Author name: lorraine

The world’s first International Baccalaureate (IB) special autism school building has officially opened its doors, enabling The Cavendish School to accept an additional 50 students this term in Years 3 – 7.   The school, which started teaching in September 2021, was previously located in temporary accommodation at Girton Glebe Primary School with capacity for just 10 students. The new site means that more families, whose children’s needs cannot be catered for within current state provision in the county, will be able to access the specialist provision. Stephanie Smith, Deputy Headteacher, said: “It is tremendously exciting to finally move into our new school building, especially after watching the progress of the construction work during the past 12 months. The state of the art building reflects our vision of providing a safe, nurturing and inclusive space for our students to access their learning; enabling us to deliver specialist education for autistic students in the county, where they have not been able to thrive in a mainstream school.” Work on Cambridgeshire’s first state maintained special free school provision for young people with autism began in January 2021, and has been designed to provide optimal education environments for students with autism. Manufactured off-site in Northern Ireland by The McAvoy Group, the building is constructed from connected modules and offers sensory breakout rooms, a life skills room, a horticultural space and wider corridors to ensure that students do not feel claustrophobic when moving around the school site. Drawing on the success of the co-located mainstream schools, Impington Village College and Impington International College, the school will provide opportunities for the students, through shared use of support staff and bespoke extra-curricular activities. At full capacity, the school will provide specialist provision for up to 100 autistic students, in Year 3 – 13. This week, students and their families will familiarise themselves with their new building and meet their new teachers and support staff to ease the transition into their new academic environment. During their time at the school, students will pursue the IB programmes and accredited qualifications, alongside specific individual therapies or interventions, provided by dedicated onsite specialists in Occupational and Speech and Language Therapy. Each of the programmes allow teachers to personalise learning to the unique abilities of their students and the curriculum model allows for a wide range of activities including: Forest School, Lego-based therapy and life skills learning, to support the school’s mission of helping students develop into independent adults. Lucy Scott, CEO of Eastern Learning Alliance – a multi-academy trust of which The Cavendish School is a member of – said: “I am delighted that our concept of a school that breaks down the educational barriers that autistic students face has finally become a reality after years of planning, research and preparation. Through the knowledge and expertise of team, The Cavendish School will deliver an exemplary education provision for students with Educational Health Care Plans to help them flourish and thrive as healthy, happy individuals.”

The founder of a UK autism charity is celebrating being honoured by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP). Dr Anna Kennedy was recently selected as Top Autism Ambassador of the Year by the IAOTP. The award was for her outstanding leadership, dedication and contributions to autistic children, parents of autistic children, professionals, media and all who are concerned with autism. Dr Anna Kennedy Autism Ambassador of the Year by IAOTP Dr Kennedy has more than 23 years of professional experience as an educator, mother and autism ambassador and campaigner after setting up a support group and later a charity in her name. After diagnoses of asperger’s syndrome for Anna’s eight-year-old son and Autism for her five-year-old son, Anna and her husband Sean started an autism support group. A stunning 275 families joined, sparking their idea to open a special school, a project they completed by remortgaging their home and raising a significant amount of funds.. Anna has now cofounded two schools and an adult vocational centre.   As the Chairperson and founder of Anna Kennedy Online Autism Charity, her team of volunteers actively incorporates workshops, training, legal advice, and  speaking engagements across UK. Additionally, they update social media and the AnnaKennedyOnline website to remain current. The President of IAOTP, Stephanie Cirami, commented:  “We are honored to have Dr Anna Kennedy a part of the IAOTP family. “She is brilliant at what she does, has tremendous foresight and her advocacy skills are unmatched. We know she is an  amazing asset to our network of professionals. We are looking forward to  meeting her at the Annual Awards Gala this year.”   