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April 2021 Edition
Support for Dyslexia Continues Despite Pandemic
Specialist tuition and diagnostic assessments to support specific learning difficulties dyslexia and dyscalculia continue to be available in the region despite the continuing coronavirus situation.
Local charity Dyslexia Sparks can deliver specialist services for dyslexic and dyscalculic individuals of all ages thanks to Covid-secure centres in Hull and Melton.
The centres operate with additional safety measures in place, including social distancing procedures and strict additional hygiene precautions such as Perspex screens. Meaning that specialist tuition and diagnostic assessments can be carried out safely in person.
Specialist tuition session in progress at Dyslexia Sparks
Jane Craig Founding Director, Dyslexia Sparks, said:
‘We have been and will continue to closely monitor government advice to maintain the health and wellbeing of our Sparks community. Throughout the pandemic we have adapted our services as safely and quickly as we can and in close consultation with clients to minimise disruption and meet individual needs. At some points during lockdown online tuition has been the only option for some clients but for others this just isn’t a suitable alternative.
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Hull Museums - Newsletter January 2021
If you came to our Get Festive! event in the Museums Quarter last year you might have noticed that we put lots of new things in place to make it more accessible; for example we had a disability friendly pomander making workshop, Hull Visual Choir performing, and worked with Special Stars on High Street to provide a sensory room and changing facilities.
Digital December
This year, it obviously it had to be a bit different. We couldn’t do an event at the museums, it had to be virtual, but we wanted to keep up our new Christmas tradition of accessibility.
Our idea was based on an advent calendar, a digital treat every day from the 1st – 25th December. We worked with Artlink to find artists, a theatre company, musicians, poets, filmmakers, designers, dancers who could provide a range of sensory, accessible content. Artists including digital artist Jason Wilsher-Mills, dancers Tamar and Jo and band Ubu Roi created original work for us. The Herd theatre company produced 2 lovely interactive Zoom workshops for under 5s and their families with ‘Bird’ who travelled to Ferens Art Gallery and Streetlife Museum.
Our curators also created short films and digital jigsaws of wintery items in our collection and we pulled together Christmas craft activities you can do at home. A booklet of activities is available to download from the Humber Museum Partnership website (see below).
All of the content is subtitled and watch out for an Audio Description of one of our Ferens paintings and a British Sign Language interpreted wintery song later this month.
Check out #Digital December on Twitter - @Hull_Museums and @HullFerens and on Facebook @HullMuseums and all the films are available on
Hull Museums YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/hull_museums
Humber Museums Partnership
http://humbermuseums.com/exhibitions/hull-museums-digital-december/
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Hull SEND Partnership Sensory Activity Bag Scheme - Newsletter January 2021
During the Covid-19 restrictions, Hull City Council worked in partnership with our health colleagues, voluntary agencies and the parent carer forum to ensure support is offered to families and young people, when needed through these incredibly challenging times.
As part of the work completed, a suggestion was put forward to the SEND Partnership to offer some small sensory activity bags to families where children with sensory needs may be struggling with the lockdown. The contents of the bags were as per the attached photo:
We undertook two ‘phases’ and in total almost 250 families received a bag for their child. These were families who may have had a social worker, Early Help worker, Early Years support or an EHC plan. In the second phase we asked families to nominate themselves on the Local Offer and we promoted it through the Parent Carers Forum, KIDS and LAFSS.
Some of the comments fed back were:
“The Sensory Bag was fantastic, we couldn’t believe it was a little bag but it just kept giving, it was like a Mary Poppins bag. Our son especially loved the squishy balls and String balls. Our son likes to be doing something with his hands all the time and these really helped to keep him calm and happy. We are very grateful for the sensory bag.”
“My daughter especially loves the tactile toys – the squishy face and the ball, so much so she’s taken it to bed with her!
The packs had a good selection of toys and the activity sheet was interesting, and provided some ideas.”
“My son particularly enjoys the Tangle toy and the stress putty. He spent hours distracting himself with them. “
“I can't believe the amount of items my son received in the bag. He was so excited to look through it all and he instantly started trying out everything. We are truly grateful to be offered one as my son has many sensory issues which trigger plenty of meltdowns so these items are going to come in very handy when he needs to calm himself down a bit. Thank you!”
