NEWS


SLI could have more impact on students than dyslexia


by Pete Henshaw


The little-known language impairment SLI could have a greater impact on sufferers than dyslexia, new research has found. Specific Language Impairment,


or SLI, affects up to six per cent of UK school children. Sufferers experience difficul-


ties with many aspects of language including grammar, vocabulary


and literacy, as well as short-term memory. According to research funded by


the Economic and Social Research Council, they also have problems with higher order thinking skills. Researchers have said that SLI


may have a greater impact on these children than the better known dis- order, dyslexia, and have called for awareness to be raised around the condition. SLI and dyslexia are similar in


Three in 10 could miss out on university


As many as 30 per cent of students who have applied to university could fail to win a place, it has been claimed this week. Figures released from admis-


sions service UCAS show that nearly 650,000 applications have been made to start university this September. The statistics show an increase


of 9,235 in the number of applica- tions for September 2011 entry – up by 1.4 per cent on last year. Some commentators had


expected a rush of applications as students looked to beat the rise in tuition fees set for September 2012. So far, more than 90 universities have set their fee rates for 2012, with three quarters choosing to charge the full £9,000. However, the increase in appli-


cations this year is not significantly higher than that in previous years and while the data does show that 11,000 more applications have been received by people aged 19 to 21 when compared with 2010, the increase for those aged 17 and 18 was only 373. Elsewhere in the UCAS figures,


subjects allied to medicine were the most popular with an increase of more than 41,000 applications from last year (360,000 in total). Within this number, more than 150,000 have applied for nursing courses.


The amount of students apply-


ing for teacher training topped 54,000, an increase of 3.3 per cent. However, in many humanities


and languages the numbers fell when compared with last year. For courses related to linguistics, there were 3,200 fewer applications. History and philosophical courses also saw a decrease of 1,400, but the arts and creative design pros- pered with 15,000 more applicants. The Financial Skills Partnership


this week estimated that 30 per cent of applicants will miss out on university places. Chief executive Liz Field said:


“Increasingly young people will be looking at alternative options such as school-leaver programmes and apprenticeships to get them work- ready and onto the jobs ladder. “It is the role of policy-makers


to be open to funding a variety of initiatives; the education sector needs to work with employers to prepare these individuals by devel- oping ‘employability’ skills which are in high demand.” Aaron Porter, president of the


National Union of Students, said: “The government has failed to add to the number of university places, withdrawing a small previously planned rise, meaning we are likely to see an increase in the numbers being denied a place.”


African adventure: Ten students jetted off to Morocco where they picked up some valuable life-skills during a free 10-day expedition last month. The students, in year 12 at Culcheth High School in Warrington, Cheshire, had won a national competition run by Outlook Expeditions in which they had to write short essays. They set off for North Africa last month trekking through the Atlas Mountains, learning to live off a budget, and developing leadership skills. One of the students, Sophie Akiyenu, said: “It was one of the most strange but best experiences ever. I met some amazing people and saw some of the most amazing views and it really opened my eyes to a different culture.”


Successful film project hits Wales Teacher’s blog voted best on the web


A scheme designed to fire pupils’ imaginations through cinema is to be rolled out across Wales. The FILMCLUB project is


already a success in England but funding is now in place to support teachers in Wales to use film to improve children’s reading and writing skills. The Welsh part of the scheme


has been launched by Hollywood actor Michael Sheen, who starred in Frost/Nixon and The Queen. “Having free access to such a


huge variety of films within Wales for members of FILMCLUB is going to have a massive effect,” said the Port Talbot-born star. “I would love it when people


think of Wales, they think of a nation of people and a culture that is self-empowered and confident about expressing itself.


