Parent Carers’ Experiences Of Lockdown

The Government has shown during the coronavirus pandemic that it can introduce radical changes in a matter of days. This survey by the Disabled Children’s Partnership of over 4,000 parents of disabled children shows the battle that many parents of disabled children face on a daily basis. Despite the best efforts of many professionals, families are being left to cope alone.

Over 4,000 families of disabled children were contacted to ask how they had been impacted by the lockdown. Overwhelmingly, they felt locked out and abandoned by Government and by society, and are fearful for their own physical and mental health.

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      string(5565) "Domestic violence leads to childhoold traumaThe Healing Together Facilitator Programme will help to create a legion of trauma aware practitioners who will have the skills and understanding to help children who are impacted by domestic abuse and violence. This is an ambitious world-wide training programme toupskill staff who work with children in primary or secondary schools, in othercommunity settings, in refuges, hostels or who provide pastoral or counsellingsupport. Dealing with childhood trauma and domestic violenceWe are the course creators and come with different perspectives from different backgrounds and that adds strength to our collaboration. Dr Asha Patel set up her multi award winning social enterprise in 2016 with the aim of creating mentally healthy environment in schools: ‘I come from a forensic mental health background, working with high-profile sex offenders among others. I realised I was working at the wrong end of the spectrum. It was too late for them. I came to understand that I could make more impact if I supported them when they were young.’Innovating Minds worked alongside ‘We:ARE’ in Birmingham which supports women who have been subjected to domestic violence. As the mothers started to rebuild their lives, they were concerned about the damage done to their children, so Innovating Minds developed a programme in Kings Norton in Birmingham. Children aged 10-14 attended, one evening a week for six weeks after school After the very first session there was a waiting list for 40 children so right from the beginning it was impossible to keep up with demand.Jane Evans is an expert on Childhood Trauma and Anxiety. She’s also the author of a number of books which help adults explore discuss difficult issues with children, including one on domestic abuse called How Are You Feeling Today Baby Bear? She has worked in refuges, with children’s services, the courts and trained to be a foster carer. All her work draws on her experiences but is also informed by research. She is a trainer and coach and much in demand as a public speaker.Jane was working with preschool children 26 years ago whenshe first learned about abusive relationships and realised that she had been inone for three years. ‘Trauma does not stop when they come out of an abusive relationship,so adults need to learn to walk in the child’s shoes. Often once the abusivepartner has left ,the single parent really struggles with the child’sbehaviour.’Levels of domestic violence in lockdownThe HealingTogether Facilitator Programme is especially timely now. The pandemic has not been kind tochildren who live in violent households. The United Nations has called domesticabuse the ‘shadow pandemic’ as it estimates incidents globally have increasedby at least 20 per cent. According to Commander Sue Williams of The Metropolitan Police there was a spike in arrests after 9 March, when people with coronavirus symptoms were asked to self-isolate. She says charges and cautions were up by 24% compared to the same period in 2019, with officers arresting an average of 100 people a day for domestic violence. Police believe the incidents of domestic violence are under-reported as some mothers know that if their partner is arrested, they will be left with no money coming into the home. Meanwhile, researchers at the Counting Dead Women Project told UK MPs that 14 women and two children were killed in the first three weeks of lockdown – the largest number of killings in a three-week period for 11 years and more than double the average rate.[1]The NSPCC has confirmed a shocking increase in calls to their service: ‘Contacts to our helpline about the impact of domestic abuse on children have increased by 32% since the start of the lockdown, to an average of one an hour.’Agenciesknow that these figures are just the tip of the iceberg and that many more willcome to light when women and children can get out of the house and tell theirstories to others. 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Mental Health

Seeing Children's Experiences Of Domestic Violence Through A Trauma Informed Lens Helps Their Journey To Recovery

