NEWS FOCUS

SecEd: On Your Side

Proud to fight for teachers everywhere

THIS WEEK, SecEd is celebrating its 250th issue. For seven years we

Pete

have been proud to be an independent voice for secondary school leaders and practitioners from across the UK and across the sectors. Normally we would perhaps shout a bit more about this

Henshaw Editor SecEd

milestone, but given recent events in Westminster I decided it was more in your interests to report on the future direction education is likely to take under this new administration. However, this column I will dedicate to our seven years

of fighting for your rights and interests as a profession and to supporting teachers to be the best they can. And our ongoing election coverage this week is timely

as it helps to illustrate how far SecEd has come. As you will have read on our front page, this week I have written to our new education minister to challenge him on what I see, and as always I have been guided by the esteemed members of our extensive editorial advisory board, as being some of the key priorities for education. These are some, not all, of the issues that I and my

newspaper will be fighting for in the coming months and years and we shall not be shy of judging our new leaders on their performance, as we weren’t shy of judging Labour. Indeed, we will never shy from picking up a battle on

behalf of this most noble of professions, whether that be on workload, wellbeing, inspection, professional trust, or any other attack or pressure which unfairly besets the sector. For this is where I see SecEd – as a voice for the

profession. As a watchdog of the three estates of power. A fourth estate – as Thomas Carlyle said in the 18th century – protecting the interests of education. But don’t mistake me. While SecEd abhors the treatment

that our profession receives in much of the media, as they hunt cheap headlines about falling standards and lazy teachers, we will never shy away from criticism of the profession. However, the crucial difference is that we will seek the

views of the profession when reporting such criticism. If Ofsted says that improvements are needed in a certain area, we will report, but we will always ask the profession what they think as well. If schools are slammed for admissions policies or teaching to the test, we will seek your views and report constructively and fairly. I always say: SecEd is biased – towards our profession

– but we’re fair as well; a distinction that many other newspapers fail to grasp. Of course, alongside our more campaigning activities, we

report day-to-day and week-to-week on education in order to try and help you to do your jobs better. The latest research and best practice, lessons plans and good pedagogy, new resources and guidance, ICT, leadership, CPD, and so much more. And while this may not be as headline-grabbing as our front page activities this week, it is just as vital. Finally, our opinion leaders span the sector, from

independent to state, from special to mainstream, and we do our best to cater for all the countries of the UK. We seek the views of respected educationalists from across the nation, from people who know what they’re talking about and have earned the right to say it. Equally, our editorial board, which began way back when

with but four or five members, now spans the UK with 200 practising heads, leaders, teachers and support staff who lend us their advice every week and help to keep SecEd relevant. SecEd continues to expand, with our weekly SecEdDigital

online edition now reaching around 20,000 teachers (all for free) and our hard copies still being sent to every UK secondary school every Thursday during term time. I have always said it, but SecEd is the profession’s

newspaper and while we do our utmost to reflect what you need and want, I will always listen to what you have to say about SecEd and what more we can do for the profession. So do get in touch, get involved, and help us to fight for teachers everywhere.

www.sec-ed.com

Recognising ADHD

PUPILS WITH attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face a “postcode lottery” when it comes to the quality of provision on offer to them, a leading expert has claimed. Fin O’Regan,

former

headteacher of a special school in London, claims that ADHD is the “poor relation” when it comes to special educational needs, and that because the condition is not included in the government’s SEN code of practice, many parents, teachers and local authorities treat it with scepticism. He told us: “Schools’ provision

for students with ADHD varies enormously from area to area. In the UK, there are many advisory teachers for autistic or dyslexic students, but there are probably only around five or six in the whole country for those with ADHD. “At the moment, ADHD is in

the same place as dyslexia was 20 years ago. Newspapers back then said it was a ‘middle class syndrome’ invented by parents to explain why their children were under-performing.” According to Mr O’Regan,

schools have a three-way split among teaching staff when it comes to attitudes towards learners who exhibit some of the behavioural characteristics associated with ADHD. “Broadly speaking, every school

will have a third of staff doing a good job for children who you might describe as quirky, and high maintenance,” he said. “Another third will find it

difficult to engage, while the final third will be willing to try it. It is this final third that can really make the difference. If senior management

