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Thursday, April 16, 2020 30 NEWBURY NEWS EDUCATION Dingley’s Promise helping families with children with SEND during lockdown Newbury Weekly News

This might be: n Videos you can watch with your child to support their learning. n Information and advice for you on supporting your child at home. n Wellbeing advice and information for you and your family. n Links to websites or pages created by others that might be useful. On top of this, we can also give you access to one-to-one family support over the phone or by email, so you can have a chat with someone who will listen to you openly. Our family support worker in West Berkshire is Paula, and you can contact her by email at paula.chambers@dingley.org.uk or by phone on 07495 446053. If you want to meet other parents of children with SEND or stay in touch with friends, you can access our private family support group on Facebook and attend our online drop-in sessions that take place twice a week. In the coming weeks we will also introduce an evening session where you can meet other

families when the children are in bed. We have launched a new section on our website with lots of resources for you to tap into. The first section of resources are from our own practitioners who are working hard to give you ideas for activities to do with your children and the second section is resources created by other organisations that you can also use at home. There are also contact details for support, updates on what Dingley’s Promise is doing, and a free training offer for mainstream early years practitioners so they can develop their skills in supporting children inclusively. The address is https://www.dingley.org.uk/ covid-19-response/ Next week, we will share more ideas and resources, and if you have any thoughts on what you would like to see, or what information you need, please do get in touch with Paula so she can arrange for this to be found or created. Stay safe this week, and we hope

DO you have a child or children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) in the early years? If so, this new weekly article might be just what you are looking for as you are on lockdown with your family in West Berkshire. Dingley’s Promise works with children with SEND in the early years to give them the best start. Until a few short weeks ago, we ran our West Berkshire Centre during term time and supported families through our family support worker programme. Now that our centre has had to close, we have changed our family support programme and made it easy for you to access remotely. You don’t have to be a family who attends one of our centres to access this support – in times like these we want to help support as many families as we can. What can we offer you? Every week during the coronavirus crisis, we will write a column in the Newbury Weekly News to share new ideas and information with you. THERE are some dates and moments that are long remembered. Many recall where they were when they saw the first man on the Moon, heard that JFK had been assassinated, the death of Princess Diana. However, for many of us last month, and not just for those involved in education, we added another significant event to the list: The day the Government announced that they were closing schools from the end of the week and scrapping GCSE and A-level exams. Education was to change over a weekend. Over this new period of remote schooling, I will be writing a ‘Diary of a Head’, shedding light on the emotional, educational and economic impact Covid-19 is having on schools. For context, allow me to introduce myself: I am Ricki Smith, principal of St Gabriel’s, an independent school in Newbury. I have been a teacher for 27 years and a head since 2016. It is a job that I love; my school is amazing at producing balanced, caring, intellectually-curious young people who are ready to take on all sorts of challenges that life presents. However, what we are now facing is a challenge that none of us could have imagined less than three months ago and we are all having to rely upon our ability to be resilient, compassionate and balanced as we approach a new world. All schools across the country and across the sectors were fully aware that the Government was quite likely at some stage to take

you will have fun with the resources we have shared.

A historic moment for schools and the education of our pupils Diary of a Head: Thoughts on the impact of the lockdown from St Gabriel ’ s principal Ricki Smith

Graham oWotten

New head of digital learning helping Elstree to go ‘virtual’ ELSTREE School, Woolhamp- ton, has appointed a new head of digital learning, as it makes the transition to virtual lessons due to the coronavirus crisis. Graham Wootten officially begins his tenure at the end of April, but is already providing advice and guidance. He was formerly IT director and network manager at St Hugh’s School near Faringdon, Oxfordshire. He also worked as an online copywriter for Espresso Education, producing e-learn- ing materials. Elstree headteacher Sid Inglis said: “Graham could not be joining Elstree at a more appropriate time and we are all extremely grateful for his support. “He brings agility and dynamism, which I know will be a huge asset to Elstree.” Mr Wootten said: “I am delighted to be joining Elstree ‘officially’ in a few weeks’ time, but have already enjoyed being able to support them through

St Gabri’el s principal Ricki Smith

“ We are all having to rely upon our ability to be resilient, compassionate and

balanced as we approach a new world

not have formal examinations for GCSEs and A-levels this year. Although we were prepared in some ways, there was much that still needed to be done. I knew that my inbox would be filling up as I drove home that night, Questions from staff, parents, and pupils, all unsure what this news meant, all wanting whatever reassurance they could have from someone they hoped would have all the answers. As you may expect, these were questions to which, unfortunately, St Gabri’el s School in Sandleford

I did not have many answers. There was so much to consider – what was to happen to public exams? We had been told that they were to be cancelled, that they would not happen this year, but there was no detail to allay the fears and growing panic of all those students across the country who had worked so hard to be ready for the exams that were so nearly in touching distance. What about the impact on every other year group throughout the school?

How do we forge a positive way forward for parents, pupils and teachers to ensure that parents and teachers can provide the care for their own families at home, whilst ensuring that teaching and learning is still happening? So many questions and so much to do in such a short space of time, while still appearing outwardly calm and in control. n To read more of Ricki Smith’s Diary of a Head, go to https://www.stgabriels.co.uk/ concilium/diary-of-a-head

the decision to close them, but when the moment came on that Wednesday afternoon, there was still a sense of deep shock as the words that had been uttered and their implications sank in. As the NHS had been doing for weeks before, the news was the final prompt needed for schools to mobilise in order to make sure that they were as prepared as they could be in the two days’ notice period that we had been given. What they were less prepared for and what was incredibly difficult for pupils, staff and parents was the more unexpected decision to

these uncertain times. “While I look forward to teaching, initially in the

‘virtual’ classroom, it’ll also be exciting to enhance and expand the Elstree network.”