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by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor  Here is my update for this week.
In the past few weeks, I have been trying to signpost people to as many resources as possible to help them get through the current Coronavirus lockdown. But in this update, I want to talk to you about some of the things that people are talking about more now than they used to, as well as give you some more links to useful resources/information. I hope that this helps people. 1. What has happened this week? Firstly, I want to talk about the subject which most people involved with children and young people (with or without SEN) are talking about – when will schools reopen... In an article entitled: ‘Coronavirus: Heads say 1 June earliest realistic school opening’, the BBC said: ‘The earliest "realistic" point at which schools in England could start re-opening would be 1 June, head teachers' leader Geoff Barton has said. "We cannot see any realistic way that schools could be re-opened to more pupils before the second half of the summer term," said the ASCL leader. And "planning would need to begin very soon" in order to meet a 1 June target. Schools closed their doors to all except vulnerable children and those of key workers over a month ago. At the weekend, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said no date was set for returning to school, quashing speculation about an imminent return. The education secretary said if and when five thresholds in the fight against coronavirus were reached, a date could be set for schools to reopen: - the NHS's ability to cope is fully protected - the daily death rate is dropping - infection rates are falling to manageable levels - there are sufficient supplies of testing and protective equipment - there is no risk of a "second peak" of infections It's a safety-first approach, with school leaders backing the reliance on medical advice. Once those requirements have been met, a date could be set for schools to re-open. But it would not be immediate, with schools expecting a further "lead in" time, possibly of weeks, to prepare for a complicated, staged return that allows them to maintain social distancing. Parents would also have to be persuaded it was safe. With such a time frame, starting this half term becomes very unlikely. If opening after half term, it would mean somewhere in the seven weeks between 1 June and the term ending in mid-July. But doubt has been cast on whether social distancing can really be feasible in schools. Katharine Birbalsingh, head of Michaela Community School, in Brent, north London, criticised the "pretence" social distancing might work in schools, with narrow corridors, small classrooms and lots of interactions, particularly between younger children. "Social distancing in schools is simply impossible," she said. "We're considered to be the strictest school in Britain and even we would find it impossible." And there are other questions around safety: - Would children with family members vulnerable because of health conditions return to school? - How many vulnerable staff would need to be shielded? - What protective equipment might be needed for teachers? Earlier this week, a petition from NHS nurse Iain Wilson warned against any early push to re-open schools. "Do not make us the global guinea pigs," he said. "It is self-evidently unwise to force hundreds of people into small rooms in small buildings during a pandemic." If schools are to maintain social distancing, they could not run at full capacity, meaning a phased return, such as starting with a few year groups or pupils rotating between studying at home and school. Mr Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it could mean staggering break times and putting a limit on class sizes. Robert Halfon, who chairs the Education Select Committee, said primary schools should be the first back. This would help parents and stop disadvantaged youngsters falling behind at an early stage, the MP said. But Mr Barton said the priority should be Years 10 and 12, who are part-way through GCSEs and A-levels, and Year 6, where children are about to move to secondary school. And Jules White, head of Tanbridge House School, in West Sussex, asked what plans there would be for next summer's exams when so much study time has been lost. Star academy trust chief executive Hamid Patel, meanwhile, said it should be up to each school to decide the order in which its pupils return. There is also a possibility that some pupils will not go back at all this term - or at least for anything like a regular timetable. "We want to be back as soon as it's safe," said National Education Union joint head Kevin Courtney. "But there's a chance that there will be no full re-opening before the end of term. "There's a responsibility to think about what that will mean for children's education." But school leaders have repeatedly talked about the importance of getting pupils back before the school year finishes. And in the meantime, other countries might provide evidence of how a return might work. In France, primary-school pupils will start to go back, in classes of no more than 15, from 11 May. And in the Netherlands, they will go back, on a part-time basis, on the same date, with secondary pupils returning from 1 June. "What is crucial is that schools are able to re-open in a manner which inspires confidence among staff, pupils and parents - and that it is as safe as possible," said Mr Barton.’ --- In a similar article on the Guardian’s website entitled: ‘Older pupils ‘should be first’ when England’s schools reopen’, it said: ‘Headteachers say priority should go to students preparing to sit exams A headteachers’ union is calling for older pupils to return to school first as part of a phased approach to reopening schools in England, amid warnings that students preparing for exams may need to repeat the whole year because of the impact of lost learning. The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the pupils who have most to gain from getting back to school are those in years 10 and 12 who are in the middle of GCSE and A-level courses, and those in the final year of primary, preparing to move to secondary. The approach contrasts with Denmark, which became the first country in Europe to reopen its schools last week, when under-12s were the first to return. Younger children are less able to study on their own and having them back in school allows parents to return to work. Speculation surrounding when and how schools in England will safely reopen has become increasingly fraught as the lockdown has persisted, with sharp disagreement among ministers and divergent views among teaching unions. ... Pressure to reopen is mounting amid growing concern, particularly for disadvantaged students who will be hardest hit. The former head of Ofsted Sir Michael Wilshaw, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s World at One, warned that some pupils preparing for exams might have lost out so much that they would have to repeat the whole year. Other teaching unions, which are worried about schools having to reopen prematurely because of fears over the economic impact of parents having children at home, have denounced speculation about return dates and focused purely on the public health risks to pupils, school workers and the wider community. The NASUWT wrote to the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, this week setting out five conditions for reopening, including access to personal protective equipment where required, ranging from soap to gloves, aprons and in some cases face masks, as well as guarantees on adequate staffing and physical distancing advice. The NASUWT general secretary, Patrick Roach, also warned that teachers should not be expected to clean. “The NASUWT would not expect teachers to be asked to undertake cleaning tasks or to be expected to undertake them to the necessary standards to protect the health of pupils and the workforce.” The National Education Union, which is the biggest with 450,000 members, has insisted the science should decide when schools reopen. Its petition to delay reopening until safe to do so has gained more than 160,000 signatures. Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Schools should only reopen when the scientific evidence is clear that it is safe to do so. Safe for pupils, safe for staff, safe for parents.”’ --- Focusing more on SEN, the BBC website also published an article entitled: ‘Tiny fraction of 'at risk' children attending schools’, which said: ‘Only a tiny fraction of vulnerable children in England are taking up the emergency school places kept open for them, official figures show. This has prompted concerns "at risk" children are facing increased danger in the lockdown, while schools and teachers struggle to get hold of them. New data shows only a maximum of 5% of the most needy children have been at school during the Coronavirus crisis. The Children's Commissioner says social workers should be "knocking on doors". The Department for Education data shows just 29,000 so-called vulnerable children attended school in the week before the Easter holidays. This includes a group of children with greater levels of special educational needs - but many of this larger group may be staying at home with their families for a range of legitimate reasons. However, more than 723,000 children were known to children's social care services in 2019. The figures were described as "utterly shocking" by the Liberal Democrats. But children's minister Vicky Ford said children who were not in school were being monitored by social workers and supported in other ways. 'Substance abuse' Anne Longfield England's Children's Commissioner told the BBC: "What we now know is, what we've been hearing over the last few weeks, that the vast majority of vulnerable children in this country are not attending, despite the fact that schools are open. "What that means is that they are at home, potentially with a cocktail of risks. "They may be in homes with quite fragile environments, potentially domestic violence in the home - which we know is increasing, parents with drug and alcohol addictions or indeed severe mental health conditions. "So often these children are quite invisible at home and not in the place which is best at keeping them safe - school." Ms Longfield said referrals to social services had dropped by half, and she expressed concerns that bored, vulnerable teenagers could be leaving their homes and getting into situations where they would be exploited and groomed by criminals. She called for a clearer message from government, adding that "social workers need to be knocking on doors and everyone needs to be working tirelessly to get these vulnerable children into schools".' … --- There was also an article on the BBC’s website entitled: 'Digital poverty' in schools where few have laptops’, which said: "In our schools, 60% to 70% of children wouldn't have laptops," says Wayne Norrie, head of an academy trust with schools in disadvantaged areas. With schools closed and pupils studying online at home, he says, it is important to recognise the social gap in access to technology. "Coronavirus has revealed the scale of the digital divide," he says. The Department for Education in England has promised laptops will be lent to some poorer teenagers. These will be available to disadvantaged Year 10 pupils without access to a computer, and those with social workers. The scheme, announced last Sunday, for an unspecified number of laptops, is expected to soon start taking bids from local authorities and academy trusts. Mr Norrie, chief executive of Greenwood Academies Trust, with 37 schools in the Midlands and east of England, says many families rely on a single mobile phone for an internet connection, which is "not realistic" for online learning and streaming video lessons. "Many don't have broadband contracts," he says. For instance, he describes a family in Skegness who have a mobile phone shared between parents and three children. The schools have been providing laptops and some families have their own tablet computers - but there are still barriers in terms of parents' IT skills and children having space to study. "Digital poverty" is a significant problem, says Matt Morden, co-head teacher of Surrey Square primary school, in south London. In his school, 24% of pupils are effectively offline, in terms of being able to study from home. Their families might have mobile phones with internet connections - but for those in low-paid, insecure jobs, data is expensive. "If families are struggling, the priority is going to be food, not data," he says. As well as missing out on learning, those without online connections miss "the sense of belonging" from staying in touch with their friends and teachers, Mr Morden says. The lockdown and the closure of schools has "brought the digital divide to the forefront", he says. There has been a new virtual academy launched and the BBC has provided educational resources - but those without internet access or usable computer devices are being left behind. Mr Morden's school has been lending laptops - but for families with several school-age children, one might not be enough. Seb Chapleau, director of the Big Education Conversation charity, says it is "important to understand that this is a deep problem across many schools". Chris Tomlinson, who chairs the trust, says online lessons are "no good if the children don't have the necessary hardware to access the internet". The AET academy trust is providing 9,000 laptops for its 58 schools, one for all pupils on free school meals. The current lockdown has turned technology into an educational necessity rather than a luxury, said the trust's chief executive, Julian Drinkall. Robert Halfon, chair of the education select committee, says too often there are assumptions about access to broadband and up-to-date computers. As an MP, he says he deals with constituents who have to weigh up the cost of data before sending emails or getting information online. He suggests educational programmes could be put on free-to-air television to reach those not online.’ --- But it was not all bad news, as The Guardian also ran a piece entitled: ‘Covid lockdown opening up world for people with disabilities’, which said: ‘While the coronavirus pandemic has led to unprecedented restrictions for billions of people, for many with disabilities, the lockdown has paradoxically opened up the world. As society embraces “virtual” living, disabled people – who for years have missed out due to poor access – are suddenly finding themselves able to take part in work, culture, or socialising from their own home. Nicola Welsh, 43, has always loved going to museums but a painful nerve condition means she’s been housebound for 17 years. As cultural institutions including the National Theatre and the Royal Opera House go online, she’s been able to tour the world visiting museums. “I ‘went’ to the Watts Gallery [in Surrey] and then the Louvre. The Rijks [museum in Amsterdam] had a walkthrough on their Instagram account,” she said. The experience has been profoundly moving. “Having the opportunity to visit virtually has given me back something that I’d resigned myself to not being able to do within my limitations. I hadn’t realised how much I had missed it.” … Even healthcare has opened up; disabled people who have long campaigned to see their doctors virtually, report they are now being offered Skype time with consultants. As well as joy at being offered new opportunities, many feel frustrated that it took the non-disabled world to become house-bound before access was granted. Emma Duke, 21, who has Pots syndrome – which results in an abnormally increased heart rate after sitting up or standing – and neurological problems, has been trying to get remote access to film classes for her degree for the last three years in Los Angeles. She was frequently refused – “I was told it wasn’t ‘feasible’” – but the coronavirus pandemic means her entire university is now online. “I am so torn between being so grateful that I can get my education and […] feeling a bit betrayed that it was possible the whole time,” she said. Rather than “more” opportunities opening up, 30-year-old Tom Staniford in Exeter describes the phenomenon as a levelling of the playing field. “I find it infuriating to see people moaning about reduced mobility, challenges of remote working, fear of illness risk, long periods of isolation – all things many disabled people already endure on a daily basis,” said Staniford, who has the rare MDP syndrome, which leaves him with physical and auditory disabilities. He thinks the lockdown could open up the chance for permanent accessibility. “But my overriding suspicion is it will be a massive missed opportunity.” Turner is more hopeful. “I feel like people are finally understanding the physical barriers disabled people face,” she said. “I’m actually really optimistic good will come out of this.”’ --- But I also need to turn your attention here back to children and young people with SEN, who are considered more ‘vulnerable’ at this time and refer here to an article on the NCB’s (National Children's Bureau’s) website entitled: ‘Coronavirus spotlight: vulnerable children’, which said: ‘For some children, circumstances at home or in their community mean they face greater risks than others. Some, but not all, of these children will be supported by a social worker. The coronavirus crisis is likely to elevate the risks to these children, and services may be less able to respond to their needs. School closures and vulnerable children The closure of schools for most children, while necessary to halt rates of infection, is one reason why some children will be at greater risk. Schools act as crucial sources of safety and support, and act as warning systems for all children, especially those at risk. At a basic level, schools often provide some children with their only hot meals of the day, but they also provide counselling, or just a place where they can feel safe and settled. Schools also act to alert other professionals when things go wrong. The emergency measures put in place by the Government mean many children are not in school, and they no longer benefit from this scaffolding. But even for those children who are able to remain in school, it is not clear that the structures that help them will remain – with significant staffing shortages, and classes of different ages and levels grouped together, the environment will be significantly different.' ... --- Another article on the BBC’s website entitled: ‘The parents in lockdown with violent children’ said: ‘For some parents, being at home with their children means facing threats, abuse and violent outbursts. How can they cope in the isolation of lockdown? Julie found out you could buy large knives on the internet when she witnessed her son brandishing one and slashing the furniture at home. In the past couple of months, she says she has had to call the police twice to their home, most recently as she was barricaded in the bathroom while her son - a young adult - tried to break down the door with a knife. Now the family are living in lockdown together, struggling with isolation, a loss of their support network and a claustrophobic atmosphere that Julie describes as a "tinderbox". She says she believes her son when he told police that he never meant to hurt her, that he just wanted her to know how angry he was. But incidents of intimidation happen two or three times a week, she says. Liam suffered trauma as a child and has learning difficulties which affect memory, emotional regulation and social skills. The family manage his aggressive outbursts with the help of a list of friends and supporters who come round at a moment's notice to help defuse tensions. But these coping techniques are threatened by the social distancing rules. Her husband has to work outside the home, so Julie says if she cannot call on these supporters, "I am very much on my own". It's not known precisely how many parents live with violence from their children. Figures compiled by the BBC last year suggest the number of incidents recorded by police doubled to 14,133 between 2015 and 2018 - but many may go unreported. 'Like living with nitroglycerine' Helen Bonnick, a former social worker and campaigner on the issue, says that international evidence suggests about one in 10 parents may experience some violence from their children, although severe incidents are more rare. Some aggressive children have problems dealing with their emotions, she says, but others are "much more manipulative and controlling, in a way that feels more like adult violence". Lockdown raises the stakes for these families, reinforcing their isolation and underlining the message to parents from violent children "that they can't go out, that they're stuck in here with them, that they can do what they want and no one will know," says Ms Bonnick. "Parents who have experienced intimate partner violence and then child-to-parent violence will often say this feels worse - because it's your own flesh and blood," she says. Neil, who lives in the east of England, says the aggression from his son, Ben, was just "cute" aged four and became worrying when he was eight. Now he is living with a teenager and "suddenly it's quite dangerous" - with Ben increasingly reaching for knives or bottles. Ben is autistic and has moderate learning difficulties as well as ADHD. The disruption to his routine caused by the coronavirus outbreak has sent his stress levels soaring and made angry outbursts more likely, his father says. "He's that much closer to boiling over constantly. It really doesn't take much for him to turn around and explode. It's like living with a bucket of nitroglycerine sometimes," says Neil. A key coping strategy before the lockdown was taking Ben for long drives, which he found calming. Now even that has become loaded with anxiety, as they fear being stopped by the police for making an unnecessary journey. "Life was hard already and Covid is making it harder," Neil says. Peter Jakob, a clinical psychologist who helps people facing this issue, says the isolation and shame that parents already feel is a major challenge in tackling violence from their children. But he says it can still be addressed, even in lockdown. Dr Jakob encourages parents to have a network of supporters who can launch what he calls a "campaign of concern" - where after an incident, a number of people contact the child using messaging or video-chatting apps like WhatsApp or FaceTime. "Most children don't want others in the community to know that they act in violent, aggressive or otherwise destructive ways," he says. If they can no longer "silence their parents" from telling others about their behaviour, they often feel forced to change, he says.' ... 2. What does this all mean? It is now very clear that the Coronavirus lockdown is affecting different sections of people in society in different ways. But it is also important for everyone to remember that we're all in this together and that we need to do as much as we can to support others, particularly parents of and children and young people with SEN, as well as those schools catering for them. 3. Where can I find further information? As I always like to do at the end of my updates, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle This week, I also came across other useful information which you can find here: - The BBC’s Parents' Toolkit: SEND - Contact’s guide for families with disabled children and their helpful podcast for families with disabled children - The CDC (Council for Disabled Children) Guidance and Advice on Coronavirus: Learning Disability and Autism Focus - Scope’s Navigate: emotional support for parents I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Remember also, that there are other videos on this website, especially the one at the top of this page which explains the coronavirus and its effect clearly to children. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk. by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor Here is my update for this week.
