of maths, making it relevant to everyday life, rather than abstract concepts. She contrasts ‘Maths for Life’ with mainstream programs like White Rose Maths, noting that it is...
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Supporting Colour Blindness with Marie Difolco
The SENDcast
Did you know that 300 million people worldwide live with colour blindness, including 3 million in the UK and around 450,000 of those are children? Unfortunately, many of these children are being let down by the education system, as colour blindness often goes unrecognised - meaning there’s likely one child in every classroom facing this challenge. In our latest podcast episode, Dale is joined by Marie Difolco, a passionate advocate and mother to a severely colour blind child. Together, they discuss ‘Supporting Colour Blindness’ and the need for accessible use of colour in education. When...
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nasen awards - Maxine O'Neill, Specialist provision of the year
The SENDcast
Maxine O'Neill discusses Hope School, which won the Specialist Provision of the Year award. She highlights the school's commitment to a trauma-informed approach, serving 68 students and working with 32 schools across Liverpool through their HEARTS program. This program emphasises holistic thinking, empowerment, trust, and safety within the school community. Maxine explains the importance of recognising trauma in all forms, not just extreme cases, and how this understanding has transformed their approach to education. She emphasises the school's philosophy of inclusivity, stating they do not...
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Life's Ups and Downs of Having or Not Having a Special Needs Assessment with Dr Susie Nyman
The SENDcast
In recent years, we have seen increasing requests for diagnoses related to autism, dyslexia, and other neurodiverse conditions. Often parents may feel that having a diagnosis is a golden ticket to access support, but this is merely a step in a long journey of understanding and support. Dr Susie Nyman joins Dale in the studio to discuss ‘Life's ups and downs of having or not having a special educational needs assessment’, bringing her wealth of experience as a teacher and curriculum manager for Health and Social Care at Farnborough Sixth Form College. She highlights the emotional...
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nasen awards - Eugene Dwaah, Highly commended changemaker of the year
The SENDcast
The podcast features Eugene Dwaah, who was highly commended for his work in the ‘Change Maker of the Year’ category. He discusses his innovative approach to education, focusing on holistic development through sports and addressing social inequality and youth violence. Eugene emphasises the importance of engagement and belonging for young people, particularly those facing adversity. His initiatives at Dagenham's future youth scene have significantly improved school attendance, demonstrating the positive impact of his methods. He shares his personal journey, including overcoming trauma after...
info_outlineHappy New Year! As we prepare for a new term, I wanted to share the first episode of 2025 with you.
In this episode ‘Sensory Uncertainty’, my guests Clare Ward and Dr. Jamie Galpin, Speech and Language Therapist and Developmental Psychologist respectively, provide invaluable insights. They discuss their new book, My Senses Are Like Cups, which uses a compelling metaphor to help listeners understand how sensory experiences impact emotions and behaviour.
This engaging metaphor illustrates how our sensory experiences - everything we see, hear, feel, smell, touch, and taste - can be understood as water filling or emptying cups of various sizes.
Clare and Jamie emphasise the importance of recognising our internal body sensations (interoceptive sense) and how this awareness can significantly ease school-based anxiety for young people. They also introduce their 3S framework, with sensory uncertainty at its core, highlighting how our senses shape our experiences in the world.
Listen now to gain a deeper understanding of how we can support ourselves and those around us in recognising and managing sensory uncertainty.
About Clare Ward
Clare Ward has been working in the world of SEN for the last 30 years as a teaching assistant, Speech and Language Therapist, specialist social worker, researcher, NHS manager, education advisor and CBT Practitioner. She specialises in working with young people with social communication difficulties, some of whom have a diagnosis of autism.
About Dr Jamie Galpin
Jamie is a chartered developmental psychologist with over 20 years of experience in inclusion, psychology, innovation, and learning. He builds frameworks around which practice can sit, bringing coherence and connecting disparate or fractured notions and concepts. as a founding member of special networks, Jamie challenges traditional hierarchies of evidence and co-creates solutions for social inequalities as well as addressing universal needs.
Clare and Jamie met when they both started working for the same inner London multidisciplinary outreach team – supporting teachers and young people with a diagnosis of autism.
NEW BOOK PUBLISHED
Clare and Jamie released a new book 'My senses are like cups: What to do when everything feels too much or not enough' in summer 2024. Think about our senses being like cups and everything we see, hear, feel, smell, touch, and taste as we move about is like water going into our cups.
Some of our cups might be big and some might be small. Whether big or small, we like it best when our cup is filled enough so that it's just right for us! We are all different. We need just the right amount of information to feel good!
Help your child aged 7+ think about, explore and develop ways to manage sensory overload and feeling under stimulated with quirky cartoons that visually illustrate the approach. Sections on each of the eight senses (including your internal 'body signals' like hunger) feature noticing and knowledge-building activities to help kids get their own, unique, senses cups feeling 'just right' for them. Get going on some sensory experiments!
Contact Clare & Jamie
Useful Links
The Anxiety Workbook for Supporting Teens Who Learn Differently
- 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.