1 Jul 2020

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      string(5628) "Abitur.At the ‘Clara Zetkin’ secondary school in Freiberg, a small market town near Dresden, classrooms were prepared to accommodate students carefully allowing for 2m distancing between each of them. This required the rooms to be set up for small groups of maximum 9 students per classroom plus the teacher (see photo below). This was so that they could have, at staggered times, 14 days of teacher supported revision for their exams.ExamsThe 16 Federal German States are insisting that 350 000 final year Abitur (secondary school pre-university exam) students return to school to revise for and then sit the exams. 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School Leadership

Europe Finds Ending School Lockdown Challenging And Divisive

5 May 2020

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      string(4818) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.IMPACT EVALUATION OF THE SENDPATHFINDER PROGRAMMEKeywordsSpecialEducationalNeeds,Disabilities,SEND, keyworker,staff, family,outcomes,support,children, needsSummaryThis DfE report is the second of two volumes containing the evaluation findings from the first18 months of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Pathfinder Programme.Overall the results show that the new approach can work. The report contains data gatheredthrough a survey of parent-carers, qualitative case studies with families that participated inthe pathfinder, a staff work and satisfaction survey and the cost/expenditure and family-relatedelements of the SQW monitoring tool.Main Findings: ■ While positive, the overall level of change appears modest at this relatively early stage. ■ While the overall feedback on the process was positive, as yet the survey found no consistentevidence to illustrate an improvement in outcomes had occurred. ■ The positive impacts appeared to be linked to a range of factors:1. Involvement of a ‘key worker’ or ‘group of individuals’ that had delivered the new process andtherefore provided the families with support2. The competency, consistency and knowledge of the key worker(s)3. Key workers allowing sufficient time for discussions, being accessible and recognising the value ofparents’ insights into their child or young person’s needs4. Parents’ capacity to take part in the process, especially in cases where key workers were felt tohave been less effective5. A sense that all key professionals had engaged (for example the process seemed to have workedbetter when they had attended the planning meeting rather than sending written inputs)6. The extent to which activities and decision making had been transparent and could therefore beeasily understood by families7. The degree to which families felt the resultant EHC Plan reflected their needs. ■ There remain issues around the information available to families, emphasising the importance ofgetting the local offer right ■ While parents feel much more involved, this has not transferred to the same extent to youngpeople. This may need to be addressed as part of the workforce development associated with keyworking ■ While joint working is getting better, the flows of information between services could be better, tosave families having to explain their needs on multiple occasions. ■ Pathfinder families were significantly more likely than comparison families to strongly agree thatthey understood the assessment and support planning processes (38 per cent pathfinder families;27 per cent comparison).Week Commencing 14th October 2013https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246214/DFE-RR281.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246214/DFE-RR281.pdfhttp://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/PMSZ01/PMSZ01.pdfLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents. ■ Families’ understanding of the process and the extent to which it had been child/family centredappears strongly influenced by the skills and knowledge of the ‘key worker’ or ‘group of individuals’that had provided them with support, emphasising the importance of resourcing this processsufficiently, with well trained staff. ■ Overall, pathfinder families reported being more satisfied with the assessment process, 35 percent of pathfinder families were ‘very satisfied’ with the assessment and planning process versus27 per cent of the comparison families. ■ Pathfinder families were more satisfied with the services that they received, with the differenceappearing to reflect improvements in education services. ■ Pathfinder families reported noticing a difference in the process. Half (54 per cent) felt that thequality of the support services they were now receiving was better than it was before. Only a third(36 per cent) of comparison group families felt the same. They also reported that the processesthey had been through were more straightforward (40 per cent versus 14 per cent); that serviceswere working more closely together (39 per cent versus 23 per cent)..WEB LINKImpact Evaluation of the SEND Pathfinder Programmehttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246214/DFE-RR281.pdfhttp://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/Too_Young_to_Fail_0.pdf"
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Leadership