Judging by what I am reading and hearing over the past week, it seems to have been getting a lot tougher out there for parents of and children/young people with SEN. I therefore want to highlight this week some of the issues and also some people/organisations who are providing useful information. I was also emailed by some parents/people after my update last week, one of whom said: ‘Thank you for your updates, they are proving very useful. It's good to have things in one place and not have to trawl through the vast amounts of information out there, particularly given I rarely know what I should be looking for, let alone where!’ I have therefore provided links again in this update. I hope that this helps people again. 1. What has happened this week? It is firstly useful to remind everyone again about the current situation for ‘vulnerable children’ – a useful summary of which was provided by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) on its website, entitled: ‘Coronavirus spotlight: vulnerable children’, which states: ‘For some children, circumstances at home or in their community mean they face greater risks than others. Some, but not all, of these children will be supported by a social worker. The coronavirus crisis is likely to elevate the risks to these children, and services may be less able to respond to their needs. School closures and vulnerable children The closure of schools for most children, while necessary to halt rates of infection, is one reason why some children will be at greater risk. Schools act as crucial sources of safety and support, and act as warning systems for all children, especially those at risk. At a basic level, schools often provide some children with their only hot meals of the day, but they also provide counselling, or just a place where they can feel safe and settled. Schools also act to alert other professionals when things go wrong. The emergency measures put in place by the Government mean many children are not in school, and they no longer benefit from this scaffolding. But even for those children who are able to remain in school, it is not clear that the structures that help them will remain – with significant staffing shortages, and classes of different ages and levels grouped together, the environment will be significantly different.’ --- You can also find useful information about what is happening generally on IPSEA’s webpage entitled: ‘IPSEA update on COVID-19, school closures and SEN provision’, which is well worth a read. --- In terms of things getting tougher, there was an article written by a parent in The Guardian entitled: ‘'We're on our own': how the pandemic isolates families of disabled children’, which said: ‘Families of children with special educational needs and disabilities are a resilient and resourceful group of people. Many of the qualities required to endure the coronavirus pandemic – vigilance, self-containment and mutual aid – are basic skill sets to parent carers. Whether at school, work or in community life, we are past masters at social distancing and social isolation. Our families have poorer physical and mental health than most. We earn less, have higher household costs, are more isolated, and break up and break down more. Somehow, perhaps because we have no choice, we manage to endure. Ours is also a vulnerable group – not just to the virus itself, but to the social and economic consequences of the pandemic. Little has been said by government or the national media about the very complex needs of our families during this crisis; no answers yet for a parent-carer like Debbie Taylor, an NHS psychotherapist and key worker who cannot send her daughter, Sarah, to school as she has tuberous sclerosis and is prone to chest infections. The pressure on the NHS also means Sarah’s annual MRI scan, to check that tumours on her major organs have not grown, has been cancelled. Meanwhile, Debbie works and juggles caring for Sarah over an 18-hour day. “I am exhausted, there is no let up,” she says. “Normal coping strategies or self-care mechanisms are all gone. All our support systems were already unravelling. There is no plan B. We are now on our own.”’ --- There was also a piece on Autism Eye’s website entitled: ‘We Can’t Get Food We Need, Say Parents’, which said: ‘Families of autistic children are struggling to get food from supermarkets amid the coronavirus pandemic. Parents say their children live on restricted diets and shops are being stripped bare of the foods they eat. Some supermarkets, including Tesco and Sainsbury’s, have set aside periods when the elderly and vulnerable can shop. Impossible to register But Beth Morrison, who runs Positive and Active Behaviour Support Scotland(PABSS), says she has found it impossible to register as “vulnerable” with Sainsbury’s. Morrison is self-isolating with husband Peter, 57. Peter had a heart attack three weeks ago and has had a pacemaker and defibrillator fitted. The couple’s son, Calum, and daughter, Paige, are also self-isolating. Calum, 21, has epilepsy, cerebral palsy, autism and a learning disability. Not been able to book a delivery Morrison, 54, from Monifieth, in Angus, gets much of Calum’s diet from Morrison’s. However, she has not been able to book a delivery online. She said Calum eats only chicken or sausages from Sainsbury’s or Marks & Spencer. “He is so sensitive with food — sensory issues with food. He can actually tell the difference just by smelling the chicken,” she said. Morrison has relied on Calum’s support workers to go shopping. Son will only eat certain brands Anna Champion, 39, from Chippenham, said her son Ben, 12, who has autism and a learning disability, will also only eat certain brands. She wrote on Autism Eye’s Facebook page: “I don’t know what to do. He is eating virtually nothing as I can’t get what he likes.” A spokesperson for Tesco confirmed that families of children and adults with autism can use the store during slots set aside for vulnerable groups. Families will not be asked for proof, added the spokesperson.’ --- One of the most notable things this week was the relaxing of the rules on lockdown exercise for some children/young people with SEN, which was summarised on Contact’s website in an article entitled: ‘Government clarifies exercise guidance for people with health needs’, which said: ‘The government has clarified social distancing guidance for people whose disability or health need requires them to exercise more than once a day. Ordinarily, people are advised that they may leave the house for exercise only once a day, for example to take a run or go for a cycle. This should be within the local area only, to minimise the risk of spreading the virus. However, if your child has a health need or disability that means they need to exercise more than once a day, it is fine to do so. Similarly, if your child has to take a specific form of exercise beyond the local area, it's ok for you to take them there. This might be, for example, if your child has autism or learning disabilities. The government advises that such exercise would ideally be in line with a care plan. And of course, it is still important to follow other social distancing rules such as keeping 2m away from other people.’ --- There was also an interesting article by barristers, Steve Broach and Alice Irving, (which you can find on the Special Needs Jungle’s website) entitled: ‘Why the Coronavirus lockdown adjustment for people with disabilities and mental health conditions was the right thing to do’, which said: ‘Changes to lockdown policy for disabled people and those with mental health conditions A recent example involves two families with autistic children (the claimants), working with lawyers (Bindmans LLP and Steve Broach at 39 Essex Chambers, one of the authors of this article), to secure a change to the government policy that people should only leave their homes once a day for exercise. The policy was amended to allow people with a specific health condition to exercise more often, or to travel away from their home to exercise, if it is necessary for them to do so. This is an important change in the policy. Adherence to lockdown and social distancing rules is essential to ensuring we, as a country and community, come through this crisis. However, while it is hard for all of us to abide by these rules, they do not impact on all people equally. Seeking recognition of this is not a case of disabled people using an excuse to avoid adherence to lockdown requirements. It is a recognition that, for some people, not being able to go outside more than once a day is not merely unpleasant but has a potentially significant impact on their health and wellbeing. This is clearly illustrated in this statement from a parent of one of the claimants: “Over the last couple of years, our autistic son has made huge strides self-managing his sensory, communication and health difficulties and asking for what he needs in order to be able to cope with them. These include long walks in the countryside, which he finds very relaxing and pleasurable from a sensory point of view, and being taken for drives in the car while listening to music with his dad. "So when the lockdown was announced, we were worried that being limited to one outing a day in the local area would make it impossible for our son to deal with the situation and that this could lead to severe meltdowns. Having the guidelines clarified by the government has lifted a huge weight from our shoulders, and as a result, our son has been managing well with the limitations of the lockdown while maintaining social distancing.” While the main guidance still states that you should only leave the house for “one form of exercise a day” a new section was added entitled “Can I exercise more than once a day if I need to due to a significant health condition?” It is worth setting out this new section in full: “You can leave your home for medical need. If you (or a person in your care) have a specific health condition that requires you to leave the home to maintain your health – including if that involves travel beyond your local area – then you can do so. This could, for example, include where individuals with learning disability or autism require specific exercise in an open space two or three times each day – ideally in line with a care plan agreed with a medical professional. "Even in such cases, in order to reduce the spread of infection and protect those exercising, travel outside of the home should be limited, as close to your local area as possible, and you should remain at least two metres apart from anyone who is not a member of your household or a carer at all times.” Conclusion The way that the guidance was changed shows that disabled people and their families are not powerless, when a new policy rushed through by the government in response to the public health crisis fails to adequately consider their rights and needs. In this instance, two families with disabled children, working with lawyers, brought about meaningful and important change to a government policy. This will benefit disabled people nationwide. Lawyers are continuing to partner with disabled people and their families, to safeguard the rights of disabled people in these difficult times.’ There was also help on ‘Supporting siblings’ (again on Contact’s website), which said: Parents often talk to us about the importance of siblings and the difficulties that can arise for the siblings of a disabled child. These challenges rarely stop the relationship siblings have with their disabled brother or sister being one of the most important in their lives. Below we highlight some of the issues that may crop up for siblings of a disabled child and give tips to respond to them. Limited time and attention from parents · Every so often put the needs of siblings first and let them choose what to do. · Decide on certain times you'll dedicate to siblings individually, for example bedtime or day trips once a month. · Try to find activities that the family can enjoy together, but also other activities to enjoy separately so each child has something special. · Try to arrange short term care so you can attend important events with siblings, like sports day. · Sometimes take your disabled child along to their sibling's event: siblings supporting each other works both ways. Confusion about their sibling's disability · Learn to recognise behaviour that expresses anger or frustration at their disabled sibling. · Talk to your children about disability so they know that no one is to blame for their brother or sister's difficulties. · Encourage them to see the similarities they have with their sibling. Draw pictures of each family member and look at their strengths and weaknesses. · Meet other families who have a disabled child so your other children see that disability is an everyday part of life and not unique to their family. Worry about bringing friends home · Talk with your child about how they might explain their brother or sister's disability to a friend. · Encourage but don't expect siblings to always include the disabled child in their play or activities. · Let them retreat to their bedroom, and when they're older you can think about letting lock the door. · Acknowledge siblings' negative feelings about their brother or sister and talk about the feelings of guilt they may feel. Explain that everyone gets angry with other family members sometimes. Stressful situations at home · Encourage siblings to develop their own social lives. · Some siblings find it helpful to meet other young carers to share difficult emotions in a supportive environment. There are young carers support organisations across the UK. · Some siblings may prefer to talk to someone outside of the family. Your GP may be able to recommend a suitable counsellor, or you can visit the Counselling Directory website. Sibling tips from other parents We asked some parents what advice they'd pass onto others, and this is what they said. · Don't get down about sibling troubles - your children can gain and learn from difficult experiences. · Join a parent support group - they really help. · Tell the child's school if they're having trouble adapting to having a disabled sibling. · Keep the siblings informed about their brother or sister's disability. · Allow children to speak their mind, even if you're not always comfortable with what they say. · Don't put pressure on your non-disabled children - it might take them time to fully understand the situation.’ --- In educational news, there was a nice article by The Guardian entitled: ‘Read my lips: how lockdown TV could boost ch, which said: ‘Research shows that turning on TV subtitles boosts kids’ reading ages, particularly among primary school children. An urgent call is to go out to children’s television broadcasters this weekend, backed by major names in British entertainment, politics and technology. Writer and performer Stephen Fry, best-selling author Cressida Cowell and businesswoman Martha Lane Fox are joined by former children’s television presenter Floella Benjamin as signatories to a letter, carried in today’s Observer, that urges all leading streaming, network and terrestrial children’s channels to make one simple change to boost literacy among the young: turn on the subtitles. If English-language subtitles were to be run along the bottom of the screen for all programming, they argue, reading levels across the country would automatically rise. Longstanding international academic research projects prove, they say, that spelling, grammar and vocabulary would all be enhanced, even if children watching TV are not aware they are learning. The campaign aims to improve reading ability across the English-speaking world and has won backing from former President Bill Clinton, who said: “Same-language subtitling doubles the number of functional readers among primary school children. It’s a small thing that has a staggering impact on people’s lives.” It’s a simple change that will make the world of difference to millions of young people The drive is being run by a campaign group called Tots, or Turn On The Subtitles, and launches this week. The open letter to broadcasters from the organisation, founded by old friends and entrepreneurs Henry Warren and Oli Barrett, draws attention to the benefits of featuring same-language subtitles as a default on programming aimed at children across the world - almost a billion of whom are now being educated inside their own homes. The campaign is aimed at broadcasters and online platforms, and names Sky, Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube Kids, ITV and the BBC, many of whom have shown interest in the idea. Campaigners are pushing for this change to be made at a moment of maximum benefit. “This needs to be done as a matter of urgency. This simple change will make the world of difference to millions of young people at this extremely challenging time,” reads the letter. Warren, a businessman who has specialised in education technology, said he aims to raise awareness of the issue among parents as well as broadcasters. The plan is to start with video-on-demand content now, and then move on to converting all children’s programming. “It starts helping as soon as a child can decode basic phonemes,” said Warren. “But the real benefit is when a child is a sufficiently competent reader that it is done subconsciously.” Parents would be able to turn off the subtitles if they wished, or change them to another language. And if broadcasters prove slow to respond to the renewed pressure, Warren hopes parents will hear the message. “To be blunt, though, even the best awareness-raising often fails to reach the families that need it most.” It is an intervention, Warren adds, is not supposed to replace home reading, merely to supplement it. Researchers using eye-tracking software have shown that children follow subtitles on screens. While many broadcasters have engaged with Tots in recent months, and most have few technical obstacles to surmount, final editorial approval for the plan has been difficult to get. A Dutch study of eye-tracking during television viewing found in 1991 that the subtitles drew the eyes of viewers for a considerable time. A previous study also found that action-oriented cartoons, such as Popeye, did sometimes draw children’s eyes away from the text below, but not in more verbally dense shows, such as The Garfield Show. And two years ago, PlanetRead, a literacy charity based in Canada, America and India, carried out research in rural Rajasthan, India, which involved showing children animated stories. One group of struggling readers watched with subtitles and one without. The overwhelming majority of children, 94 per cent, were found to have engaged with the subtitles, especially in the simpler shows when words appeared at a rate of around 81 a minute.’ 2. What does this all mean? As I have already said, things are now getting tougher out there and I am sure that this is just going to increase as the weeks go by. However, as I have also referred to above, it is still possible to be creative and assertive sometimes. Although I know that some schools will go back again next week after the Easter break, I also know that the difficulties I have highlighted above here and in past updates will still continue for many parents and children/young people who are home-schooling now. 3. Where can I find further information? I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle However, I also came across other useful information this week, in particular on Contact’s website here: - ‘Important information about Covid-19 coronavirus for families with disabled children’ - ‘Coronavirus Covid-19 and families with disabled children’ - ‘Find other families like yours. Chat. Ask. Share. Support’. I would also highlight the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Remember also, that there are also other videos on this website, especially the one at the top of this page which explains the coronavirus and its effect clearly to children. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk.
by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor
Following the very welcome reception that I received last week to my update, in particular to my sharing resources available, I am going to concentrate in my update this week with bringing you other information/resources that I have found on the web this week.
