In March 2016 the Scottish Government published the 2015 report on the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act. As well as presenting figures and statistics regarding children with additional support needs in Scottish schools, the theme of this year’s report is implementation of the Act in relation to mental health in schools.
Refreshed GIRFEC (Getting It Right For Every Child) Information
The Scottish Government has published new and revised information about what GIRFEC means for children, parents and families; and those who work in children’s and adult services.
At the heart of GIRFEC is a commitment to ensuring that every child and young person in Scotland is safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included. GIRFEC impacts significantly on how statutory and voluntary service providers develop their services.
Questionnaire for parents about dealing with bullying
The Scottish Government is updating the National Approach to Anti-Bullying for Scotland’s Children and Young People. The purpose of this is to help adults who are in contact with children and young people to prevent and deal with bullying in similar ways.
The Scottish Government is consulting with children and young people and their parents as part of the process of updating the National Approach. A short questionnaire has been devised to gather the views of parents about anti-bullying.
Complete the questionnaire here. Please note the closing date is Friday 19th February 2016.
Researching the information needs of families with disabled children in Scotland
Contact a Family Scotland has received a small grant from the Scottish Government to establish the information needs of parents and carers of children with disabilities. It has been suggested that while there is a lot of information out there, parents and carers are still unsure of who to turn to for accurate information.
Contact a Family Scotland has devised a short survey to find out what the information needs are and how to improve information services for families with disabled children.
Complete the survey here. The survey is open until 31 January 2016.
New report about children in Scotland requiring palliative care (ChiSP study)
This important report (October 2015) sets out the findings from an investigation into the numbers of children and young people with life-limiting conditions in Scotland. It also provides evidence about these children’s and their families’ support needs. Based on their findings, the research team makes ten recommendations about palliative care services.
Common Ground Mediation goes international
In October 2015 CADRE (Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education) held their sixth national symposium in Eugene, Oregon. The title of the symposium was ‘The Evolving Landscape in Special Education Dispute Resolution’. Mediation was introduced into the US education system in 1997 through IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and this year nearly 300 delegates from across US attended the symposium.
Information about all the speakers and sessions is available here.
Session 8.5 is the Common Ground Mediation presentation ‘The Tartan Connection’.
ASN mediation feature in Times Educational Supplement Scotland
This article which appeared in TESS in August 2015 gives an excellent overview of ASN mediation in Scotland, including interviews with a parent and an ASL manager. The article poses the question: independent mediators have been resolving additional support for learning disputes for a decade, but with demand for their services rising and budgets falling, can they keep up?
Concerns expressed about the education of children with ASL needs
Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People has recently written to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning to raise concerns about the education of children with additional support for learning (ASL) needs.
fSDC Parent Participation Project – Survey Findings
In 2014 fSDC (for Scotland’s Disabled Children) in partnership with Children in Scotland launched a survey of parent carers to learn more about their experiences of family life and bringing up a child with a disability.
Key findings from the research have been collated in a recent newsletter. Over 250 parents participated in the survey.
Kidz Scotland Event 17th September 2015
Kidz Scotland is one of the largest FREE events dedicated to children and young adults with disabilities and additional needs, their families, carers and all the people who support them. There will be over 100 exhibitors offering advice and information about a whole range of topics including mobility aids, access to sport and leisure, funding for equipment – and much more.
This year’s event takes place on Thursday 17th September at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh.
Download a visitor’s free entry ticket and see more information here.