Episode 21: Family Centred Practice - Talking to families... Listening to families... Working with families

This episode is a recording of the online conference and webinar on the topic Well Being that was held on 29th June 2021. 

The event and this recording contains presentations and talks from national leaders in the field of mental health, well being, trauma informed practice and psychology including Professor Barry Carpenter CBE OBE FCCT, Dr Tina Rae, Sharon Gray OBE and Laura Purser, as well as 5 school based practitioners and leaders from a wide range of settings and contexts.

Professor Carpenter writes...

"The pandemic period has witnessed a rapid erosion in the mental health of children. National figures are worrying, but as ever, as Teachers, we must ask ‘how does this affect children’s learning, and how can we remove barriers to achievement generated by issues such as anxiety, trauma and loss?” 

Two major Curriculum initiatives from this September will enhance the foundations created, pre pandemic, of Mental Health Leads in school, Mental Heath First Aid Training, etc:

Firstly, for all children, the new DfE Relationships, Health and Sex Education (RHSE) Curriculum becomes statutory. With its clear focus on Mental Well Being and Relationships, these are perfect platforms for rebuilding each school's curriculum on meaningful human values, with RSHE at its heart, … for teaching is a relationship based profession.

Secondly, for children with SEND, the implementation of the Rochford Review recommendations, not only brings the Engagement Model into play as statutory summative assessment, but sees a renewed emphasis on the 4 domains of SEND in the Code of Practice (2015) as the curriculum framework for children with an EHCP. As such Social, Emotional and Mental Health, (SEMH), is a vital platform for designing learning opportunities for children with EHCPs.

Evidence for Learning has a strong history of facilitating curriculum development, pedagogy, assessment and practice in the area of Mental Well Being (MWB) through a variety of strategies."

Alongside Prof. Barry Carpenter, presenters included national leaders and experts in the field – Dr Tina Rae, Sharon Gray OBE, and Laura Purser – together with school based practitioners – Alison Wheeler, Alex Tomkins, Jeanette Scull, Jonah Stancombe and Tom Thatcher – for a rich and comprehensive collection of presentations and sharing of knowledge, ideas and practice that you are invited to take back to your own schools for your own discussions, planning and CPLD.

GUESTS/SPEAKERS/PANELLISTS:

• Prof. Barry Carpenter CBE OBE FCCT (Prof. Mental Health in Education, Oxford Brookes University) 
• Dr Tina Rae (Child Psychologist. Prolific & award winning author)
• Sharon Gray OBE (Former-Headteacher. Former-Ofsted Inspector. Member of the Youth Justice Board, Wholehearted Learning)
• Laura Purser (Head of Primary, Prep & EYFS at University of Buckingham. Designs/leads master’s level NASENCO course.)
• Alison Wheeler (Headteacher, Palmerston School)
• Alex Tomkins (Deputy Headteacher, Greenside School)
• Jeanette Scull (Deputy Headteacher, John F Kennedy School)
• Jonah Stancombe (Assistant Principal, Bridge College)
• Tom Thatcher (PSHE Lead, St Hugh’s Special School)

This episode is packed full of valuable ideas and insights, with colleagues sharing knowledge, ideas and practice that you are invited to take back to your own schools for your own discussions, planning and CPLD.

You can watch and listen to a video slide show of the presentation on the episode webpage:

https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/learningshared/episode-24-well-being-conference

On the episode page, we've also listed links to resources and videos that you might find useful and interesting for further reading.

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We've created private groups in Facebook and Linkedin where colleagues and peers can discuss and share thoughts, ideas, experiences, resources and learning in relation to supporting the needs of vulnerable learners and learners with SEND. 

EfL SEND Community Group 

Join us at: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/eflSENDCommunity/ 

or search for “eflSENDCommunity” in Facebook. 

The purpose of this group is to provide a safe, closed space to seek out and share ideas, experience and resources that can help with any and all aspects of SEND provision. It’s also a community for practitioners and schools that use Evidence for Learning and Insights for Learning to share ideas, resources and support each other in using these apps. This is a peer-moderated and supported group. 

