Lessons Learned Through Lockdown – Council for Disabled Children

Lessons Learned Through Lockdown – Council for Disabled Children

Between February and March 2021, as part of the Making Participation Work programme which is funded by the Department for Education and jointly delivered by Council for Disabled Children and KIDS, the Council for Disabled Children commissioned Kaizen to deliver an England wide consultation with children and young people with SEND. The consultation was co-designed between Kaizen, CDC and the FLARE young advisory group, and is based on the feedback of children and young people participating in CDC and KIDS led youth groups. The full report can be downloaded here: Lessons-Learnt-From-LockdownDownload ...
Read More

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. ...
Read More
Autistic children facing mental health crisis during lockdown, charity warns

Autistic children facing mental health crisis during lockdown, charity warns

The mental health and emotional wellbeing of autistic children is worsening amid the current coronavirus lockdown, a survey has revealed. Three quarters of more than 2,000 autistic children and their parents surveyed said they feel more anxious since the health crisis and think they will need ongoing mental health support. More than half (56 per cent) said they feel stressed. A similar proportion (54 per cent) said they felt overwhelmed during the pandemic, according to the survey by the charity Ambitious about Autism. The disruption to the routines of young autistic people's lives amid the crisis is causing stress and additional mental health issues including eating disorders, the survey found. “Medical services have been cancelled, routines lost, there are things we can’t do and people we can’t see anymore,” said one respondent. “For me this has caused trouble with an eating disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder- almost agoraphobia.”  Social distancing measures, especially for those who have an exemption from wearing a facemask, are also causing concern. One autistic young...
Read More

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 ...
Read More

Department for Education: Supporting Children and Young People with SEND

The Department for Education have released their guidance to schools and colleges on supporting children and young people with SEND during the reopening of education settings. The key elements of the guidance is around updating risk assessments and how the phased return to education settings will be managed. Particular care will be needed in planning for and supporting children and young people with EHC plans to return to their schools and colleges. In the spirit of coproduction, educational settings should contact parents and involve them in decisions about their child who has an EHC plan.Similarly, they should contact and involve young people over 16 who have EHC plans.Schools and colleges will need to ensure that they have the staffing needed to support children and young people at safe ratios. Local authorities will also need to reinstate safe home to school transport arrangements. Differentiated Return to School "We recognise that some children and young people with EHC plans will need careful preparation for...
Read More

Details on phased wider opening of schools, colleges and nurseries

The Department for Education has released their statements on how schools, colleges and nurseries can begin to prepare to open to more young people from 1st June. You can read the full press release here. All of this depends on the infection rate staying low, and will be monitored daily by the government. The age groups expected to attend school are: Nursery ReceptionYear 1Year 6 The Government is also asking schools, colleges and sixth-form to offer some face to face support to year 10 and year 12 students in preparation of their exams next academic year. There is guidance to the education sector that is available for you to read. Some of the changes include: Reducing the size of classes and keeping children in small groups without mixing with othersStaggered break and lunchtimes, as well as drop offs and pick upsIncreasing the frequency of cleaning, reducing the use of shared items and utilising outdoor space It's key for parents and carers to understand that there...
Read More