Hi, my name is tonymou!

tonymou

I am a nonviolence resistance (NVR) practitioner, former head of a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) for pupils excluded from school. I now support families, many of whom are struggling with their children's behaviour but often linked to needs not being met in school.

Alex_Alumni

Hello and welcome to the community @tonymou thanks for sharing a bit about yourself this morning

You might like to visit our Education category here on the forum.

Please feel free to start a discussion or have a browse of the forum whenever you are ready.  

You can find all the latest conversations in our recent discussions category, all the different topics in our categories page, and you can meet and chat with other members over in our virtual coffee lounge too.

If you've got any questions, please do ask.

Alex

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community from me @tonymou It sounds like you've had some fascinating jobs! What made you interested in entering into that field?

What do the think could change in the education sector to make education more inclusive for children and young people with special educational needs, or disabled children?

tonymou

Hi @Tori_Scope
There are much I think needs changing within the education system to make it more inclusive for children and young people with SEND. I work with families, mostly adoptive families, and I am concerned at the number of young people who struggle in mainstream schools. I think there needs to be a commitment to put pupils with SEND at the heart of mainstream school thinking, by which I mean broaden the remit of class teachers so they have a much sharper focus on, and greater understanding of inclusion. Many of the parents I work with have children who are neuro divergent, and even where the child has an EHCP, I find that some staff are not equipped to manage their needs effectively. I do think this requires a shift in emphasis away from a focus on academic outcomes, league tables etc to one where schools are evaluated for how inclusive they are. I think some schools do this, but many, most, don't. My previous role as head of a pupil referral unit brought this home to me very sharply. We had many pupils with undiagnosed special educational needs and I know from their parents that they had struggled for many years to have this recognised.

L_Volunteer

Thanks for your response @tonymou. I hear you and agree that inclusion extends to every member of every school - or at least it should! 

EHCP's are legally binding, as I am sure you are already aware. Focusing on individuals and individual progression is a really important first step.

Keep advocating!