Another great article - thank you! As a 'translator' ie consultant, I hope I have always managed to include the emotions & the 'own words' of those in the charities / SEs I work with, alongside the 'impact' language. But this has made me think about the importance of making sure I do. And I really hope this is changing from the funder / commissioner end too.
Thanks Sarah! Even if the people outside don’t see that language, the most vital thing is that WE stay connected to it. Otherwise, that sense of alienation creeps in….
I give software support for special schools in assessing the progress the pupils/students are making. At its most basic, targets are set and their progress is measured against those targets. However when reporting on their progress these assessments are only indicators. As special schools are particularly child focused (mainstream schools less so) each child is ultimately assessed holistically. As some pupils make almost imperceptable progress (or regression), feedback necessarily emphasises their emotions and wellbeing.
In reading about the language of care I couldn't help feeling how the language reflected attitudes and approaches and that instead of trading 'impact' against 'feeling cared for', the two could be combined. In other words, can we live with using impact as an assessment but not allow it to stand alone or even relegate it to being secondary or tertiary?
I think we definitely can and should, Chris. As so often, it’s a both-and thing. We need to know bums-on-seats, and some way of measuring and maintaining quality, and understanding whether things are effective in a positivist way WHEN APPROPRIATE. As you say, the issue comes when those are primary. The reason they are, is simply because we set up the systems in those ways and came to believe that was how things haad to be….
Another great article - thank you! As a 'translator' ie consultant, I hope I have always managed to include the emotions & the 'own words' of those in the charities / SEs I work with, alongside the 'impact' language. But this has made me think about the importance of making sure I do. And I really hope this is changing from the funder / commissioner end too.
Thanks Sarah! Even if the people outside don’t see that language, the most vital thing is that WE stay connected to it. Otherwise, that sense of alienation creeps in….
I give software support for special schools in assessing the progress the pupils/students are making. At its most basic, targets are set and their progress is measured against those targets. However when reporting on their progress these assessments are only indicators. As special schools are particularly child focused (mainstream schools less so) each child is ultimately assessed holistically. As some pupils make almost imperceptable progress (or regression), feedback necessarily emphasises their emotions and wellbeing.
In reading about the language of care I couldn't help feeling how the language reflected attitudes and approaches and that instead of trading 'impact' against 'feeling cared for', the two could be combined. In other words, can we live with using impact as an assessment but not allow it to stand alone or even relegate it to being secondary or tertiary?
I think we definitely can and should, Chris. As so often, it’s a both-and thing. We need to know bums-on-seats, and some way of measuring and maintaining quality, and understanding whether things are effective in a positivist way WHEN APPROPRIATE. As you say, the issue comes when those are primary. The reason they are, is simply because we set up the systems in those ways and came to believe that was how things haad to be….