Dr Kennedy is an active member of the autism community and serves as an ambassador for the Special Dreams Foundation, Includability and Born Anxious. She is a committee member of LOANI, Ladies of All Nations International Group, and a patron who supports DaisyChain, Square Peg Foundation, Kilmarock Horse Rescue, Autism Support Crawley,  Cheshire Autism Practical Support and Hillingdon SEND.  Throughout her illustrious career, Anna has received awards, accolades and was recognized worldwide for her commitment to raising autism awareness and helping those on the spectrum. Looking back, Dr Kennedy attributes her success to Patrick and Angelo, her two sons, who have been the driving force of her charity. She believes it is important amongst a growing community to make help, support and advice available to all. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and sharing her journey to inspire others. For the future, she will continue to fight hard for all diagnosed with autism, so their voices are heard and improve  educational and other resources for individuals, families and care takers who are touched by autism.   Dr Kennedy’s biography, ‘Not Stupid’, her story of the struggles she faced while setting up a school for her boys and how she improved the quality of life for her sons and other children with autism, is available on Amazon. For more information on Dr Anna Kennedy please visit:  www.annakennedyonline.com

No child wants to be a hidden figure in education. Yet, for decades, children with Afro hair have been struggling with punishments and restrictions on their hair in many countries around the world, including the UK. The Big Hair Assembly unites teachers and young people from all backgrounds to end Afro hair discrimination and inspire inclusion. Here, Founder and CEO of World Afro Day, Michelle De Leon explores how the journey to equality must include every child being accepted.  The Hair Equality Report, supported by De Montfort University, showed nearly a 67% rise in anti-Afro hair policies in the UK. Plus, one in six children with Afro hair have a bad or very bad experience in UK schools. The consequences of Afro hair discrimination maybe hard to imagine for those who haven’t experienced it. Afro hair punishments for Black children are more harmful because like their skin colour, hair is very closely associated with their race. One of the youngest cases was five-year-old Josiah Sharpe who said he “didn’t want to be black anymore because school disliked his hair”. His mother, Danica, said he lost his playtimes for two weeks and was sent home for up to three weeks to “remedy the breach”.  The same hair rules applied to Black children simply don’t work because Afro hair has different physical needs, a different historical context and different cultural presentation. Most Headteachers need to acknowledge that their previous education and teacher training does not equip them with knowledge about Afro hair. There is currently no support to understand the needs of black and mixed-race children. The first step could be for every Governor and the SLT to read at least one academic study or report on race-based hair discrimination. When you understand a Black person’s hair story, you better understand their life. This approach could close the knowledge and empathy gap and help education leaders better serve their learners of African descent.  Paddy Russell, Headteacher at Ladybridge High School, said “many learners have talked passionately to me about how the changes to our hair policy have helped them to feel happier, more respected as individuals and more valued at school.  Our learners now have ‘hair freedom’, allowing them to express their cultural identities… Their sense of belonging to the school has increased as a result.”  Josiah’s banned haircut Recently, UK Children, teachers and families led global Afro hair inclusion. 192,000+ kids and young people, 560+ schools from 11 countries took part in our Little and Big Hair Assembly events.  Fairchildes Primary at The Big Hair Assembly Every school can help introduce their learners to other experiences and perspectives. Suzanne Julyan, Headteacher of Torre Church of England Academy, said: “We only have a very small number of children with Afro hair and no staff. But this is why I am passionate about raising awareness of difference.” This attitude demonstrates PSED commitment to eliminate discrimination and foster good relations between people.  Here are simple steps, which can boost inclusion for SEND learners: Lastly,  inspire all children through Afro-textured role models, who are powerful for all Key Stages, like Team GB, Paralympic Athlete, Kadeena Cox. The mental health benefits were evident for pupils at The Big Hair Assembly.  Over the last 5 years, we have tackled Afro hair discrimination in schools. To achieve this, we have collaborated with teachers, education Unions and global companies because children and young people are counting on us. 

