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Lord Adonis's interview broadcast

Comments

1. At 01:32 PM on 22 May 2007, witchiwoman wrote:

   Will I have any more respect for him on a second listen? Or just end up shouting a bit more?

2. At 01:55 PM on 22 May 2007, Big Sister wrote:

   For light relief:

   The Lord Mayor proclaims he will be interviewing a Kiwi Mayor.

   Yes! The newsletter has arrived in Sussex.

3. At 01:56 PM on 22 May 2007, wrote:

   Why will he not comment on all these posts ??

4. At 02:06 PM on 22 May 2007, witchiwoman wrote:

   Jonnie - if ever there was a lurker it's Mr Adonis (I refuse to use his title anymore)

5. At 02:56 PM on 22 May 2007, wrote:

   To be honest, I'm not sure I could stomach a second listen...

6. At 03:34 PM on 22 May 2007, wrote:

   Jonnie;
   Because, frankly it's an embarrassment and he'd rather it went away quietly. If he ignores it then maybe it doesn't exist.

   Si.

7. At 04:12 PM on 22 May 2007, Brian White wrote:

   I can't make head nor tail of this site; only 6 entries on the Adonis interview? I know there are more because I wrote one (it was a good one, too!). So where is it, and where are all t'others? I licked on 'here' and ended up on the Ministry of Sound site: what does it all mean?

8. At 09:52 PM on 22 May 2007, wrote:

   Many children and their families need this - so it should be welcomed but too little too late..................
   As for the blah about SEN - when will someone talk some sense. Mary Warnock regrets the outcomes of the 81 Act including Statements. So do many educationalists. Let us move to a truly comprehensive and inclusive education service that is properly funded for all kids.
   End Staemants and tribunals now!!!

9. At 11:21 PM on 22 May 2007, Dai wrote:

   @Brian White
   I guess as this is a topical program entries get timed out. Which is a shame because it seems all these contributions will be lost and Lord A. will soon forget this as a temporary glitch.

   So much of what had been written mirrors our own experiences yet I feel we are all fighting our own individual battles alone against LEA's (who have lots of practice) and headteachers/teachers (who have their professional bodies. aka unions).

   The big picture of how so many families are being let down is simply not being measured.

   Is there a way forward? How can we keep this issue alive?
   - Would the ´óÏó´«Ã½ assign an investigative team to map the problems and highlight how widespread these problems are?

   - Should there be a British organisation to fight the political SEN corner? (There are organisations looking after each specific disorder, but I feel these are focused on the technical /scientific/ treatment side and not the political side which might eventually lead to change).

   - We could write to our MP's but at this stage I feel there is no point the subset of the PM audience is too small.

   What does everyone else think? What is the right forum to discuss this?
   

10. At 12:04 AM on 23 May 2007, wrote:

    Brian (7)

    - Eddie or his minions (:-)) -- has posted links on the right to the Lord Adonis threads.

    Mmmm I know it can get confusing - It's a matter of using the blog and growing with it to a certain extent. I think it has been referred to as being 'organic'?

    No fear though - we will help you through - but try using the links and clicking on 'special educational needs'

    /blogs/pm/special_educational_needs/

    and after a trawl - all will be revealed.

    --------------------------------------

    Eddie and Marc :- Perhaps a ten minute chat in the glassbox to discuss ways to make the blog understandable for 'new visitors' may go a miss.

    Or -- can we have a new blog for the 1st birthday maybe?

    That would be nice - we'd have charity runs etc... if necessary ;-)

11. At 09:20 AM on 23 May 2007, Pat wrote:

    It's hard not be angry at Lord Adonis of Camden's slime-soaked performance, especially if you have suffered at the government's hands, but at least the interview with Lord Adonis of Camden (& the blog in response) has had the very useful effect of:

    1. Alerting more people (VOTERS) to the everyday ongoing government-produced plight of children with special edicational needs / disabilities, and their families, and many of the surrounding issues.

    2. Illustrated most clearly the brick wall of total indifference that such families have to face every day.

12. At 11:46 AM on 23 May 2007, Margaret Collins wrote:

    Umm, Lord Adonis is worried that separating assessment of children's SEN from the provision would distance things from the democratic process. He himself has not been elected. Does he therefore think that he is doing a bad job?

    His Department is also funding the Regional Partnership Boards which are not subject to any external monitoring or scrutiny (I confirmed this with the DfES last week). The Department also informed me that it is their view that the Regional Partnership Boards do not fall within the remit of the Freedom of Information Act. The Eastern one has a Working Group for managers of LEA Statutory Assessment Teams and another concerning SENDIST. Are they acting in the interests of children with SEN or not? Bearing in mind the way LEAs behave individually, how do you think they behave when they get together?
    

13. At 05:48 PM on 23 May 2007, Paula wrote:

    Complementing Margaret Collins posting 12 above - Our Local Authority held an SEN Consultative Group Meeting in March of this year and have issued a document which was issued to parents who attend or had attended Parent Partnership Local Forums.