Linkedin Group

The Recovery Curriculum The group is called “A Recovery Curriculum for children & schools post-pandemic” and you can find it at: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12399451/

The episode builds on Episode #22 “Active Recovery (Part 1)” and continues the exploration and discussion of Active Recovery and its impact on well being and learning, as well as physical health.

Professor Barry Carpenter CBE OBE discusses the topic of Active Recovery and sports / sensory sanctuaries with a panel of guests including:

• Vicci Wells (Youth Sport Trust)
• Ali Erskine (Whitfield Aspen School)
• Jon White (Clare Mount Specialist Sports College)
• Nathan Nwenwu (Lawnswood Campus)
• Shona McCann (Riverside School)
• Alistair Crawford (St Martin’s & St Andrew’s Teaching Schools)
• Billy Ellerington (a student at St Martin's School)

The guests discuss the presentation provided by Vicci Wells in the first part of this podcast series on the topic of Active Recovery - Episode #22.

**This episode is Part 2 of a 2 part series looking at Active Recovery**

It is highly recommended that you listen to the first part (Episode #22) before listening to this episode.

You can watch, follow along with the panel's chosen slides on the episode webpage:

https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/learningshared/episode-22-active-recovery-part-1-sport-and-sensory-sanctuaries-as-part-of-active-recovery/

On this and the other episode page in the series, we’ve included a copy Vicci’s presentation, a downloadable guide about sports sanctuaries and links to further information.
 
We have created private groups in Facebook and Linkedin where colleagues and peers can discuss and share thoughts, ideas, experiences, resources and learning in relation to supporting the needs of vulnerable learners and learners with SEND.

EfL SEND Community Group

Join us at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/eflSENDCommunity/

or search for “eflSENDCommunity” in Facebook.

 
The purpose of this group is to provide a safe, closed space to seek out and share ideas, experience and resources that can help with any and all aspects of SEND provision. It’s also a community for practitioners and schools that use Evidence for Learning and Insights for Learning to share ideas, resources and support each other in using these apps. This is a peer-moderated and supported group.

 
You’re also invited to join the Recovery Curriculum group on Facebook which was set up to connect colleagues and help to build a network that can support you and you school or setting on your own important journey back to full effective learning post-pandemic.
 
Recovery Curriculum

We’ve set up a private facebook group specifically for The Recovery Curriculum at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoverycurriculum

or search for “recoverycurriculum” in Facebook.
 

Linkedin Group on the Recovery Curriculum

The group is called “A Recovery Curriculum for children & schools post-pandemic” and you can find it at:

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12399451/

This episode hosted by Professor Barry Carpenter CBE OBE FCCT introduces Vicci Wells who is the National Manager for the Youth Sport Trust, as well as an ex-teacher.

At a time of much debate as to how we support our children and young people to recover from the impact of the pandemic, Active recovery is a positive approach to rebuilding the mental well-being and emotional resilience of our children. 

Vicci describes the focus of Active Recovery Hubs, which are supported by over 40 UK Sports organisations. The activities are free to all children; the ethos of Active recovery is firmly grounded in the research around the link between physical and mental health. 

A particular intervention that Vicci has spearheaded is Sports Sanctuaries. This concept is 'of the moment’: a direct intervention that can be co-constructed with children, and self regulated by them, as to how and when they choose to engage with the Sports Sanctuary in their school. An exciting offshoot of this concept, led by Riverside School in Northern Ireland, is the notion of a Sensory Sanctuary, which offers through sensory stimuli, a focus on emotional regulation and sensory integration. 

This episode has much to offer teachers in all areas of the school system; the principles embrace children and young people in a creative and dynamic approach, which is well resourced, evidence based, and easily accessible.

**This episode is Part 1 of a 2 part series looking at Active Recovery**

You can watch and listen to a video slide show of the presentation on the episode webpage:

https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/learningshared/episode-22-active-recovery-part-1-sport-and-sensory-sanctuaries-as-part-of-active-recovery/

On this and the other episode pages in the series, we’ve included a copy Vicci’s presentation, a downloadable guide about sports sanctuaries and links to further information.

