Aiming to reduce bullying

Children do best when their personal, social and emotional needs are met. Children need to learn to consider the views and feelings, needs and rights, of others and the impact that their behaviour has on people, places and objects. This is a developmental process that requires support, encouragement, teaching and setting the correct example.

A school should:
- welcome diversity so student and member of staff has a right to study and work in a happy environment with positive relationships.
- promote a studying and working environment in which bullying cannot flourish. They should take immediate action if bullying is suspected or identified, whether or not a complaint had been made. Allegations of bullying received either formally or informally should be taken seriously and dealt with promptly and sensitively
- ensure bullying on the grounds of someone's race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, age, pregnancy or maternity, marital or civil partnership status or harassment on any other grounds, does not take place at work, as this is discrimination.

In addition, there is a duty of care towards its staff under the Health and Safety Act 1974.
All allegations of bullying are serious, but any such allegations proven to be malicious will also be treated very seriously and these are also likely to be the subject of disciplinary action.

As a group we devised an all-class activity to teach teachers the importance of spotting the signs of bullying:

SPOTTING THE SIGNS OF BULLYING IN ONES-SELF
Aim - to teach the importance of confidentiality in “spotting the signs of bullying”

Outcome - recognising that bulling is an issue that you may be facing personally, and being able to idenitfy the signs. Also knowing where to turn in such a case.

Starter - explain the need for regulating bullying

Activity - ask teachers to fill in a graduated questionnaire (0 to 10) to rate a sense of bullying with general questions about how they feel in the work place. No direct questions about
bullying

Plenary - follow up any problems flagged up by the questionnaire with confidential interviews - and offering of numbers to call/support groups

S Ward

Resilience is a virtue?

To define resilience ‘Resilience refers to an individual’s ability to prevent, minimize or overcome ability to overcome the damaging affects of trauma or adversity. It gives an individual the capacity to face adversity, and even be strengthened by the traumas in life that will inevitably face’. 3. (www.ebility.com).

Resilience can be learned and developed it is part of our emotional intelligence.
When faced with a problem, resilient people focus on finding a solution rather than getting depressed and feeling like victims. Resilience is another name to emotional strength. To overcome adversities, children and young people can draw from three sources of resilience they are: ‘I Have – people who want me to learn to do things on my own, I Am – willing to be responsible for what I do and I Can – find ways to solve problems that I face’. 4. (www.resilnet.u.uc.edu)

There are different role models that can help a child and young person to develop resilience they are; parent/s, carer, teacher, TA etc…. Parents and carers can provide specific opportunities and activities to promote resilience in their child. Here are some activities that parent/s and carers can provide to develop resilience in their child; ‘providing clear rules and routines and reforcing these rules. Make sure the limits and consequences of behaviour are understood. Use the removal of privileges and other forms of discipline that do not belittle, harm or reject the child. When rules have been broken help the child to understand what they did wrong offer reconciliation along with discipline and understanding, and praise your child for good behaviour and accomplishments’. 5. (www.ebility.com).

Teachers and TA’s are seen by children and young people not just a practioner, but also a confident and positive role model. In a study by Werner & Smith in 1989 they found that they frequently encountered positive role models for children outside their circle of family members, was a favourite teacher. Teachers and TA’s can influence and support children and young people by teaching them the risks and harm that they may encounter in or outside school. They are giving them the tools on how to cope by themselves and not to rely on other people and to hopefully make the right choices. However; some children and young people do find it difficult to develop their resilience I will now give you an example from my work placement.

There are two young people aged 12 yrs and both are in wheelchairs. As part of their physio which they must do everyday in school, they are taken out of their wheelchairs and strapped on to walkers (walkers are large walking frames). With the aid of walkers this helps their back and leg muscles to be flexible and to get them stronger, and also this help them to manoeuvre around the school. The other positive is it helps them to be independent without their wheelchairs. They both grumble when they have to use their walkers. However; one learners resilience is stronger compared to the other learner.

The reason being is that at home this learner’s parent gives her physio at home and she practices the exercises her physio sets out for her. As I mentioned before she does not enjoy going in her walker because the longer she stays in it the back of her legs begin to ache, but she knows she has to push herself as this will help in the long run. She can already sit on a chair and sit on the floor as her back has got stronger and she does not need any help to manoeuvre in her walker. The other learner unfortunately has to be helped so he can move in his walker and sometimes he has become distressed because he won’t push himself to stay longer in the walker. I have spoken to his TA why he is not at the same level as the other learner; his TA told me that at home he does not get the opportunity and is not encouraged enough to do his physio exercise. She continued that if he is pushed he would be able to do what the other learner can do such as, sit on a chair and floor (when the class do floor work) and he would be able to stay longer in a walker which will eventually help his muscles to get stronger. The TA gets anxious when he comes back from school holidays as he is behind on his exercise and physio and it’s like going back to square one.

We must consider some factors why his resilience is lower compared to the other learner, his parent/s may lead busy lives or he could rebel at home that he will not do any exercises or physio. To support this Barry Plummer, a clinical psychologist of the faculty of Brown University’s Medical school, who in practice works with adolescents, says that grown ups should ‘encourage a kid to master something even if he stinks at school – a sport, music, someplace he can go where he is of value. This can build up pocket of resilience’. 6. (www.time.com).

When I was at school I specifically remembered a lesson about anti-smoking. This lesson was to inform the class the risk and dangers of smoking. We watched a video that showed a man who was an ex-smoker and how smoking affected his health. Due to smoking he was diagnosed with lung cancer which resulted in having a tube inserted to a hole in his throat to help him breath. What the class witnessed was shocking and horrific; this actually frightened us all.

As a TA if I was to take a lesson about resilient strategies to help them make the right decision I would do a lesson about drugs. Drugs are rife everywhere and most of them will encounter this sometime in their life. I would ask them to name me any drugs and then I will answer the affects of each drug and show them a picture of what they look like. If they could not name me any I would explain about each drug. I would then show them a video and I may get a guest speaker maybe an ex-addict who will give them the realities of drug use. I would give the learners an opportunity for them to ask questions to the guest speaker. Another alternative is to let them see a performance by a Theatre in Education Company and from this they can do some role plays. I hope the learners will gain knowledge of the dangers of drug use and that there are choices and decisions they can make for themselves to stay safe and healthy. In reality there will be some who take it in and there will be some who quickly forget.

To conclude as I mentioned at the beginning of this analysis that resilience is firstly learned at home from parent/s or carers. This is continued at school with teachers and TA’s teaching them new challenges they may face. By teaching them resilience they can develop tools and skills how to cope with problems, transition and pressures of life.

This makes a child and young person self reliant and increase independence.

However; the reality is some children and young person will have resilience imbedded in them from a very young age, unfortunately others will not. This could stem from their background that they are not taught the tools and skills to be self resilient at a young age. When they reach school age sometimes this can be turned around by teachers and TA’s. But some will have low self esteem and confidence that leaves them vulnerable to peer pressure this may prove difficult for them to build on resilience. Reaching adolescent this is also a challenging time in a young person’s life they may rebel, they maybe going through a phase and just want to test the boundaries.

As a TA it is important to support and to empower resilience to each and every child and young person, you can help them to be an independent and responsible person which will eventually set them up for adulthood.

A Marinetto

A recipie for self esteem

The following is an activity to ensure children receive praise and encouragement in class:

Activity: Baking with a class of 5 year olds

Aim:
A ‘fun’ and cross-curricular activity for the class to be involved in and gives the TA a chance to encourage and praise the children. Gives children the opportunity to bake, which could be something they may not do at home.

Outcome:
To ensure all children have the individual experience of creating something they can be proud of, and take home to share achievement with parents/carers.

Starter: 10 minutes
5 minutes to read the story of ‘The Gingerbread Man’, which will include a brief description of the baking of the gingerbread man.
5 minutes discussion on what you need to make a gingerbread man, encouragement when they come up with ideas. Discuss the recipe and ingredients.

Activity: 30 minutes
Small group, adult supported activity, to make the gingerbread. Measuring and mixing the ingredients together as a group, each child having a turn. Lots of discussion on quantities and measurements, and following a recipe, and time for baking. (Numeracy & Literacy)
Individual decorating of the gingerbread man, independent choices of what to use e.g. smarties, raisins, cherries etc. (Creativity)
Adult to put the finished cakes into the oven and bake.

Plenary:
Memory game, writing up the recipe e.g. can you remember what we used? Praise and encouragement. Children can take the recipe home to ‘hopefully’ do again with Mum, and take their own gingerbread man home. (Sense of achievement/praise and encouragement: I made it on my own!)

P Clarke and Team

It's how you do it...appropriate behaviour for age

Although stages of development are put into age ranges, not all children develop at the same rate. Therefore you should treat each child individually.

If you are dealing with a child at infant level it is good to remember they are still very young and it may be the first time a lot of them have been away from home and their families for whole days at a time. You should therefore be aware that they may not yet know how to interact with others of their own age or possibly even how to share. Therefore to begin with school should feel more of a new place to play. You should make sure they are comfortable and happy in their surroundings. Learning should be made to feel fun for them. School needs to be a positive experience for them, however you should still be fair and consistent.

