Talking to parents about SEND, especially those first conversations can be extremely daunting.
How you prepare and position a conversation with parents affects how they see their child, their future and their prospects for life. You can make all the difference in the world by approaching this difficult conversation in the right way and supporting parents through one of the most stressful times in their lives.
In this week’s show we are discussing talking to parents about SEND with Sarah-Jane Critchley, Author, Speaker, Consultant and Coach from Different Joy Partnership. Sarah-Jane shares her own story and personal experience about conversations she has had regarding her children and the impact they had on her life.
Listen to this podcast to find out how to have a conversation with parents when you think that the child you are teaching might have a Special Educational Need. Find out about:
- How to start the conversation – focus on strengths first
- What to do, what information you need to collect and who to work with
- The importance of positive role models
- Choosing language carefully
- Why you need to mediate services for many parents
- The importance of a growth mindset
About Sarah-Jane Critchley
Sarah-Jane is an Author, Speaker, Consultant and Coach from Different Joy Partnership. She was previously the Programme Manager for over 10 years at the Autism Education Trust. Pupils with autism often struggle with attending school for a number of reasons. Her daughter Beth is autistic and also suffers from migraines which meant from Year 3 onwards she missed a lot of school and missed over 50% of her GCSE classes, eventually dropping out of school in year 12.
Contact Sarah-Jane:
Twitter: @SarahJaneCritch
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sarahjanecritchley/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/differentjoy/
Useful Links
- 0-5 Developmental milestones: Development Milestones (justonenorfolk.nhs.uk)
- Jim Sinclair – Don’t mourn for us – Don’t Mourn for Us (ucsc.edu)
- Growth mindset – Carol Dweck – https://youtu.be/_X0mgOOSpLU
For more podcast episodes from the SENDcast click below… https://sendcast.wpengine.com/sendcast-episodes/