We have created private groups in Facebook and Linkedin where colleagues and peers can discuss and share thoughts, ideas, experiences, resources and learning in relation to supporting the needs of vulnerable learners and learners with SEND.

EfL SEND Community Group

Join us at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/eflSENDCommunity/

or search for “eflSENDCommunity” in Facebook.

The purpose of this group is to provide a safe, closed space to seek out and share ideas, experience and resources that can help with any and all aspects of SEND provision. It’s also a community for practitioners and schools that use Evidence for Learning and Insights for Learning to share ideas, resources and support each other in using these apps. This is a peer-moderated and supported group.

You’re also invited to join the Recovery Curriculum group on Facebook which was set up to connect colleagues and help to build a network that can support you and you school or setting on your own important journey back to full effective learning post-pandemic.

Recovery Curriculum

We’ve set up a private facebook group specifically for The Recovery Curriculum at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoverycurriculum

or search for “recoverycurriculum” in Facebook.

Linkedin Group

The Recovery Curriculum The group is called “A Recovery Curriculum for children & schools post-pandemic” and you can find it at: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12399451/

In this episode hosted by Professor Barry Carpenter, we bring together a panel of school leaders and parents to discuss and explore how schools can work with families of children and young people with SEND to create a genuine bridge for family centred practice.

The panel includes:

• Vijita Patel (Principal, Swiss Cottage School Development & Research Centre)
• Jo Williams (Deputy Headteacher, Dee Banks School)
• Maria Schultz (Parent; Co-opted Governor at Swiss Cottage School DRC; co-chair of Camden Special Parents Forum & Parent advocate with KIDS Charity)
• Sadia Mahmud-Marshall (Parent; Co-opted Governor at Swiss Cottage School DRC & Project Lead on policy for NGOs on child protection and reduction in child slavery)

This episode exalts schools to shift the focus from partnership with parents to partnership with families; to embrace a more holistic and inclusive approach which values the contributions of all family members involved in a child’s life.

At its loftiest this is a paradigm shift to more Family centred practice; in its practical reality it is about adjusting your school newsletter to read ‘Dear families… ’, instead of ‘Dear parents…’.

In 21st-century society, when so much childcare is delivered by family members other than parents, do we truly value their contribution? Does it matter if the home - school liaison diary is completed by a grandparent? Where is the "Sib-Shop” workshop event in the school calendar to enable siblings to come together for fun activities whilst bonding with other siblings whose life journey is also as a brother/ sister to a child with special educational needs/ disabilities?

Such approaches will enrich the practice of our schools, and the lives of our families, as the speakers in this podcast powerfully illustrate.

During the episode, Barry refers to a recent meeting that brought together over 100 schools to look at the topic of family centred practice and we’ve put a link to a video recording of that meeting on the episode webpage:

https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/learningshared/family-centred-practice/

The meeting contains presentations from Barry as well as school leaders and parents.

On the episode page, we’ve also listed links to various articles and resources that you might useful and interesting for further reading around working with families.

We have created private groups in Facebook and Linkedin where colleagues and peers can discuss and share thoughts, ideas, experiences, resources and learning in relation to supporting the needs of vulnerable learners and learners with SEND.

EfL SEND Community Group

Join us at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/eflSENDCommunity/

or search for “eflSENDCommunity” in Facebook.

The purpose of this group is to provide a safe, closed space to seek out and share ideas, experience and resources that can help with any and all aspects of SEND provision. It’s also a community for practitioners and schools that use Evidence for Learning and Insights for Learning to share ideas, resources and support each other in using these apps. This is a peer-moderated and supported group.

You’re also invited to join the Recovery Curriculum group on Facebook which was set up to connect colleagues and help to build a network that can support you and you school or setting on your own important journey back to full effective learning post-pandemic.

Recovery Curriculum

We’ve set up a private facebook group specifically for The Recovery Curriculum at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoverycurriculum

or search for “recoverycurriculum” in Facebook.