Primary school children will be used to school. They will understand about structure and rules. This is a stage where some children mature sooner than others. This is where you really need to recognise their individual stages of development.

Some children will still be very young in mind and actions to those of others in their classes. If a child appears uncomfortable or lacking confidence in their surroundings you should take this into account when interacting with them. They may also need more time and patience in understanding different things.

Some junior school children can be quite mature and appreciate being treated the same way in return.

The same applies to secondary school pupils. This can be a tricky age for some in lots of ways. If you can treat them as adults if that is what they want they will appreciate this. For some children who are not quite so mature it would be a boost to their confidence if you were to give them some types of responsibilities. These can be important or minor responsibilities depending on the individual. Hopefully this should aid their self esteem and development.

A Waldron

Transient (or transitional) friendships?

Having positive relationships through transitions, for some young people is essential, however sometimes, in certain cases; it can be argued that children could simply be left alone to deal with the transition themselves.

Firstly, we can look at positive relationships. If a child is provided with a positive home environment, where there is little or no disruption, both parents are present and together they encourage the child emotionally, socially and academically, in a safe and secure home, it is likely the child will feel protected and confident about changes taking places. They may not even notice particular transitions are happening to them. I was lucky enough to come from such a background and looking back, I do not recognise any transitions from my childhood being an issue at all. Actually they were not even recognised by my parents, we just grew up and that was it.

Positive relationships do not stop at home though. Teachers and staff at the school should provide positive relationships too. This is extremely important if the child experiences problems at home and is not encouraged and supported by their parents. Someone needs to be in the child’s life to offer support, notice that changes are approaching and to be available to help and guide the child as best as possible, whether this be supporting them emotionally or academically throughout the different transitions they are experiencing. Teachers and TA’s however need to be aware that they cannot become emotionally involved, they have an obligation to remain professional, and they must understand the limits of their role. With this is mind though, a supportive and understanding teacher/TA, is an excellent intervention for any child whether they have home support or not.

Building up a child’s self esteem and confidence, by providing a positive, happy learning environment, using relative, thought out interventions, will encourage that child to develop coping skills in order to effectively manage changes in their lives. It also offers a foundation for other pupils in the class who may be experiencing, or are about to experience the same change.

Friends and peers, regardless of age, can also have a positive effect of transitions. They may be going through the same transitions themselves, or they may have experienced similar issues to you. They are available to offer guidance and an ear for listening, a shoulder to cry on, or just the thought of knowing you are not on your own is a helpful intervention in itself. Friends are particularly helpful when a child is going through a unique transition such as their parents splitting up. They can offer support, empathy and companionship which can be priceless for that child.

Negative relationships can hinder a child’s passage through transitions. At home, parents may not be there to offer support, they may be busy with work or a younger sibling, and may not notice the child is encountering problems dealing with a change in their life. They could assume the child is old enough to cope alone and may not offer any emotional help. Or on the opposite side of the coin, they could be over caring, and may ‘baby’ a child to the extent that transitions such as starting primary school and detaching themselves from Mum, becomes almost impossible to deal with.

Friends could also play a negative part when a child is going through a transition. They could put pressure on you to participate in something wrong to mask what is really going on. For example, if you confided in a friend at school and told them you were being bullied, they could encourage you to skip school with them, so that you did not have to attend that day.
They could offer you bad advice if they are not experienced in the transition, and they may gossip about you or become competitive. They may just have absolutely no understanding of what you are going through and may be totally unaccommodating, leaving you to feel silly, isolated and that you must be the only one experiencing these feelings.

So, as we can see, positive relationships do significantly help when children and young people are experiencing normal and unique transitions. However, do we really need to aid children through every one of these changes with such force? ‘Normal’ transitions needn’t be a struggle for most children. Children should relish and welcome some of these changes, and be encouraged to think of them as stepping stones rather than ‘scary things that happen to us’. I feel that putting emphasis on every transition that happens will almost force issues onto the child and could cause stress and worry, and have a negative impact on the way they cope.

All children are unique, and have very different coping levels. I believe that a good balance between offering emotional support, and having respect for a child’s own ability to master the transition on their own, is absolutely essential.

H Akers

Signs we hope to NEVER see...

There are four main types of abuse; physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. I am going to go into more detail about the possible signs, symptoms and behaviours that may cause concern in the context of safeguarding.

Physical Abuse
The obvious way of telling if a child is being physically abused is by their appearance. If they have bruises, burns, blemishes and cuts. However children play all the time and these kinds of injuries often occur without any cause for concern. This is why it is important to record and check for a reoccurrence. The physical symptoms have to be persistent or spasmodic in order to raise alarm bells.

It is also important to realise that not all abuse is obvious and we do have to look out for some less obvious signs. A child who is being physically abused may have a fear of physical contact, they may not like other children hugging them or holding their hand. They may be reluctant to change for PE, this may be a sign that they are trying to cover up symptoms of the abuse. A child may be aggressive towards other people in school because they are used to having aggression shown towards them at home and think it is normal behaviour.

A child may however show a different sort of behaviour and could be overly kind and loving to other people and constantly wanting to help and gain some sort of affection and recognition because they are not getting any at home.

An example of physical abuse case is Baby P who suffered from extensive internal and external injuries over a nine month period and eventually died as a result.

Emotional Abuse
The most common type of emotional abuse in schools is bullying. Being emotionally abused is someone undermining your confidence and sense of self-worth. This could be through constant teasing, being humiliated in front of other people or just being ignored. Obvious signs of a child being emotionally abused may be that they are extremely clingy, they lack in self-confidence and self-esteem and they are emotionally withdrawn.

Perhaps less obvious signs include the child being anxious about new situations or having an inability to concentrate and are easily distracted. However this could be easily confused with signs of autism or Asperger’s so it is sometimes difficult to differentiate certain symptoms. The child may also develop and eating disorder or self-harm as a way of coping with being bullied at school.

Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse is when a child is used sexually by an adult or young person. They may be pursued, pressurized, forced or tricked into having sexual contact with and adult or young person, whether it be kissing, touching the young person’s genitals or breasts, oral sex or intercourse. However sexual abuse is also forcing a child look at pornographic images.

The obvious signs that a child is being sexually abused may be that their sexual behaviour is inappropriate for their age, for example a 7 year old thrusting in the classroom or wanting to touch other people sexually. They may also have genital irritation and perhaps often have their hands down their pants.

A less obvious sign may be their lack of trust in adults because they are used to being abused by someone who they thought they could trust.

Neglect
A child who is being neglected is the failure by the parent to meet the child’s basic needs. Whether this is not showing them any love or affection at home, not feeding them breakfast before they come to school or letting them wear clothes which are dirty. Harm is not always intended but often the child is intentionally deprived.

An obvious sign of neglect is a child coming into school who is dirty, hungry or tired as I mentioned above. Some less obvious signs may be that the child is seeking attention, again because they are not getting any at home. Likewise they may be overly affectionate and eager to please as a result of this. They may also be extremely shy or prefer solo activities because the neglect has caused them to become very introverted.

They may be very academic as a way of getting attention and praise at school and in order to please their parents.

Neglect can also often lead to a child self-harming in order to get some attention, because any attention is good attention.

There are key aspects of supporting a child in a school who you think is being abused and these should be met at every school. The first step is recognising the signs, this can be any of the obvious or unobvious signs I have mentioned above in relation to the different types of abuse. Keeping a record of these signs is very important and it is just as important to make sure that the records are filed away and are kept confidential to those who are involved. It is then necessary to follow your own schools particular policies and procedures in order to report the abuse.

S Heaton-Jones

Support from within

Children and young people require supportive and stimulating environments in order to develop at the expected sequence and rate, when their environments are found to be lacking they will not reach the developmental stages they are required to-an over stimulating environment can also be detrimental to development.

Children and young people can experience disadvantageous external factors such as;
· Poor relationships with their families
· Be exposed to neglect or abuse
· Adults around them involved with drugs or alcohol
· Be at a socio-economic disadvantage
· Come from a single/step parent family
· Come from a background of unemployment/criminal activity
· Low/high expectations of behaviour/learning
· Low involvement from parents/carers

One, some or all of the above factors will impact on the child’s sequence and rate of development. By recognising and assisting those children and young people in an appropriate and supportive manner-support coming from the family, school or outside agencies such as social services-the most favourable outcome can be expected for that child.

If a child is expected to behave in a certain way or if the expectations at home are too high then the pressure this puts upon the child can adversely impact on their development. For example, it is expected that 9 year old ‘John’ should be in all the top sets at school, his parents are both in academic professions, so the pressure is on ‘John’ to follow in their footsteps. ‘John’ is struggling in his maths and is feeling inadequate, he spends his breaks and lunchtimes going over the work done in class, this behaviour is having a direct impact on his social development as he is not mixing with his peers. Indeed, his refusal to join in playground games and instead do maths is causing the other children to tease and bully him and he is now seen in a negative way as a ‘goody-two-shoes’ and a ‘swot’.

