Latest news with #SENCO
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Teachers quitting in droves as system is 'broken' and failing our children
Teachers are quitting their jobs in droves because of a 'broken' Special Educational Needs (SEN) system, which they say is failing thousands of children A SENCO assistant in a mainstream school until last month, Amy Ovenden resigned as she felt she could 'no longer sit by and stay silent" and she's not the only teacher campaigning for change in the education system. Going public with her letter, she says: ''When I posted my resignation letter I never did so with the intention of having others join me, but the response was significant.' Amy, 33, lives in Maidstone, Kent, with husband Rudi, 34 and their children Leighton, 10, who is autistic and has ADHD, Arabella, eight, and Ronnie, five, who is awaiting an ASD/ADHD diagnosis. Now running an independent advocacy service for parents, she explains: 'Across the country we are seeing this big push to get more children into mainstream school - this is not the right environment for many of them. It comes as a new school term looms ahead and parents are told they can claim £75 towards school uniform. 'Schools are being stripped of more and more funding and early intervention often isn't happening, as parents are being told to wait until school starts to apply for an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP). That means children are starting school without support. "We just want our children's most basic needs met; that's why we are backing the Fight For Ordinary campaign. I am sharing my story because I felt so silenced throughout my time in education. It is very difficult to work with a system that is failing your own child.' Sharing her resignation letter to 'stop the silence,' former headteacher Sara Donnelly wrote: 'I'm not leaving because I don't care. I'm leaving because I do.' Sara, 42, lives in London with husband Cam and their children Aidan, 13, and Ava, 10, who is autistic and has ADHD. After 14 years working in education as a headteacher, deputy head and assistant head, she now delivers specialist training for schools, practical advocacy for parents and Oliver McGowan training for the NHS. She says: 'I was a headteacher for three years at a mainstream school, - it was a great school – but the education system is not great. Getting the support you want for the children who need it is impossible. There are children who should be in an SEN school, who are not getting additional funding and we are being left to just get on with it. "We had one child who needed 2: 1 support at a cost of 50k – 60k. The options are to not have this child in school - that's morally wrong - potentially bankrupt the school, or take staff from other areas. I was driven to distraction. 'My daughter's mainstream school was brilliant, but it was clear they could only do so much – she was struggling. I found an amazing SEN private school. They confirmed they had space for her, but the local authority didn't want to fund it. In March she stopped going to school altogether. I am angry with the system – it's failing children left, right and centre.' Mum of two Lauren Vermeulen resigned from her London teaching post working in an SEN provision for autistic children, saying the system is 'broken.' Now based in Dorset and working as an SEN consultant and parent advocate she fears that if the needs of SEN children are not met, they may become 'suicidal teenagers' 'As a teacher, I've always strived for inclusion but it's not currently possible; there isn't space for children who don't fit the box,' says Lauren, 33. 'Thousands of children are being failed, parents are being gaslit, the in-between children who don't fit specialist but don't fit mainstream provisions are falling through the gaps.' After 15 years working in education, while society has become more accepting of disability, she says it's also more underfunded. 'We haven't moved with the times because we can't afford to,' she says. The Fight For Ordinary Campaign The three former educators support The Fight For Ordinary Campaign, organised by the Disabled Children's Partnership, Let Us Learn Too and the SEND Sanctuary, which is campaigning for greatly improved SEN support. It will be holding a SEN rally in London's Parliament Square from 11.30 – 2.30 on September 15th. In response to the women's criticisms, a Department for Education spokesperson said: 'This government inherited a SEND system on its knees which is why our Plan for Change has committed to restoring the confidence of families, listening closely to parents as we work to improve experiences and outcomes for children. We are laying the groundwork for reform."
Wales Online
02-06-2025
- General
- Wales Online
'UK's greediest cat' steals pizzas after opening microwave by himself
'UK's greediest cat' steals pizzas after opening microwave by himself Owners Richard and Lori say that Bruno prefers human fare to cat food Bruno the cat with Harriet Meet the "UK's greediest cat" who "can't be trusted around food" - having stolen a bag of Mini Eggs, two entire pizzas, and learnt to open a microwave himself. Black cat Bruno, four, has acquired a taste for human food - like protein pancakes and boiled beetroot. His owners - Richard Page, 48, and his wife, Lori, 43, an assistant head of SENCO and their daughter, Harriet, 13 - are unable to leave food out in the kitchen at night in case Bruno fancies a midnight snack. A recent incident saw the foodie feline pinching two pizzas left in the microwave overnight. Bruno is just one of the family's six-cat brood - also consisting of Sebastian, five, Star, three, twin girls, aged two, and Dave, one. Richard, a finance manager, from Bingham, Nottinghamshire, said: "Our cats try and eat anything - we can't leave food out anymore, so we don't. "I've literally seen one of our kittens lift a packet of Mini Eggs from my wife's bag, with her claws. Sometimes we find Mini Eggs dotted around the house and think: 'Ah - so that's where they've gone'. They've even tried boiled beetroot before." Bruno the cat has worked out how to open the microwave On May 5, Harriet cooked two pizzas in the evening - placing them inside the microwave to cool down - but forgot about them. Richard came downstairs the following morning to find an empty plate in the microwave - and an empty packet of protein pancakes on the floor. Article continues below Confused, Richard and Lori asked Harriet if she'd eaten the pizzas and put the plate back in the microwave. Richard said: "She said she hadn't, so we went to work none the wiser. I got home and Harriet said she had something to show me." Bruno the cat loves human food While Richard and Lori were working, Harriet managed to shoot a video of Bruno climbing on top of the kitchen counter and pawing at the microwave door. By grasping the door with two paws, Bruno was able to open it - before falling onto the floor in surprise. Article continues below Richard says he immediately knew what had happened to the pizzas, after seeing the video. He said: "I knew from that point that's what happened - and he'd got at Lori's protein pancakes as well. "I don't think it went down very well for Bruno - he didn't seem to want to eat much the next day." Richard says each of the cats love their food and take "people food" over wet pouches any day.
