Disabled Children and the Equality Act 2010: What teachers need to know and what schools need to do

The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) has recently updated its guide, Disabled Children and the Equality Act 2010: What teachers need to know and what schools need to do. The updated guide has been funded by the Department for Education. Schools have a range of duties under the Equality Act 2010: to staff, as employees; to parents and others, where the school is providing a service to other people using the school; and to pupils, staff and others who share other protected characteristics as well as disability. This guide is designed to help teachers understand the legislation and how it applies to their work with disabled pupils in their school. It explains what the Equality Act requires of schools and of governors, trustees and others who are the ‘responsible body’ for the school. The guide draws on examples of practices that may amount to discrimination or that may help schools to avoid discrimination. Many of these examples are drawn from the decisions of...
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Employ Autism: Resource Hub

Employ Autism: Resource Hub

Are you an autistic young person?Are you a parent of an autistic young person? Are you worried about employability?Ambitious About Autism have designed a collection of toolkits to help more autistic young people access sustainable and meaningful employment opportunities.  The resources will help employers to develop their awareness and understanding of autism. They will support the hiring and retaining of talented autistic young people. These resources are also relevant for autistic young people, their parents/carers, teachers, and other relevant professionals to support a young person to make informed choices about their future employment opportunities. The resource has been co-produced in partnership with Ambitious about Autism Youth Patrons as experts by experience and expert partners Creased Puddle, utilising best practice and up-to-date research, the Autism Education Trust, and the Department of Education. Click the button below to access the hub. Employ Autism ...
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10-point Version of the DfE’s Back-to-School Guidance for SEND learners

With the news that everyone will be returning to school/college" from March 8th, the Department for Education has once again issued separate operational guidance for schools and for specialist settings: Additional operational guidance for special schools, special post-16 institutions and alternative provision. Below is a bit of a breakdown of some of the important points that you should be aware of. 1. Attendance The attendance section in the specialist and alternative settings guidance emphasises that from March 8th, attendance is mandatory for all, unless they receive a positive test result or have to self-isolate. It is vital for pupils and students to attend school or college to minimise, as far as possible, the longer-term impact of the pandemic on their education, wellbeing and wider development. The usual rules on school attendance apply to all pupils including:- parents’ duty to secure their child’s regular attendance at school (where the child is a registered pupil at school, and they are of compulsory school age)-...
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Disadvantaged pupils targeted in government’s £700m school catch up plans

The government has pledged to focus £700m in catch up funding for education in England on disadvantaged children, as schools and early years settings recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Children & Young People Now have reported on the "Recovery Premium": One-to-one and small group tutoring programmes is another focus of the government's efforts to help schools and colleges recoverThe one-off recovery premium is worth £302m. The average primary school will receive around £6,000 extra while the average secondary school around £22,000 more. The government expects schools to use this premium money to boost summer provision, such as additional clubs and activities.Schools will also be expected to use “evidence based approaches to supporting disadvantaged pupils from September”, according to the Department for Education.Of the remaining £400m, half will be used to boost tutoring in schools  and language development in early years settings.The other half is for schools to develop face-to-face summer schools. The government expects these to initially target incoming year 7 pupils. ...
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Schools to remain closed till March

The Prime Minister has today been giving statements to the Houses of Parliament, including the plans for the reopening of schools. He has made it clear that: A 2 week plan/warning will be released when it is deemed safe for children and young people to return to schoolsThis is currently not expected to happen till March at the earliestChildren and Young People with EHCPs can still attend schools ...
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Returning to School in January

Returning to School in January

Whilst the children have just broken up for the Christmas holidays, we are already looking forward to what we can expect in January. This term has been challenging for many - students, parents and school staff alike. The current guidance from the government centres on voluntary testing of students as they return to school. "Secondary-age pupils are being prioritised for testing" in response to concerns around the spreading of COVID-19 in the Autumn/Winter term. Primary schools will return as normal. All pupils will be back in school by 11th January at the latest. Key things to be aware of: Testing is voluntary - Pupils and students should be encouraged to have a test where possible, but it is recognised that testing may not be feasible for some children and young people. All pupils and students will be expected to attend their setting from 11 January regardless of whether a test has been undertaken (unless they are self-isolating because they have tested positive for...
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COVID Winter Plan – Impact on Education

COVID Winter Plan – Impact on Education

As you will be aware, the Prime Minister introduced their COVID winter plan yesterday (you can read more on the Gov website here). This plan is fairly extensive, with more aspects (such as the three-tiers) still to be decided. The relevant aspects that you may need to be aware of: The COVID-19 Winter Plan ensures the current national restrictions can be lifted on 2nd December, so across all of England, regardless of tier: The stay at home requirement will end, with domestic and international travel being permitted again subject to guidance in each tier.Shops,personal care,gyms and the wider leisure sector will reopen.Collective worship, weddings and outdoor sports can resume, subject to social distancing.People will no longer be limited to seeing only one other person in outdoor public spaces -the rule of 6 will now apply as it did in the previous set of tiers. Information about Protecting the Vulnerable Under recent national measures, the clinically extremely vulnerable have been advised to take...
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Home education rise leaving children’s services ‘stretched’

Home education rise leaving children’s services ‘stretched’

The number of children being electively home educated has jumped by more than a third compared with last year due to health fears sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic, new figures from the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) shows. Some 75,668 children were being taught at home on 1 October, 38% more than on the same date last year. Of these, 25% had been registered since 1 September. The most common reason cited by parents is the fear and uncertainty around Covid-19. Gail Tolley, chair of the ADCS educational achievement policy committee, warned that local authorities were struggling to deal with the jump in the number of children being home educated. For more, you can read the full article on Children & Young People Now. ...
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Vicky Ford MP: Letter to CYP with SEND, their parents/carers and professionals

Vicky Ford MP: Letter to CYP with SEND, their parents/carers and professionals

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, Vicky Ford MP, has released a letter to all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), their parents/carers and families, and others who support them. "I recognise that this is an extremely challenging period, especially for children and young people with SEND, their families and carers and those who work to support them. I hope this letter gives you some reassurance that the education, health and wellbeing of children and young people with SEND continue to be a top priority for the government during these difficult times and we continue to be incredibly grateful to all those who work so hard to support children and young people with SEND."— Vicky Ford, MP This provides information on: School AttendanceChildren and Young People who are clinically extremely vulnerableRemote Education Winter package to provide further support for children and familiesFace coverings in educational settingsRespite CareHealth Services for CYP with SEND ...
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Covid-19: £76m National Tutoring Programme launches

Covid-19: £76m National Tutoring Programme launches

Children & Young People Now have announced an "intensive tutoring programme to help disadvantaged children whose learning has been most affected by the coronavirus pandemic has launched today (2 November)" The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) will allow schools to access subsidised tutoring, mainly for their pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The NTP is being designed to provide additional support to students that have been hardest hit by school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.  School leaders and teachers will be able to choose which tuition providers best suit their needs, from a list of approved NTP Partner organisations.  For the full article, click here. Some of the potential partners are: Explore LearningCoach BrightConnex Education Partnership ...
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