This teasing/bullying from his peers together with the pressure at home, has depleted all of ‘John’s’ self confidence and now that even if he wanted to join in with his peer he couldn’t as he has already ostracised himself from his social group and has consequently fallen behind too in terms of his social development.

The ‘parenting style’ that is favoured within a family will directly impact on the social development of children and young people, for example;
“Authoritarian Parenting: Often rigid and controlling, authoritarian parents place high demands on their kids without allowing room for discussion or regard for the child's feelings. This can result in children who are fearful, anxious, frustrated or withdrawn.

Authoritative Parenting: Favouring supportive discipline, authoritative parents expect good behaviour from their kids, but they gently and lovingly guide them, rather than being forceful or cruel. Kids with authoritative parents are typically self-confident and socially adept.

Permissive Parenting: Extremely lenient, permissive parents allow children to decide for themselves what they feel is appropriate behaviour. Unfortunately, these kids often have poor control over their emotions and may have difficulty with their peer relationships.

Neglectful parenting: Unlike permissive parents who are involved in their children’s lives, neglectful parents place the welfare of their children as a low priority. Children of neglectful parents are frequently emotionally immature and may engage in antisocial behaviours.”

(Kids’ Development, 2011)

It is clear that the home as an external environment plays an important role in a child’s development, in that it is important that the child has positive interactions with its parents/carers as this is where a child will learn many specific behaviours and skills relating to ‘normal’ development. Children emulate their parents and what behaviours are learnt will impact directly onto the child’s rate and sequence of development.

E Paterson-Russell

Hear my case...

In order for a child to be fully supported with their speech language and communication issues it may necessary to involve multi agency teams. For the team to have the best chance of success early detection and assessment is vital. These teams would have to co-ordinate with the school, parent and child. They need to give access to any specialist equipment and include regular monitoring for real development to take place.

These teams would include agencies such as Speech and language therapists, psychologists and SEN Co-ordinators.

An example of how effective intervention would work in practice can be seen in the case below:
A child aged 4 has a profound hearing loss. After the birth the child’s mother had concerns surrounding his hearing but the child was not screened until he was 9 months old. These tests were found to be inconclusive. The child wore digital hearing aids for a year and had cochlear implants fitted but still there were no big improvements. At 17 months he took an auditory brainstem response test which showed he was profoundly deaf.

During this time the family were in contact with a teacher from the deaf who was new and there was no support from the speech and language therapist as they were on maternity leave.
When the child was 2 years and 9 months the mother and grandmother joined a charitable organisation which took a parent centred approach to teaching children to talk through listening. They identified that the child could hear across frequencies meaning he was able to understand speech but hadn’t learned to make sense of the sounds.

The charitable organisation was able to close the language gap between the child and other children through regular therapy sessions. The child’s mother and grandmother received specialist training to help them teach the child at home so that the therapy could become part of everyday life. They built a relationship to improve parental engagement with the child’s mother which meant she was willing to take 4 hour round trips so that she could attend ongoing training sessions. Finally, they helped to liaised with the local team to share their goals and assessment results and rebuild a relationship with the family.

As this was a charitable programme they were able to provide the family with additional finance to help attend training sessions and have been able to meet the cost incurred by the Speech and Language Therapy Service when meeting with the family.

The main problem with this case is that there is a distinct lack of appropriate intervention. There needed to be earlier interventions with people like health visitors and social workers so that the family would know what their options were and where they would find support. The family could have benefitted from advice on finances, respite, or sign language.

For parents of children with developmental issues it can seem like a mine field. It can be intimidating for them and put them well outside their comfort zone. It can also feel to them like they are being passed from pillar to post as they often see different people depending on the educational status of the child. On top of the day to day parenting which comes with all children they may need to attend specialist training to support their child. This can mean that their time is swallowed up with searching for funding or bureaucracy and there is very little ‘me’ time for the parent or for the parent to enjoy being with their child. Some interventions do not cross over from one age group to another and can also be too short an intervention. This is why communication and liaison between the agencies is key. If everyone has access to the same information then the transition should be smooth.

As an educator one may not always have the right answers or training to help a child and will need to refer to a specialist. Often agencies will offer training tips to teaching staff to give them support or show how new equipment works. If working with a child on 1 to 1 basis then on occasions the agency may be able share some of the day to day demands.

The more general drawbacks of a multi agency approach means that there are a lot of demands on time for a lot of people due to the high number of people involved. There is also a financial burden as there needs to be money spent on specialist equipment and decisions have to be made as to where that money is coming from. In some cases additional funding needs to be applied for and people are needed to ensure that happens. Occasionally schools have to take on children they simply don’t have the funding to support.

AM Osmond

Speech waits for no man...

Speech and language are often confused, but there is a distinction between the two:

· Speech is the verbal expression of language and includes articulation, which is the way sounds and words are formed.

· Language is much broader and refers to the entire system of expressing and receiving information in a way that’s meaningful. Its understanding and being understood through communication which could be verbal, non-verbal or written.

Speech delays and disorders could include stuttering, cluttering or articulation difficulties. These difficulties do not necessarily mean the child has limited understanding but it does mean they cannot easily put things into spoken words for various reasons relating to their disorder.

In all cases it is important to remember it could simply be a phase in the child’s development and they will grow out of it. In the case of articulation difficulties it is very common for young children to pronounce words wrongly but very important that they are corrected. It is fair to say this can be viewed as “cute” or “funny” when the child is young and it could be encouraged by families, but it could be caused by a physical disability such as a cleft palate, oral malformation or hearing loss. Hopefully physical impairments such as these would be picked up by the child’s Health Visitor but we must remember some parents are more reliable at keeping appointments than others and to play devil’s advocate, some Health Visitors are better than others! Some parents may try to sweep problems under the carpet in the hope things will improve with time and may not want to admit their much cherished child is less than perfect. If a hearing loss is not picked up early enough it could have a very negative impact on the child’s development and they will struggle to learn and communicate.

In the case of stuttering, if the problem is still there at the age of 5 it is highly probable that the child will need some support and possibly speech and language therapy and the stutter will be an on-going problem. Therapy may help but there is no actual “cure” for a stutter or for cluttering. Early identification is very important as a child who cannot communicate properly could become withdrawn and lack confidence, therefore impacting on their self-esteem. They may be self-conscious so not contribute to group discussion or work and it is highly likely they would be the subject of teasing and bullying which would only exacerbate the problem. This would hinder their learning and impact on their emotional and social development.

The difficulties with early identification is that many of the traits of the disorders are very similar to the normal phases a child goes through whilst developing their speech and language so problems may not be picked up or thought a concern until the child starts nursery or school. In the case of hearing difficulties this could be way too late for the child as they miss crucial learning windows.

Language and communication could be affected by many many factors some personal and some external as mentioned in my previous assignment. Autistic children will almost always have a speech and language delay and may use little or no spoken words at all. They also will find other forms of communication difficult, such as eye contact and reading body language. Usually autistic children with more severe difficulties are diagnosed and earlier with support put in place. Children with mild difficulties may not be identified quite so easily and therefore may be seen as simply disruptive, naughty children who are punished for their behaviours. Autism also affects social relationships with peers as the child finds it difficult to react appropriately in social situations or show empathy for others. It is therefore vitally important to recognise and support autistic children as early as possible but this is not always easy and depends on the severity of their disability.

Children’s speech, language and communication could be affected by anxiety disorders such as Selective Mutism, extreme shyness or social anxiety. In the case of selective mutism the child may speak freely at home and the problem may only arise once they begin school. Therefore it would be impossible to predict the problem and put any interventions in place until the child is already in the learning environment. The child will be capable of speech and have understanding but will be unable to communicate vocally in certain situations. The disorder may be wrongly confused with shyness or rudeness and would undoubtedly hinder friendships and social development and the anxiety they experience would impact on their emotional wellbeing.

Bilingual children sometimes experience a delay in speech and language development purely because they are processing two different languages at the same time. The child would hopefully be easily identified and appropriate support put in place. Their understanding of language is often fine and the problem is when they come to vocalise it themselves. I personally understand a lot of the French language if it is spoken to me but would struggle to put as much of the language in to a two way conversation.

Trauma or abuse can also affect development. In my last role of Social work Assistant I observed that many neglected children had speech and language delay of varying severity. We have already looked at the impact neglect has on a child’s development in the previous assignment. If a child is ignored and not spoken to they will be unable to develop their speech and language and be unaware of how to communicate effectively. This again should primarily be picked up by the child’s Health Visitor but as I said before, these parents are less likely to keep appointments. School may therefore be the first place any problems are picked up. The child will more often than not have global development delays so the need to identify problems and begin support networks is invaluable to the child. It not only affects how they develop through childhood but will have an impact on them into adulthood. Early identification and intervention can open up more opportunities for the adult if the groundwork is done whilst the child is developing.

So to summarise, with all delays and disorders it is obviously ideal to identify and act as early as possible because it has such huge implications other areas of their lives such as their social and emotional development. The problems that can obstruct early diagnosis and interventions are inability and unwillingness to acknowledge the problem, lack of resources in a school and maybe not knowing what intervention to put in place.

