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Special educational needs ‘It’s hard to watch your child struggle. All you can do is chase people’

By: Michael Savage.

As council budgets are slashed, desperate parents speak about their exhausting battle in the courts to protect the forgotten victims – their children

As a former bouncer working in north London nightclubs, John Roden thought he knew a thing or two about stressful situations. But taking on the care of his five-year-old granddaughter Hope brought his greatest confrontation. Hope is disabled, and her rare condition means she cannot walk unaided and communicates using a form of sign language.

“Caring for Hope is stressful at the best of times,” says Roden, one of a group of carers to launch a legal challenge heard in court last month against proposed cuts to special educational needs funding in Hackney, east London. “Hope came to me when I was 57. I’m 62 this year. All this is heaping a lot more pressure on us. It grinds you down. There’s so much going through my head that I’ve been forgetting simple things. You spread yourself thin and something has to give. But we can do it.”

When the council announced proposals that could cut spending by more than £300,000 over the next academic year, Roden was among those who agreed to take on the fight. Like many parents looking after a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), Roden describes an exhausting fight to secure the best support.

Fellow Hackney campaigner Dana Thompson’s daughter, Sade, 16, has narcolepsy and cataplexy, conditions that can cause her to fall asleep suddenly, or collapse. Thompson’s application for support was rejected four times before she received help – a battle that lasted 10 years.

“I couldn’t live with myself knowing I didn’t try one last time,” she says. “Unfortunately, many children have fallen through the net. That affects mental and physical health. With Sade, it has affected her.”

As councils nationwide face budget pressures that threaten them with bankruptcy, some are having to consider cuts to SEND funding that they would never have contemplated just a few years ago. Yet their desperation to balance the books has run up against the desperation of parents determined to secure support for their children. The clash is now being played out in court actions across England.

Alicia McColl is among the parents taking action against Surrey county council’s proposal for a £21m cut in its SEND budget. She has been battling for the right support for her 14-year-old son Kian, who has autism, hypermobility, dyspraxia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. After years of campaigning, she is aware of the toll on her family. “All my money and inheritance went on my son’s education – on the battle,” she says. “The people who have missed out the most are my other two children. I try to make up for it now, but my eldest son is an adult and he missed out on a lot of my time. The impact is massive.”

Hopes have been raised by the success of a case in Bristol in the summer, in which a judge ruled that the council had unlawfully cut its SEND budget by £5m. Other campaigns are being drawn up in areas including Portsmouth, Gloucestershire and Sussex.

Hackney councillor Chris Kennedy insists everyone is “on the same side”, but adds that the court case “doesn’t address the fundamental issues that have led to councils up and down the country facing bankruptcy in their efforts to fund one of the most important services they provide”. Surrey county council said it was facing “huge financial pressure” and that it was wrong to describe the £21m saving as a cut “because we haven’t made or even proposed cuts to services”.

So what is causing the system to creak? The trouble, according to experts and council insiders, is that funding cuts have combined with recent education reforms to create a system loaded against councils – forcing them into cuts and legal battles with parents.

They point to 2014 changes designed to give “greater control and choice” to parents, which raised expectations about the support available and increased the legal responsibilities of councils. However, the new system was not matched with the necessary funding. With schools also under pressure to keep costs down and improve results, some are finding ways of removing SEND pupils from their rolls, or not accepting them in the first place.

That often leads to even higher costs for councils. Parents realised that some kind of national action was needed. A legal case has been launched against the government, with campaigners arguing that it is simply not providing sufficient funding. Among the parents in the group is Lorraine Heugh, who has faced cuts in funding for the care given to her son Nico, 15, who has autism and anxiety. “We had to go down the legal road and in the end they did supply the funding,” she says. “It didn’t stop there. The following September we had the same problem again. Now we’re in a situation where they have given a little bit of funding, but cut by half.

“The people who get forgotten are the children. For children like my son, when their needs are not met at school, it has a knock-on impact on them. It leads to children having breakdowns – why would you allow a child to go through that?”

Kirsty McFinnigan, from North Yorkshire, got involved through social media. After fighting for resources for her son Benedict, 14, she joined the legal battle out of “sheer and utter desperation”. “There’s too many people in this position,” she says. “My son is 14. I’m going to ultimately have to answer to him about why he didn’t get an education, so at least I can say I did everything I could.”

For Mary Riddell, who has fought her council in Birmingham over the support given to her nine-year-old daughter Dakota, it is simply about trying to be heard.

“We’ve had to fight every step of the way,” she says. “It is hard to watch your child struggle and all you can do is chase the people who are meant to be helping you – and knowing their hands are tied.