“I think it can have a huge


impact in terms of confidence, self- empowerment and the desire to find out and be more curious about things.” FILMCLUB is designed to


inspire and educate pupils through a network of after-school clubs. It gets children watching and writing about films and has been running as a pilot in 15 Welsh schools since 2008. But a successful bid for Welsh


Assembly government funding means the programme will now be available across Wales over the next four years. The Welsh government has ini-


tially pledged £170,000 with an agreement to commit £1.4 million over the next four years. The money will cover the cost of inductions and support for teach-


ers, a website and the distribu- tion of films and other educational resources to schools. Launching the initiative at


Cantonian High School in Cardiff, education minister Leighton Andrews said: “This innovative project is working to expand the literacy skills and personal devel- opment of young people. I’m delighted that we have supported the roll-out, giving young people access to the benefits of film.” Hannah Davies, FILMCLUB


co-ordinator at pilot school Treorchy Comprehensive in Rhondda Cynon Taff, added: “It’s been an excellent tool for bringing together young people from diverse backgrounds and a range of abilities to socialise with each other and to share a common interest. It’s a fantastic project.”


Whether they’re exchanging CPD ideas or expressing views on education policy, more and more teachers are writing blogs these days. But the teacher judged to have


the best blog of the year is David Rogers, geography curriculum leader at Priory School Specialist Sports College in Portsmouth. Mr Rogers, who has been a


teacher for eight years, won the Teacher Blog of the Year category of the Education Blog Awards 2011 this week. The five judges were particu-


larly impressed by his willingness to share resources and ideas, his responsiveness to his audience and his regular and timely updates. “David Rogers encapsulates


what blogging should be about – a documentation of your own professional and personal learning through a blend of thinking, ideas,


4


sharing, collaboration and chal- lenge,” they said. Mr Rogers was delighted to win


the award, particularly as he won a Britain’s Dream Teachers prize last month for a short geography video he uploaded to YouTube explaining the process of long shore drift to year 10 and 11 students. Mr Rogers told SecEd: “I am


really humbled by the best blog award, the reason being that my blog was first of all nominated by peers and then selected as the winner by a group of people that I admire, respect and have found inspiration from. “I think that blogging is a very


useful tool for teachers. I use mine to reflect on my practice, keep a record of my CPD activities, share resources with students and teach- ers and to think out loud. “I am always surprised and feel very happy when I know that other


that both involve a “specific” dis- ability that is believed to affect one aspect of a child’s ability to deal with information. For dyslexia this aspect is read-


ing but for SLI it is language, mean- ing there are a number of potential knock-on affects. Professor Lucy Henry, direc-


tor at the Centre for Research in Psychology at London South Bank University, which carried out the research, said: “SLI is often diag-


nosed when it is noticed that a child’s speech is poorer than his or her other abilities. The speech difficulties can involve grammar, a small vocabulary or other aspects of language. In addition, because language is important for reading, around half of children identified with SLI also have difficulties with reading. These problems are not due to them having a general learning disability, autism, hearing impairments or brain injury.


“The lack of understanding of


specific language impairment con- trasts markedly with the broader understanding and acceptance of similar disabilities such as dyslexia.” SLI can, without intervention,


continue into adulthood and have “marked, negative” consequences on achievement and mental health. Prof Henry added: “The out-


comes in later life for many chil- dren with SLI are not particularly rosy. Between 50 and 90 per cent of


those affected by SLI never reach typical levels of language use. “We hope that this research will


raise awareness among all teachers of the complex difficulties that chil- dren with SLI face in the classroom. We also hope to raise awareness of the many techniques class teachers can employ which will help children with SLI learn more effectively.” To read the full report, visit


www.esrc.ac.uk/my-esrc/grants/ RES-062-23-0535/read/reports


teachers and students have ben- efited from my ramblings.” The award saw winners in a


number of other categories includ- ing Class Blog of the Year, which went to a blog entitled the Diary of 6E, and School Blogsite of the Year, which was won by Sir John Lillie Primary School in London. The Most Influential Blog Award went to a blog called Box of Tricks. In total, more than 300 blogs


were nominated, with top 10s being selected in each category. To read Mr Rogers’ blog, which


averages up to 400 visitors a day and covers everything from a report on the Geographical Association’s annual conference to how to make an effective annotated map, go to http://daviderogers.blogspot.com Links to all the other blogs


are available on the Education Blog Awards 2011 website at http://educationblogawards.org


SecEd • June 9 2011


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