“Thank you so much, my son loved his bag of tricks, after just starting high school it was a lovely surprise for him to come home to. He played all evening with them and he said helped him relax. Thank you.”
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2020
If you have any suggestions about how we can improve accessibility at Hull Museums, email museums@hcandl.co.uk or by calling us on 01482 – 616661.
Dyslexia Awareness Month - enewsletter October 2020
Dyslexia Awareness Month – Global Campaigning and Free Support at Local Charity Dyslexia Sparks
A series of free online support sessions for dyslexic children and their families is being delivered by Hull and East Yorkshire charity Dyslexia Sparks throughout Dyslexia Week (5th to 11th October).
Free advice and training across a range of topics are being delivered as a series of online workshops and webinars. The ‘Sparks Support Online Series’ will cover topics including how to spot the signs of dyslexia, mental wellbeing, technology-assisted learning, study skills and how to help your dyslexic child with reading and spelling at home.
Dyslexia Sparks, Hull and East Yorkshire’s only registered charity for dyslexia, delivers specialist tuition and diagnostic dyslexia assessments for adults and children in the Hull and East Yorkshire region. As a registered charity, Dyslexia Sparks can provide financial support to eligible households in Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire to help with the cost of specialist tuition and diagnostic dyslexia assessments.
The charity also provides free advice, support and guidance to dyslexic individuals and their families and promotes awareness and understanding of dyslexia. The Sparks Support Online Series is part of the charity’s involvement in the national and international dyslexia awareness campaigns that are running this October.
Jane Craig, Founding Director, Dyslexia Sparks, said:
‘We’re joining a special focus on the strengths and challenges that dyslexia creates as part of national Dyslexia Week (5th to 11th October). Our vision is for a world where dyslexic individuals are valued and celebrated for what they have to offer. We recognise the unique qualities that dyslexic minds can possess such as strong creativity and problem-solving skills. But we’re also aware of the challenges and inequalities that dyslexia can create. Our Sparks Support Online Series is just one of the ways we are working towards to supporting dyslexic individuals of all ages to reach their full potential.’
At least one support session a day will be run by the charity throughout Dyslexia Week. The events are free but ticketed and need to be booked in advance. The full programme and booking details can be found on Dyslexia Sparks’ Eventbrite page . Further details can also be found on the charity’s Facebook page. Optional donations via the charity’s JustGiving page are welcomed from attendees to help support the charity with its awareness-raising work and family support events.
Dyslexia Sparks are also participating in this year’s International Dyslexia Awareness Month to promote understanding and positivity around dyslexia as part of the global #GoRedForDyslexia campaign.
Pictured: Dyslexia Sparks’ team of specialist teachers and assessors.
Dyslexia Sparks is also joining the global campaign to #GoRedForDyslexia as part of International Dyslexia Awareness Month this October. The charity is asking for people to join this global movement to boost positivity and understanding around dyslexia. One of the highlights of the campaign is Go Red to Work and School Day on 8th October – a day where people wear red, share their pictures using #GoRedforDyslexia and tag Dyslexia Sparks in to your social media posts!
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Look, say, sing, play - enewsletter October 2020
Early Help Children Centre’s have supported the launch of The NSPCC’S Look, Say, Sing, Play campaign in the city during the last year.
The campaign was launched by Hull City Council and Hull Clinical Commissioning Group and the initiative has been designed to benefit the social, emotional and cognitive development of children.
Early Help Children Centre Staff have helped to promote the scheme to families with whom they are directly working as well as providing information during weekly play sessions and on Social Media pages.
Parents can go to the NSPCC Website and sign up to receive an email weekly that gives a tip or an idea to try called Brain-Building Tips. The ideas help parents to interact and stimulate their young child and it is felt the positive habits parent/carers are making early in their babies life will help aid speech and language development along with supporting their child’s overall emotional well-being.
Since its launch in July 2019 1012 parent/carers from Hull have signed up to the Look, Say, Sing, Play initiative.