    The SEN Consultative Group includes members of County Council Representatives, Assistant Director of Children Services, Head of Children with Disabilities Strategy Officer, Vulnerable Children and Members for the Primary Care Trust, Head of Occupational Therapist, Speach & Language Therapy Manager to name but a few, which gave some telling information.

    They are only recognising them as within the document that "Autism and ADHD are as needs, rather than disabilities..."

    It would appear that our Local Authority (and apparently not contradicted by the Health Authority) that they are through their use of their defination not complying with the legal definition of Disability as specificed by the DDA:

    Extract from DDA 1995 "a person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities". This was amended in December 2005 that the recognition of on the disorder could still be in the process of diagnosis but the requirement was to act as though the diagnosis applied.
    
    This Council also has put in print that the Primary Care Trust explained to the Consultative Group, when parents raised concerns about Occupational Therapy Services for children over the age of 7 (as diagnosis can often happen after a child is age7) that "the Commisioners had asked for them to focus on early intervention as this provides better outcomes for children". The Council have interpreted this to mean they only focus on children under 7 and by rarely allowing Assessments of that age group their ultimate outcome is to do nothing and their reason is because the NHS say so. I find this methodology dishonest and unacceptable.

    My child, in this same Trust was deemed to have Speech and Language difficulties 10 years ago.

    He was not assessed then as I received a telephone call from the PCT saying that as he was over 7 "he was too old". We as his parents had been raising his problems both at the schools he attended and requesting assessment from the age of 5. It took another 5 years to get that assessment and then we were told it was too late.

    This is getting to be an even more common occurence than it was 9 years ago - a national lack (which has been apparent for at least 5 years) of Speach and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists is causing major restrictions to availability of provision to children coupled with the new dogma being used of some one somewhere having stated "that early intervention gets the best results".

    The early identification of problem areas for children are being now deliberately delayed by the ideology of reducing Statements and Assessments, by giving schools money direct. It has been decided to reduce Statements and therefore Assessments. This renders parents of children unable to find out what their children's difficulties are, what their disabilities are, understand their children or very often assist their children as particularly the unseen difficulties require a diagnosis from a professional. The lack of an Assessment prevents everyone from providing an appropriate education and medical intervention and leaves everyone unable to even help themselves because they don't know what the problem is.

    As has been raised before in previous comments to PM, this has to be surely recognised as a form of cruelty to children.

    The Schools, through no fault of their own are not Psychologists, Doctors or Paediatricians who are qualified and knowledgeable and experts in their fields to diagnose a childs difficulties. As must be known by our Health and Education Ministers there is a range on Autistic spectrum (as an example but not exclusively) that requires proper assessments. I highlight the Autistic Spectrum here as they are not so easily identified as a physical impairment. The Local Authorities, it seems from the blogs, do not appear to be discriminating their lack of provision to any one clasification of disorder, but the parents of children within this group find it even harder to get a competent diagnosis and provision for their children.

    It does not take a genius to work out that Teachers/Head Teachers can work out there is a problem but they are not qualified to make medical and psychological diagnosis. And nor should they. (I know of one Head who has very recently been informed that there are no Physio Therapists available currently for a child at her school and the Local Authority have offered for her Class Room Assistant to be coached so that she can administer physo therapy in School - Surely this is wrong?).

    The current attitude to the process of identification, assessement has and is being made far more expensive than it should be.

    The wastage of man hours for Teachers, SENC'O's, Head Teachers, Assessment Officers, Tribunals, High Courts, LGO man hours is currently costing millions and could be reduced if the right authority (like a Minister or Secretary of State) would just take a step back and re-assess, professionally and with care, the flaws in the system and make them work.

    As has been seen on this input to PM, there are many people who have a genuine care for their children and their educational and often medical needs are desparately being neglected.

    It is good to hear that Lord Adonis has announced increased funding to be provided to give carers the much needed respite care that they need.

    However this does not help the educational needs that are often the cause of the parent/carer needing the respite in the first case. The children are now so much more often not receiving the educational and medical provision that their Statements and educational provision should include. If they did it would reduce the physical and mental stress that parents and children suffer from within the present ideology of inclusion (which has been shown in these inputs to your Blog) and which is causing exclusion from many areas of life that this country prides itself in proclaiming it provides.

    It is concerning to me that Lord Adonis will not make a commitment to the parents who have raised their concerns to him of the Governments
    inaction and seeming inablitiy to make a decision to implement improvements in their provision to children with disabilities and SEN.

    Perhaps we should be asking someone else?

    Perhaps with our newly to be appointed Prime Minister, who has recently pledged his commitment to Education and Health, he will instruct his Education and Health Ministers to address the major flaws in the system that are currently occurring?

