Guild Gallery
September 2023
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Dear Lucy, We hope you have enjoyed the summer break and are looking forward to the autumn term. We have some exciting news in this end of summer issue. |
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Level 5 Diploma in Specialist Teaching for Literacy-Related Difficulties (DIST) |
If you have completed any of the following CPD Certificates with Dyslexia Action you may be eligible to continue your training to gain our Level 5 Diploma (by completing Units 02 & 03) and become eligible for full Associate (ADG) membership: |
Unit 02 starts in November 2023, March and June 2024, further details can be found here. |
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We have discounted rates for our CPD Awards (save £20) and our Emotionally Connected Classroom Unit for primary/secondary educators (save £10) starting 13 September. To find out more, click on the links below: |
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- Applying for an APC course online starting 13 September 2023 - Level 5 Diploma in Specialist Teaching for Literacy-Related Difficulties (DIST) starting 5 September 2023 and 3 January 2024 - Postgraduate Teaching and Assessment Programme starting 3 October 2023 - CPD Units & Awards starting 15 November 2023 |
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Teach Awards 2023 - we are shortlisted! |
We are delighted to have been shortlisted for two of this year’s Teach Awards! Our Level 4 Developing Numeracy Skills in Learners with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia CPD unit has been shortlisted for the Teach Primary Award: Maths category
And our Primary and Secondary Dyslexia and Literacy Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units have been shortlisted for the Teach Secondary Award: SEND category We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for the announcement of the winners on the 10th of November. |
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Launch of the new Learning and Skills Assessor Apprenticeship |
Real Training, in partnership with the Ofsted-outstanding Apprenticeship provider Educational and Sporting Futures have launched the Learning and Skills Assessor Apprenticeship, with the first cohort starting this month.
This is a new opportunity for primary schools, via which existing members of staff are able to develop valuable skills in educational testing and assessment, and schools can build the capacity to conduct psychometric assessments to help them better understand the needs of pupils.
The thirteen month apprenticeship can be funded utilising the Apprenticeship Levy with an optional £75 + VAT value-added extra which enables apprentices to ‘top-up’ and gain the gold standard, Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) qualification, set by the British Psychological Society. The Apprenticeship is open to all members of staff in a primary school that are interested in gaining additional skills in assessment. |
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SASC announces price increase |
The SpLD Assessment Standards Committee - SASC has announced a price increase for Assessment Practising Certificate (APC) renewals and new applications that come into effect on 1st January 2024. |
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Route 1: £210 Renewal: £210
Route 1+5 for those who qualified over 5 years ago: £300 |
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If your APC expires in January or February 2024, we would advise you to apply for your renewal application in the early Autumn to take advantage of the 2023 prices.
Do ensure you check your scores and your assessment report for errors before you submit as those who fail will be charged a resubmission fee of £210 from 1st January 2024. Renewal details can be found on our website. |
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The Reading Framework 2023 |
The government’s reading framework has been expanded to help teachers support children beyond Key Stage 1. The document, first released two years ago, has been updated to provide guidance on how to improve the literacy of 7 to 14-year-olds. Having previously focused on reception and Key Stage 1, the framework now advises teachers on how to support older children in need of greater levels of help. Some of the topics added to the framework cover: |
- Identification of pupils who need most support - Choosing the best reading material - ‘Influencers’ and book clubs that can get children reading - Promotion of discussions in class |
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AI-based chat for language learning |
Students have been turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help them learn another language. |
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Associate Prof Klímová, who is also a member of the research project Language in the Human-Machine Era, has assessed the useability and usefulness of AI chatbots for students of foreign languages. This research suggests that AI chatbots are helpful for vocabulary development, grammar and other language skills, especially when they offer corrective feedback.
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Final annual report from Disabled Students’ Commission published |
Advance HE has published the final annual report on behalf of the Disabled Students’ Commission as the three-year project funded by the Office for Students comes to an end. Established as a new initiative by the Universities Minister in 2020, just days before the first Covid-19 lockdown in the UK, the Disabled Student Commission has worked with students, staff and agencies in the higher education sector over the past three years to address the needs of disabled students. This includes the launch of the Disabled Student Commitment, a call to action for UK higher education institutions to make the step-change required to make HE a more inclusive environment for disabled students as well as a number of initiatives created alongside various government and charitable bodies standing up for the interests of disabled students across the UK.