A Mum called Laura who has a young son and regularly attended McMillan Children’s Centre was asked to use and review the resources. After finding out more about the campaign and signing up to the weekly brain-building tips Laura said
“I didn’t know I was helping to build my baby’s brain,” she said. “Learning that it can be just the little things, at bath time or feeding time, that can make such a huge difference is really good to know.”
“It is actually the most important time to help build his brain and I love these special moments I have with him too, times I know I will never get back and that makes them so special to me as well as George.”
Laura has gone on to be a national spokesperson for LSSP and helped us launch the campaign nationally in June.
To find out more about the campaign and to sign up to the brain-building tips here.
Look, say, sing, play singalong booklet
Please continuing reading this article by following the link here.
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Museums and Galleries - enewsletter October 2020
When we reopened the museums, we had to change the way we did a lot of things (such as people booking in advance or staff wearing face masks or visors), and we needed to make sure that we told people about those changes in a really accessible way. We worked with partners to create films in Makaton and BSL, Social Stories and an Easy Read document about booking a visit.
Social Stories and Easy Read document
We knew that Social Stories would be an incredibly important way of sharing information, especially now that people might have more anxiety about going out. We worked with a lot of partners to make sure we got it right; Downright Special, Autism in Museums, Ambitious about Autism and Hull Access and Inclusion Group (HAIG).
Case Training, Choices and Rights and HAIG also helped us write an Easy Read document about how to book. Because there were so many new rules, the bookings process became quite long and wordy, but we didn’t want that to put people off visiting.
The Social Stories, Easy Read document and maps of Streetlife and Ferens Art Gallery are available on our website, on the left hand side of the page.
Streetlife
https://www.hcandl.co.uk/museums-and-galleries/streetlife-museum/streetlife-museum
Ferens Art Gallery
https://www.hcandl.co.uk/museums-and-galleries/ferens/ferens-art-gallery
Videos
We wanted some videos to explain how some of the changes might affect D/deaf, disabled and neurodiverse people in particular, so we asked Elephant in the Room Disability Services to make us a film in British Sign Language and Concrete Youth Theatre Company to make us a film in Makaton. We wanted to reassure people that we were aware how things like for example wearing facemasks might make it more difficult to communicate and some solutions we had.
You can find those films on our youtube channel;
Hull Museums Reopening Film - BSL (Elephant in the Room)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SuNbU0vfPg
Hull Museums Reopening Film – Makaton (Concrete Youth)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEr8b5ux2Os
We’d love to hear if you’ve watched the videos, or used the Social Stories and Easy Read document and have some feedback for us. Please get in touch with us by email museums@hcandl.co.uk or by calling us on 01482 – 616 661.
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St Andrews School – our coronavirus story - enewsletter July 2020
Our home tuition programme during lockdown has been a huge success and is continuing throughout the summer break. Parent support had been immense.
As part of our reopening strategy we have managed to give every child the opportunity (Reception through to Y6) to attend school over the last couple of weeks in order to help with reintegration and transition. This includes meeting with their friends and new teachers ( all social distancing). As one of the biggest schools in the North of England (650 pupils) this was quite ambitious but it is working brilliantly.
Our ‘Wrap Around ‘ (age 2-11) provision has continued to reach its potential with our school and ‘Just 4 Kidz’ continuing to work brilliantly together even during these difficult times brought upon us by the pandemic. Find information leaflet here.
Charity bike ride- this started in February and has now reached over 2,500 miles. The headteacher has visited every single school in Hull (and many in the East Riding) in his endeavour to raise further awareness of concerns surrounding children’s physical and mental health in today’s society. The coronavirus has propelled these concerns to greater heights. The charities being supported are- MIND, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research, Teenage Cancer Trust, Diabetes UK, Water Aid, Dove House Hospice (outreach work with families) as well as children’s wards and units in Hull.
