Inclusion in Tower Hamlets
This one-hour webinar from the BDA is helpful for staff, parents, and pupils with dyslexia. It covers how to develop memory skills and positive metacognition. It gives practical examples for making revision fun, using games and teaching valuable techniques for tackling exam questions.
A ten minute from video from Darren Coxen demonstrating how you might use AI in three creative and interactive ways to explore a literacy text.
This is a very good example of how we can use AI creatively to bring the curriculum to life. We worry a lot about AI doing the students’ writing for them, but what about AI responding to the student’s work?
With a bit of imagination, we could make this work at the primary level by writing postcards to characters in our text. Or what about describing our characters using lots of lovely adjectives to create an image?
Worried about the cost? If you have Google Classrooms, you’ll likely already have access to Gemini, and there are plenty of other free or low-cost options.
Please get in touch if you want to explore ways to incorporate AI into your curriculum to motivate your reluctant writers.
Inspired by the inspiring Communication Matters AAC forum (which you should join also), I’ve set up a similar space for professionals interested in AAC, specifically for Tower Hamlets.
It’s a place for all professionals involved in AAC to ask questions (no question is too daft), share, learn, and work together to improve the provision and knowledge of low and high-tech AAC within the borough.
If you wish to join, please send a blank email to lbth-aac-professionals+subscribe@googlegroups.com.
I hope to see you there!
We’ve all been inundated with stories about AI since ChatGPT was launched at the end of 2022. During this time, you may have encountered articles discussing how AI could potentially undermine students’ critical thinking skills. Conversely, you may have also read about the potential for new tools to transform education, offering each student access to their own personal tutor.
As a technology enthusiast, I’ve been keeping up with the latest developments for some time. However, the guidance in this field has been changing rapidly, making it challenging to keep up. New services are being launched every day, and even Twinkl has its own impressive AI services! When I received an email from Oak Academy “introducing” me to Aila, their new free lesson planning AI bot, I realised it was time to take stock and gain an overview of the current state of AI in education. AI in education is a vast and controversial subject. Let’s start by discussing the least contentious aspect: teachers using AI to prepare better lessons faster.
Before I go any further, it’s worth noting that it costs many $billions to develop an LLM (Large Language Model) – the engine behind any chatbot or most AI services. Open AI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Facebook’s LLaMA. All of the other services (Aila, Twinkl AI etc.) are built on top of them. It’s not hard to build a chatbot. I made one to incorporate appropriate assistive technology into lesson plans. It wasn’t difficult. But it’s not finished. There are lots of helpful guides and videos online.
You should also know that AI lies (hallucinates). Always check important information.
It would be impossible to list all the resources here. They’re constantly evolving, and new ones are being launched. However, if you’re still manually writing out your lesson/unit plans, you’re wasting a lot of time. Used intelligently, AI can be like having a personal assistant, leaving you more time for the critical part of the job. Spending time with students. However, if you’re looking for somewhere to start, take a look at the information below. If you use any others, please leave a comment to share your experience with the community.
Generate creative prompts and brainstorm ideas for lesson activities. Get instant explanations and examples. Generate questions for quizzes. Create lesson plan outlines.
Keep in mind the following information: Give it a learning objective, an age group, and details of prior learning, and it will generate a lesson plan, a PowerPoint, 2 quizzes, and a worksheet. Its plans align closely with the English curriculum. You can edit them. You’ll need to do so since it doesn’t seem to want to differentiate them. It’s free. One of the best parts of the generated lessons is the quizzes, which can be accessed directly.
Twee works well for warm-up activities. Give it a YouTube video, which will generate various quizzes about the content.
Primary only. Lesson planning includes differentiation and maps to their existing (and extensive) pool of resources. Also has a whole host of useful time-saving tools. Definitely worth a look.
Creates incredibly engaging AI-enhanced presentations. Very impressive! Free trial for teachers.
The Summer Reading Challenge is for children aged 4 to 11 to in all Idea Stores and libraries.
It starts on Saturday 6th July.
As the children read books over the summer, they receive small prizes. When they have read six books, they receive a certificate and a medal. Alongside the challenge, there is a full and varied summer programme of events for children and families.
