Blog

Working in special education has its ups and downs like every job, it requires a lot of skill and not everyone can work in these environments, however, it is one of the most rewarding jobs for the right type of person. You need to be patient, have a strong work ethic but most importantly you need to have a good sense of humour and be prepared to get ‘stuck in’ and adapt to d...

What are Blob Trees? Blob Trees are a fantastic way to get pupils communicating, and they’re simple. The focus is to deal with underlying issues, using the primary language we learn when we are infants, such as your feelings and body language. The great things is, you can use Blob Trees at any age, they’re great!! So what are the Blobs? The Blobs are neither male nor female,...

This week is World Autism Awareness Week, the international campaign to increase knowledge of all aspects of the spectrum condition that affects around 1 in every 100 people (over 700,000) in the UK and 1 in 68 in the US. ​ Our understanding of autism is growing all the time, as is our ability to identify where people fall on the spectrum and how best to help them to reach t...

School Holidays: Exciting for some but unkind for others For most pupils the holidays signals some well deserved time to enjoy some family time and relax with friends, maybe by exploring the good old outdoors, playing on the dreaded X-Box or going out to the cinema (to name a few). Whatever it may be, the majority of children cannot wait to finish school and they are usually...

As a social care professional, how do you see the link between health, social care and education? Where does your role end and someone else’s begin? How much knowledge do you feel you need beyond your social care background? The NHS have announced new draft guidelines to help transform the care of people with learning disabilities and/or autism. The new draft service model i...

In today’s current age almost everyone is using some type of social media platform whether it be Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. So this brings me on to my first question, is social media a good thing? Some people may say that social media platforms have ‘given young people a voice’. Now, when I say this I mean that you get young people who find online gaming or YouTube a pl...

So here we are in April and the National Living Wage is here, it’s real and it’s now law. You can find out if you are eligible by completing the calculator here. In terms of the figures, what does this actually look like? All workers aged 25 and over are now legally entitled to at least £7.83 per hour, a rise of 33p and the Government have committed to increasing this every ...

Ok, so I finished University with a 2:1 in Applied Psychology and I thought ‘yes, I can finally get into the big wide world of work’. Everyone kept telling me that I would miss all the assignments and the whole ‘university experience’ but I couldn’t wait to finish after three long years of assignments, tests and constant worrying about passing. So in the summer of 2015 I gra...

Is there a profession that has a more direct influence on a person’s life than a teacher? They certainly have a strong case. The responsibility that teachers take on at any level is immeasurable, shaping the lives of children of all backgrounds, abilities and expectations. It could be argued that it’s the most difficult job in the world. Something that few would argue agains...

As a Support Worker, you are in a rater unique position..... you may well be the person with the most regular access to the child or adult that you are working with. As a result of this regular access, you are likely to have a much more detailed insight into their life than any other professional and therefore a more sophisticated and accurate understanding of their day-to-d...