On May 26 and 27, Nasen, the professional association dedicated to SEN, will host a two-day CPD event in Bolton. Chris Parr speaks to Fin

O’Regan, a behaviour and learning consultant, who will be hosting a seminar about autism and ADHD at the event

teams are not pushing them, and pushing the school in general, then the idea of better practice will not get anywhere.” Last week, a national daily

newspaper thrust the issue of medicated children back into the public eye with the revelation that spending on drugs to treat ADHD had risen by 65 per cent in the last four years, meaning such treatments now cost the taxpayer more than £31 million each year. However, Mr O’Regan told us

that the figures were not a true representation of how medication is used to control conditions such as ADHD, and urged caution. He said: “Statistics about

medication use are just not that accurate. “We really aren’t talking about

a huge percentage of new people on medication, but that people are perhaps receiving more of it, or are taking more frequent doses.” He added: “The National

Institute for Clinical Excellence has published two reports in the last four years saying ADHD is a legitimate medical condition, and in some cases it should be treated. This is not parents and teachers pushing it for their own reasons, it is the National Institute.”

IN RESPONSE…

SecEd

• Pete Henshaw is publisher and editor of SecEd. Email him at editor@sec-ed.co.uk or visit www.sec-ed.co.uk. SecEd also produces Delivering Diplomas magazine. Visit www. deliveringdiplomas.co.uk or email the editor, Chris Parr, on chris.parr@markallengroup.com

Many teachers in secondary schools do not place enough emphasis on mental and written calculation to make sure that pupils’ numeracy skills continue to improve when they transfer from primary school, the Welsh inspectorate Estyn has said.

A report, Improving

Nnumeracy in Key Stage 2 and

Key Stage 3, called on schools to exploit opportunities for pupils to use numeracy skills away from maths lessons, and develop a strategic approach to planning numeracy intervention programmes.

Ann Keane, chief inspector of education and training in Wales:

“Research shows that 53 per cent of adults in Wales have numeracy skills below the level expected of an 11-year- old. This means they have difficulties with percentages,

fractions and calculations. It is vital that schools continue to raise standards in numeracy by providing pupils with opportunities to develop their skills in a real life context in order to ensure they do not struggle once they get jobs and manage their own finances.”

However, one thing that is not

being pushed hard enough, according to Mr O’Regan, is awareness about inattentive attention deficit disorder (IADD) – a condition with many similarities to ADHD, but without the hyperactivity. “IADD is overlooked by so

many people, and it is more of an issue among girls compared to ADHD. It is not something that teachers will notice as much in a classroom, as there are more internal than external signs. “It is very difficult to spot, but it

can be tackled with good classroom management. It’s as much about dealing with the pupils who don’t answer at all as those who answer everything.” According to Mr O’Regan, there

are three things that can be used to change the behaviour of all pupils – not just those with an SEN. “First is technology,” he says.

“If you point a camera at someone then they will immediately change the way they are acting. Or, if you shoot someone with a Taser, then they will fall to the ground. “Secondly, there are drugs.

The biochemistry in the brains of children with ADHD is different, which is why we sometimes prescribe a course of medication.

However, these first two things are only effective in the short term. “The third thing is people. If

people have the right training and the right skills, then they are the ones who can make a long-lasting and positive difference to how children lead their lives.”

SecEd

• Mr O’Regan, now a behaviour and learning consultant who provides training to teachers, will be hosting a seminar on ADHD and autism at the upcoming Nasen Live 2010 event, which takes place in Bolton next Wednesday and Thursday (May 26 to 27)

Talking SEN: Former head Fin O’Regan now hosts seminars on dealing with ADHD and autism

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