R Frankham

A theoretical transition period

Normal transitions can be described as the different stages of development according to Theorists such as Freud or Piaget. They can also be stages children go through like: Infancy to starting nursery, nursery school to infant school, then to junior school, then senior school and so on.

Normal transitions can be outlined as follows:
· Birth to 3 years
· 3 – 7 years
· 7 – 12 years
· 12 – 16 years

Birth to 3 years
· Being born and entering the outside world – having a difficult birth can be traumatic for the baby
· Learning and developing new skills – they are learning to focus, think, taste, textures etc.
· Teething – can cause discomfort
· Eating solid food and learning to feed themselves – weaning and start of independence
· Learning to sit up – seeing the world from a different angle, lots of praise
· Learning to crawl and walk - exciting
· Learning to communicate – this stage is important as they form a bond with parents, siblings and others, and they start listening to language
· Learning toilet training - independence
· Attending day care – they have little concept of danger, separation from parents
All these transitions are very exciting and interesting for children, and positive. They receive lots of praise as they go through these transitions. In most cases they are getting a lot of love and fuss. They are getting all the attention and praise, then as they move into the next stage: 3 – 7 years, suddenly they are not getting all the attention; they are one in a class of 30.

3 – 7 Years
· Learning and developing new skills – can be exciting
· Attending school, nursery or pre-school – separation anxiety
· Changing between different settings i.e. new school, new classroom, new teacher – bigger classes, less attention
· Leaving parents – frightening, as it’s a legal requirement rather than a choice, as the child has to go whether he wants to or not.
· Going to a child minder – separation anxiety if parents need to work
· Joining after school clubs – new people, change, new friends
· Leaving friends – change of settings loss of friends
· Moving house or relocating – change of environment, new settings
· Family structure change – moving from only child to first child
· Arrival of new sibling – having to share parents and toys
· Starting new activities such as sports – new friends, new rules
· Completing homework – means work rather than play

These transitions can be both positive and negative, as it can be exciting learning new things such as hobbies etc. but it can also be challenging as it brings change. At this stage children experience less pleasure than birth to 3 years. Separation anxiety can pass from parents to a child.

7 – 12 Years
· Changing to different settings – a frightening transition for some children
· Starting new school – big transition
· Leaving friends
· Arrival of a new sibling – quite common, and can affect a child as they will have to share affection of parents
· Moving house or relocating – upheaval of familiar surroundings
· Family structure change
· Meeting new friends – can be exciting
· Completing homework – less play and more work, having to meet deadlines, more stress
· Growing – can be exciting
· Onset of hormones/puberty – very difficult transition

There is a lot less praise during these transitions in a child’s life. There is also the added emotion as puberty starts. This can be a difficult time for teenagers as everything is changing and they are discovering more about life, and the human body, which can be scary for some. Often at this stage, things that children are going through map against things that parents are going through. Parents could be going through transitions themselves at the same time that children are going through transitions, like having another child, getting promoted or being made redundant, bereavement of grandparents etc. Parents may have to share their affection so the child may not feel so loved. Starting a new school is a huge transition for the child.

“Many primary schools make serious efforts to engage with the children’s early years experience, through contact with families but also with the local early years provision. In some areas, there is an additional transition between an infant and junior school. Many secondary schools have also made considerable effort to ease the move between the primary and secondary stage.”
(Lindon 2009)


12-16 Years
· Starting senior school – being at the top of the age hierarchy, now they have to start at the bottom again and work themselves up
· Moving to college, university or starting a job – more independence
· Leaving friends – difficult time, could cause insecurity
· Friendships change to relationships
· Leaving home to start at university
· Family structure change
· Completing homework – this can be so important as a lot of homework is course work and they will be graded on it
· Choosing options – taking ownership
· Examinations – lots of exams which will determine their future
· Hormones/puberty – very difficult time as they don’t really know what is going on in their bodies
· Moving house or relocating – a huge upheaval

Often at this stage, children are leaving home to start college or university. Some may be glad to get away from the home environment, while others may find it challenging. Parents may change their room into a shrine, which can be hard for the child, or parents may want to change their room into a guest room once they move out, so the child may feel ousted. At this stage, there are more enforced changes, as children are encouraged to be more independent.


The following is an example of how a transition in a 4 year old can affect the child:

Transition: Starting school

Pros of the transition – learn new skills; gain confidence, exciting, meet new friends, independence

Cons of the transition – separation anxiety, tiredness, learning to cope with new surroundings, frightened of the unknown

Intervention – Before the child starts school, children are invited to an open day, where they come in to the new setting with their parents for a visit. There after, the teacher and TA can do a home visit where, one person talks to the parent about her anxieties, asks about the child’s likes, dislikes, fears, and any health or dietary issues. The other person takes time to play with the child and observes child behaviour, etc. The children are then invited to come in for an hour for the first day, with or without their parents. No activity is arranged, but the child can explore the new setting, either on their own or with their parents. Times are staggered throughout the day for the children to attend so that there are only a few children in at any particular time. Each child is given an induction timetable to gradually help them get used to the new setting. (Vygotsky’s scaffolding strategy). Parents are encouraged to work in partnership with the teaching staff, to use positive dialogue only, when speaking to their child about their new school, and not to speak about their own anxieties in front of the child as they could be transferring their own anxieties onto the child. They are also encouraged to make the drop of sessions brief so as not to prolong the agony for the child. So often, parents linger when dropping off their child, and this can make it really difficult for the child. Phone calls can be made to the parents if certain children are really upset when they drop them off, so as to reassure them that all is well and they have settled. Distractions are used to help the child and get their mind off the separation. Later, budding up children can be useful as they can distract each other. The TA can pick up on the child’s favourite activity or toy, for example, trains or Bob the builder, when doing the home visit, and arrange activities around that, focusing on his favourite topic.

The following is an example of how a transition in a 7 year old can affect the child:

Transition: moving from infant school to junior school

Pros of the transition – learn new skills, hobbies or sports clubs, gain independence, meet new friends, exciting.

Cons of the transition – loss of friendships, anxiety of the unknown, change of age hierarchy, bigger school, new teachers, knock of confidence, commuting, and parent anxiety.
Intervention – Buddy time with pupils from the junior school. During the last term of the year, a class from the junior school visits the infant’s school, and children are buddied up to do creative arts sessions together. The older child is a mentor for the younger one. After a fortnight, the class from the infant’s school visits the same class but this time at the junior school, in their new class for September, also doing a creative fun activity. This process is repeated throughout the term fortnightly so that the children gradually get to know their new setting, and fear of the unknown is reduced. During their ‘buddy time’ they can play icebreaker games, and do exciting activities, working in pairs or groups. This will ease the anxiety and promote social interaction between the pupils. The children will also get to know their new teachers, and it will help the teacher to get to know personalities of the new pupils.

P Clarke

"Two hearts" are better than one

Positive relationships are needed during periods of transition, as the lack of them could have serious negative consequences on a child’s all round development and ability to cope with life later on. However, it must be clear as to what is meant by ‘positive’, in relation to what outcome is intended from having positive relationships.

Definition: Positive
Confident, optimistic, focusing on good things rather than bad, producing good results.

By having positive relationships during times of transitions, it is generally understood that the child will have people around them that they can trust, and that make them feel cared for. Children need to feel safe and secure at all times and, consistency is essential to that feeling of security, so it can be assumed that these positive relationships have formed with people they see regularly, and who have strong morals and values i.e. keeping promises, being reliable, judging fairly. Therefore it is more likely that positive relationships are formed with parents, family members, teachers, classmates, or activity leaders. Children who are fortunate enough to have positive relationships are more likely to succeed academically, and socially, because they feel emotionally secure and therefore have more self-esteem and confidence to approach new skills, and are better able to cope with new experiences and changes in their lives, whether they are positive or negative. They are better able to do so, because they know and feel that they are not alone, but have people around them who they can trust to give them guidance, support and advice on even the most sensitive and personal issues. Older children who pass through transitions with the appropriate emotional support from such positive relationships, are less likely to succumb to feelings of depression, and low self-esteem, which can, and does, often lead to serious damaging behaviour, such as self-harming and drug taking.

On the other hand though, positive relationships do not always result in more confident, emotionally secure children and do not always produce good outcomes. For example, many times, parents, siblings, grandparents and other people close to a child, will use phrases during distressing times, such as, ‘you will never need to worry’ or ‘I’ll always be here for you’. This kind of ‘positive’ statement is said with the good intention to reassure and comfort the child and may indeed do so for that moment. But, it can, and has had the opposite effect, when the person who uttered those words is no longer alive. If a child has grown up hearing, and believing that the person will never leave them, when that person does die, the child can often feel anger and resentment, they and also feel cheated at being left alone and may never again be able to trust, or get close to another human being ever again. So, instead of a positive relationship producing a positive outcome, as was intended, it could have the worst effect ever on that child’s future life.

Another example of when relationships do not always have positive outcomes during times of transition is, for example, if the parents of an older child get divorced. A myriad of emotions may be going through that young persons’ head i.e. guilt, anger, rejection, fear, hate. The child may also be going through another transition such as puberty, with mood swings and body changes at the same time. A positive relationship with a well-meaning friend, may have disastrous effects. Friends usually agree with you and tell you what you want to hear and not what you need to hear. The friend may encourage anger and vengeful behaviour just by agreeing in the hope that it will make her friend feel better, instead of giving good advice or helping to find support either from the school councillor or other trusted adult.