A Liverpool entrepreneur has launched the ‘first of its kind’ workshop for special educational needs high school students who want to find their career path in life or set up their own business. Francesca Manca, founder of Underwing has created the ‘Shaping Your Future’ programme. These sessions are for students with autism or special educational needs who are about to leave high school but don’t  know whether  higher education is for them/  have a business idea and need help turning it into a money-making business or job.  Francesca came up with the idea because as a SEN mum she experiences first-hand the lack of services and help in picking a higher education path or a career for people with special needs. She is also really passionate about educating the world about special needs and autism in particular, and a fierce ambassador of equal opportunities.  The workshops are delivered in partnership with schools across Merseyside and can be run individually or in small groups and tailored to suit the needs of the students involved. The full run includes four 90-minute sessions plus monthly follow-up accountability calls/emails/chats for six months.  The sessions show students how to identify their passions, skills, and take into consideration their needs when choosing their chosen job or career; how to write a business plan; how to market their business and how to overcome their unique needs. Francesca Manca, who works with entrepreneurs with special needs says, “This idea has been a long time in the making and I’m so excited to finally launch it.  “As a PDA mum, I experience first hand the immense lack of services people with special needs have to cope with once out of education. There is not enough information, not enough mentoring, no one to help give them direction or simply suggesting what to do, and how to find their ideal jobs or start a successful business. Courses for neurotypical people don’t work as they never take into consideration any behaviour or thought process ‘outside the box’. “My mission in life is to help people with special needs to go from a career/job where they are stressed, angered, overwhelmed, into a job/career they can do with passion, purpose and excitement. I can help special needs professionals change their job/career into one that doesn’t involve coping with stress and burnout, and is, instead, fulfilling and passionate. I help my clients eliminate the stress and anger of working in the wrong environment, and achieve their dream business/job in 8 weeks. So I figured that I could bring this work one step forward, and actually help who could be a future stressed out client pick the right path from the beginning! “At Underwing we have a lot of experience working with people with autism and special educational needs and are well-versed on how to make working as stress-free and seamless as possible. “Each individual can have their own restrictions such as sensory overload, needing longer breaks after meetings, struggling to complete important projects or being overwhelmed by too many social requests.  “If students don’t have a business idea yet, that’s ok too. We’ll work with them to understand their limitations, champion their strengths and look at their interests to develop a business idea and identify a career path that works best for them.”  If you would like to introduce the â€˜Shaping Your Future’ programme at your high school, please email fran@underwingliverpool.com or info@underwingliverpool.com or fill in the contact form on the website:  https://underwingliverpool.com/contact/

New Year is traditionally a time to look ahead and consider the future, even if it falls halfway through the year from a teacher’s perspective. Nevertheless, this New Year also marks the beginning of a new decade, making it an opportune moment to stop and think about what trends might emerge in the education sector.  Through our ongoing work with schools and teachers we have been able to put together a picture of four pervasive themes that educators agree will top the agenda in 2020 and beyond. 1.    Return of Bring Your Own Device The 2010s were characterised by a battle between teachers and students over how mobile phones should be dealt with in schools. For some staff, the answer was full prohibition, with devices being banned from classrooms, corridors and in some cases whole schools. This was certainly one way to ensure that students weren’t able to use their phones inappropriately while in the classroom, but shutting off access to devices completely was ultimately deemed short-sighted. Instead of relegating phones and tablets to simply objects of distraction, many educators are now reassessing the way they are used, harnessing the power of technology to make lessons more impactful and engaging. Looking ahead into the 2020s more and more schools are going to find ways to use devices within the school walls, whether through blended learning, educational apps or as a mechanism to deliver assessments or feedback.  2.    Revamped careers guidance To say that career paths have shifted over the past ten years would be an understatement. With the boom in technology roles, as well as the impact of automation on the number of traditional jobs available to school leavers, the employment landscape has changed considerably.  