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Hi Barry/Libby,
Great to meet you both. I tried calling Libby last week but understand she was away.
I've attached a copy of the 'training pyramid' with costs, as you requested. This is the model that we (the dyslexia organisations) are all agreed on and are delivering with the DI and HADC in the Xtraordinary People projects we are running with schools, clusters and LEA's. With this level of training in place, schools and clusters are then self-sufficient and should not need outside input. This is the case at Lyndhurst School where dyslexic kids are being supported without need of a statement as a sufficient level of support is available to help all children 'inhouse'.
Have you and Barry had any more thoughts about me giving evidence and is there anything I can do to help this happen? I've had a look at who you have on the lists and really believe that the committee needs to hear some 'real stories', not just the 'organisations, associations, and societies'. It's very easy for the likes of the TDA, National Strategies, DfES, schools, LEA's to think that a short module, inset or a DVD means they've ticked the boxes but the situation for these kids is truly disgraceful and nothing will change until we've skilled up the teachers properly. The IoE, who had been given the task to design the SEN Modules for ITT had not contacted any of the dyslexia organisation during their 'wide consultation', fortunately Ralph at the TDA put us in touch with them and we are meeting tomorrow in fact, and hope that we can have the necessary expert input. I have also approached National Strategies and have set up a meeting in March and will be asking the Dyslexia organisations to join me at that. As I touched on when we met, a joined up thinking on this one is what needs to happen.
SpLD/Dyslexia represents 80% of SEN, and this teacher training is the right approach for teaching literacy for other SEN such as Autistic Spectrum, ADHD etc. On that basis isn't it justified to add another voice?
I was at a school last week and an untrained teacher got frustrated with Y7 boy (11) who couldn't read out the question in a science class. He sighed under his breath......'honestly you read like a 3 year old'.........the class of course all laughed. That boy has literacy levels of P8, which means they are at nursery school age, so actually the teacher was right. He'd gone all through primary school without anyone thinking to see what was going wrong, maybe because he's a quiet, self contained boy. We're working with this secondary school and they've just screened him and found him to be severely dyslexic. Unaware that I had heard about this I was chatting to this teacher in the staffroom, we were discussing the foundation training that we're putting in place, he told me he'd had no training at all either in ITT (PGCE) or since and that he didn't understand the problems these kids face, he said "it's difficult for us because we don't understand and sometimes get frustrated with the kids in the class who are holding the others back - so I really need this training to know how to cope". Surely a case for a module in PGCE!
In closing, I'd like to share with you an email I received last week - just one of the many examples I hear of - which highlights the what this lack of training really means to children with Specific Learning Difficulties. As you know we believe that inclusion can work if teachers are properly trained!
Surely the committee owes it to these kids to hear the whole story? I look forward to hearing from you.
To: info@xtraordinarypeople.com Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 3:29 PM Subject: What do you do when the education system lets you down?
