UNLOCKING INNOVATION IN PRISON EDUCATION EPEA Conference – Antwerp Melanie Jameson, Dyslexia Consultancy Malvern RELEASING POTENTIAL OF THE 20%

SPECIFIC LEARNING DIFFICULTIES Specific Learning Differences [SLDs] DYSPRAXIA/DCD ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER DYSLEXIA NOT to be confused with Learning Disabilities / Difficulties DYSCALCULIA

ABILITIES LINKED TO SLDs  Creativity & originality  Visuo-spatial skills  Visualisation  Intuitive approach  Lateral thinking / problem solving  Affinity for colour / rhythm  Entrepreneurship  [Good oral skills]

IESPEIESPE How can we release this potential? IDENTIFY SLDs ENCOURAGE learners with SLDs SUPPORT them in educn. & training PROMOTE SLD-friendly practices ENABLE, via disability entitlements

Identifying Offenders with Specific Learning Difficulties Identifying Offenders with Specific Learning Difficulties

6 DYS - LEXIA can affect: READING - WRITING - SPEAKING SKILLS - LISTENING SKILLS DYSLEXIA is an INFORMATION PROCESSING difficulty People with Dyslexia may suffer from Visual Stress DYSLEXIA often affects: SHORT-TERM & WORKING MEMORY/ CONCENTRATION ORGANISATION / TIME MANAGEMENT

7 VISUAL STRESS - WHAT ARE THE ISSUES? 1. Dyslexic people are prone to certain eye problems 2. These can be treated by specialist Practitioners * 3. Use of colour may make reading easier 4. Certain types of text make the problem worse * SEE &

1. Inattention: distractibility, failing to pay attention to detail. 2. Impulsivity: poor inhibition & turn-taking, blurting out comments. 3. Hyperactivity: garrulous, accident- & addiction-prone. Further areas affected in ADHD: listening skills; organisation; awareness of consequences of your actions; learning from feedback. ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER [ADD] dreamy, poor concentration, ‘spaced out’

Difficulties with co-ordination: (fine and/or gross motor skills) speech: poor articulation, lack of control over volume social skills: may appear tactless, disregard body language PARTICULAR PROBLEMS : poor orientation and navigation : coping with change and new situations. : poor organisation, prioritisation and time-management DYSPRAXIA or DEVELOPMENTAL CO-ORDINATION DISORDER

DYSCALCULIA inability to understand number concepts subsequent problems with time-telling, money matters, retaining numbers eg personal dates, recording dates and appointments correctly, taking measurements etc. NUMBERS IN PRISON Entering your prison number correctly Form filling (eg canteen form, meal choices) Using pin numbers for phoning Dealing with your money Number aspects of practical training

RESOURCE ON SLDs KIWIs K Key facts I Impact of Specific Learning Difficulty W Ways of Working with Offenders I Information & Networks SEE

SLDs should be identified as early as possible, so that difficulties can be addressed during custody. Screening should be followed by Assessment of those who screen positive. The Assessment Report informs the delivery of Support Chapters 1 & 2 PDF of ‘Releasing Potential’ is freely available from website

Encouraging Offenders with Specific Learning Difficulties Encouraging Offenders with Specific Learning Difficulties

Raising Self esteem Promoting Confidence Fostering Motivation HOW? - Through providing a taste of success - Through access to the Arts, in the widest sense e.g. London Shakespeare Workshops - By valuing and encouraging their abilities - By giving choice (people with SpLDs find it particularly difficult to work on something that is not of personal interest) Always seek to minimise stress and frustration (e.g. Prison Phoenix Trust: yoga & meditation) RESOURCES: Ten Tips & Ten Steps

Specific Learning Difficulties / Differences = a different way of thinking & processing information, due to neurological differences in brain formation & function People with SLDs are often Visual thinkers, Verbal communication may be challenging Tom West In the Mind’s Eye (1991) “For some people the handicap and the gift may be two aspects of the same thing. How we perceive it depends entirely on the context.”