    It is very obvious from the illustration above that a Local Authority is having grave difficulty in identifying what a disability is and their duties under the laws of this land and may explain why other Authorities appear to be doing the same.

    Could Lord Adonis or someone who is able to answer questions in Government explain

    1. Why no-one in Government is monitoring and enforcing the law?

    and

    2. Why no accountability is being exercised and no consequence being made apparent?

14. At 12:57 PM on 26 May 2007, steven curran wrote:

    Education Education Education- well if we can not give out children any thing a good Education is a major factor in helping them with their lives.
    Unfortunately if you have special needs tuff luck
    most Schools will not have you assessed because of the cost and the fact they then have to pay from their budget.

    My sister has a Son who was a little slow at school when she asked for help she was told "your just anxious". She paid for her own psychological test and was told her son was dyslexic with severe learning difficulties.
    The school was still reluctant to help but eventually offered half an hour a week special needs.

    Recently this same school has had a refugee pupil unable to speak English . This child has a translator and full time education assistant paid for from the school budget. I dont have a problem with helping people but help all those that need help and struggle at school.

    I was told 40% of the prison population have Dyslexia if we spent a little more teaching these people at an early age then perhaps we would not have to spend so much on prisons when they grow up.
    

15. At 08:47 PM on 26 May 2007, Lawrence wrote:

    Ref above 14 - Steven Curran - My understanding is that it is nearer 65%, predominently males who have dyslexia and other significant learning difficulties. There are 80,000+ in our prisons and the majority of those are males. The last I heard it takes £23,000 a year to keep a prisoner and that excludes the overhead of what was the Home Office and all the administrators. If the average length of a prisoners sentence is 5 years then by quick calculation that comes to £6 billion saving if we could prevent all of those entering the prison system.

    If we could reduce the offending of these inmates by adressing their educational needs whilst they are children then the potential saving not only in monetary terms but also in the terms of society and community and the better wellbeing of the country in general by having a much reduced crime level, a much reduced prisoner population and reduction in the court processess, parole services, social services etc, etc.

    The only trouble with this is it requires two things :-

    (a) a Government that will take a longer term view instead of short term expediency

    and

    (b) a Government who is prepared to asess the whole life value of a child's education instead of this very short term and corrosive current attitude that languishes in not only the centre but in the Local Authorities as well.

16. At 04:22 PM on 27 May 2007, Aperitif wrote:

    The thing is, having "a Government that will take a longer term view instead of short term expediency" involves having a media that is not hostile to every single postive thing a government tries to do and/or an electorate that is thoughtful enough to take no notice of most of the media and to judge a government on what it is actually doing/plans to do.

17. At 01:55 PM on 31 May 2007, Sue Gerrard wrote:

    Aperitif(16) appears to blame media opposition for the government's policy on SEN. Can't quite work that one out. Most days i'm lucky to catch the news headlines and the first 15 minutes of PM. My scepticism about the policy of successive governments arises not because of malign media influence, but because my quality of life appears to be steadily deteriorating, and I see history sorrowfully repeating itself.

18. At 07:31 PM on 13 Jul 2007, Karen Upton wrote:

    Because the problems are not identified and dealt with early many children are excluded from a free education either because they have a violent melt down when unable to cope with what they have to endure or they become school phobic due to being bullied.
    If we de-register from school we will get no further help from the local Authority, something we are contemplating at present as my son aged 14, is so much happier out of school and is back to learning A level trigonometry to aid in his design of a human powered aircraft, however getting paper qualifications is going to be very tough in this situation.
    In one study of a juvenile offenders unit 60% of boys were found to be dyspraxic. This is considered to be so mild an SEN that it attracts little or no help. However it is easy to understand as if children are continually chastised and called lazy because people cannot understand that though they are of obvious high academic ability they refuse to write anything. This is not due to laziness but a lack of ability to write, along with the lack of social skills and sports skills so they have no peer group approval either, however hard they try.
    Just imagine not being able to tie your shoe laces and gettinga detention each week for not changing quickly enough for PE, something you have no control over and something which would attract derision from your school "freinds" So these children are truly socially excluded, they are most commonly boys, often with violent responses to what seems to others to be a minor provocation, born of continual derision and misunderstanding of social cues.
    Very often they lack the social skills or self esteem to make relationships for choosing partners, and so there must be so many single men living on low income with out the ability to tackle social services or health services to get any help which they need.
    These disabilities are invisible, but may be a very big factor in filling our prisons with people who if picked up earlier could have been extremely valuable members of society. They tend to be extremely loyal, they are able to do many very highly skilled jobs in computing, carpentry engineering and other logic based work, however they are very unlikely to have the paper qualifications or the ability to get through an interview to get work in these fields once they are formalised. My family history typifies how the changes in education policy has created a problem

19. At 07:59 AM on 29 Nov 2007, wrote:

    My husband and I
    

20. At 07:58 AM on 01 Dec 2007, wrote:

    Colour up