“I’m not holding out any hopes that they will instantly say, ‘here’s lots and lots of money’. But I would like them to take notice and understand what kind of effect these cuts are having.”

Source of the article: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/nov/10/its-hard-to-watch-your-child-struggle-all-you-can-do-is-chase-people

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Iran: Student Day commemorated across Iran by students, teachers

Asia/ Iran/ 12.12.2018/ Source: women.ncr-iran.org.

Iranian students held gatherings in Tehran, TabrizSemnanBabol, and other cities across the country on Saturday, December 8, 2018, to honor and observe the Student Day in Iran.

young women of Tehran University observe the Student Day

In Tehran, students of Tehran University, held a gathering and sit-in by the entrance gates of the university to observe the Student Day. When the State Security Force intended to disperse the participants,girl students stood up to them. One of the girl students called on other students to come to their aid.

On the same day, students of the Teachers’ Training University in Tehran also held a gathering on the occasion of the Student Day.

Students of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the Noshirvani University of Babol, Mazandaran Province in northern Iran, held a gathering on their campus while holding pictures of the students killed on December 7, 1953. They called for the release of imprisoned teachers and students.

Students of the University of Technology No. 1 in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran, also commemorated the Student Day by holding a gathering on Saturday and lining up their food trays on the floor to protest the low quality of food.

In Semnan, students of the School of Engineering and Computer held a free speech forum to commemorate the Student Day, and a number of the students made speeches. Two days earlier, Thursday, December 6, 2018, when the mullahs’ president, Hassan Rouhani, visited the University of Semnan, students shouted at him and asked, «What is your answer to high prices and inflation?”

In Kermanshah, western Iran, a group of teachers held a picket on the occasion of the Student Day and congratulated all Iranian students. They called for the release of imprisoned teachers and workers.

Students of the Medical Sciences University of Tabriz, held a sit-in outside the office of the university’s president on Thursday, December 6, 2018, to protest insufficient legal supervision of the university’s conducts.

On the same day, employees of the Hospital of Karaj held their 34th round of protests to demand their unpaid wages long overdue.

On December 6 and 7, 2018, a woman teacher from Isfahan and Ms. Adineh Baigi -wife of the imprisoned teacher activist Mahmoud Beheshti- paid visits to Hamid Rahmati, a teacher, who has been on hunger strike since December 1. He is sitting in the court yard of the Department of Education in Shahreza, Isfahan Province, demanding freedom of imprisoned teachers.

On Thursday, December 6, 2018, some 150 of the staff and employees of the Parseh Clinic in Kermanshah staged a protest against sealing off of the clinic. A large number of women participated in and led this protests. They were demanding that the Prosecutor of Kermanshah stop this inhuman measure as a result of which a large number of people lose their jobs.

defrauded clients of the IRGC-backed Caspian Credit Institute held a gathering outside the mullahs’ parliament in Tehran on Thursday, December 6. A similar protest gathering ws held in Kerman in front of one of the branches of the institute.

Also, on Thursday night, a group of political and civil activists visited the mother of Dr. Farhad Maysami, political prisoner who has been detained for his protest against the mandatory veil.

Source of the notice: https://women.ncr-iran.org/iran-women-news/5624-student-day-commemorated-across-iran-by-students-teachers

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France detains 32 students protesting education reform

Europa/ Francia/ 12.11.2018/ Source: www.aa.com.tr.

Protests erupt after Macron administration unveils plans to change education system

French police detained 32 students Wednesday who were taking part in protests against government plans to overhaul the country’s approach to education.

Students in a number of cities have been protesting against President Emmanuel Macron’s educational policies. The major reforms by his administration include changes to the Baccalaureate Examination, which students must pass to be eligible to enter university.

Six students were detained in a demonstration in Stalingrad Square in Bordeaux after they damaged vehicles and threw projectiles at police.

In southern Toulouse, another 13 students were detained for harming the environment and attacking police.

Tensions were also high between the police and students in the Henin-Beaumont commune, where students set fire to a large number of waste bins in front of a high school. Thirteen students were detained in demonstrations.

Around 100 high schools throughout the country were blockaded Monday by students protesting the education reform, with lessons at the schools fully or partially disrupted.

Source of the notice: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/france-detains-32-students-protesting-education-reform/1330753

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Uganda: Govt urged to invest more in Early Childhood Development

Africa/ Uganda/ 11.12.2018/By: Lawrence Mulondo/ Source: www.newvision.co.ug.

Among the other sectors Save the children is championing in is Health and Nutrition, Child poverty, Child protection, Childs rights and governance.

Save the Children has urged the Ministry of Education to invest more in Early Childhood Development (ECD) in order to have quality children joining primary schools.