I hope that this helps people again. 1. What has happened this week? Although children and young people are now officially on their Easter holidays, I know that many people who are home-schooling recently have found it quite difficult to engage their children (both with SEN and without SEN) in learning, especially if they have also been trying to work at home. There has been a bit more of a flurry of activity in the last week on the web, as many people have probably by now realised that the significant impact of the Covid-19/coronavirus situation is probably going to be here to stay for some time. Although there have been a lot of educational resources provided for children who are doing online learning, as well as lots of other useful information being provided by many people/organisations, I have tried in this week's update to boil the information below down to only those which I think are of more significant help to as many people as possible. This does not mean though that there are not other good resources out there, but I may not yet have come across these. (If you have found something else that you think will benefit others, please do let me know, so that I can tell others). I have tried to separate the below into four kinds of information, as follows: • Government information • Financial information • Educational resources • Legal information Government information The first thing that I want to highlight is current Government guidance: • First again, there is the "Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidance on Vulnerable Children and Young People”, which you can find here. • There is also the "Guidance for Parents and Carers for Supporting Children and Young People's Mental Health and Well-being during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Outbreak”, which you will find here. • Then there is the revised “Guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme” which now points out those people unable to work due to caring responsibilities, can now be furloughed by their employer (which came out on 6/4/2020), which you can find about on Contact’s website here and on the Government’s website here. Financial information • There is also now clarification that are free school meal vouchers will continue for the Easter holidays, more details of which you can read about on the BBC’s website here). • There is also the fact that the Government has announced a hardship fund to provide Council Tax support to vulnerable people in households affected most by coronavirus, more details of which you find on Scope’s website here and on the Government’s website here. • In addition, there is a lovely roundup of resources currently available for people on the Disabled Children's Partnership "Coronavirus Help and Support” page on Scope’s website, which you can find here. Educational resources • In terms of educational resources, the Government has also now provided support for schools and parents with educational resources that will help children learn at home, which you can find here. • There is also a nice round up of resources that are available both educationally and generally on the Special Needs Jungle website, which you can find here. S • There is also a nice update on "Ways to keep your kids entertained during lockdown" that appears on the Scope website, which you will find here. (In addition, there are a number of websites offering educational resources, which you can find under the Twitter feed "#homelearning”). Legal information • In terms of what is happening on the law concerning SEN generally, you may benefit from the webinar presentation produced by the team at 39 Essex Chambers, which you will find on their website here. • There are also helpful articles answering questions about the Coronavirus Act 2020 and the legal duties of local authorities, education institutions and childcare providers towards children with SEN and disabilities on the Irwin Mitchell website, which you can find here. • There is also free access now to individual Chapters of “Disabled children: A legal handbook" which is in its third edition now and is written by Steve Broach and Luke Clements, which you can find on the Council for Disabled Children's website here. 2. What does this all mean? Whilst this should feel helpful theoretically, there is always a practical difficulty when you are faced with a number of different bits of information or resources, as to whether it is really helpful to you, or whether it actually just overwhelms you! The trick that I have found personally over the years, is to initially look at everything and triage it according to its benefit and importance. You then need to make a personal decision about whether that information is really useful to you or not (or whether it is also worth sending to somebody else if you don’t need it, in case it may actually benefit them, even though it may not benefit you). The worst thing that you can do though is to open up all of the above links/resources and then leave them there waiting for you to return to them at a later time. The more time that then goes by will only increase your anxiety over it. What I have found with these kind of things (and in life generally) is that it is always better to deal with something at the time, rather than leaving it until later to return to, to look at it properly. As people often say, you may actually never get the time to look at it properly. This is especially if you are now trying to work at home with children running about who need to be entertained! 3. Where can I find further information? Personally I often find it find more helpful to watch a video to help explain things to me if I am able to, rather than just reading text, which is sometimes more difficult to decipher. Finally, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle Remember also, that there are also other videos on this website, especially the one at the top of this page which explains the coronavirus and its effect clearly to children. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk.
by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor
This is my weekly update for SEN and Covid–19.
This week, rather than me just writing a wall of text for you to read (although there is that too), I am going to try to sometimes use videos that I have found on the web, which you may find useful. I hope that this helps people. 1. What has happened this week? Although a lot of people were initially quite active on the web last week during the first week of school closures and our primary 'lockdown', this week there has not been so much activity, as I fear that the novelty of doing things differently for many people may have already started to wear off. Here's a video which summarise things well...
and here's a reminder about what is happening with schools...
Also, many people with children who are at home now may be finding it very difficult to both educate and amuse them, as well as get on with their regular 'day job'. If this is you, you may find it helpful to watch the following video...
Guidance
I have seen guidance this week from the National Education Union (NEU - a teaching union), which states (I have underlined some things): 'Guidance for primary teachers - Taking care of your physical and mental health is crucial at this time: this goes for children, parents and teachers. Keeping minds active and happy, ready to return to school when the time comes is the most important factor. - Teachers working at home can only carry out a reasonable workload and this must be negotiated with staff. Teachers should not be asked to personally contact their students daily, except where they have agreed with the headteacher a system/ rota for contacting vulnerable children and families. Teachers must not use personal phones, emails or social media to carry out this contact. - Teachers should not live-stream lessons from their homes, nor engage in any video-calling unless in exceptional circumstances, with the parent. Online lessons are not desirable for primary children as the teacher-pupil interaction is not easily replicated. - Many children need a lot of guidance when working and cannot be left for long periods of time to complete complex tasks. Schools should suggest activities that children can complete on their own. We must recognise that many parents are also trying to work from home, and parents might struggle to assist with schoolwork for a number of reasons. Parents cannot be expected to become teachers. - Tasks that do not need the internet or a device such as a laptop or tablet to access them are preferable, as some children and families will not have internet access or more than one device to use. - Work and tasks should suit the age range and capabilities of the children and expected outcomes should be flexible. Try to set tasks that all pupils can complete to some degree of success, with extra and more stretching activities for the more able. - Work that can be done in bite-sized chunks is more likely to be completed than longer tasks. If there are projects, suggest how these could be broken down. - Worksheets/textbook pages for maths and English can work if they are already used in school and all children have them at home. Teachers cannot be expected to mark work. Schools should not be setting SATs tests or mocks at this time. - A list of flexible tasks that cover different areas of the curriculum allows children to choose the tasks that interest them, and the ones parents feel they can manage. - It is most beneficial and realistic to offer a variety of tasks which are done working at a table (keep these to a minimum) or while moving around, including creative tasks. 