Nikki Simpson is an Organiser within Learning & Development for the Association of teachers and lecturers (ATL) in the unions Eastern Region. She has been organising a variety of learning events for ATL members, some of which have been open to other educational professionals and parents. In 2015, the Eastern region offered 35 free CPD workshops to their members, in addition to the courses being run in the unions national programme.

Recently Nikki has been organising Attention Deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) awareness sessions, something which ATL members have an increasing need for. Nikki explains why:

With cuts to many Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support services within local authorities, teachers, support staff and parents/carers are finding it increasingly difficult to find out how best to support ADHD children in education. The session also covers co-existing conditions such as ODD, OCD and Tourettes."

Though initially aimed at ATL members, which included Head Teachers, teachers, teaching assistants and of course SENCO’s all of the sessions were oversubscribed. As a member led union when Nikki had requests from teachers to allow parents of children with ADHD to come along a separate local community event was organised. This was a collaborative partnership with Elstow School, part of the Bedford Academy Cluster. The workshop attracted a different audience including parents, siblings and grandparents of children with a confirmed/unconfirmed diagnosis, plus local childminders and nurseries who were keen to find out how to best to support the children.

In 2015, 8 ADHD specific sessions were held across the region on Saturday mornings and evenings so that they were accessible to those working during the day.

The sessions are run by Stephen Challen, from ADHD+ Support in Chelmsford. This is a charitable organisation with the primary aim of providing information, support and services to those with ADHD and its many associated and co-existing conditions. They are primarily run by volunteers who have a personal connection with these conditions. Their work is with those who have or are in the process of obtaining a diagnosis of ADHD, their families, parents/guardians, and professionals, to help find and provide better ways to help cope with the day to day struggles. The website, also contains a wealth of useful information about the condition http://www.adhd-support.org.uk/

Nikki was very pleased to have Stephen run the sessions and said:

Stephen is an inspirational and motivational speaker, first diagnosed at the age of 13, he brings a unique understanding and extensive personal experience of ADHD and co-existing conditions. He uses his own experiences, mixed with humour, to help give a better insight into living with ADHD. We always have excellent feedback from the sessions and they are always oversubscribed.

At the end of the workshop, Stephen has a big queue of people waiting to talk to him about specific children in their school and how best to support them or from parents/carers asking for advice around a variety of subjects including diet and medication.

In addition, Stephen has been approached direct to deliver training in schools as part of their inset days. Our members have reported that the advice given by Stephen has had immediate positive impact on the students they are teaching.

The sessions have been very popular, with nearly 300 of the 676 learners in 2015 attending the eight sessions run in 2015; more are in the pipeline with workshops currently being scheduled in Towcester (Northants), Norfolk and Cambridge. The funding for the workshops came from ATL’s regional learning and development budgets, which is set up to provide members with timely, quality CPD. 

Nikki added:

The popularity of this CPD demonstrates the lack of practical information available to education professionals and parents of SEND children and how schools and unions can work together positively to help the students and families within their community. ATL campaigns for the contractual right to good quality CPD for their members and believes it is essential that not only do they have the opportunity to professional and personal development, but that they have the time to network and share experiences with like-minded colleagues.As a result they have just launched their work life balance campaign About time www.atl.org.uk/abouttime."