In an education Act of 2008, the government recognized pre-primary education as the first stage of education for all children below the age of eight.

The ECD education sector policy by the Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development recognises four programs including day care Centres, Nursery schools, home care Centres and community Centres.

While attending the first day of the three day Save the Children partnership meeting at Royal Suits Bugolobi, partners agreed that a child that joins primary with an ECD background, has basic knowledge on literacy, giving them a good start.

Save the Children Head of Advocacy and Communications, Alun McDonald said children that attend ECDs have better social skills compared to those who did not attend.

“We recognize that ECD is critical in every child’s life as it determines the kind of adult they will be in future,” he said.

He pointed out that if children do not go through ECD, they find it difficult to learn skills in primary school.

McDonald said Uganda has made a lot of improvement in primary education due to the existence of Universal Primary Education (UPE).

He however said that the country is still weak in terms of ECD due to lack of enough public ECD Centres.

“Uganda has good policies on ECD, however they are not well implemented around the country especially in villages,” he said.

Statistics on ECD

According to Save the Children, only 13.4% of children in Uganda are enrolled in ECD/pre-primary.

Families with the highest income, 53% of children attend ECD, 21.6% of children from middle income families, and only 6.7% of children from the poorest families attend.

Save the Children says, there is also a big difference between urban and rural areas in terms of access to ECD as 53% of children in urban areas attend ECD, but only 19.5% in rural areas.

According to the 2017 UNICEF report 65 of the children between the age of 3 and 5 are developmentally on track in literacy, numerous and physical, social and emotional development.

According to the 2011 Ministry of Education statistics, ECD Centres  distribution per region is as follows, Central region 783(33%), Eastern 554 (24%), North East106 (5%), North 354 (15%), South West 128 (5%), and West 436 (19%).

McDonald called on the government to sensitize the public more on the importance of ECD and also put in place a special budget for the construction of free ECD Centres in UPE schools.

The 2016 National ECD policy of Uganda has it that 80% of the ECD centers around the country are privately owned and financially out of reach from most Ugandans, adding that a few children benefit from institutionalized ECD centers leaving many toddlers to stay home with their parents of which many parents have are not experienced to offer ECD programs to their children.

While meeting a delegation from Canada on ECDs in January, the Minister of Higher Education, Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo said: “Government realised that ECDs are very critical to the children’s education.

A review is being conducted by Curriculum Development Centre to provide an assessment that will fit with the demands of our educational market.”

Muyingo added that ECDs are the essential areas for child upbringing that introduce a child to learning new things in life.

He noted that it is at this stage that learners are introduced to writing, listening and also learning how to play with friends.

“In the past, the government was concentrated on funding primary education and Early Childhood Education (ECE) was left to the private sector and non-governmental organisations.

Save the Children involvement in ECD

Save the Children is currently constructing primary schools around the country that have an ECD complement. Last year, the NGO worked in 91 ECD Centres across Uganda.

McDonald revealed that as Save the Children commemorates 100 years in 2019, the country Directors will focus more on improving ECD in the countries where they are serving.

He said among the things they will be fostering is training ECD care givers and other necessities needed.

Partnerships

To implement their goals in the country, Save the Children works with partners Like New Vision in the Education sector and others.

Among the other sectors Save the children is championing in is Health and Nutrition, Child poverty, Child protection, Childs rights and governance.

Save the Children is partnering with New Vision to extend newspapers to children in different schools around the country like Karamoja, Nakasongola Nakaseke and others through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) project.

The move is to inform children of what is going on in the country and the whole world as well as improve on their reading skills.

Challenges

McDonald said that limited funding is always a challenge to them as they extend services to children. He said their areas of operation are usually over whelming.

He added that the fact that Uganda is hosting a number of Refugees from different countries strains services offered by the organization in the areas where they are.

He however said the existence of refugees is also an opportunity as they contribute to the economy of the country.

Meeting objectives

Save the children partnership coordinator, Janet Nambuya said that they called for a meeting with their partners to share experiences and also to share areas where there is need for improvement.

Nabafu added that they called on partners to create a platform for reflection, learning, accountability and networking.

She added that in the meeting they are to disseminate the country strategic plan of 2019-2019.

Source of the notice: https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1491038/govt-urged-invest-childhood-development

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Why do dyslexic students do worse at university?

By: Christopher Byrne.

The proportion of UK university students who are dyslexic has increased markedly in recent years, rising to around 5%. Yet there remains a significant dyslexia attainment gap: around 40% of dyslexic students achieve a 2.1 or above, compared to 52% of non-dyslexic students. Dyslexia is unrelated to intelligence, so why does this gap persist?