'Guidance for secondary teachers [the first two paragraphs above are the same] - Teachers should not live-stream lessons from their homes, nor engage in any video-calling, unless in exceptional circumstances with the parent. - Not all pupils will have a quiet place to work, and some will be expected to take care of younger siblings or perform household chores. - Schools should suggest activities that children can complete on their own regardless of ability level. We must recognise that most parents are also trying to work from home. Parents cannot be expected to become teachers. - Variety is key and bite-sized chunks of work are more likely to be completed and could be part of a bigger project. We cannot expect pupils or parents to replicate the classroom at home. - Set tasks that can be completed to varying degrees of success with more complex and additional tasks for the most able pupils. Tasks that require little or no access to technology are preferable in order to cater for everyone. Where schools do use technology, they should use the technology that pupils and teachers are familiar with. - A list of flexible tasks that cover different areas of the curriculum allows pupils to choose the tasks that interest them and makes it more likely that they will complete them. Post-16 learners might be able to carry out more open-ended, independent work, but structure and guidance is still needed for them. - If schools have systems set up for online lessons, these should be kept to a minimum as the interaction needed between teacher and pupils in school is high and cannot be easily replicated for a young audience, even at KS4 level. Any school which carries out online lessons must have protocols in place to protect staff and safeguard pupils, and no teacher should be expected to carry out any online teaching with which they feel uncomfortable or in the absence of agreed protocols. - At this time, teachers should not be expected to carry out routine marking or grading of pupils’ work. To do so would be to disadvantage those who do not have the resources and support available at home to make that fair. There is also other guidance, which says that children may only need 2–3 hours a day of "work" and that helping with gardening, cooking and washing can all be "educational". The Law But the main thing that people reading my updates may want to know in this section is what is actually happening in relation to the law concerning children and young people with SEN with the impact of Covid-19/the Coronavirus. I attended a webinar earlier in the week staged by 11KBW, where barristers, Jonathan Auburn and Joanne Clement covered the following issues: - the temporary closure of educational institutions - the temporary continuity directions ⁃ the powers of the Secretary of State for Education to now disapply or modify legislative provisions ⁃ the fact the 'absolute' obligation on a Local Authority (LA) to provide SEN provision in an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan can be converted into a 'reasonable endeavours' duty ⁃ the fact that the Secretary of State for Education must first issue a 'notice' to bring this into effect and will only do so where appropriate and proportionate action is needed in the circumstances ⁃ the fact that there is no threshold for a 'notice' in the Act, but that the letter from Vicky Ford MP of 24/3/20 says that powers will only be exercised ... where necessary ⁃ the fact that a 'notice' must not exceed one month (although it could be re-issued) - the need sometimes for appropriate risk assessments to be carried out They also pointed out that there has been no modifications or disapplications of current legal duties (AT PRESENT), in relation to: ⁃ EHC Assessments ⁃ finalising EHC plans ⁃ Annual Reviews Finally, they also referred to other helpful DfE (Department of Education) guidance, including: 'Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on vulnerable children and young people', which they said was the most useful guidance currently on SEN provision and answered numerous questions. 2. What does this all mean? As I said in my first update, although the Government has allowed 'vulnerable' children and those of key workers to still go to school during the current pandemic, my experience has been that so far very few parents have taken this on board and many children with SEN are now being kept at home for the duration of this crisis. Also, although many schools have closed. some should remain open for caring for/educating these children and the Government initially asked special schools not to close, but some have done. There is a great difficulty for many children and young people, especially those with special educational needs, between distinguishing between doing schoolwork at school and being more relaxed at home. Whilst, as I say above, the novelty of not having to go to school and parents not having to go to work, may have initially felt very good, it is extremely difficult for many parents at the moment to keep their children continuously educated and entertained. In addition, there are always going to be good days and bad days and the advice I have seen many times (although I am not a teacher or psychologist) is that trying to force a child to learn when they really do not want to, may actually be counter-productive in the long run, particularly when remembering that parents are going to be living 24/7 with them every day. It is very important to bear in mind that there is no legal duty on parents to try to maintain the provision in their child's EHC plan whilst they are out of school and trying to do so will be an impossible task, so parents should not feel they need to try to. It seems to me that the best that can be achieved in these difficult times is to come up with some kind of alternative or different schedule for home-schooling that everyone can 'buy into'. I realise though that this is not going to be satisfactory for many people. In terms of the law itself, I believe that we are still, effectively, in the early days for me to give any definitive advice yet as to what is happening. As a 'notice' under the Coronavirus Act 2020 has not yet been brought into effect, this should mean that LAs are under the same legal duties as before in respect of assessments/timescales/maintaining provision for EHC plans, although I do believe that we should all be as flexible as we can in the current circumstances. 3. Where can I find further information? I've seen a number of videos on the web, which I think many people may find helpful, such as...
There are also a number of online resources for children and young people, including for younger children.
These even include covering simple things like taking exercise or learning how to wash your hands properly, such as...
Finally, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites:
- IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle Remember also, that there are also other videos on this website, especially the one at the top of this page which explains the coronavirus and its effect clearly to children. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk. |
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Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no: 643718)
‘Douglas Silas Solicitors’ is the trading name of ‘Douglas Silas Solicitors Limited’, a limited company registered in England & Wales (company no: 10689991), whose registered office is Gable House, 239 Regents Park Road, Finchley, London, United Kingdom, N3 3LF. A list of members/directors may be inspected at our office.