Supporting Offenders with Specific Learning Difficulties Supporting Offenders with Specific Learning Difficulties Ch 3 Supporting Learners with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia & ADHD Ch 4 Support for Numeracy & Dyscalculia Ch 5 Support for Foreign Nationals and ESOL Learners Ch 7 On-line Learning and Assistive Technology

TEN PRINCIPLES OF SUPPORT 1. Be aware that these are largely visual learners 2. Use a multisensory approach, reinforce learning 3. Teach the subskills (as well as the skills) 4. Break tasks into achievable ‘bite-size’ parts 5. Give frequent feedback and encouragement 6. Use technology to liberate them from weak literacy skills 7. Provide choice and build on areas of interest 8. Include memory and organisational strategies 9. Use mentoring/‘buddy’ systems to help keep them on track 10 Identify individual barriers to progress eg Visual Stress

MINDMAPPING

CASE STUDY A blow to my self respect was that when I was in school I could never write a story down although I had them in my head. It was something about pen and paper and spelling and handwriting. But I learned to use computers while I was inside. This has changed my life. CASE STUDY I feel I am very disadvantaged if I am given tests or have to complete timed exercises on the computer. I failed my very first exam (about spread sheets) because I had to copy numbers across and place them in the right column - I kept losing the place and having to start again. Now I realise I can have extra time, I ask for it. It means I can go really slowly and not start to panic and make mistakes. USING ICT

Promoting an SLD-Friendly Environment in our Prisons Promoting an SLD-Friendly Environment in our Prisons Ch 6 Showcasing Good Practice across Europe examples drawn mainly from EPEA members Ch 8 An SLD-friendly Learning Environment…………..

ADOPT SLD - FRIENDLY APPROACHES.. to LEARNING SUPPORT.. to INDUCTION & ADMIN PROCEDURES.. to GIVING INSTRUCTIONS.. to ACCREDITATION and TESTING.. to WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS ALWAYS TRY TO MINIMISE VISUAL STRESS STAFF AWARENESS of SpLDs is essential: for tutors, prison officers & management Chapter 8

wide spacing images and graphics to indicate content diagrams, charts, icons selective use of bold and bullet points left justification ONLY a clear font, at least 12 DYSLEXIA-FRIENDLY DOCUMENTATION minimises Visual Stress DON’T USE small fonts (below size 12) justified right margin ‘fancy’ fonts and italics bright white or shiny paper (try cream / pale blue) text in either red or green (also a colour-blind issue) whole words or phrases in capitals USE

‘Enabling’ (ex-)prisoners -through appropriate Work Preparation - through Disability Entitlements reframed, in UK, as ‘Equality & Diversity’ - via ‘Signposting’ to specialist services - by asking about their individual needs ‘Enabling’ (ex-)prisoners -through appropriate Work Preparation - through Disability Entitlements reframed, in UK, as ‘Equality & Diversity’ - via ‘Signposting’ to specialist services - by asking about their individual needs

Interview practice – a staged process -Discussion of the job, what it entails - Explaining your SLD: a three part model 1. your abilities 2 & 3 your difficulties + how you compensate -ROLE-PLAY Informal questions and answers -ROLE-PLAY Formal questions and answers -BEHAVIOUR Greetings, shaking hands, dress code DOUBLE DISCLOSURE a)Of an ‘unspent’ criminal conviction b)Of a specific learning difficulty Work Preparation

Ch 9 Resettlement & Employment Ch 10 Disability / Equality & Diversity Provisions TERMINOLOGY: WHAT HELPS WHEN? Vulnerability: ‘a vulnerable court-user’ in need of ‘special measures’ Disability: European Convention on Human Rights, Article 14: general prohibition on discrimination Equality & Diversity – much wider than just ‘Disability’ Concept of Accessibility – access to services (digital exclusion) – accessible communications Disability Definition in UK embedded in Equality Act, 2010 'a person has a disability if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day to day activities’

IN CONCLUSION “No-one should be shut off from opportunities, choice and options in life that most of us take for granted. We know that once people are given the chance to excel, they often do.” (Reaching Out: An Action Plan on Social Exclusion, 2006)

ANY QUESTIONS? Melanie Jameson 28