The journey target was originally 1,250 miles but, due to the pandemic the target is now reaching 3,000 miles as the headteacher (whose daily journeys commence as early as 2.45 am in order for him to still be at school on time) is determined to keep cycling in order to support the NHS and until schools return to some sort of normality. For pictures and weekly diary please see the school’s website www.standrews.hull.sch.uk
We would also like to add how we have been supporting children during the lockdown with mental health awareness. Children have been set various activities through email and our online learning system Google Classroom including fitness and healthy living challenges. Parents were also sent links to keep active including Joe Wicks, Just Dance, Go Noodle and Change 4 Life
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Midget Gems - Our Coronavirus Story - enewsletter July 2020
Due to the emergency closures we were unable to take the majority of our children, but we aimed to remain open for those children of critical keyworkers. Our nursery practitioners worked within bubbles of very small numbers of our existing children.
Nursery proprietor Elaine Baron and Nursery manager Maria Love worked to ensure risk assessments where carried out and arranged provisions to take in additional children whose parents were working within Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital whose nurseries were closed.
Please read our story here.
We interacted with parents via the nurseries Facebook page sharing ideas for play and Covid-19 safety information and emails for registration forms. Parents shared play ideas including making dens, baking, planting, making fairy gardens and completing jigsaws. We will continue to share ideas via our Facebook page as this worked well.
The new children arrived (emergency covid-19 places) with their families and we were very nervous as to our hand overs at the door but all the children walked Straight in with big smiles on their faces and immediately begun to play alongside our existing children. We previously provided photographs of our provision on our Facebook page for parents to view and show to their children -as we could not show families around our setting before the child started with us. I think this really helped
The nursery group sizes where still small, the children played and interacted very well with one another and we were very impressed with the confidence and resilience levels of all our children new and existing children who made new friendships. We noticed an improvement in speech as the younger children interacted with the older children.
Photographs and information we received from parents was printed out and used during show and tell sessions and displayed around the nursery. The children were very proud to share their learning with the other children and nursery practitioners – giving a sense of achievement for the children and promotion of parent involvement). The information received from parents was also placed into children's learning journals and will be used as a part of our assessments.
One new child stated - "if I’m ever in danger again, I will come back to you, I'm safe here" (we are so happy children feel safe in our environment).
We had so many concerns and worries about staying open and keeping everyone safe. All our staff members rose up to the challenge and we have learnt so much about our children who have been in attendance and those continuing with their learning at home. For all the stress and worry, there has been so many positive moments and we have adapted our procedures to meet guidelines and stay safe and hopefully we will continue to do so.
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IPaSS Technology Event 2019
Guest speaker - Rebecca Irwin
Hello, my name is Becky and I am 20. I currently attend Hull University studying to become a social worker. I have had involvement with technology from a very young age, and it has been a really good stepping stone to allow me to get where I am today.
It started out very hard when I was first introduced. I was in primary school and the technology wasn’t as good back then. I was trialled with various different things, such as Dragon speech technology, different types of mouse and keyboards etc. etc. It was a very trial and error stage and at times was frustrating! When the dragon speech software struggled to pick up my Hull accent or voice properly it was very frustrating and at times we wished we could throw it out the window haha! But back then it was harder to use and not as readily available.
At school I received a lot of support from IPaSS. They provided me with help and support with the right technology that would suit me. They provided me with a laptop and supported me throughout, especially if my needs had changed over time. This I felt was the right support and provided me with the equipment that helped me greatly throughout my time at school. Technology is very trial and error, what works for one person might not work for another, it’s always important to remember that everyone is different and to give things time to get used to and work efficiently for you.
However, as time has moved on so has the technology. I now use dragon speech software for all my university assignments and it has definitely improved. I find it really easy to use and it allows me to speak what I want to write, making it faster and more efficient to write all of my assignments. This has overall made me more independent.
I used to often have someone scribe for me in school for note taking so I could gather all the information quickly enough. But due to technology and its ability to be so efficient I now attend university with no need to have a scribe. I now use a Dictaphone alongside some technology called audio note taker which allows me to record all of my lectures and then put it on the computer, which matches it up with the PowerPoint slides. This means I only have to make brief notes if necessary, making me more independent.
All of this technology has allowed me to get where I am today, allowing me to be independent. Technology has become so advanced, it allows me to drive. I drive an automatic car with a joystick which operates the steering wheel, with push button handbrake, normal peddles and a operation button bleeper system on the floor which operates functions such as wipers or indicators depending on how many times it beeps for example 4 beeps is the horn (which is no good when you need to beep quite quickly haha).