Linkedin Group

The Recovery Curriculum The group is called “A Recovery Curriculum for children & schools post-pandemic” and you can find it at: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12399451/

In this episode, Prof. Barry Carpenter CBE OBE FCCT introduces Alex Revens who is the SEN Lead for an Additionally Resourced Provision that is attached to a mainstream school, Belmont School, in North London. Alex is also a SLE (Senior Leader in Education) for Autism.

Through a short conversation and a presentation from Alex, we look through the lens of a practitioner... at how Alex and the team at Belmont School use Engagement to liberate the intrinsic motivation of his pupils.

Alex combines the pedagogy of Engagement with the assessment processes offered through the Evidence for Learning app. His rich insights show how the combination of both reach out to the child with complex needs and;

• Meet them at their point of learning need;
• Wrap around the child as active learner;
• Capture their attainment;
• Celebrate their achievement.

His systematic and deductive approaches generate a high quality curriculum, with some significant outcomes, however small.

PLEASE NOTE: It is highly recommended that you watch the first 3 parts (Episode #17, #18 & #19) before listening to this episode.

**This episode is Part 4 of a series looking at Engagement.**

You can watch and listen to a video slide show of the presentation on the episode webpage:

https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/learningshared/engagement-part-4-alex-revens-through-the-lens-of-a-practitioner

On the episode page, you can download a copy of the paper written by Alex about his use of Engagement which he refers to during the episode. We’ve also listed links to various articles and resources that you might useful and interesting for further reading around Engagement.

You can access this via the LearningShared website (below).

www.learningshared.org

Select Episode #20

We have created private groups in Facebook and Linkedin where colleagues and peers can discuss and share thoughts, ideas, experiences, resources and learning in relation to supporting the needs of vulnerable learners and learners with SEND.

EfL SEND Community Group

Join us at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/eflSENDCommunity/
or search for “eflSENDCommunity” in Facebook.

The purpose of this group is to provide a safe, closed space to seek out and share ideas, experience and resources that can help with any and all aspects of SEND provision. It’s also a community for practitioners and schools that use Evidence for Learning and Insights for Learning to share ideas, resources and support each other in using these apps. This is a peer-moderated and supported group.

You’re also invited to join the Recovery Curriculum group on Facebook which was set up to connect colleagues and help to build a network that can support you and you school or setting on your own important journey back to full effective learning post-pandemic.

Recovery Curriculum

https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoverycurriculum
or search for “recoverycurriculum” in Facebook.

Linkedin Group The Recovery Curriculum
The group is called “A Recovery Curriculum for children & schools post-pandemic” and you can find it at:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12399451/

In this episode Prof. Barry Carpenter CBE OBE FCCT discusses the topic of Engagement with a panel of guests:

• Vijita Patel (Swiss Cottage School Development & Research Centre)
• Cheryl Gaughan (Talbot Specialist School/Fusion TSA)
• Vicci Wells (Youth Sport Trust)
• Ali Erskine (Whitfield Aspen School)
• Gemma Alldritt (Baxter College)
• Martin McKenna (Foxfield School)
• Beverley Cockbill (Chadsgrove School)

The guests discuss the presentation provided in the first part of this podcast series (Episode #17) on the topic of Engagement and share their reflections on Engagement and its application within their respective settings.

PLEASE NOTE: It is highly recommended that you watch the first part (Episode #17) before listening to this episode.

**This episode is Part 2 of a series looking at Engagement.**

You can watch and listen to a video slide show of the presentation on the episode webpage:

https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/learningshared/engagement-part-2-panel-discussion-reflections-on-engagement/

On this and the other episode pages in the series, we’ve also listed links to various articles and resources that you might useful and interesting for further reading around Engagement.

You can access this via the LearningShared website (below).

www.learningshared.org

Select Episode #18

We have created private groups in Facebook and Linkedin where colleagues and peers can discuss and share thoughts, ideas, experiences, resources and learning in relation to supporting the needs of vulnerable learners and learners with SEND.

EfL SEND Community Group

Join us at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/eflSENDCommunity/
or search for “eflSENDCommunity” in Facebook.

