The trouble with square pegs is that by forcing them to fit the system's round holes, you end up damaging the peg, not the hole
"What is square pegs aren't the problem? What is they are actually the canaries in the mine? (Jo Symes)

The trouble with square pegs is that by forcing them to fit the system's round holes, you end up damaging the peg, not the hole

12 days of Christmas [educational] inspiration - from 2023.

I have a professional and, as a parent, personal interest in neurodiversity.

My professional curiosity comes from seeing, like so many teachers, an increase in students with neurodivergent needs coming through school. Whether this comes from greater recognition and general awareness of cognitive development, a post-covid increase in children for whom two lockdowns have been detrimental to their development, or whether neurodivergence is now more pronounced within a much more pressued society, I know that our increased awareness is being seen across the sector. One of our objectives at my school this year is developing our own self-efficacy and awareness of neurodivergent children and enabling excellent support across the school.

Recommended to me by my brilliant colleague, Ally O. , a book put together this year by Fran Morgan and Ellie Costello , Square Pegs: Inclusivity, compassion and fitting in - a guide for schools, stands out amongst a growing base of literature for educationalists and parents in supporting children.

There is so much within the book (and its 53 contributors) that is pertinent for educators and parents to digest. Herewith some nuggets that I have picked up from the introduction to the book, both as a teacher and a father - all have some lived experiences this term:

  1. "I would like you to erase the phrase 'school refusal' and reframe it in terms of barriers to attendance instead". Having been involved with a number of children who have found attendance (either short-term or longer term) a challenge, and indeed seeing the 'other side' as a parent, I have been guilty of labelling this as 'school refusal'. I now see the problem with this narrative. In the context of mental health and neurodiversity, a child is not refusing to go to school. They simply cannot. There is a subtle, but very important difference, and by using the word 'barriers', it puts the onus on the adults who care for that child to do all they can to lessen or remove these barriers.
  2. "Blanket interventions don't work. Many of the standard strategies (arriving a little late or leaving a little early, a 'get-out-of-class' card, building up a part-time timetable and so on) work some of the time for some square pegs but their effectiveness is limited. In supporting a few children of late, I have come to realise three things: Firstly, a child's IEP or equivalent must be dynamic - strategies that have worked for one teacher, might not another, and therefore it should be constantly added to, scribbled on and adjusted. Secondly, proper handover meetings at the start of each academic year are vital - a child's strengths, tips for supporting them and strategies that have worked must be handed over before the very first lesson with a new teacher. It seems obvious, but I have no doubt this isn't a consistent approach across the sector. Thirdly, there must be ongoing communication between all teachers, the SEND team and the key pastoral figures around the child.
  3. "Many children 'mask' in school by pretending they are fine". Everyone who works in schools knows (or should) this. Just because the child is 'presenting themselves as fine' at school, doesn't mean they are. If a child has a specialist report with strategies to follow at school, every single one of these strategies needs to be followed. I have learned a great deal about masking of late, and rather like the analogy of the 'stress bucket', a child who is masking can only hold it all in for so long. Taps need to be opened at school to relieve the building up of cognitive tension.
  4. "Bend the rules where necessary". This comment made me consider the importance of us - teachers and parents - being flexible in our approach. Picking our battles at home - not worrying if our child doesn't want to sit and comply because we want them to; not worrying about the small things - not insisting a child writes if actually all they need is some fresh air and physical movement. It is beholden on us as teachers to think beyond the school policy - we should be prepared to find innovative and creative solutions (just as we encourage our children to in their learning) for each child.
  5. "Genuine relationships are the only ones that genuinely count". Every child needs a champion in school - someone who will be committed to doing everything they can to provide support which is genuinely tailored to that child.

The penultimate paragraph of the introduction outlines the key message of the whole book:

It is within the gift of governors, school leaders, senior leadership teams and individual teaching staff to rewrite the narrative and make a huge difference to the lives of square pegs and their families.

As with mental health, I find it extraordinary that SEND training is not more of a focus in teacher training. Not least for the fact that the frontline teacher - class based in primary and specialist in secondary - has the responsibility to make or break a child's education, especially if they are living with neurodivergent needs.

In the majority of my initial appraisal meetings with colleagues this term, there has been a genuine desire from all the teachers to upskill themselves more to support children with autism, ADHD and other neurodivergent needs. We have a full day in January to begin to address this need.

The late Tim Brighouse (who is the focus of tomorrow's inspiration) said of the book:

Twelve years ago, Michael Gove sent a King James bible to every school. The next secretary of state for education should send a copy of this book to every new head teacher and put it on the reading list for all initial teacher training courses.





Cathy Wassell

CEO Autistic Girls Network charity * Author of Nurturing Your Autistic Young Person * PhD candidate * Neurodivergent

11 个月

The work that Square Peg have been doing this year is phenomenal. If you're looking for training to support neurodivergent young people may I suggest this: https://autisticgirlsnetwork.org/training-for-schools and for further reading:

  • 该图片无替代文字
Sue Gorton - Davison

Co-founder Foundation Futures, Educator, champion of young people (Views my own. BC survivor.). Small but mighty.

11 个月

They splinter and we at Foundation Futures CIO (and CIC) help pick up the pieces......

Richard O'Neill

Founder at Richard O'Neill Storytelling

11 个月

Yep

Thank you so much for these lovely words William Goldsmith. What a way to end the year!

要查看或添加评论,请登录

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了