By being able to drive and attend university, it has allowed me to achieve goals that at one point in my life I thought I would never achieve. I can be independent without the need to constantly have someone around. This was something I am really proud of. I am now half way through my university course, which has flown by but I am thoroughly enjoying it which I am really happy about. It is a career I am passionate about and that is so important in life, to follow what you love to do. I will graduate in a year and a half’s time, I live with my partner who supports me through everything, which is so important in life, to have others around you to support you along the way.
I believe in life if you want it enough you can get it, and you can follow your passions and dreams. Sometimes it won’t be the same road someone else will take and like me you may need assistance and help and adaptations to help you along the way. But I believe, like where I am right now in my life, if you want it enough you can achieve it.
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2018
A success story at Rise Academy
Kaycee, 16, came to Rise Academy at the end of Year 9 in the Summer term of 2016. Kaycee struggled in mainstream with large groups and building. She was very withdrawn when she first started and it took a while for her to develop trust in staff and make some positive relationships with students.
After a Year at Rise Kaycee sat her GCSE Maths, English, English Literature and Statistics exams a year early, at the end of Year 10. In Year 11, Kaycee went from strength to strength and became a fantastic role model for younger students. She excelled herself at Fire and Rescue and sat her GCSE's courses again to further improve her grades. She begun travelling to school on her own, walking or getting on the bus; things which were completely unmanageable for her before.
Towards the end of the year, Kaycee showed an interest in getting a part-time job and wanted to gain some skills and experience in the retail industry. Rise reached out to the Work Insight project and Kaycee gained some experience working at The Entertainer in St Stephens Shopping Centre, 1 day per week. It was a perfect placement as Kaycee loves toys and all things gaming. Working at The Entertainer has given Kaycee so much confidence and we have seen her grow in maturity, self esteem and determination since working there. The manager of The Entertainer has said Kaycee is an asset to the team and the staff and customers LOVE her!
Kaycee now has a place at St.Marys Sixth Form from September and is hoping to study Media, Sport, Law and Maths. She is looking forward to joining sports teams and making new friends. It is amazing the amount of progress Kaycee has made both in terms of her academic achievements and overall confidence and independence skills. Kaycee is such an asset to Rise Academy and we are so proud of what she has achieved.
Special Education needs and Disabilities (SEND) Written Statement of Action (WSOA)
Between the 9th October and 13th of October 2017, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) conducted a joint inspection of the local area of Kingston upon Hull to judge the effectiveness of the work Hull City Council and NHS Hull CCG had undertaken to implement the special educational needs reforms set out within the Children and Families Act 2014.
The effectiveness of local services was assessed. The inspectors looked at how information about SEND in the city is being used to make improvements and inform future plans and to what extent those plans were being co-produced in partnership with young people and their families.
The inspection team found examples of good practice in Hull but also highlighted key areas for improvement. A Written Statement of Action has been agreed which sets out how Hull City Council and Hull CCG will tackle the areas for improvement.
View the Written Statement of Action here.
View the inspection report here
Leaflet for families on inspections here
19 June 2018
Adapted sports success supported by IPaSS
Last autumn IPaSS was awarded a grant from Active Humber to buy adapted sports equipment that could be loaned to Hull schools to increase the participation of pupils with physical and sensory difficulties. Over this academic year 8 schools have received loans of adapted sports equipment, including Boccia, New Age Kurling and Table Cricket. This has led to a significant increase in participation, with the Stockwell Primary Academy Boccia Club being particularly popular, and to some regional sporting success by pupils on the IPaSS caseload.
Sirius Academy West with a mixed age team won the regional Table Cricket competition held at Driffield School. A great achievement especially considering the team had only been playing for a few weeks and this was their first competition!
The team then travelled to Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds to play other northern regional winners with the chance of reaching the national finals held at Lords Cricket Ground in London later this summer. Unfortunately, after another fantastic experience, they didn’t quite manage to reach Lords but are keen to have another go next year!
Archbishop Sentamu Academy won the Hull Active Schools New Age Kurling competition after entering for the first time. The mixed age team had only been playing for a few weeks but managed to beat a number of more experienced schools to win the trophy.