There's a Panda in my Bellybutton

A communication passport is a way of supporting a vulnerable person, such as someone with Autism, with communication difficulties when they have to transition through different events, such as changing schools, or their first job. In Ryan’s case, we made a new specific communication passport for his medical file so that all the medical professionals could learn a little about Ryan before they met him and therefore be better prepared and able to interact with him. A communication passport draws together complex information (including the person's own views, as much as possible) and formalises the information into a clear, positive and accessible format. Every passport is individual and every layout must be utilised for the specific person and audience for which it is intended. When Ryan moved from Primary to secondary school, his primary school made a really detailed tri-fold, double-sided leaflet. This was invaluable to all the teachers that would get to know Ryan in their v...

The Importance of Attendance If you read any news articles on education, correspondence from your child’s school, or are simply clued up on parenting then you will know the importance of school attendance. Schools place a great deal of focus on targets and will often offer incentives and competitions to encourage and increase attendance figures, but what if your child has a serious illness. What happens if they really are not well enough to attend school. What happens then? Attendance targets at Ryan's school are currently set at 95% attendance for the school year. Therefore realistically your child can only miss 10 school days due to illness. Medical appointments such as GP or Dentist do not count, but you are encouraged to make these appointments outside of the school day where feasibly possible. If your child consistently misses school, even if it is only one day a week, that equates to 39 days over the school year. Even missing one day in a week results in pressure on the ...