Generally though, if children are fortunate to have positive relationships that offer the right kind of advice and support during times of transition and are handled sensitively and tactfully they will be in a better position, both emotionally and intellectually to cope with future transitions. This includes allowing the child to recognise and to be aware of the fact that there can be negative outcomes and not everything will always turn out positively. What is essential is to help children pass through the ups and downs of life. Mistakes will be made, different emotions will be felt. Our experiences, both good and bad, make us who we are, how we think, how we behave and how we cope with the changes our lives.

A Constantinou

Everything changes...

Babies are born completely dependent on adults for all their needs to be met. As they grow they develop physically, developing motor skills, which are continually refined until full maturity is reached. Children start to talk from around 1 year progressing from babbling to using simple words, building on their vocabulary and gradually learning to communicate effectively. Many older children learn to speak a second language.

Young people learn skills that are not solely academic, they learn how to behave in social settings. Their emotional development means that children go from being completely self centred and insular to developing a strong sense of identity and confidence.

It is usual for children to be educated in different schools appropriate to their age, throughout their academic career. Many experience nursery or pre-school then move on to schools, with some extending their school years by attending colleges or universities.

Young people experience the physical and emotional changes that are associated with puberty. Often they become insecure, due to the changes in appearance of their bodies, and emotionally volatile with the increase of hormones required to develop into mature adulthood.These are some of the natural transitions that the majority of children and young people experience and with support they come through them able to cope with the changes.

A few young people will experience transitions specific to them, which may result in them not reaching their expected developmental targets at the usual time. There are many factors which affect the development of children and these examples are not exhaustive.
Disability, due to accident or illness, may result in poor attendance at school and feelings of insecurity as they watch their peers participate in activities that they cannot join in with. An accident resulting in damage to the brain may mean that a child regresses to an earlier phase of life, with intellectual development being stunted or even regressed.

There may be a long-term or terminal illness of a family member that brings difficulties for children. They may have to take absences from school to assist with care. Children may be concerned about death, or worry that they themselves will become ill resulting in lack of concentration.

The bereavement of a close relative can cause children to worry about their other family members, although, sometimes they may appear to have been unaffected by the death.
Another transition that children and young people find themselves having to cope with is the separation or divorce of their parents. These children are often confused, possibly having to act as mediators between parents.Children experiencing different transitions in their lives will often require different support. It is important to identify their needs and provide the support so as they reach their full potential.

D Worthington

Changing times - unique transitions for children

Bereavement
If a child suffers bereavement this will be a transition that only they will understand, they will have to cope with emotional changes, they may become very shy and quiet, they may not want to talk yet at the same time still feel included, if mum has passed on they could revert back to becoming daddy’s girl /mummy’s boy , the child will need to be listen to so that when they are ready to talk will know someone will listen, they should be treated like any normal child not abnormal even though something horrible has happened.

Divorce
If a child parents separate or divorce this will be a huge transition for the child they will feel they are being torn apart, being a go between mum and dad, they would have to grow up that much faster, the son will take on the role of being the man about the house if dad has left and vice versa for the girl if mum left, they could become sad and lonely always thinking it could be there fault, this could affect their friendships at school and they can become withdrawn, they will always have to pick sides, and this could lead to the child not feeling wanted and not completely sure who to trust.

Violence
If a child has the misfortune to witness violence towards their mother that transition will be one of many that they have to cope with. The need to move them as far away as possible, leaving behind friend’s toys, and family will have the biggest effect on a child. For child A it did, she blamed mum for everything , once a sweet seven year old, turned in the ugliest child imaginable, she started to steal ,swear, kick punch and all at her mum, she could not get the fact that had her mum not done what she did, the repercussions could have been really dangerous. She had so much hatred so much so she was not allowed to go to school, because of fear of what she would to other children, she was home schooled for six months as well as seeing a councillor she was slowly coming to terms with new life, but it is always about her, she refuses to share anything she always has to be first, she has very low self esteem, she trusts no one.

R Fairless

The defensive classroom

Defence mechanisms-
Denial-This is when a child has gone through a bad or painful experience such as abuse of any kind or bereavement of a close family member. The child will choose to refuse to acknowledge it ever happened. This is said to be the earliest of the defence mechanisms learnt by a child.

Regression- This is when the child finds it difficult to deal with a situation such as fear,anger or puberty and may start to act child like (early childhood) this can be exhibited in some obvious ways such as bed wetting or becoming clingy to others.

Acting out- This defence is probably the most physical because the child will throw things or can be aggressive towards others. The child’s' anger is usually due to not getting its own way in a situation,so has a temper tantrum. It can also be through a new sibling arriving to take some of the attention away from said child. Self-harming can be a problem if the child cannot express its feelings in the right way (discussing worries).

Dissociation- This is when the child may have experienced a difficult situation,again abuse of any kind,the child will make up a new persona for themselves so the abuse is not happening to them but someone else. This can lead to multiple personality disorder in later years if not confronted and dealt with in the correct way.

Projection- This is when the child will blame somebody else for what may be happening to them. In some cases this can result in the child becoming a bully. This is their way of expressing emotions but not in an appropriate way.

Repression- This is when the child will just forget what has happened to them because they have pushed it into their unconscious mind,but this doesn’t always work as the memories can come back if the child experiences a similar situation.

Rationalization- This is when the child will refocus intently on another activity such as school work to try and work through the initial problem or to forget completely. This could be an emotional problem or problems at home. This can work but usually leads to added anxiety and stress for the child if help is not sought.

With all of these defences if the correct help is not sought in the early stages these problems can intensify in later life,leading to social(crime and violent behaviour) and psychological problems(disorders,self-harming or sexual deviancy). Observing(assessments in the classroom) listening to the child interacting with others are ways to pick up on any problems at the important early stages,then can be worked on and hopefully solved. 'Time to talk' is a scheme in which teachers,support workers can observe a child on a 1-1 basis,the child has a chance to express their feelings,but are also taught social skills e.g. appropriate ways of saying or doing things(manners),how to interact with other children(sharing and caring) I feel this should be compulsory in every school on every level as problems could be picked up a lot quicker which is a benefit to the child.

K Brinkhurst

The Responsible Organisation

Children are viewed as the most important people in the school dynamic, schools centre around the child to fulfil their needs. They are minors and can’t really speak for themselves, so their needs and rights need protecting, legislation/policies/procedures are put in place to ensure this. Schools play an important role in The Children’s Act 1989 by following the guidelines to ensure they uphold every child’s right to feel safe in their environment. The school takes responsibility to identify any child who is not safe in their environment. This could be within the family home, should a problem be identified the school are duty bound to relay issues to the relevant authority/agency. The Human Rights Act 1998 is supported by implementing policies such as anti-bullying or health and safety. The Act protects children against corporal punishment which is an infringement of their rights, the schools role is to uphold these rights. Daily the Data Protection Act comes into force, confidential and personal information is collated and used frequently in schools.

Staff play an important role ensuring confidentiality. They deal responsibly with attendance records, exam results, medical information and make sure it is only used for intended purpose. The age of legal capacity 1991/Gallick competence, allows a child to consent to a medical procedure/intervention under the age of 16 without parental/carer consent. Schools support this by assesing if the child is capable of understanding the nature of possible consequences. A school may need to take on this role, if, for instance a child is self-harming, self harming behaviours are by nature secretative and a parent/carer will often not be aware what is happening, some young people may talk to a trusted professional in school, the school then need to take on this role and responsibility.

The Children and Young Persons Act 1933/2008 makes it unlawful to wilfully abandon and neglect a child in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health, the school need to take responsibility for the act in various ways. For example, a teacher would have knowledge of any pupil’s health problems such as asthma or maybe allergies. Staff need to take responsibility for those pupils. Should a child suffer an asthma attack, the correct course of action needs to be followed. With a known allergy, such as a food allergy, if the teacher gives a child the inappropriate foods, they could be charged with wilful neglect. Schools also need to make sure that they provide adequate care regarding welfare and standards, to include the environment or attainment of pupils within the establishment, be that in the playground or in the school classroom. Under the regulation of care act, a school that does not take on the role can have its premises closed down. The school has to follow guidelines carefully and make sure it adheres to the standards/regulations set, and has adequate provision and maintains its standards.

S Crowe

Bumps along the road to development

There are many reasons why children and young people’s development may not follow the expected pattern.

A baby’s development could be affected straight from birth, if the mother is alcohol dependent the baby develops foetal alcohol syndrome. This can either cause short or long term memory loss. Also by following the sequence of a baby’s development you look at the rate on how they’re developing through the physical motor skills, social and cognitive and language skill. Now, if for example a baby does not start to walk (motor skill) by the age of 2yrs there could be something wrong with its motor skill as by 2yrs a baby should be able to walk. Another example if a baby can not say a couple of words by the ages of 2-3yrs once again there could be something wrong with its language skills.

