Carol Youngs – Policy Director - British Dyslexia Association
Introduction
The venue was centrally based and the programme well balanced between speakers and participative workshops. This fact is probably reflected in the speed with which available places were booked. Registration and signage were also managed well as were the tea/coffee and meal breaks.
Overview of AchieveAbility Project
The audience was sympathetic to the usual minor technology hiccups and were very attentive during the presentation illustrating the overview of the project. Over lunch I was interested to hear from several people that before this presentation they had little prior knowledge about the project. I was unable to identify whether these were the same category of professional or whether they simply shared the same geographical area.
What do we mean by SpLDs?
This presentation was also well received. From the questions asked it was apparent that many in attendance were looking for more specific knowledge about each learning difficulty. Many had already experienced problems facing their students and were looking for answers and strategies to help.
Morning workshops to discuss SpLDs and the provision across sector
5 workshops took place, three covering specific learning difficulties and two looking at provision. I was personally involved in the workshop on dyslexia.
This was an interactive workshop, tailored to the expected audience of professional workers, aimed firstly at showing how it feels to be dyslexic; then moving on to provide information and strategies that could be used with students; and concluding with a question and answer session.
Interestingly two participants in this workshop were dyslexic adults whose perspective changed the dynamics of the group and session. Each participant was asked early in the workshop to identify what they particularly wanted to achieve. After a lively session two or three delegates’ queries were still outstanding but these were addressed outside the workshop over the lunch break.
Feedback and plenary session
This session was chaired by Dr Viv Wylie and provided an animated final session. The questions and comments showed a high degree of enjoyment and expectations met from this event.
Steve Chinn – Principal – Mark College
Attendance: looking down the delegate list it is clear that the majority are from HE and are support personnel of some kind. It seems a shame that there were only a few delegates from sixth forms and FE colleges. As the AchieveAbility project could help to strengthen links between HE and schools/FE.
The type of people attending this conference are likely to have a pre-existing awareness of SpLD's, so perhaps the opportunity was missed to look at some of the deeper issues.
Key sessions: The visual aids were good and the student-produced videos were stunning. Information on provision in schools, FE and HE was very relevant but it would have been interesting to hear a clear, critical comparison of the sectors. Some other content could have been sharper in focus
Workshops: The topics were interesting. Some delegates wanted to hear more than two and would have liked more delivered in a shortened form or distributed as a resource in detailed handouts.
The introduction of dyscalculia into the SpLD umbrella raised some interesting issues around definitions and diagnosis of general and specific conditions.
Some delegates were unsure what they would learn in the afternoon workshops due to the more nebulous titles, for example 'How can we sustain practice?' or 'How can the project measure impact?'.
Venue and Programme: Conferences need their own pace and break times were short though this may be unavoidable in a one day conference.
However, many delegates were obviously keen to discuss common interests and practice at length.
The Hotel was OK, but a little too far away from the rail station. The room for the main sessions was long and narrow, making it hard for some people to hear. The break out rooms for the workshops were comfortable.
