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. 

How spending so much time out of an education setting can have a devastating impact on a young person

Hello everyone! How are we in September already?! I feel like this year is coming & going too fast.

Anyway, I have began a new job on Monday (1st of September) in a nearby college, and as the above title states, I want to share something very important that I have seen for myself whilst I was working there. This is all in the hope that other people reading this will find this post as insightful as it was for me having to witness it. Plus, this will give me something to do whilst I'm off work ill today as well.

On my 1st day working at a nearby college, I was working in a class where there was a boy who would not come into class, and had spent the whole day standing outside. This was all because he had been out of education for a WHOLE year. With that said, just spending 1 whole day in an education setting was enough for him to be overwhelmed, as he has unfortunately been so used to not being in one for this long. 

Now, you'll be asking yourself: "Why was this boy out of education for an entire year?" The answer was (according to my colleague) the school was having problems with him, so they couldn't cope with him anymore. This, in my eyes, is nothing other than totally unacceptable for any young person. Let alone for anyone who has special educational needs, like this boy does.

There is proven evidence that being out of any educational setting for a prolonged period of time can have a really devastating impact on young people, as they fills their head with so much uncertainty, and not having any learning in an actual learning environment makes young people feel anxious, because they will be behind everyone else, regardless whether they are neurotypical & non-neurotypical people.

Although it is valid there are loads of educational settings that are struggling to accommodate SEN kids due to a sky high new cases for ASD, ADHD or any other condition, it is NOT valid for young people with SEN to be out of education just because the education system cannot find a way to cater for their needs. This is why so many SEN kids are falling behand in life due to a lack of education. I know things are getting done to improve the statistics, but this simply cannot continue for the foreseeable...

Luckily, Challengers (the part-time organisation I work for) have 2 specialist settings in Guildford & Farnham that run during the weekday where they support people from the ages of 2 - 18 who are currently out of education. Although they are not education settings in any shape or form, they do, however, provide these young people with activities that will become really beneficial for their social & emotional development. They know what it's like when a young person with SEN feels insecure by having their education placement broken down, as well as knowing the ripple effects it has on their families.

To gain a more visualised insight, I have attached a video:

MIND, you are amazing at what you do, and never give up... Ever...

Happy Saturday all! Hope you're all enjoying it so far, as for the rest of this week. I know I haven't been paying much attention on here lately, as I have been too occupied with my coursework & my jobs. 

During this time, I was disappointed to see on MIND's social media that the UK government has let down people's mental health, again... Although I do not consider myself to be somebody who requires support from any mental health professional who may have a degree of some sort, but I do consider myself to be somebody who cares about mental health being taken into consideration. Especially when it comes to people suffering from their mental health by having no one to turn to, as well as to seek professional advice. Read about it here: https://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/uk-government-shelves-the-mental-health-bill/

Because I am a part of MIND'S workforce, I feel like it's only right if I speak up on behalf of the company/charity. Not just that, but also because I truly appreciate everything they do in a bid to fight for mental health.

MIND, if you're reading this, (or if you ever read this) I just want to say that I am a massive fan of what you do in your workforce. Whether these may consist of encouraging people to get a membership, volunteer or even create partnerships with work companies, you're doing a grand job with getting more people involved in fighting for mental health. That being said, you wouldn't be recognised for who you are, as well as what you do to this day if it hadn't been for any of those above things.

Let's also talk about your campaigning, as I can clearly see that you would happily go above & beyond to achieve. This also includes people happily going out of their way just so they can help you with the campaigning. This is obviously a inspirational success in a lot of people's eyes whenever they view these campaigning events on the media. Just a shame the government do not take this seriously...

On that note Charles, how come you didn't think to mention all of this in your speech last Tuesday? (7/11/23) I mean, it's not like this is a rocket science situation that will just fix on its own, this mental health crisis has to be dealt with by actually putting the mental health bill into action. Words cannot even begin to describe as to how shocked I am that this has been not been sorted out for the past 6 years now, and the UK government think it's okay for people's mental health to go unnoticed in this country?! 

All I can really say at this point, is that something HAS to be done in order for the UK government to put the mental health bill into action, and to ensure no one's mental health gets ignored. But until then...

Keep on fighting for mental health MIND.✊🏻💙