The shifting job market needs to be reflected in the advice and teaching provided by schools. Already we have begun to see tech skills being prioritised in the curriculum, and this is likely to continue as the demand for employees with technological abilities, both soft and hard, increases. In addition, we will see the continued prioritisation of ‘learning to do’ – the independent research skills and practical application of knowledge which will prepare students for an unpredictable employment market. 3.    Personalised learning will be bigger than ever Any teacher will tell you that no two students learn in exactly the same way, yet the case that the classroom environment has traditionally focused in on a one-to-many or one-size-fits-all approach. However with the introduction of new education technology over the last decade, this has begun to change. We work with a number of schools who have brought in flipped or blended learning approaches, using in-classroom laptops or tablets to change the way that students interact with their work. For some teachers, this means taking a step back from the ‘chalk and talk’ approach, and giving their students the ability to seek out knowledge for themselves. Going forward this pedagogical style is likely to become more widespread as the need for students to have individual learning skills becomes more important.  4.    The administration burden will be significantly lessened Nothing sends a teacher into spirals of despair like the prospect of mountains of marking or having to photocopy thousands of worksheets. Fortunately, this stress looks to be on the way out as more and more schools adopt software, like Canvas, that enables grades, assignments and resources to be moved online.  By investing in technology that takes the administrative burden away from teachers, schools can allow them to focus on the real work of teaching. It’s likely that the next decade will see class sizes and the demand on teacher time continue to increase. With this in mind, it’s more important than ever that teachers have all the time they need to teach and support their classes, and technology should be a big part of making this possible.  Sam Blyth, Senior Director of Canvas EMEA

Enabling a mobile campus at Orchard Hill College, article from Paul Fisher, Technical Consultant at Parallels Orchard Hill College in London is an Ofsted Outstanding specialist college with six learning centres across London and Surrey where students with learning difficulties and disabilities over the age of 16 can access a range of specialist vocational programmes from animal care and catering to digital media and more.  In order to provide a modern working environment and up-to-date working experience, the college’s team of lecturers and staff—around 300 people—need to be able to remotely connect to their work computer desktops, and access all their applications, from anywhere in the college or at home, and on any device they choose. Remote Desktops for mobile workingThe college decided it made sense to go down the remote application publishing and virtual desktop route and its IT department assessed the market offerings. It discovered that a basic Citrix package meant that applications could only be published through XenApp. The college needed to be able to publish its own applications and desktops to laptops and mobile devices being used remotely, but to do this would need to purchase a more expensive license. In addition, the IT department discovered that managing the Citrix environment was complicated and they really needed to invest in some training which would dramatically increase the deployment time for the college. Because of the real potential for increased workload and costly upgrades, the college decided to go with Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) as a simpler and more cost-effective alternative. With just one license, everything is included. Why Parallels RAS?First and foremost, Parallels RAS eliminates the need for expensive add-ons. It is also so simple to set up and maintain, the college IT team can handle it all and there is no requirement for additional help from external technicians. RAS is an all-in-one solution that includes simple patching and updates to all clones, load balancing, automatic configuration of clients, and ready-to-go shadowing features that make technical support easy. Orchard Hill College found it to be quick and straightforward to migrate across to its new Parallels RAS platform. Instead of the anticipated months, completion took only a few hours, impressing the college’s IT department. BYOD made easyAn additional benefit – and one that is greatly appreciated – is that faculty and staff at Orchard Hill College can now bring in their own laptops, tablets and mobile devices to work on. This is because Parallels RAS enables the college to implement a data-secure bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy, which helps extend the life of its existing hardware and saves the college money in terms of buying replacement devices. The IT department is able to update the administrative documentation on any device, anywhere, including from the comfort of their own homes. The college currently supports BYOD devices that run Windows, Mac®, iOS, and HTML5 Client, and will add support for Chromebooks soon. Thanks to Parallels RAS, Orchard Hill College has been able to lower the total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) of its remote application management, which give the faculty and staff the ability to work on mobile devices and have a BYOD policy. The savings come from lower licensing costs, reduced additional application costs, an increase in efficiency to load balances, and server management optimisation.  Visit parallels.com/ras for more information.