SPOTLIGHT ON SEND


Difficulties in verbal memory


In her regular column for Education Today this month, independent Specialist Teacher and Assessor JOANNE GLADDERS continues her deep dive into Dyslexia with a look at difficulties in verbal memory.


In this second article to unpick the definition of Specific Learning Difficulties Dyslexia I propose to take a look at one of the key features of Dyslexia; difficulties in verbal memory. Last month I focussed on the three


elements of phonological processing skills: phonological awareness, phonological memory and rapid symbolic naming. Phonological memory is looked at separately to verbal memory. When reporting our findings against the SASC (SpLD Assessment Standards Committee) report format, we report our findings under the heading of working memory. The term ‘working memory’ refers to ‘the ability to maintain and manipulate information in active attention’ (SASC 2019:9)


Why is this important? Working memory impacts upon all areas of the curriculum and how our learners learn.


“Memory is often considered to be the cornerstone of cognition.” Reynolds 2007:2


I think of the working memory as a Post-it Note in my brain: a place to


make mental notes of things I need to recall or use. Everyone’s Post-it Note is a different size and personal to them. We need to be able to retain given information and then do something


with it. Difficulties in this area could impact upon the following: • The ability to take notes whilst listening. • Being able to follow longer, more complex instructions. • Mental arithmetic. • Spelling new words. • Making links between learning. • Decoding unfamiliar words. I am sure you can think of other areas that difficulties in this area will


impact upon. Consider what might you see within the learning environment that could suggest a learner has difficulties in this area? Would it be that they have become disengaged with their learning, lack confidence in their own abilities, or even, struggle to follow instructions? In order to be able to engage in these tasks, we need to call upon


either our verbal working memory or our visual spatial working memory. The verbal working memory is used to remember instructions or learn language. Our visual spatial working memory is used to recall sequences of patterns, images or locations. Both are important. Working memory is different to our verbal short term memory which is our ability to hold and recall information for a short period of time. A learner with Specific Learning Difficulty Dyslexia could have


difficulties with their verbal working memory, but strength within their visual spatial working memory. In addition, processing speed also impacts upon this area. There are other difficulties that can also impact upon how a learner utilises these skills; for example, ADHD or a medical influence such as premature birth, anxiety or stress. Consider the learners that you work with; how can you alleviate


pressures encountered by difficulties in this area? Reference: Reynolds C.R, Voress J K (2007) Test of Memory and


Learning 2nd Edition (TOMAL 2) Austin, Texas: Pro-Ed March 2021 www.education-today.co.uk 19


Children with special educational needs fall into the vulnerable category, and therefore are classed as a priority for school places during this most recent period of school closure. Unions have found this blanket definition unhelpful, as it does not reflect the wide variety of needs of pupils. The balancing act between providing school places and weighing up risk has been the impossible task of school leaders. It is not the case that every pupil with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) can be in school, whether that is in a mainstream or specialist setting. Some pupils with an EHCP may have underlying health problems and should therefore not be exposed to the risk of Covid-19 unnecessarily.


It hasn’t been possible for specialist schools to operate as usual. As much as is viably possible has to be done to accommodate pupils with a higher level of need, but there are limitations to the staffing, expertise and space available. Specialist provision is, by definition, specialist – it offers more than a mainstream setting, and therefore extremely challenging to even come close to emulating at home. Online learning presents many challenges for those with complex SEND and places incredible demands and additional pressure on parents. Indeed, many children without learning difficulties have struggled to successfully access remote education.


School staff, in the main, are passionate and committed to the children they care for. Teachers aren’t known for putting themselves first. As we wait for the roll out of the vaccine, the administration of PPE and regular lateral flow testing might help to put staff’s minds more at ease with the risk of exposure to coronavirus. Staff in specialist schools may feel a conflict of interest more acutely than those in the mainstream. Never before have the aims of the teaching profession been at odds with the need for personal safety.


The effect of Covid-19 on SEND practice


In her regular column for Education Today this month, KATE SARGINSON, Deputy Headteacher and SENCO, looks at the complex intersections between SEND practice and the pandemic.


It is fair to say that the pandemic has placed increasing mental and practical demands on all teachers. The risk to life is real, and school leaders have had to quickly become experts in the world of Health and Safety, conducting detailed risk assessments and providing Personal Protective Equipment. It could be argued that specialist school staff are at greater risk of infection due to the close nature of their daily interactions with children with significant disabilities and complex learning and health needs. The well-versed concept of social distancing is impossible where children need support with personal care, medication administration and physical assistance to move, or don’t have the cognitive functioning to understand the risks of a global pandemic.


Teaching unions are currently campaigning for all school staff to be immunised, and recently, it has been reported that some specialist school staff have started to be offered the Covid-19 vaccine. With the enhanced medical and therapeutic care elements to the traditional teaching role, specialist school staff have started to be viewed as being part of the frontline health and social care priority groups and therefore should have been among the first to be immunised.


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