Unfortunately, outdated attitudes towards dyslexia among university staff prevail. Too many view it as something made up by middle-class “helicopter parents” to gain unfair advantages for their children entering university, and not the valid medical diagnosis that it actually is. Even where it is accepted as a condition rooted in an inability to match spoken sounds with their written forms, the accommodations made to level the playing field for dyslexic students are often inadequate.

Most universities do little else than allow dyslexic students extra time (usually around 25%) to complete their assessments and ensure that their work is “marked for content”. This means that markers are instructed to not penalise dyslexic students for poor presentation of their written work, such as spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. While such accommodations are helpful, they fail to take into account that dyslexic students can struggle with a wide range of commonplace tasks, such as reading, spelling, note-taking, organising essays, timekeeping, expressing ideas verbally, concentrating and using short-term memory.

So how do we close the dyslexia attainment gap? We need a determined effort on the part of UK universities to make their institutions more dyslexia-friendly across the board. Lecturers can help by thinking more carefully about the effectiveness of their teaching and assessment methods for all of their students. For example, how many university teachers are familiar with research showing that the reading accuracy of dyslexic students can be significantly improved by using fonts such as Helvetica, Courier and Arial?

Equally, dyslexic students indicated in a survey I recently carried out at the University of Exeter that they highly value being given teaching materials in advance of sessions, and not being overloaded with information. They also wanted variety in both teaching and assessment methods, access to marking criteria written in plain English and, most importantly of all, easy access to recordings of teaching sessions, so that they can digest teaching materials at a suitable pace.

Every year, students with undiagnosed dyslexia arrive at UK universities. The number of these missed diagnoses could be greatly reduced if institutions received support to cover the costs of professional dyslexia assessment. Clear procedures would enable lecturers to refer students they suspect have undiagnosed dyslexia for a timely dyslexia screening. Universities can also establish guidelines for teaching staff, so that there is greater awareness of their specific needs. They should be monitoring the implementation of action plans for dyslexic students to ensure that they receive necessary adjustments in all of their modules.

Given that dyslexia is a highly variable condition, and one better thought of as a continuum than a categorical diagnosis, it is not possible to specify in advance which accommodations individuals might need. What we do know is that promoting a wider range of accommodations will help level the uneven playing field for dyslexic students.

Source of the article: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/dec/06/why-do-dyslexic-students-do-worse-at-university

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Australia: Student protests show Australian education does get some things righ

Oceania/ Australia/ 10.11.2018/ Source: theconversation.com.

Australia’s education system often suffers a barrage of criticism – claims of stagnant or declining NAPLAN results, slippage in international comparisons and rankings, and an irrelevant curriculum, tend to draw the attention of politicians, the media, and the Australian public.

It’s not often we are able to celebrate what’s right in Australia’s education system. But yesterday’s student presence at Parliament house and Friday’s protests where more than 15,OOO Australian students skipped class to demand greater action on climate change should be cause for celebration.


Far from being concerned about an afternoon off school, parents should feel satisfied schools and teachers are doing their job. Participation in these protests meets many of the key goals of our current education system, including students’ capacity to engage in, and strengthen, democracy. Rather than proof of a flawed education system, politically active and engaged students are evidence many aspects of our education system are working well.

Students want action on climate change

Protests called out the federal government’s lack of action on climate change during the protests. Wednesday’s parliament house rally specifically targeted the Adani coal mine project. Students were also seeking an audience with the prime minister to have their concerns heard.

The government’s response to these protests has been, at best, dismissive. Students’ actions have not been recognised as a genuine attempt to engage in robust democratic debate about climate change. Before Friday’s walk-out, Scott Morrison relegated students to the confines of their classrooms, “what we want”, he argued, “is more learning in schools and less activism”.

The students are right: activism is learning. Lukas Coch/AAP

Other members of government have been equally off-hand. Senator James McGrath was more concerned with a spelling error on a single student’s placard than the basis of their grievance. Resources minister Matt Canavan deemed protests as nothing more than a quick ticket “to the dole queue”.

The government’s response is both misinformed and misdirected. Beyond the obvious lack of recognition of political protest as a fundamental pillar of democracy, and means to political change, it also demonstrates a lack of recognition of the goals of Australian schooling, as outlined in our Melbourne Declaration.

The Melbourne Declaration and the role of education

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australiansis a document signed by all Australian education ministers which outlines the mandated knowledge, skills and values of schooling for the period 2009-2018. The declaration is a national road map for education and a statement of intent by both federal and state governments, across partisan lines.