Impact Evaluation of the SEND Pathfinder Programme

9 Oct 2013

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      string(5460) "ResourceFALLING THROUGH THE NETOriginal DocumentFalling Through The Net – Illegal Exclusions, The Experiences Of Families With Disabled Children In England And Wales (2013).  This report for parent carers by the disabled charity, Contact a Family, reveals that disabled children are routinely illegally excluded from school – sometimes on a daily or weekly basis. For disabled children who already need more support than their peers, this withdrawal of education is having a devastating impact on their progress and attainment, as well as their mental health.KeywordsExclusions, disabled children, education, progress, attainment, mental health, procedure, support servicesSummaryThis report for parent carers by the disabled charity, Contact a Family, reveals that disabled children are routinely illegally excluded from school – sometimes on a daily or weekly basis. For disabled children who already need more support than their peers, this withdrawal of education is having a devastating impact on their progress and attainment, as well as their mental health.Findings:· 404 parents told the charity that their child with a disability, SEN or additional need has been illegally excluded from school.· 70% have a child who has a Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN).Reasons for illegal exclusions:· 53% are because the school does not have enough staff to support disabled child. Of these, 49% say this happens every day or every week.· 56% are because a class activity or trip is not suitable for disabled child. Of these, 51% say this happens once a month or term.· 62% are because the child needs to ‘cool off’ after an incident. Of these, 35% say this happens every week.· 70% are because the school suggests it is for child’s ‘own good’ as he or she is having a bad day. Of these, 45% say it happens every day or every week.· 60% are because the disabled child has been put on a part-time timetable.Frequency of illegal exclusions:· Most frequently illegal exclusions are occurring every week (22%), with one in seven (15%) happening every day.Impact on disabled children and young people:· 53% are falling behind with school work.· 43% say it causes their child to feel depressed.· 67% say their child gets upset.· 55% say their child feels left out of friendship groups.Impact on parent carers:· Half (50%) say they are unable work.· Nearly a third (32%) of those that do work are having to take a lot of time off.· 63% say it causes conflict with school/teachers· 66% have challenged the school regarding an illegal exclusion, often resulting in no action, excuses and denials by the schools of any wrong doing. Changing schools is often the final outcome.ActionRecommendations· A child with a disability, SEN or additional need should never be barred from school or college, a classroom activity or trip because of insufficient support. Schools need swift access to specialist support services, and all agencies including the school, health and local authority must work together in partnership with the parent to ensure the pupil gets the help they need to succeed.· We urge the government to consider our findings in order that the Children and Families Bill achieves policy intentions of transforming the system for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN), including those who are disabled, so that services consistently support the best outcomes for them.5 Contact a Family would recommend that parents have the right to trigger an Education, Health and Care assessment.· The most frequently excluded children with a disability, SEN or additional need are those who have conditions which affect behaviour. Schools should take early action to tackle the underlying cause, and to put in support before a crisis occurs. There should be an obligation on schools to consider moving the pupil to the next level of school-based support, and/or requesting a statutory assessment.· Where exclusion is necessary, statutory procedure must be followed in order to ensure decisions which are lawful, reasonable and fair, minimise the disruption to a pupil’s education and safeguard the rights of pupils and families.· Part time timetables may occasionally be appropriate. However, schools need more explicit guidance to ensure such arrangements are agreed with parents, benefit the pupil and are subject to regular review.· Exclusion can have a wider financial, social and emotional impact on the family. Families under pressure are often less able to support their children. The well-being of the family should always be taken into account when disciplinary decisions are made.· Ofsted has an important role in identifying unlawful practice in the course of an inspection. Schools should be offered additional support to help them improve their practice. A grading of “inadequate” should be considered if schools continue to illegally exclude children with a disability, SEN or additional need.· Further research with schools and headteachers is needed to identify what they need to stop this unlawful practice.· Parents must seek advice about their rights regarding support for their disabled child at school, particular if they think their child has been illegally excluded.NotesAuthorR ChimaDate CreatedMay 2013Enquiries to:raspal.chima@yahoo.co.uk(Authoring Unit)Month / YearPage 1 of 1©Birmingham City Council"
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Leadership

Falling Through The Net - Illegal Exclusions

2 May 2013