I am a mother of a dyslexic child who battled constantly with the local primary school to have my son adequately educated. Even though there were 450 children attending the primary school not one single teacher had a post graduate qualification in teaching dyslexic children. They had attended a few inset days with talks from the Dyslexic Unit base near where I live but that was the extent of their training. My son had a statement and received 7.5 hour LSA support. The LSA did not have any qualification for teaching dyslexic children either. We privately engaged a specialist teacher for two years, but their support and recommendations were not followed through the the classroom. Our eight year old son did not make adequate progress. He had fallen behind his peers by 2.5 years. He was unable to do any work independently. We discovered that the LSA was completing the work for him. Our son was in a state of 'learned helplessness'. He became depressed. He started self harming. This went on for over a year. By the summer of 2005 as parents we could no longer watch our child suffer. He though he was stupid and worthless. He had terrible tantrums and his self harming was escalating. We rejected the amended statement and went to a SENDIST Tribunal. We regretfully sent our son to a specialist boarding school. At the Tribunal we presented evidence from our son's paediatric consultant and from an educational psychologist. Both of these pieces of evidence were ignored. The SENDIST panel cherry picked their way through the evidence. Not only did SENDIST ignore evidence but they also made erroneous judgements. We wrote to SENDIST and explained the errors fully expecting them to review their decision. SENDIST refused to review the decision because they had not made any errors of law and they are not obliged under the Freedom of Information Act to provide any information they have. We were told to send our son back to the school which failed him. When you have had a child who is stabbing himself with scissors because their self esteem is so low you cannot return them to a failed environment. We are crippled with the cost of specialist education but there is no alternative. Inclusion does not always work. Some children need a spell in a specialist school. We believe that parents of some dyslexic children are deceived into believing that their children can be educated successfully in mainstream education. If those children are not independently assessed the parents do not realised that the gap between their children and their peers is growing. Dyslexic children are trapped. They will probably not be able to attain good qualifications and therefore have little on offer to them when they leave school. I read that you stepped down because Ruth Kelly was fully behind dyslexics. But my experience is that dyslexic children are being failed by the education system. Post primary support is too late. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions you have.
Removing the Barriers to Literacy and Learning SpLD/Dyslexia Teacher Training
Cost of training is approx £5000 per school. Delivery of training is onsite with whole school and specialist group sessions.
PRIMARY SCHOOL MODEL Xtraordinary People - Background Information
Breadth of training - Umbrella diagram The 'umbrella' diagram shows the breadth of SpLD/Dyslexia training and that it encompasses early literacy, phonics, struggling learners and SEN across all age bands and the whole curriculum. In short, it enables teachers to recognise, assess and remove the barriers to literacy and learning.
So this training enables teachers to: · Provide early identification and appropriate support for those struggling from YR · Carry out full diagnostic assessments to work out a child's problems - strengths and weaknesses · Create effective individual learning programmes either at primary or secondary level
Training Pyramid This is the model that XP (with the dyslexia organisations) has agreed on and is delivering in the Xtraordinary People projects in schools, clusters and LEA's. With these levels of training in place, schools are self-sufficient and should not need outside input. This model is in place at Lyndhurst Primary School where struggling learners, including dyslexic kids, are being supported without statements because a sufficient level of support is available to help all children 'in-house'. (Secondary schools will need higher a number of trained staff)
SpLD/Dyslexia Training Training in SpLD/Dyslexia is nothing new. It's available in colleges and dyslexia training centres around the country and is accredited by OCR and OCN. These teaching methods have been successfully used to support children with learning difficulties at specialist schools and at dyslexia centres and for many years. Children with SpLD need specific and targeted support and will not progress without this specialist input. However this training does enable a teacher to support all struggling learners, not just those with SpLD/dyslexia, in reading and across the curriculum. So represents a solution for all.
ITT - TDA The TDA have consulted us in the development of the pilot SEN modules for ITT. It is our belief that these modules should be a compulsory not optional part of ITT and must include PGCE. As some 80% of teachers enter the profession via PGCE, without this training these teachers will not be able to teach 10% - 30% of the children in their classroom effectively.
Currently a very large number of kids are arriving at secondary school without adequate literacy skills to access the curriculum so training should be given in primary and secondary courses.
Reading is only part of the problem SpLD affects more than reading. The use of phonic reading schemes is the right approach to supporting children with SpLD, but is not a 'silver bullet'. With any concentrated phonics input some children with SpLD may learn how to read 'mechanically' but a significant number will not and all are likely to continue to have problems with other important skills like comprehension, writing, spelling, organisation and memory. So even if they can 'read' they will still not be equipped with the skills to learn effectively. The Rose Review looks set to recommend that all teachers be trained in synthetic phonics. XP Foundation training for SpLD/dyslexia covers this and more. With joined up thinking we could deliver a solution for reading and SEN.
Xtraordinary People - March 2006
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