These problems have to be flagged up with either a health visitor or doctor. If there is a slight delay in the development the baby may have special needs in some areas of their development, if they do they would be closely monitored. Sometimes there may not be anything necessarily wrong it just may mean a slight delay in the baby’s development as most babies develop at a different rate.

Children’s and young people’s development continues to be monitored at school.
Some children’s problems in their development may not be picked up straight away when they’re at school. This would often mean they get behind on their work and they would most often find it difficult to catch up.

Compared to special needs schools where teachers are trained to teach special needs children, teachers in other schools may not have the skill to teach children who may have behavioural difficulties, communication needs, physical disabilities, learning disabilities and special educational needs so this means the children’s learning gets behind. Also the school may not have a budget to get a TA for each child’s individual learning needs and resources may be inadequate for them to use. Another personal factor is if a child who may have special needs could be taken out of lesson if they have to monthly check up’s at the hospital, or have to have constant physio therapy or anything else to do with medical matters. This means once again by missing lessons their learning gets behind.

External problems are another factor why some children’s and young people’s development may not follow an expected pattern. For example a child or young person may have constant pressure from their parent/s to do well in their education. As for this a child or young person may rebel which may affect their learning. To support what I have just mentioned I read in a recent newspaper article that parents are desperate for their children to attend grammar school. In order for their child/children to pass their entrance exam their parent/s hire private tutors so their child/children can have extra tuition lessons after school, weekends and during school holidays. By placing this pressure on them some children begin to rebel or become too anxious to sit the exam.

More children’s and young people’s social interaction is suffering these days as as more children watch too much television or play computer games they’re not encouraged enough to socialise with other people their own age.

A Marenetto

A Helping Hand (or keyboard)

There are many interventions that can be used when a child is not developing in the expected pattern. Some of these include: ICT; role play; writing frames; one to one support; peer tutoring; games; speakers; special classes; and reduced timetables.

ICT can be used in a number of ways to support children who may be not be developing in the expected pattern. There may be programmes that help to develop specific skills, for example it may be a game designed to improve memory, or it may be a game to improve recognition of objects and words. ICT is also useful for children who have difficulties with writing. This could be because of sequencing issues, or co-ordination issues which makes it difficult to write with a pen and typing allows them to communicate their ideas.

ICT if used correctly can be a great support to children who are not developing in the expected pattern. It can help them to learn new skills, and will also help refine the ones they have, for example with object recognition a programme can teach new objects as well as consolidate their knowledge that they have. It can also increase confidence and make children less frustrated as they are able to communicate their ideas and show their knowledge, and they are able to keep up with their peers. For children who may have problems with their fine motor skills, it is a good way for them to communicate, especially if there are also speech problems.

However, there can also be some drawbacks with the use of ICT. IT may not always help with confidence, if a child with problems with their fine motor skills, they may click on something they didn’t mean to, and require adult intervention to sort things out. If this keeps happening then it can damage their confidence. It may also be an issue if the problems are picked up on by their peers, as they can make fun of the child, and further undermine their confidence.

There are also issues with children who are autistic becoming too fixated on using a computer, and using it to escape human interaction. Another problem is if the child has limited keyboard skills then they can become frustrated at the length of time it takes to type. If there is also the need for adult intervention then it can take even longer, and make the child even more frustrated. In addition to this, there may be issues with children not using the computer as intended and simply messing about on them (SCOTEN, 2009).

One to one support is another intervention that has proved to be a positive intervention. One to one support for children may be by the use of a teaching assistant within the classroom that works with one child in particular, or it may include additional lessons that a child may have to catch up on their work.

A benefit to one to one support in the classroom is that the child is still within the classroom setting, and is not excluded from their peers. This helps with any social problems the child may have, and there is also the benefit that the other children may accept them more, and this in turn teaches tolerance and acceptance. Another benefit is having the support of a dedicated member of staff can enhance the child’s learning and their self esteem. Also, if a child requires additional help, then there may be one to one support outside of the classroom. This is beneficial because it enables children to catch up with the work thats been set, or do different work to the rest of the class without the distractions of the classroom.

However, if a child is being taken out of class for one to one support, then it is important that this does not occur too often. This is because it can have an impact on the child’s social development, some learning in the classroom comes from peer interaction, and if a child is being taken away from this then they are missing out on vital socialisation. Also, if the lessons are additional then the child may be missing out on fun activities such as art or music. This can lead to the child feeling resentful, and again can lead to further social exclusion, as the child is not taking part in any activities with other children and therefore has fewer shared experiences which they can relate to. It also means that the child may not learn how to interact with other children in an educational setting, for example, learning to listen to others and taking turns.

One to one support in the classroom also has its negatives. If done correctly then it can be a great way of helping children learn and develop. However, if not done properly one to one support can hinder learning as it can lead to children not being able to learn independently as they always have a staff member to guide them through any problems they may encounter. Also, if a child spends most of their time with a teaching assistant, then they can become distanced from the teacher and the curriculum and therefore falling further behind with their learning (Teaching Times, 2011).

H Chapman

Policies, procedures and paperwork

Many of the stages of policy development are about making sure the policy is fit for purpose, for example, identifying a need to be fulfilled, being clear about the aim of the policy and undertaking empirical research to establish its remit. This is important, as it helps to ensure the policy is warranted and practical and specific to the situation, and avoids creating unnecessary paperwork over policies which have no clear objective or are not appropriate to the task.
Furthermore, the process of review both before and after implementation provides a chance to reflect on the policy, foresee any potential problems and acknowledge any difficulties that arise in practice, and make improvements. This will allow the policy to be even more tailored to its purpose and situation. For example, at Ashbury School, the Health and Safety policy states that a first aider must be present during PE lessons. However, during one sport session, both main first aiders were off-site on school trips, and the only other members of staff who could administer first aid were needed in staffing ratios in other parts of the school, so the lesson was cancelled at the last minute. In this situation, through the process of review, the Health and Safety policy could be altered to outline what to do in the event of first aiders being unavailable, or to stipulate a higher minimum number of staff to be trained in first aid.

However, despite these advantages, having so many stages in the process makes developing a policy very long and labour-intensive. In the time between the identification of a need and the policy being implemented, that need could be going unfulfilled. For example, whilst a safeguarding policy is pending review, a case of abuse may be mishandled by a teacher unsure of the process. If the policy comes from the national government, passes through the local authority and then must be adapted by the school, even more time is wasted. Alternatively, by the time a policy comes into force, needs or circumstances may have changed, in which case it would need to be reviewed and rewritten again. These problems may cause policy writers to cut back on important steps such as research, which would also be undesirable, as it might compromise the quality of the policy. Therefore, a balance must be struck between the thoroughness of the development process and the time it takes to develop a policy.

Nonetheless, any policy is useless if it is not communicated effectively. Schools use different ways of communicating policies. One of the most common is self-research. The policies are made available on the school network, in the staff room or in the staff handbook, and staff are made aware that they can access them for reference. This has the advantage that they are kept in a central location where they will always be accessible, and staff can select the policies relevant to them. However, in practice, it may be that staff never get around to reading a policy, see it as ‘optional’ or are unaware of which ones apply to them.

Instead, schools sometimes choose to ask all staff to sign a form once they have read a policy. This means that all are aware that they need to read it, and are held to account over whether they have done so. However, it may not be necessary for all staff members to know every single policy, and if this approach is taken with too many policies then staff may feel overwhelmed and not have time to read them properly. Therefore, perhaps this approach should only be taken with particular important policies which affect all members of the school community; for example, Ashbury School used this method for communicating the Health and Safety policy.
These methods, however, all involve reading the policies in full and out of context. This may mean that staff forget the details or remain unclear on how they affect working practices. An alternative approach to communicating policies could be in the form of a presentation or seminar as part of in-service training. In a condensed format, with expressive delivery, the policy details would be more memorable. The session could also include interactive elements where staff would have the opportunity to apply the policy to real life scenarios and ask questions about how the policy should shape their own working practices. Different seminars could be run for different policies, with staff only required to attend sessions that applied to them. However, this approach could be quite time consuming, and would need to be repeated for new staff and new or updated policies.

In conclusion, the process of finding the right techniques for both developing and communicating policies is a balancing act between effective methods and time-efficient methods. School senior management teams will have to decide for each policy which is the best way of preparing the policy and delivering it to staff. A mixed approach may prove valuable, as policies vary in importance, urgency and universality, therefore different systems of development and communication may suit them better.

H Medworth

Two (or three...or four) heads are better than one

There are many ways in which the TA can give his/her pro-active support that will help both the child and their family. These are:
· Offering and giving advice
· Communicating and sharing ideas and methods with the families
· Keeping the families informed about progress or difficulties and talking about the next steps (effective communication)
· One to one support for the pupil
· Adapting lessons/environment and equipment for the pupil
· Encouraging involvement
· The TA being prepared, trained confident and willing to give their support
· Running activities
· Giving praise and encouragement

Offering pro-active support to the child and their family can be very beneficial for them both. Offering this type of support will help ensure that the child’s needs are met and that the family’s rights and entitlements are supported. It will help promote a healthy happy positive partnership and relationship that will open up opportunities.

