I had not returned to my Nurture 1415 post until this week, but I have stayed aware of my 'best hopes' as 2015 took shape. Although many good intentions and ambitions have not been achieved, the process of setting out my best hopes in a public forum created a sense of being accountable to someone other than myself. I have found the idea of being part of a wider conversation/narrative helpful and looked forward to the time and opportunity to do this again. So here goes,five 'best bits' from 2015 and some best hopes for 2016 (in no particular order):

In the wake of the horrific events in Paris over the weekend, Andrew Hall (Specialist Safeguarding Consultant, Success In Schools Ltd.) has compiled a helpful list of web-based information to support conversations with children. I have reproduced Andrew's article in its entirety below, and added in the web links for ease of reference.

This is not my first ever blog. I have flirted with the genre, on and off, during the past 3 years, with a continuing resolution to get into a habit and do more of it. I have been both inspired by the world of educational blogging, but also intimidated. This feels a bit like a club that might either welcome and embrace or ignore and exclude, and where the rules of engagement are not entirely clear. It does feel a bit risky to use the #nurture1415 arena to ‘put myself out there’ at the beginning of a new year, but I am anticipating my as yet unwritten hopes for 2015.

For most children the first week in September marked the return to school after a long summer break. However, for a significant minority, this “back to school” week simply offered ‘more of the same’ in the struggle to understand how to help them access education. These children do not form a clearly identifiable group and are largely unseen and unknown.

September 2014 will see the biggest reforms to the system of SEN support for 30 years. There is broad agreement about the aims and a vision for a better system in the future. However, as we are poised on the brink of change there remains uncertainty amongst parents and professionals as to whether the vision can be realised in practice.