The declaration outlines two key goals:

  1. Australian schooling promotes both equity and excellence
  2. all young Australians become: successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens

It’s the first goal that gathers public attention as excellence and equity, in the form of measurable academic outcomes, dominates public discussion (think NAPLAN, My School, and PISA). More often than not, we’re told it’s here we’re getting things wrong.


In the second goal, the declaration attends to the broad purpose and significance of education. That is, the democratic purpose of education, as an avenue for students’ successful participation in civil society. If events of the last week are anything to go by, our students are all over goal two.

Students at a rally demanding action on climate change in Sydney, Friday, November 30, 2018. Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Sustainability is a stated priority in the Australian curriculum. Beyond understanding sustainable patterns of living and impacts of climate change, students are expected to develop skills to inform and persuade others to take action. Through these protests, relevant sections of the Melbourne Declaration read like a tick-list of student achievement. Students have demonstrated:

  • the ability to think deeply and logically, and obtain and evaluate evidence
  • creativity, innovation, and resourcefulness
  • the ability to to plan activities independently, collaborate, work in teams and communicate ideas
  • enterprise and initiative to use their creative abilities
  • preparation for their roles as community members
  • the ability to embrace opportunities and make rational and informed decisions about their own lives
  • a commitment to participate in Australia’s civic life
  • ability to work for the common good, to sustain and improve natural and social environments
  • their place as responsible global and local citizens.

The Melbourne Declaration is a recognition that education is more than a classroom test and more than measurable results. This is not to suggest the much lauded 3R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic) are not important in education – they are. Rather, it’s an understanding that education and learning is also, and importantly, social, and sometimes immeasurable in nature and practice.


Australian students’ activities over the past week evidence their knowledge and capabilities in an education system valuing both economic and democratic functions of education.

Rather than dismiss students’ actions as ill-informed or misdirected, or deny their capacity to effectively participate in democratic processes, we should recognise their learning and achievements. Let’s celebrate this achievement in Australian education, and encourage their capacity as active and informed citizens within our democracy.

Australian students understand progress happens when individuals join together to demand change. Politicians, take heed.

Source of the notice: http://theconversation.com/student-protests-show-australian-education-does-get-some-things-right-108258

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Mali: Le comportement des enfants au Mali en cause

Africa/ Mali/ 10.12.2018/ Source:maliactu.net.

Comportement des enfants au Mali devient de plus en plus inadmissible à cause d’un système éducatif inaccessible à tous les niveaux, estiment des concitoyens dans un micro-trottoir réalisé en fin de la semaine dernière.

L’éducation, le bon comportement des enfants, le respect de personnes âgées comme catalyseur de développement d’un pays, est loin d’être une priorité pour beaucoup de parents. Elle se fait sur une base de négligence, déplorent plusieurs personnes interrogées sur la question.

“Le comportement des enfants a changé au Mali depuis un certain temps. Et cela est dû au laisser-aller de beaucoup de parents. A notre temps, un enfant ne pouvait pas insulter un aîné. Et le respect des personnes âgées était obligatoire. Mais aujourd’hui, des milliers d’enfants, n’ayant pas l’accès à l’éducation, se voient priver d’outils nécessaires, susceptibles de leur permettre d’appréhender l’espace, dans lequel ils évoluent. Un handicap tellement grave qu’y passer outre serait un abus (…)”, avance Moussa Dao, un père de famille aux 759-Logements de Yirimadio.

“Il faut redynamiser l’éducation des enfants dans les familles. Nous devons apprendre aux enfants à respecter les personnes âgées pour une meilleure éducation à l’école. Le plus grand besoin pour aujourd’hui n’est pas simplement la déclaration de l’intention d’une nouvelle, mais que l’on tienne à ce que la scolarisation des enfants ne soit plus une utopie”, poursuit Adama Diarra de Banankabougou.

Et déjà, plusieurs parents plaident  pour un enseignement technique et professionnel généralisé, un accès aux études supérieures, ouvertes en pleine égalité à toutes et à tous, en fonction de leur mérite, car dit-il, l’éducation constitue le véritable catalyseur de développement durable d’un pays.

“Parler d’éducation au Mali renvoie à un faible taux de scolarisation. Beaucoup d’enfants ne jouissent pas, malheureusement, de ce droit fondamental, reconnu par la Convention internationale relative aux droits de l’enfant”, souligne-t-il.

Selon ses explications, le comportement des enfants d’aujourd’hui est caractérisé par un déficit de qualité de l’éducation, un manque de gouvernance ainsi qu’un rendement interne et externe, inefficace et inefficient.

Source of the notice: https://maliactu.net/mali-education-le-comportement-des-enfants-au-mali-en-cause/

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