However the TA must be willing, confident, committed, have the patience and be caring enough to give this support. The TA must also have either previous experience, the correct training or qualifications to ensure their support can be effective. If the TA is not willing, committed or does not have any type of experience or qualifications then their support will not be as effective and successful. The TA may not have any of these abilities or qualities and this will have an impact on the support they can provide for the child and the child`s family. They may find that their responsibilities are too strenuous and that their responsibilities or duties take up much of their time.

The pupil`s family must also be willing to accept support, advice and be willing to work in partnership with the TA, the school and other services to help ensure the correct support is offered to their child. It is vital that the TA is willing to help support the child and their family as this will have a knock on effect on the partnership. It will help encourage the child, the family, the school and other services to provide and maintain support needed for the child and their family.

Offering facilitation within the partnership can be very beneficial for the child and their family. It helps the family seek and gain further advice, support and knowledge for the child’s needs and also support the family can receive. This type of support can be very beneficial for both the child and their family but the TA must be willing and have the right qualities and experience to help. The child`s family must also be willing to work in partnership.

The TA may be very willing and have all the right qualities, qualifications and experience to help but the TA can only do so much. The TA must also be aware and have the correct knowledge on when, how and who to refer to for further support. The TA can work in partnership with the school and other services and try to do their best to follow up cases but other services or the school may not be willing or have the funding to help provide support to help suit the needs of the pupil or their family. There may not be enough staff to run activities or workshops to help. There may not be services or support groups within the area and travelling may be a barrier. There may be many barriers that may not be overcome and the TA can only do what they can and are capable of or qualified and permitted to do. Sometimes it may be beyond the TA`s control or capability.

I would like to conclude that as long as the TA and all members of the partnership are all willing to work in partnership to provide support for the pupil and their family, it will help to ensure correct, effective, relevant support that can be aimed to reach the child and their family’s needs. All members of the partnership should have or should have gained experience, qualifications and qualities needed to help seek, provide and maintain the correct support and also know where to find or how to refer for the support.

If there are barriers then members of the partnership should be willing and try to overcome these barriers. For example, if funding is a barrier then between the family and the school together they should find a way to be able to raise money themselves (e.g. bring and buy sales, cake sales) or try to raise awareness of the child`s special needs or disabilities in hope of finding a sponsor.

If a partnership is formed then the chances of the child and their family gaining the support that they need is much greater. If all members of the partnership work together and try their best then support will be more likely and successful rather than if a partnership did not exist.

K Burroughs

Reflection is the key

It is very important to reflect on learning and teaching work. By doing so we can identify areas in which we are successful and not as successful as others. Analysing work will help TAs to improve their practice when supporting pupils and adjust their approach if necessary.
We can reflect on our work with pupils, our professional development and our attitudes and beliefs. The latter can be hard to change and reflection is sometimes not a comfortable process. Reflection helps us to keep challenging ourselves and to build up your knowledge and experience. We cannot manage others’ behaviour, only our own, and reflection helps us do this.
TAs, as do pupils, need to understand the importance of learning through making mistakes and we should not fear this. If we don’t reflect we can become defensive. We act in certain ways to avoid conflict and because of a fear of change or the unknown. We can use defensive mechanisms such as attack (arguing, criticising others), denial (refusal to acknowledge), repression (ignoring the situation), regression (child-like behaviour or helplessness). When reflecting, we need to be comfortable with being wrong.
It is important to identify the correct problem. Reflection encourages double-loop learning. In single-loop learning, improvement rests on unchallenged assumptions. In double-loop learning, we find out the real reason for something which may then change the underlying assumptions, and so the goal/strategy changes which then affects the results. Double-loop learning identifies and then challenges underlying assumptions.
Successful reflection depends on being honest about our own ability and being open to criticism and to new ideas. Also, it is important to be willing to make changes. Unless we do something about what we have reflected on, there is no point in reflecting. We have to choose to make changes. We may also decide not to change, but at least it is an ‘informed’ decision.
There are difficulties with self-reflection. It is very hard to reflect on everything we do as it can be too time-consuming. Also, thinking can get distorted as it is only ourselves doing the reflecting and it can be highly affected by mood. We can overlook things and we may not realise that what we are doing is not beneficial or that it upsets someone.
When reflecting, it can be beneficial to structure our methods of thinking. It makes it more manageable and can generate more solutions. One way devised to do this is Edward De Bono’s ‘Thinking Hats’. This method can be applied to any problem or reflection. The ways of thinking De Bono suggests are:
· Knowledge – what is apparent/already there;
· Thinking – what process we use;
· Judgment – straightforward ‘black and white’ response;
· Feelings – do we like it/how do we feel about it?;
· Benefits – what is good about it?;
· Creativity - how can we develop it?.
By applying these elements to our reflective thinking, we can often reveal more and come to a more comprehensive analysis.

METHODS OF REFLECTION
Forum Theatre
Forum theatre is a type of theatre created by Brazilian director Augusto Boal. He believed that theatre could serve as a forum for teaching people the strategies they need to bring about change. It is a way of rehearsing difficult situations in advance and helps make people aware of some problems that they may have not considered previously. This can help them imagine different responses and outcomes to common problems
Forum theatre scenarios are designed to stimulate audience participation through discussion, interactive role-playing and shared experiences. Audience members are brought into the performance, and change the outcome of what they are seeing.
It can be used by teaching staff for reflection purposes through, for instance, role playing situations in the classroom. As with stories and discussions, Forum Theatre removes people from an actual situation, so it makes it easier to confront and deal with issues.
Also similar to shared stories and discussion, participants get input from others. It is important to get ideas from colleagues taking part, especially with diverse groups as everyone will think in a different way and have varying views. Colleagues can share experience, and can be very supportive . Participants get feedback and advice on their practice in an informal way. Forum Theatre can be adapted to different situations and modified for colleagues or children.
However, Forum Theatre may not work for everyone. It can be validating to some but intimidating and too personal for others. It requires acting skills which may not suit everyone.
Also, it is easier to be the audience and judge than to act, whereas the greatest value is for the person doing the acting. Therefore it is important that everyone has a go.
Forum Theatre is similar to discussion, in that others are involved in the reflective practice. However, in situations like this where colleagues are involved in commenting on others ideas, it is important to be aware that others may not always be honest in their judgement, often because they do not want to upset others. In situations where the group is working together to improve, this can lead to a phenomenon described as ‘skilled incompetence’. This is where people use defensive routines to avoid upsetting people, embarrassment or threat. People become skilled at avoiding interpersonal conflict. However, this way prevents learning, or real necessary changes taking place.

Reflective Journal
A Reflective Journal is a good way for an individual to reflect and analyse their practice. It is a personal way of organising thoughts and can help TAs understand feelings and triggers. By writing down our experiences and looking back on them later, we can often come to a better realisation of the good and bad points of our work with children and colleagues.
The journal can shows inconsistencies or patterns. It can become a reference tool and can help TAs to track progress. It is also a good way to keep records, or evidence of events.
It could include evaluation of work sessions with pupils or occasions of managing behaviour. In writing the journal, the TA should ask themselves questions about situations they were involved with: what went well or not so well; was it challenging; did I deal with it well; what would I change so the objectives would be better met.
Thought needs to be given to the structure of the journal, ie, will things be recorded in a template or free-flow. Also, is the journal to be confidential or will others need to see it?
An advantage of the journal could be that it is not subject to criticism. However, this means that it can become a self-absorbed activity, affected by mood. Because it is only the thoughts of the individual, everything may not be picked up on or put in perspective.
It can be a very time-consuming way of reflection. We have to make sure it is working to the ultimate goal of improving practice and benefitting the TA and pupils.

Observation
We can reflect through others either by indirect or direct observation and feedback. With indirect observation we watch and learn others; by seeing how teachers and TAs work with pupils or deal with situations, we can reflect better on how we deal with similar issues.
As a way of reflecting on our own practice, however, I feel direct observation by others is more beneficial. Through being observed, we can, hopefully, get impartial feedback from others. We can become more aware of how our practice comes across to others.
As assessor can give feedback on work with pupils and relationships with colleagues and give advice on how to develop further. Through being observed, we often become aware of things about ourselves and our work practice that we were not aware of before.
However, for some TAs, observations may create stress and pressure and we may not perform well. Our own stress will affect the class, which can also alter the pupils’ behaviour. So an observation may not give a realistic view of our practice, as we may alter our behaviour and the things that we focus on as we are being observed. The ‘observer effect’ happens.
A downside to observation is that we are dependent on the observer to start the reflection as we need to get their feedback before we can reflect on our practice.

There are many ways, as TAs, that we can reflect on our contribution to teaching and learning. Different methods of reflection will suit different people, but it is important that a variety of methods is used in order that we can improve in the qualities and skills needed to be a good TA and so support pupils most effectively.
All of these methods of reflection can also support teaching and learning in that they can be used to help pupils reflect on their own work in school.

S. Rowland

Jolly Phonics and Practical maths...making learning fun!

Jolly Phonics
Jolly phonics is a very fun and effective way of learning how to read and write. The jolly phonics program teaches five skills that children need to help them read and write.

