...to ask you all to sign this petition to get Speech, Language and Communication needs included in teacher training to ensure children with this disability are better supported.

[SandunesAndRainclouds]

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/162154

My DD has Speech & Language Disorder. She has other learning difficulties, but SLCNs are her primary issue.

The lack of awareness of SLCN and support available is shocking. I've had to explain what it means to nearly every teacher and HCP we've met. I've had to battle to get her supported in school, and to get her disabilities fully diagnosed.

It is imperative that student teachers are taught about SLCN, how to recognise difficulties / disorders and how to support students with these needs. Getting this to a parliament discussion is one small step in the right direction to having SLCN recognised and fully supported.

Thank you.

Done ...my DS has slcn.We had to fight to get him the support he needs.

Absolutely!

Hoping it won't do me out of a job!

The difficulty is that so many routes to teaching involve being "on the job" and learning from another experienced teacher so I think, while well intentioned, the emphasis would have to be on providing education to existing teachers to pass on.

I agree rainy, but we have to start somewhere and this is better than what we already have.

The lack of knowledge is throughout many professions. It feels like we are where parents with children on the Autistic Spectrum were in the 1980s.

I wonder if ensuring regular SEN cpd covering x, y and z for existing teachers would probably be more useful.

I don't know if it would be more useful or as useful, if that makes sense. Knowledge and awareness across the board needs to be improved, as does the support available to parents who have SLCN.

I am sorry but...

The role of teachers is already crammed full of 'other' compulsory actions.

SN awareness is already part and parcel of teacher training. Teachers are supposed to be capable of recognising them, designing support plans for each individual student and then measuring, monitoring and developing that plan... alongside their day job, of course!

But no teacher can be fully aware of all needs of all SNs. Nor should they be, because, well, they already have a fulltime job/profession/career - teaching To be fully cognisant and responsible for both is to dilute the individual's effectiveness in both - as has been happening to teachers for decades!

The best solution always was to have an effective partnership between SN professionals and link teaching staff who chose to specialise in an aspect of SN. This partnership then worked together to create, communicate and support both student and teacher in developing effective and efficient support.

Possible consequences of such a petition:

1. Extend the years it takes to become qualified
2. Further reduce funding for SENCO staff
3. Further reduce the time teacher have to teach
4. Increase the dissatisfaction of teachers, old and new
5. Reduce the (already pitiful) amount of actual support as tickboxing takes far less time!
6. Increase parental dissatisfaction with teachers due to ever increasing, unreasonable expectations

All I am saying is, recognise the reality. DO NOT push this on to teachers. Rather argue that MORE staff, MORE specialised, SEPARATE from teachers and SUPPORTING both student and teacher are required.

Arguing for one already beleaguered profession to take on board yet more aspects of another is counter productive. Both teacher an SN specialist will become less valued, more frustrated, less effective.

Support the two separate, distinct professions and argue that a better, more effective bridge between the two is needed!

Agree with outblanche. Instead of dumping yet more stuff on us, why not employ more support in schools.

I don't think it is the role of the teacher to assess and diagnose SLCN, unfortunately it does fall to them much more than it should because there are not enough speech & language therapists to get into schools to support education. There aren't enough educational psychologists to assess children to work out how children learn and therefore enable them to access the curriculum.

It is very interesting to read other people's viewpoints and it is one of the reasons I posted here. When you live with a disability, or a child with a disability it consumes you and therefore you lose objectivity. It is good to have opinions from outside that box.

I am sorry that you have had a poor experience with your dc's school. I am not convinced that teacher training is the place for extensive training about this aspect of SEN although how teachers should adapt and plan for any child with SEN is already included. In my experience teachers come across an enormous variety of needs in their career and they are most successful if the school Sendco is well trained and there are links to local professionals and training when needed to get up to date advice. In my area we are lucky to have a forum with the local speech therapists where we meet regularly and who also do the best courses on speech and language.

It's not about dumping more on teachers. They it is their responsibility to ensure all of their pupils needs are met in class and it is their job to differentiate work accordingly.

But currently they are having to do that with no real understanding of some of their pupils needs, so by improving SEN training at initial teacher training level, which is currently woefully inadequate given the prevalence of communication based disorders in mainstream settings, surely that would make teachers lives easier, not harder, as they should feel more confident about what they are dealing with.

Sandunes forgive the c+P, I know it ofetn looks aggressive, but I wanted to give your posts full consideration

I don't think it is the role of the teacher to assess and diagnose SLCN Sadly that is the reality. A student with needs has to be recognised in the classroom, put forward for further investigation etc. The first step relies on teachers with an already overfull workload, large classes and little or no support.

unfortunately it does fall to them much more than it should because there are not enough speech & language therapists to get into schools to support education. So petition for more funding for them. Like TAs SENCOs are often undervalued, under utilised, misunderstood and bloody useless. Not because of anything they themselves think/do but because the educational juggernaut has no clear space for them to exist.

There aren't enough educational psychologists to assess children to work out how children learn and therefore enable them to access the curriculum. Oh, there are! Most of them see the money to be made in private practice.

Our local 'expert' has made a good living recycling the one single report over and over again! When we point out errors, wrong name, wrong SN, the amount of c+p in each 200+ page document, we are told we are too stupid to understand! Parents who pay for the services of this same person get the same c+p document! She has an international reputation!

A petition to demand better professional status for Ed Psychs within the education system could be more effective. Hell, more support for all sorts of SN/MH professionals and services is essential.

When you live with a disability, or a child with a disability it consumes you and therefore you lose objectivity. It is good to have opinions from outside that box. The very reason for MNs existence!

Excellent posts OurBlanche!