Reviewing curriculum and assessment from a special educational needs and disability (SEND) perspective
Our next seminar will be in person and online on Friday 10th January from 1pm – 4.30pm
Room at UCL to be confirmed.
Our speakers are: Gary Aubin, Peter Imray, Richard Rieser and Daniel Stavrou
They will be considering the following:
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What would an inclusive curriculum be like from the point of view of learners with SEND?
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What would an inclusive assessment system be like from the point of view of learners with SEND?
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What is worth learning and assessing?
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How might we imagine things differently?
Please follow
this link to book an
in-person place.
Speaker biographies
Gary Aubin is the author of The Lone SENDCO, a handbook of 300 questions and answers for busy SENDCOs. His second book, The Parent’s Guide to SEND, is being released in early 2025.
He leads on a national SEND School Improvement programme with Whole Education, supporting schools and MATs to drive a whole-school approach to supporting pupils with SEND.
Gary is the Education Endowment Foundation’s SEND Associate. In this role, he has worked extensively on sharing the evidence base behind high-quality teaching for SEND, as well as advised on the development of the SENCO NPQ.
As a Consultant, Gary has spoken internationally, advised the BBC, written content for the National Institute of Teaching and given talks to hundreds of Trust, Local Authority and school audiences.
Gary led on SEND provision for a Multi Academy Trust of 10 primary and secondary schools for several years. He is a secondary teacher, former primary and secondary SENDCO and former secondary Head of Year. Gary also authors the SENDMattersUK blog.
Peter Imray has been involved in the education and welfare of children, young people and adults with learning difficulties for over 35 years as a teacher, school leader, trainer, writer and coach. For most of this time he was employed by The Bridge School, an outstanding school for children and young people aged 2-19, with severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties and/or autism, in Islington, North London, and was Head of the Bridge School’s Training and Consultancy Service from its inception in 1997 until 2012. Since then, he has been working as a freelance, particularly concentrating on writing and editing specialist curriculum materials for Equals, a UK based not-for-profit charity.
The areas of profound, complex, severe and moderate learning difficulties are very specialist areas, making up less than two per cent of the whole school population, and perhaps for that reason their needs can often get overlooked in national educational initiatives. Peter has always sought to take the line that these learners have different and quite unique ways of learning, and understanding the nature of their learning difficulty is the key to successful educational provision.
Richard Rieser is a disability campaigner and expert in inclusion. He is the managing director of World of Inclusion Ltd and is an expert disabled international equality trainer, consultant, film maker and writer and teacher.
Dr Daniel Stavrou is Assistant Director – Education and Equalities, Council for Disabled Children / National Children’s Bureau. He oversees the contract delivery of NCB’s Education and Equalities team, focussing on strands of work that promote best practice around inclusion and special education provision. He is also Policy Vice Chair of NCB family member Special Educational Consortium and has represented the SEC giving evidence to parliamentary Select Committees; delivers training on SEND topics, including pedagogy and inclusion; is the National Coordinator for UK (England) on the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. He is a qualified teacher, with previous experience as TA / LSA and has worked predominantly in the further education sector, both in mainstream and specialist provision, with additional experience managing post-16 preparation for work and adult life for young people with SEND in the third sector.