The first skill pupils will learn is to learn the letters and the sounds they make. Learning letters and the sound they make is made very fun by using interactive whiteboards, activities and games and by corresponding actions with the letters and sounds they make. This helps learning phonics effective by making learning fun and memorable. I think that if learning letters and the sounds they make is made fun through the program` jolly phonics` and actions, songs, activities and stories are taught through their learning then it will help pupils to remember what they have learned and this will help learning become effective.

When I support literacy activities that involve identifying letters with pupils that are still in the process of recognizing letters and the sounds they make, I find that the pupils use the actions they have learned that correspond with the letters to help them remember.

Jolly phonics is a very effective way of learning letters and the sounds they make but can be confusing to learn for some pupils. There are many letters to learn and individual letters can look different (capitals and lower case letters) and sound different. Children may find learning letters and the sounds that correspond difficult and confusing to begin with but as it is taught at a early age most children pick it up fast and except what they are learning. There is lots to learn and remember but the `Jolly phonics` program helps support pupils learning and uses techniques that will help learning phonics be as less confusing as possible. Strategies are used to make it fun and simple. There is no avoiding that the alphabet is what it is and letters can represent more than one sound or have two identities but how it is taught and learned makes the difference between how effective learning can be. To make things less confusing children are taught one letter at a time and taught about that letter. Children are taught the capital and non capital form, the letter itself `A` and the sound it makes `AY` and `AH`. Children also learn other simple words containing that letter `CAT`. They learn through fun activities, singing, story books and actions that will help support their learning by making it fun and memorable and effective.

Children must also learn the sounds of letters put together like `TH, CH, SH,`. These letters together are taught as they make only one sound when put together. It is important that pupils learn these letters and the sound they make when put together as when they begin to read they should recognize what sound they make then blend the sound in. Learning these letters may be confusing to pupils as pupils may not understand why the letters `C` and `H` make a `Ch` sound.

Some children learn their phonics quicker than others but the jolly phonics program runs throughout the whole school, so with the support of teaching staff and the program, all children will eventually pick this up and progress to read and write.

Whilst children learn the letters and the sounds they make, they will also learn how to form letters individually. This is also taught from the start. Children may start just by air writing and then move on to using a pencil and writing or tracing the letters they are learning. This helps support their writing skills and use of a pencil and learn how the letter is formed. Learning from the beginning how letters are formed is a effective way of supporting pupils writing skills. If letter formations are introduced from the start then pupils will find it easier when they come to write.

Once children have become effective learners of letters and the sounds they make, the blending skill is then introduced .Children learn to blend the sounds together to make a word. The word `Cat` will be broken down into its three segments `C-a-t` and pupils will learn to blend the letters together using the sounds the individual letters they make and squeeze them together. Again this can be confusing to begin with but eventually all children will learn how to blend. By teaching how to blend repeatedly and in a way that is made fun, children will soon learn and recognize words. The class in which I do my placement in, uses the interactive whiteboard and a computer program that supports blending. The children as a class sit on the carpet and use this program to learn how to blend. The children seem to really enjoy using the interactive whiteboard for blending word it looks fun and all children are engaged. If pupils are engaged then they will learn.

Pupils also learn how to blend through guided reading, which is done in small amounts and often. Learning how to blend is taught in a fun engaging way that is not too intense for the children or will make them board. The way blending is taught is a very effective way for pupils to learn and therefore making them effective learners and will help them to learn to read.
Children will also learn to identify sounds in words. This supports writing and learning how to spell words. Children identify sounds in a word and then spell that word out. I have supported children in a activity in which children had to write a sentence. Children are encouraged to write independently and try to sound out the words they wish to write by saying out loud the word they want to write and listen for the sounds that word makes. To help support them, children use `Robot arms` to help them break up the word and listen for the sounds the word makes. Children also have a jolly phonics sheet with the letters and a picture that corresponds to that letter to refer to if they need. It doesn’t matter if children spell the word wrong the important part is that they recognize and hear the letter sounds in that word. This technique is blending in reverse and helps pupils to learn to write words they wish to write.

Learning to identify sounds in words is taught to begin with in a subtle way. It doesn’t matter if pupils spell the word wrong to begin with as the aim is for children to hear the letters used in a word and then write it down. This technique supports pupils writing skills as pupils will also be learning how to write and will be practicing their letter formations at the same time. As children move up to the next year (year one) they begin to learn the correct way to spell and have spellings to learn and be tested on. This may put pressure on pupils but it is all part of learning.

In the beginning of the jolly phonics program, learning how to write words and spell them is fun but as pupils progress through the years learning to spell correctly is done through spelling books and tests. This way of learning how to spell is not much fun but pupils are rewarded with certificates when they have achieved. This will give pupils motivation and encouragement to learn. Pupils are encouraged to write and spell independently in the classroom and are not under pressure to spell correctly but through learning how to spell from their spelling books and tests children should remember how to spell the words they have already learned. Learning how to spell supports reading and writing.

Overall the effectiveness of the jolly phonics program is very efficient and successful. Learning how to read, write and spell is taught in a way in which pupils will find, motivating, fun, memorable, and therefore their learning will be effective. Jolly phonics is taught in a subtle way in which pupils will not feel under pressure.

To begin with jolly phonics is very fun hence the word `Jolly` and learning phonics is taught in a way in which pupils will be engaged and want to learn. As pupils grow and move on to the next years learning phonics, how to read write and spell may not be as much fun as it was in the beginning ,but pupils also need to understand not all learning is fun and it is something we all need to do.

Overall learning how to read and write is made as fun through the phonics program and once children have learned to do so it will be a skill they will use through out life. It is important to make learning how to read and write fun, memorable and motivating in order to make it effective as reading and writing is a very important skill we all need to learn and have in life.
I still use the techniques `blending` and ` blending in reverse` to help me read, write and spell words that are unfamiliar to me. So still today I use those techniques I have learned in school to support my literacy skills.

The way phonics and how to read and write is taught makes the difference on how effective the learning and outcome to learn is. If learning phonics, reading and writing was taught in a way in which pupils did not enjoy or understand then their learning would not be as effective. We all need to learn how to read and write and if it is taught in a way in which we are engaged, motivated and are keen to learn then the effectiveness of our learning will be successful. Its not just what we aim to learn, its how we learn and are taught that makes the difference between the effectiveness of our learning. Jolly phonics is certainly an effective successful way of learning how to read and write and it has been proven through the program that it works.

Mathematical Realism
The effectiveness of learning numeracy through adding realism is a successful effective way of learning. Adding realism adds meaning and supports pupils to work with numbers by adding significant to a numeracy question.

It helps pupils relate numeracy to real everyday life and how they can use their numeracy skills in every day life. It shows pupils the importance of learning numeracy by showing them how often we use those skills in real life situations.

By adding realism numeracy is made fun. It helps pupils engage and makes numeracy something more than just numbers. If pupils were taught to learn with numbers alone then pupils would get bored and loose motivation. Pupils need motivation and to be engaged in learning in order to understand and successfully learn what they are being taught. By adding realism it motivates pupils by making numeracy questions more interesting and engaging.

Adding realism provides pupils with the knowledge of how we use numeracy in everyday life and how it will be beneficial and relevant to them. If pupils are shown through adding realism how numeracy will benefit them and will be relevant to them in every day life they will see the importance of learning numeracy and should be keen to learn. Pupils will be keen to learn if we can relate numeracy to every day life by adding realism. If pupils see that numeracy will be relevant to them and will help support them in situations when they need to use those skills, it should encourage them to learn.

We all need to learn numeracy skills, but most of us fear numeracy, dislike it and find it boring. By teaching numeracy through adding realism should help and support pupils to engage in the lesson by making it real and relevant and make their learning effective.

The only downfall is that some pupils may prefer to work with numbers alone, but teaching numeracy through adding realism teaches pupils how numeracy can be relevant and beneficial in real life and how we use it. It teaches pupils how they can use different numeracy skills they have learned and put them to use in real life. It is important to remember that not all pupils will enjoy, understand and prefer to add realism to numeracy.

Different pupils have different preferences and may understand, enjoy and work better when other strategies are used. It is important to use all kinds of strategies like adding realism, practical activities, problem solving, graphs/charts, work sheets, computer programs ect. It is important to differentiate numeracy lessons to support pupils with different preferences and to make learning numeracy interesting. It is important to teach numeracy in a variety of ways so pupils do not get board of learning in the same way all the time. By adding realism it helps pupils to become interested and keep them engaged and motivated to learn numeracy.

Adding realism is an effective way for pupils to learn numeracy but should be taught amongst other teaching strategies for it to become effective. If adding realism was taught and learned alone then pupils would get bored of learning the same way. Teaching numeracy skills should be balanced and a variety of skills should be taught through different strategies. Adding realism is just another strategy of teaching and learning numeracy skills and although it is a very effective way of learning in the classroom it must be part of a varied way of teaching and learning. The effectiveness of learning numeracy through adding realism is great but it must be balanced way of learning, other teaching methods and strategies must be taught as well to make the learning of numeracy become effective.

H. Rotheram