The purpose of this group is to provide a safe, closed space to seek out and share ideas, experience and resources that can help with any and all aspects of SEND provision. It’s also a community for practitioners and schools that use Evidence for Learning and Insights for Learning to share ideas, resources and support each other in using these apps. This is a peer-moderated and supported group.

You’re also invited to join the Recovery Curriculum group on Facebook which was set up to connect colleagues and help to build a network that can support you and you school or setting on your own important journey back to full effective learning post-pandemic.

Recovery Curriculum

https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoverycurriculum
or search for “recoverycurriculum” in Facebook.

Linkedin Group The Recovery Curriculum
The group is called “A Recovery Curriculum for children & schools post-pandemic” and you can find it at:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12399451/

In this episode Prof. Barry Carpenter CBE OBE FCCT and Beverley Cockbill discuss the topic of Engagement with a panel of guests:

• Vijita Patel (Swiss Cottage School Development & Research Centre)
• Cheryl Gaughan (Talbot Specialist School/Fusion TSA)
• Vicci Wells (Youth Sport Trust)
• Ali Erskine (Whitfield Aspen School)
• Gemma Alldritt (Baxter College)
• Martin McKenna (Foxfield School)

The guests share and discuss innovative ways in which they have each applied and incorporated the use of Engagement into practice within their own settings.

PLEASE NOTE: It is highly recommended that you watch the first 2 parts (Episode #17 & #18) before listening to this episode.

**This episode is Part 3 of a series looking at Engagement.**

You can watch and listen to a video slide show of the presentation on the episode webpage:

https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/learningshared/engagement-part-3-panel-discussion-innovations-around-engagement/

On this and the other episode pages in the series, we’ve also listed links to various articles and resources that you might useful and interesting for further reading around Engagement.

You can access this via the LearningShared website (below).

www.learningshared.org

Select Episode #19

We have created private groups in Facebook and Linkedin where colleagues and peers can discuss and share thoughts, ideas, experiences, resources and learning in relation to supporting the needs of vulnerable learners and learners with SEND.

EfL SEND Community Group

Join us at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/eflSENDCommunity/
or search for “eflSENDCommunity” in Facebook.

The purpose of this group is to provide a safe, closed space to seek out and share ideas, experience and resources that can help with any and all aspects of SEND provision. It’s also a community for practitioners and schools that use Evidence for Learning and Insights for Learning to share ideas, resources and support each other in using these apps. This is a peer-moderated and supported group.

You’re also invited to join the Recovery Curriculum group on Facebook which was set up to connect colleagues and help to build a network that can support you and you school or setting on your own important journey back to full effective learning post-pandemic.

Recovery Curriculum

https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoverycurriculum
or search for “recoverycurriculum” in Facebook.

Linkedin Group The Recovery Curriculum
The group is called “A Recovery Curriculum for children & schools post-pandemic” and you can find it at:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12399451/

The episode explores the genesis of Engagement, its relevance and application to vulnerable children with a whole range of learning needs.

In a lecture presentation entitled “What you really need to know about Engagement”, Prof. Barry Carpenter CBE OBE and Beverley Cockbill ask the question, of all children, of all ages and abilities, “how does this child learn?”

Discussion is given to how Engagement illuminates the learning pathway; how the lens of Engagement can refine the focus of the learning process, leading to the capture of attainment and achievement.

They look at the research evidence for Engagement, and its contribution as a fundamental building block in child development. A multi – dimensional perspective is adopted – to pedagogy. to the processes of teaching and learning, to its use for formative assessment, through to the existing initiative for the Engagement Model, (DfE 2019), as statutory summative assessment for children ’ not engaged in subject specific learning ” – a recommendation from the Rochford Review (2016).

The message of the podcast is timely, not only for the statutory implementation from September 2021, but for the consequences for children’s learning and well being arising from the Coronavirus Pandemic. Many children will return to school, post Lockdown, with a ‘spikey profile‘ of learning , and are disengaged from the curriculum. Monitoring the ways the child can be re engaged, identifying the ‘hooks’ that can draw the child back to authentic engagement in the curriculum, is key.

On this journey of re-engagement, the Engagement Profile is an invaluable tool, for baseline assessment, observation and formative assessment.

