Georgina Durrant is a SEND professional on a mission!
Her latest book ‘SEND Strategies for the Primary Years’ aims to provide support and practical advise to schools, teachers and parents of SEND students.
We invited her to share a little bit about her new book and how she hopes it will help…
Who Is Georgina?
I’m a former teacher/SENDCO and founder of The SEN Resources Blog, which is a website for parents and teachers of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). I’m also the host of the SEND podcast ‘SEND in the experts with Georgina Durrant’ and the author of 3 books ‘100 Ways Your Child Can Learn Through Play’, ‘How to Boost Reading and Writing Through Play’ and ‘SEND Strategies for the Primary Years’.
How & why did ‘SEND Strategies for the Primary Years’ come about?
I wrote my latest book, ‘SEND Strategies for the Primary Years’, on the foundations of absolute frustration that so many children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) are currently being let down by a SEND ‘system’ that isn’t working. Teachers, SENDCos, head teachers and families are doing a fantastic job but it’s on a backdrop of some really big obstacles: lack of funding for schools, long waiting times for assessments and diagnosis, recruitment difficulties for support staff etc.
And I felt like there were so many people, understandably, talking about this and discussing the problems with the current SEND system at the moment. But I realised the challenge is not to point out the problems. That’s actually quite easy! The challenge is to say how you would do things better.
Unfortunately, however, I don’t have the resources to slash waiting times, sort out funding problems and build a system that works. Therefore, I funnelled all my anger that children are being let down into writing a book to help! ‘SEND Strategies for the Primary Years’ is packed full of information, strategies, advice, activities and recommended resources that teachers and parents of children with SEND can use right now whilst we are all waiting for a SEND system that works!
So, what’s inside?
The book is split into seven chapters and each chapter focuses on a particular area of need: speech, language and communication needs, literacy, numeracy, motor skills, emotional regulation, sensory differences and concentration/organisation.
In each chapter, I explain the area of need and how you might notice a child with that particular difficulty. I then provide practical strategies to help you as a teacher/ leader or parent to support that child effectively. I describe some of the changes you can make at home, in the classroom or even across the whole school. I then give you suggestions of resources you can make use of to support that child (without the need for lots of money) and also activities that you can weave into your lessons or use at home to support.
At the end of each chapter, there are 10 QR codes that you can scan to see videos of me explaining some easy-to-resource intervention activities that you could try to help support children in your class or at home.
Hopes for her book
My hope with ‘SEND Strategies for the Primary Years’ is that teachers and families will feel empowered so they can effectively support the children with SEND that they teach/parent.
I hope it gives them extra knowledge and understanding about SEND as well as some really practical strategies that they can implement to make an impact on the lives of children with SEND in their care.
During my research, it was clear that teachers aren’t getting the training on SEND that they would like and need. According to Ofsted (2023), only a third of teachers have received SEND training since April 2021. It’s also apparent that families and the children themselves are very aware of this as well, according to the National Autistic Society (2023) 70% of autistic children felt their teachers needed to know more about autism. And even more shockingly, and upsettingly, only 26% of autistic children said they feel happy at school. Something has to change. And whilst my book can’t solve all these problems, I hope it can make a small impact.
Take a look
If you would like to know more about Georgina’s latest book please have a read below.
Find this book and others in our specific CPD for SEND category.
With as many as 13% of children in schools in England receiving some form of SEN support, and waiting times of up to 3-5 years for a child to receive a formal diagnosis, there is a critical need for strategies teachers can use in the classroom and parents can use at home now. SEND Strategies for the Primary Years is the solution you’ve been looking for! The book gives teachers (and parents!) practical strategies that they can put in place while they wait for diagnoses, assessment or support. The strategies are practical, easy to implement and resource. Relevant to children who may be impacted by a range of SEND including autism, PDA, ADHD, dyslexia, DCD, dyscalculia, sensory processing differences, speech, language and communication needs and more. The book is split into seven areas of difficulties and provides the relevant support for: – Speech, language and communication – Literacy – Numeracy – Motor skills – Emotional regulation – Sensory differences – Concentration and organisation. Each chapter contains simple, effective actions to differentiate and improve learning outcomes for pupils who need more support in the classroom as well as at home. Each activity is supported by a demonstrative video, accessible via QR code. This book and the strategies can be used by any teacher or parent, not just SEND specialists. Georgina Durrant is a former teacher and SENDCO and the founder of The SEN Resources Blog, a leading SEND website in the UK, and this book features her trademark neuro-affirmative, supportive approach throughout.