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| Years of underfunding have made schools unsafe |
An estimated 700,000 children are being taught in unsafe or ageing school buildings in England that need major repairs, according to a report. The National Audit Office (NAO) report says the Department for Education (DfE) has, since 2021, assessed the risk of injury or death from a school building collapse as "very likely and critical".
The DfE says it has been "significantly investing in transforming schools". But the NAO, the UK's independent public spending watchdog, said risks had not been addressed because of years of underfunding.
NAO states that the deteriorating condition of school buildings was damaging pupil attainment and teacher retention. The report found regional variations in how much money needed to be spent per pupil to put schools back into good condition. A separate NAO report, also released on Wednesday, found the DfE had insufficient plans for making state-funded school buildings in England more environmentally friendly. |
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Harry Potter Book Day Thursday, 12th October |
To celebrate Harry Potter Book Day on Thursday 12th October, Bloomsbury Publishing have created a virtual headline event hosted by Harry Potter film star Evanna Lynch (who played Luna Lovegood), in partnership with Twinkl and Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.
This magical event includes a Magical Places creative writing session from the Great Hall, a spellcasting class from platform nine and three-quarters and a How To Draw Hogwarts session with Evanna and Harry Potter illustrator Jonny Duddle. It will be free for teachers to show during the school day and for parents, carers, or guardians to enjoy with their children after school!
The online event, and supporting resources provided by Twinkl, will be made freely available in advance of the day, to give plenty of time to plan and make the event as special as possible. The event has been designed for children aged 7–11 and will be available for any English-language-speaking schools globally.
This charming virtual event will spark the creative imagination of children (and their teachers!) all over the world; introducing a whole new generation of young readers to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book series as part of the celebrations for Harry Potter Book Day! Anyone signing up for the event kit or the Harry Potter newsletter will receive a link to the virtual event ahead of Harry Potter Book Day. |
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Parents call for more support and sweeping changes to provisions for SEND children
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In March, the government unveiled new plans to reform SEND support in England.
The Department for Education (DfE) said its plans aim to improve what it calls a "postcode lottery" system. Emma Hester, from Bracknell, Berkshire, attended the rally in London on Wednesday. The former police officer said she left the service after 20 years to retrain as a therapist so she can help her children.
"It is quicker for me to retrain and provide therapy for my own children rather than wait for them to reach the front of the queue for provisions," she said. |
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Brain scans may help diagnose dyslexia |
A study from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has discovered differences in a key language structure that can be seen even before children start learning to read. The study, in collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital, found a correlation between poor pre-reading skills in kindergartners and the size of a brain structure that connects two language-processing areas.
Previous studies have shown that in adults with poor reading skills, this structure, known as the arcuate fasciculus, is smaller and less organised than in adults who read normally. However, it was unknown if these differences cause reading difficulties or result from lack of reading experience. |
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Keep troubled children in school |
Just over ten years ago, Glasgow City Council appointed a dynamic new Executive Director of Education, Maureen McKenna, and things began to change. Her vision was radical. She closed all but one of Glasgow’s equivalent of Pupil Referral Units, where excluded children were exiled, and replaced them with “Enhanced Nurture Units” co-located on the premises of mainstream schools. |
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Ms McKenna saw the correlation between excluded children hanging about on street corners and rampant knife crime and decided to apply the city’s “trauma-informed public health approach” to schools. "A child’s behaviour is due to life experience and since they don’t choose their life experience, our job is to give them strategies to cope instead of sending them away to be somebody else’s problem.” |
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Head Teacher of Drumchapel High, Ms Sturgeon said: “We give pupils strategies for dealing with anger and we give teachers strategies to de-escalate their behaviour. The biggest problem we face with these kids is low self-esteem”. But is it fair to expect teachers to operate as behaviour therapists? “We couldn’t do this without the backing of Glasgow city council,” said Ms Sturgeon. |
If this story resonates with you, take a look at 'Thrive', a charity that helps schools to tackle absenteeism. Find out more. |
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