Through case studies which define and clarify the 5 Areas of Engagement, the podcast illustrates how the Engagement approach can ‘wrap around’ each child, and illuminate their learning pathways. This will be a much wider group than originally conceived, but the capacity of Engagement to be a bedrock upon which teachers can rebuild the child as a learner is unequivocal, and its potential for change and transformation in learning, undeniable.

**This episode is Part 1 of a series looking at Engagement.**

You can watch and listen to a video slide show of the presentation on the episode webpage:

https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/learningshared/engagement-part-1-what-you-really-need-to-know-about-engagement/

On this and the other episode pages in the series, we’ve also listed links to various articles and resources that you might useful and interesting for further reading around Engagement. You can access this via the LearningShared website (below).

www.learningshared.org

Select Episode #17

We have created private groups in Facebook and Linkedin where colleagues and peers can discuss and share thoughts, ideas, experiences, resources and learning in relation to supporting the needs of vulnerable learners and learners with SEND.

EfL SEND Community Group

Join us at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/eflSENDCommunity/

or search for “eflSENDCommunity” in Facebook.

The purpose of this group is to provide a safe, closed space to seek out and share ideas, experience and resources that can help with any and all aspects of SEND provision. It’s also a community for practitioners and schools that use Evidence for Learning and Insights for Learning to share ideas, resources and support each other in using these apps. This is a peer-moderated and supported group.

You’re also invited to join the Recovery Curriculum group on Facebook which was set up to connect colleagues and help to build a network that can support you and you school or setting on your own important journey back to full effective learning post-pandemic.

Recovery Curriculum https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoverycurriculum

or search for “recoverycurriculum” in Facebook.

Linkedin Group The Recovery Curriculum

The group is called “A Recovery Curriculum for children & schools post-pandemic” and you can find it at:

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12399451/

This episode is a recording of the online conference and webinar that was held on 15th July 2020. The event and this recording contains presentations and talks from Professor Barry Carpenter and Dr Tina Rae, as well as a 65 min discussion and Q&A session with a panel of educational leaders from a wide range of settings and contexts.

The 2 hour event pulled together some of the incredible amount of development and work that has gone into planning and enacting the recovery and transition back to effective learning for our children and young people.

It was also an opportunity to celebrate the mammoth collaborative effort that has underpinned the recovery and reconnection process at schools, colleges and other places of learning during the pandemic.

GUESTS/SPEAKERS/PANELLISTS:

- Prof. Barry Carpenter (Prof. Mental Health in Education, Oxford Brookes University)

- Dr Tina Rae (Child Psychologist, prolific & award winning author)

- Sharon Gray OBE (ex-Headteacher, ex-Ofsted, Member of Youth Justice Board)

- Vijita Patel (Principal, Swiss Cottage School DRC)

- Sally Apps (Executive Principal, Cabot Learning Federation)

- Martin McKenna (Headteacher, Foxfield School/Deputy Headteacher, Palmerston School)

- Ali Erskine (Head of School, KS1, Whitfield Aspen School)

- Polly McMeeking (Chair of Governors, Chaddesley Corbett EPS)

This episode is packed full of valuable insights, with colleagues sharing their experiences as well as their ideas, priorities and plans for how the recovery and reconnection process is being approached at their schools, settings and multi academy trusts.

You can watch and listen to the video of whole webinar, including the presentation on the episode webpage:

https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/learningshared/recoverycurriculum15-reflections-on-recovery-reigniting-childrens-learning

There's also an extended copy of Dr Tina Rae's presentation on the episode page, as well as bios for the panel and links to some of their own resources, references and episodes.

More info on the Recovery Curriculum

For information on the Recovery Curriculum, including the original Think Piece entitled “A Recovery Curriculum: Loss and Life for our children and schools post pandemic”, lectures, resources, reference materials and details of the online communities of practice, visit:

https://www.recoverycurriculum.org

Join the conversation about The Recovery Curriculum:

Clearly any form of Recovery Curriculum will need to be unique to each and every school, contextualised to the ethos, culture and values of that school, as well as its existing curriculum and crucially reflecting and addressing the needs and aspirations of its unique population of learners.

