The SEND crisis

Hello everyone, hope you've all been keeping well. Thank god January is finally over, as I feel like it just drags on forever & ever. Even more crazier as to how we're in February already?!

Anyway, work has been rapidly picking up for me again, where I have been working in exactly 6 different schools alone for this month - Crazy isn't it?

One of the schools I have been working in (The Cambridge Primary School), where I have been working in for 4 days over the past 3 weeks, is actually a mainstream primary school in Hampshire. However, they are taking on SEN kids, as there are not enough SEN schools in the Hampshire area. And as the above title states, I will be talking about why the SEND is in crisis, as well as the many cons of SEN kids being in mainstream school settings.

For those of you who work in education, you will all know by now that the SEND is in a significant heap of trouble, as there are still far too many young people with SEN who are currently placed in the wrong school settings, or worse, currently out of a school setting due to nowhere nearby that will meet their needs.

This is because councils across the UK are running short on money to be able to provide more specialist education for SEN pupils. Moreover, specialist school settings cannot be built due to the financial difficulties that the councils face. As a poor result, so many young people are missing out on a normal education. 

As mentioned before, I work in education, and I have seen for myself the devastating impact that an unstable education can have on a young person. Let alone a young person with SEN. Going back to where I have been briefly working at The Cambridge Primary School, I have seen multiple kids there with varying SEN, who shouldn't even be placed in a mainstream school like this. But because of there not being enough SEN schools in Hampshire, or even in that part of Hampshire of where the said Primary School is located, they have no choice but to endure it.

It's utterly shameful, and something clearly must be done. The question is when?

If some kids who happen to have SEN can cope in a mainstream school, then good for them. Unfortunately, there are a majority of SEN kids who simply cannot function, let alone cope in a mainstream school due to a number of reasons. Bullying is the topmost one, as there are "normal" kids out there who do not understand SEN, or do have an understanding of SEN, but choose to mock kids with SEN anyway.

Another valid reason is some mainstream schools & school staff won't be able to accommodate SEN kids into their schools due to not having the relevant training or lesson resources to cater for SEN kids. 

All of the reasons explained will lead to SEN kids feeling unsafe & insecure, as well as potentially being set up to fail in later life. God knows, where they may end up going if this crisis continues.

The Department of Education, you have got an awful lot of mess to clean up. 

Wrapping up 2022 early...

As the title states, I will be publishing my last blog post of this year. This is because I intend to spend the remainder of the Christmas break in wind down mode. Meaning, I want to take a lengthy relaxation break. With that said, I shall plan to be back working on here sometime after new year.

Not only am I signing off early, but I also want to utilise this time I've got now to briefly talk about what I want to do for next year, without disclosing too much information. There may even contain a small bit of evaluation as to how I feel about what I want to do for next year as well.

What are my plans for 2023?

Asides from doing what I already do now in terms of posting psychology content on here, I want to be looking into more deeper psychological stuff with a deeper meaning to something and distribute them on here. Moreover on that, I want to be able to use these deep psychological posts to inspire people reading by thinking how these psychological meanings are used to shape the world. To put what I'm saying in more basic terms, diving more deeper into the world of psychology.

Another thing I've been thinking about doing for next year, is to start coming out of my comfort zone by connecting with other people who share the same passion as me. These can vary from joining psychology groups on social media or on the internet. In terms of my blog, I want to connect to other bloggers, again, that share the same passion. I for one, have never really been a person who joining in with community groups, as I've personally always been a shy person when it comes to this kind of thing. However, I feel like soon would be the right enough time for me to finally push myself out there to joining online communities. Especially if it's to share my passion with other people who also share the same passion as me.

Finally, and possibly the biggest one (if I can make it work) is to get myself actively involved with mental health charities, as I am also hugely passionate about mental health. This is something which I feel rather optimistic about doing the more I think about it. 

That's pretty much everything I've got to say. I hope everyone enjoys the remainder of what's left of 2022, including Christmas & NYE, and I shall be back here again in 2023!😊

Lockdown... A whole year of reflection

Yes, the title illustrates this post as a whole. Also, I promise you, this will be the last time that I talk about COVID-19 and the lockdowns, as I'm sure most people have had enough of hearing those words by now.

However, today of all days, was simply just too important for this topic to go unmentioned, and here's why...

Today, (23/3/21) marks the 1 year anniversary of the EXACT date that the UK got slammed into a full on 'Lockdown' due to COVID-19 killing hundreds of people per day. (23/3/20)

Meaning, we were instructed to "Stay at home" as non-essential, restaurants and education places were forced to close for the foreseeable future. 
    

However, supermarkets and pharmacies had to remain open, as buying groceries and medicine was important for maintaining our well-being and health.

The only time we could leave home, was to go out for daily exercise once a day. (Back then, it was only within walking distance)

                                                                 

How did living in lockdown make us all feel?

