Putting in a word for Buddy Bear and Conductive Education

Yesterday, following the lead taken by Andrew Sutton, I sent the following letter together with the separate  attachment below it, in support of Buddy Bear and Conductive Education in Ireland.

30 April 2008.

The Rt Hon Dr Ian Paisley MP MLA. First Minister.
Mr. Martin McGuinness MP MLA. Deputy First Minister.
Office of the First Minister and Deputy first Minister
Castle Buildings
Stormont
Belfast
BT4 3FW

Dear Dr Paisley and Dear Mr McGuinness

Conductive Education in Northern Ireland

Like Brendan McConville of the Buddy Bear Trust, I too am a parent who has sought to achieve change in the education of children with cerebral palsy having experienced conductive education in the life of my daughter, in my case through founding the registered charity Paces in 1992 and helping open Paces Campus and School in Sheffield, England in 1997.

I am aware that Andrew Sutton has written to you in support of Brendan McConville, of the work at Buddy Bear and of conductive education.  I wish to add my voice to his, and trust that this will be of use to you in your deliberations.

My daughter, a young woman diagnosed shortly after her birth with spastic quadriplegia, now 25 years old, is currently participating in a programme that includes age-appropriate conductive education which will lead her to living independently with two friends in a home of their choice.  Her mother and I attribute her achievement almost entirely to conductive education, of which she has had the benefit since the age of 6 years.

Why conductive education? The reason for me is simple and can be expressed through four straightforward questions that I invite you to ask of yourselves and your colleagues in the Assembly and in the Ministry of Education. Please see the enclosed sheet. My answers apply to England and Wales.

There is much more that I could say about conductive education, about learning and about the education of those with motor disabilities. I would be happy to do so if requested.

Yours sincerely

Norman Perrin
Chief Executive, Paces Sheffield.
Churchill Fellow 2007

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The following was sent as a separate Table, which I do not know how to replicate here. (It looks more impressive as a Table, with the column of "No"s against State Schools and the "Yes's" beside Conductive Education).  The information was as follows.

Title: PERSPECTIVES ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY AS BETWEEN THE STATE SYSTEM IN ENGLAND AND CONDUCTIVE EDUCATION

Question 1.  Initial Teacher Training
Do trainee teachers who would work with children with disabilities such as cerebral palsy in mainstream English schools undergo specific training in order to qualify as teachers of children with disabilities and specifically cerebral palsy?
State schools: No   
Conductive Education: Yes

Question 2.  Pedagogy
Is there recognition of the need for specific pedagogies for specific needs?
State schools: No   
Conductive Education: Yes

Question 3. Curriculum
Is there recognition of the appropriateness of specific curricula for specific needs?
State schools: No
Conductive Education: Yes

Question 4. Understanding Disability
Are teachers in training or qualified teachers required to have any understanding of the nature of the disability  (such as cerebral palsy) of the pupils they might be teaching?
State schools: No
Conductive Education: Yes