[senco-forum] The origins of SENCos

normal' ... aghh the bad old days!

I did a year's unqualified teaching in between school and uni (in 1965 we
didn't call it a gap year) in a junior school that had two ESN classes:
one for what is now Y3/Y4 and one for Y5/Y6.  Lovely children, superb
teachers, but what an awful label!

One good thing: this was my first introduction to children with learning
problems and it started me on my career!

Regards

Jean

 ...... and I remember the ESN schools for the 'educationally sub
> normal' ...  aghh the bad old days!
> Sue
> On 11 Apr 2008, at 22:27, Jean Dowding wrote:
>
>> I became a primary school Senco in 1994, when the original CoP came
>> into
>> being, and was still Senco when I retired last summer.  I started my
>> teaching career in secondary schools, where I was a remedial
>> teacher and
>> the Head of Dept was simply Head of the Remedial Department.
>>
>> When I left to have children, we were about to become teachers of the
>> "less-able", not to mention a separate group of teachers of the
>> "maladjusted".  I returned (to primary teaching) after a long time
>> at home
>> and we had now transmogrified into teachers of children with special
>> educational needs!
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Jean
>>
>>
>>  I've been pondering this subject since it was brought up.
>>> I am a Walsall SENCO and have been in post since 1990. My
>>> predecessor, who
>>> retired had the job title of, 'Head of Special Needs', it had been
>>> Head of
>>> the 'Remedial Department' originally! How things change.
>>> However, I'm sure my job title was 'Senco' before the Code of
>>> Practise.
>>> Whether it came about from being involved in evaluation of the draft
>>> version
>>> or not I can't remember.
>>> ......I wonder how many of use 'original' Sencos are still about?
>>> Perhaps we should be given some sort of reward? Any suggestions?
>>> (Answers
>>> on
>>> the back of a postcard please!
>>> And Brendan...those halcyon days at West Mids College........and the
>>> library
>>> there in the early 80s was brilliant, I wanted to do the course
>>> you talk
>>> about but someone else was sent from school instead, But that's
>>> another
>>> story.
>>> Chris
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
>>> [mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of
>>> kngbrndn at aol.com
>>> Sent: 11 April 2008 20:17
>>> To: k.wedell at btinternet.com; senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
>>> Subject: Re: [senco-forum] The origins of SENCos
>>>
>>> The School of Education at?Birmingham University keeps being?being
>>> mentioned
>>> in all references on this thread. It may be useful for the
>>> researcher to
>>> visit and talk to present staff -- and check their dissertation
>>> library. I
>>> guess all?the information is buried there.?And the records of the
>>> pioneering
>>> SEN in ordinary schools course at Walsall may not be a bad place
>>> to check.
>>> It's a Campus of Wolverhampton University now. It's?no longer?into
>>> teacher
>>> training as such.? But a wonderful guy --?Niel Duncan --?runs a?
>>> Social
>>> Inclusion courses (I've lectued to his students from time to time
>>> of the
>>> SEN
>>> freamework and schol inclusion.?The Walsall ?Library may house the
>>> past
>>> info
>>> you require.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>
>>> From: k.wedell &lt;k.wedell at btinternet.com&gt;
>>>
>>> To: senco-forum &lt;senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk&gt;
>>>
>>> Sent: Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:24
>>>
>>> Subject: [senco-forum] The origins of SENCos
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Warnock Committee's concept of the continuum of need began to
>>> develop
>>> the   idea that it would be appropriate to have a member of staff in
>>> mainstream   schools qualified to support other staff in meeting
>>> needs as
>>> well as working   directly with pupils. This then became an obvious
>>> development when the then   government's concept of a Code of
>>> Practice
>>> focussed mainly on the Statement   procedure in the draft Bill,  was
>>> modified as the result of pressure groups, to   include support
>>> for the
>>> '18
>>> percent'.    Christopher is correct in mentioning 'remedial
>>> teachers' -
>>> and
>>> indeed,   Birmingham Univ's sch of edcn ran a course for them in the
>>> middle
>>> sixties.  I   think they mainly worked as part of the LEA support
>>> service,
>>> but some were   probably also  based in larger mainstream schools.
>>> These
>>> often had a 'unit' for   children who were not making expected
>>> progress.
>>> In
>>> those early years there was   the concept of a distinction between
>>> the
>>> 'backward' and the 'retarded'.    With ap
>>>  ologies for these aged memories! - Klaus Wedell
>>>
>>>
>>> _____________________________________________________________________
>>> ___
>>> AOL's new homepage has launched. Take a tour at
>>> http://info.aol.co.uk/homepage/ now.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________
>>> This email has been scanned by Netintelligence
>>> http://www.netintelligence.com/email
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________
> This email has been scanned by Netintelligence
> http://www.netintelligence.com/email
>
>