I can imagine for most people, it made them feel lonely, bored and frustrated during the 1st month, with not being able to normally socialise with anyone, as well as not being able to go anywhere. To summarise all of the above with one word, we was all experiencing this feeling of "Isolation" as we had to "Stay home".

To share a personal insight with you all, I too, was struggling to cope to terms with being in lockdown for a short while, as I was constantly feeling bored all of the time with being stuck at home. I also didn't like the idea of my freedom being snatched away from me, as I love to go out and explore different places, this includes my education and time with friends face to face being snatched away from me. I eventually got SOOO bored, that I honestly had no idea with what to do with myself during my time in isolation, as I was doing the same routine over and over again. Further explanation in next subheading...

How did I utilise my time in lockdown?

One of the things I did to break my habitual routine, was watching every old episode of Coronation Street from 2008 up towards where I am now. I had to say, I found it very interesting how the cobbles' scenery was so different that long ago!😂 (Still laptop related) I was scrolling up and down the roads of different places on Google Maps to get from A to B. This significantly helped me to get better with my Geography!

Asides from my laptop, I thought I'd improve my cooking, by making a 3-course meal originated from various countries. Also, with cooking puddings too. I actually found cooking very therapeutic afterwards!

During the warm weather, I would sometimes go into my back garden to do a bit of sunbathing, to help me take my mind off the current COVID-19 related news. This also helped me to get my "Relaxation" mood on. Other times, me and my brother would help out in the front garden, by getting rid of all the weed and the bamboo (Don't ask, I had no idea why we had bamboo growing in our front garden?!)🐼😂 Anyway, this was a refurbishment task which we all decided to do, as our front garden was literally looking like a jungle.

Bonus fact: This was the VERY reason why I wanted to create this blog. 1: Because I am very passionate with sharing my psychological knowledge with you all. 2: This is just something which keeps my occupied during my free time.

What have we learned during our time in lockdown?

Ever since day 1 of lockdown, we have learned to help our minds to adapt to this sudden change of how we interact with ourselves, as well as one another from just one household. By doing so, it is very important that we check up on others by texting: "Hey, how have you been doing recently?" This kind of thoughtful message could really make someone's day, by making them think that their friends and family actually still care about them whilst in isolation. This is something which I like to do time and time again, as I am a caring and considerate person.

We have also learned that staying at home, doesn't give us an excuse to sit around and do nothing all day long. In exchange of that, we encourages ourselves to find more ways of unleashing our hidden creativity inside us. You'll never know, this may well could become your new favourite hobby!

Most importantly, we have learned that this ENTIRE nation has the capacity to come together and be willing to help out one another during these dark times. A heart whelming discovery to us all.💗

As of now, a whole year on from our first lockdown, we have been very successful with making the vaccine and giving them out to the public, that I believe half of the UK adults have been vaccinated already!

Thank you ever so much for taking your time to read through. Remember, stay safe and follow the guidelines. Hopefully we'll be out of this tunnel by the 21st of June!🤞 Bye for now.

  

How #Autism can REALLY help an individual thrive in life

This will be another highlighted post courtesy from a website. (The Sun)

Which will be illustrating how Katie Price's autistic son, Harvey, has recently been offered the amazing role of becoming a 'Train Announcer'.

We'll be looking at how having these autistic traits, can help you succeed, in terms of doing what you really love to do.

First off, let me just say... I'm autistic myself, so I can totally relate to how it works.

If you've been reading the same similar news, it explains how Harvey's form of autism allows him to remember, as well as memorize every single thorough detail in the National Rail train announcements, in which, a certain train route will be announced to help people travel from A - B on their route.

Overall, Harvey seems to have a strong interest about trains, and is also very passionate about how they work. With that said, he has an occupied intention to look up their history, routes and companies etc.

If anyone else who has these autistic traits, will only have room for one thing in their life - Success! In expansion to this, they have an interest, they look up ALL the information, facts and history of their chosen interest and will keep going until their brain has soaked up EVERYTHING they need to know about their chosen interest to be able to get involved in the type of career they've been aiming towards throughout ALL their childhood and young adulthood.

In addition, the article states that Harvey needs care 24/7, meaning, he sounds like he is low functioning on the spectrum. I need to point out this fact, because these autistic traits can be easily confused with having 'Asperger's Syndrome' (I might explain that in another post) Which sits on the highest end of the spectrum and again, allows people to be thoroughly detailed when having a certain interest, as well as chasing it down in order to succeed.

But having all of these complicated needs DOES NOT stop him from achieving his goals - Another type of message which needs to be spread out more.

That concludes everything I want to disclose on this post and please feel free to comment about any type of advice. See you all soon!

👇Here's the article link below:👇

  

 https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/13873712/katie-price-harvey-network-rail-train-announcer/