Follow up from Through the Looking Glass launch

5/4/2017

On the 23rd March we launched our third research report: Through the Looking Glass. 

Our previous reports have added value to the wider debates on education and SEND and this latest addition will raise, question and challenge the issues the sector should be addressing if we really want to improve universal provision for all children and young people; that is more exposure of SEND in mainstream educational thinking and better planning for supporting the needs of learners where Quality First Teaching is simply not enough.

We call on those commissioning and funding research to include SEND, where it is currently absent, and highlight the difficulties school face in accessing specialist support. This is a theme DYT will be pursuing over the coming year, with additional publications planned for Autumn 2017.

Social Mobility and Through the Looking Glass
March 22, 2017
Nancy Gedge blogs on the links between socio-economic disadvantage and SEND.

Media Coverage 

TES – “Focus on phonics excludes SEND children from the discussion on literacy, charity warns” 

“We need policies and research that lead the way for children who face the greatest disadvantage – being ignored. The report adds that the term “universal provision” too often means provision for those children who can catch up – and ignores those with SEND, or sidelines them as the concern of specialist staff.” 
Schools Week – “SEND learners are airbrushed from education policy” 
Our Director, Chris Rossiter wrote an expert opinion piece for Schools Week following the the report’s launch. He said  “influential literacy reports by leading think tanks and charities have ignored the thousands of children who will never catch up in reading and writing but who can still achieve a full and rounded education.”
  • Read the rest of Chris’ piece here.

Social Media 

  • This Storify captures some of the best tweets from the Through the Looking Glass launch at the RSA on 23rd March.

 

  • Read our special report follow up newsletter

Acknowledgements 

We wish to thank the following people for their contributions and constructive feedback to this report: Nancy Gedge, Wendy Lee and all the staff of Driver Youth Trust for their help with collecting and compiling data.

Thank you to the guest speaker on the night: Hannah Wilson  
A special thank you to Kindlemix Communications for designing and printing the report!
Read the full report here.