All events are free and include crafting, storytelling, drama workshops and theatre productions.
Children who struggle with reading can enjoy reading in the summer holidays with their parents and carers using the ‘Paired Reading’ approach’.
Click the link below for a 2 minute video showing you how to do it.
For parents, the summer holidays are a great chance to sit down with your children. Together you can visit their favourite sites and play their favourite games, this is a great way to stay up to date with online lives and show them that you’re interested in what they are doing. The holidays are also a good opportunity to have positive conversations about the internet, so if something ever does upset your child online they would feel more confident in confiding in you.
Online safety for children with SEND | NSPCC
These downloadable resources aim to support families who face very specific challenges and ensure your online safety advice is more inclusive:
Helping your child with cyberbullying in games PowerPoint Presentation (nspcc.org.uk)
One page profile cso_send_one-page-profile_jan2022.pdf (nspcc.org.uk)
Talking to people online PowerPoint Presentation (nspcc.org.uk)
“Despite improving attendance numbers across the board, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of the fact that 1 in 5 children with speech and language challenges remain at an increased risk of not attending school. So far this academic year, overall absences are at 7.5%. This is an improvement on last year’s final number of 10.7% and we certainly hope that this trend continues. However, the absence rate remains higher for SEND children, and the improvement in attendance is smaller than for other children and young people.“
Children struggling with talking and understanding words will find it easier to attend school if teachers have the right training to develop children’s speech, language and communication skills and spot those who may need additional support.
The Language Literacy and Communication Team will be running a NEW course next year. It will be aimed at SENCos and class teachers interested in deepening their understanding of how language develops and learning more about how speech, language and communication (SLCN) difficulties impact learning. The course will be run as twilight sessions across the year, with a blend of face to face and online sessions.
Please email Linda Hall if you would like to arrange any staff meetings or INSET on literacy,
communication or language for next term.
Linda.hall@towerhamlets.gov.uk
The Delphi papers have been submitted to academic journals for peer review. The study aimed to establish ‘areas of consensus among a wide range of experts’ and to reduce ‘confusion and misinformation’ about how dyslexia should be defined.
The SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC) has advised that assessors are free to use the Dephi definition but advised to look out for any relevant updates if and when the Delphi papers are accepted for publication. Their briefing paper summarises key points from the framework, its rationale, gives links to the full paper and a note on how to reference to the definition. SASC Briefing Paper Delphi Dyslexia Study May 2024
Two papers summarising the findings of Delphi study into the definition of dyslexia have now been published in draft format on the Open Science Framework.
The British Dyslexia Association (May 2016) reported, ‘It is important to note that the proposed definition identifies the same or similar underlying cognitive indicators of dyslexia, alongside recognition of its impact on individuals. For this reason, there is no suggestion that anyone diagnosed under the previous definition would not continue to meet the criteria for a diagnosis.’ Findings from the Delphi Dyslexia Study – British Dyslexia Association (bdadyslexia.org.uk)
After being diagnosed with apraxia at two years old, Mikey Akers had 13 years of Speech and Language Therapy (SLT), just to be able to communicate with others.
The 23-year-old’s latest petition, calling on the Government for more investment in SALT, reached over 12,000 signatures in just a matter of weeks, prompting a response.
Click the link below for the full story:
The Learning Advisory Service is pleased to announce the next
Signalong Foundation Course.
It will run at the PDC 229 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 6AB
Signalong is a key word signing system. Signs are always used alongside spoken language. It is particularly suitable for children and young people who have delayed language and/or learning difficulties. Our course will support you to sign effectively and naturally, and you will learn over 300 signs.
| SESSION 1 | Wednesday June 5th 9 am. to 12.30 pm |
| SESSION 2 | Wednesday June 19th 9 am to 12.30 pm |
| SESSION 3 | Wednesday June 26th 9 am to 12.30 pm |
| SESSION 4 | Wednesday July 10th 9 am to 12.30 pm |
Cost: £75 per person
Full attendance is required to gain your Foundation certificate.
To book: use SLA online
For more information: contact reshna.khanom@towerhamlets.gov.uk or dil.begum@towerhamlets.gov.uk