We have created private groups in LinkedIn and Facebook where colleagues and peers can discuss and share thoughts, ideas, experiences, resources and learning in relation to education and provision post pandemic. The groups are also an opportunity to connect people and help you to build a network that can support you on your own important journey over the coming months.

Facebook Group: Recovery Curriculum

We’ve set up a private facebook group specifically for The Recovery Curriculum at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoverycurriculum

or search for “recoverycurriculum” in Facebook.

Facebook: EfL SEND Community Group

Join us at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/eflSENDCommunity/

or search for “eflSENDCommunity” in Facebook.

The purpose of the group is to provide a safe, closed space to seek out and share ideas, experience and resources that can help with any and all aspects of SEND provision. It’s also a community for practitioners and schools that use Evidence for Learning and Insights for Learning to share ideas, resources and support each other in using these apps. This is a peer-moderated and supported group.

Linkedin Group: The Recovery Curriculum

The group is called “A Recovery Curriculum for children & schools post-pandemic” and you can find it at:

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12399451/

In this episode Alex Tomkins, Deputy Headteacher at Greenside School in Hertfordshire, raises some challenging questions. Social emotional and mental health (SEMH) is now a key component of the curriculum for children with special educational needs. Yet as a teaching profession we do have a strong background in this area. It’s certainly not a strong pedagogy.

We know that the mental health of children with SEND is more fragile, and certainly in this time of pandemic figures are showing a rise in anxiety and trauma following the period of lockdown. The need for teachers to enskill themselves is crucial.

Alex has been coordinating a group of schools on behalf of Evidence for Learning to look at this issue.

In a thought-provoking presentation, Alex focuses on teacher led inquiry in SEMH. This is a vital and dynamic process - inquiry based practice will lead to an evidence base for teaching, and best judgements in this area.

Alex also considers the opportunities presented by current circumstances to reflect on how inquiry can become a more significant and ubiquitous feature of formative assessment systems.

Alex has read widely to inform his ideas and work and has kindly shared key resources from his literature review.

The title of Alex’s presentation is:

“Inquiry and SEMH… Is recovery the new ‘spark’ needed in our practice”

This is a thought-provoking episode, which will raise questions for the listener, as well as offering solutions to ways forward. 

You can watch and listen to a video slide show of the presentation on the episode webpage:

https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/learningshared/recoverycurriculum14-alex-tomkins

We've also listed resources and references from Alex's literature review, as well as other articles and resources referred to by Alex during the presentation.

More info on the Recovery Curriculum

For information on the Recovery Curriculum, including the original Think Piece entitled “A Recovery Curriculum: Loss and Life for our children and schools post pandemic”, lectures, resources, reference materials and details of the online communities of practice, visit:

https://www.recoverycurriculum.org

Join the conversation about The Recovery Curriculum:

Clearly any form of Recovery Curriculum will need to be unique to each and every school, contextualised to the ethos, culture and values of that school, as well as its existing curriculum and crucially reflecting and addressing the needs and aspirations of its unique population of learners.

We have created private groups in LinkedIn and Facebook where colleagues and peers can discuss and share thoughts, ideas, experiences, resources and learning in relation to education and provision post pandemic. The groups are also an opportunity to connect people and help you to build a network that can support you on your own important journey over the coming months.

Facebook Group: Recovery Curriculum

We’ve set up a private facebook group specifically for The Recovery Curriculum at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoverycurriculum

or search for “recoverycurriculum” in Facebook.

Facebook: EfL SEND Community Group

Join us at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/eflSENDCommunity/

or search for “eflSENDCommunity” in Facebook.

The purpose of the group is to provide a safe, closed space to seek out and share ideas, experience and resources that can help with any and all aspects of SEND provision. It’s also a community for practitioners and schools that use Evidence for Learning and Insights for Learning to share ideas, resources and support each other in using these apps. This is a peer-moderated and supported group.

Linkedin Group: The Recovery Curriculum

The group is called “A Recovery Curriculum for children & schools post-pandemic” and you can find it at:

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12399451/