This year’s focus for the SSLP Student Voice is neurodiversity. Following a launch conference in November where students heard from guest speakers to develop their own understanding around neurodiversity, they have been working collaboratively on a series of projects. We were delighted to host the launch event for these project on 8^th May. It was a bright, vibrant atmosphere where one guest commented, ‘there was great energy and support!’  

The first group presented a project that shared ways to support the transition from Primary to Secondary school. Students from Westminster City School, Alleyn’s and St Saviour’s and St Olave’s shared their findings following research, interviews with SENCOs and Heads of Year 7s, and the creation of a supportive video that they filmed and edited. Following feedback from a questionnaire completed by current Years 7s in the SSLP schools, the group presented some suggestions to support transition to secondary school. These included: a buddy system to support a highlighted challenge of social integration; inclusive lessons that cover the different learning styles of audio, kinaesthetic, visual, and written; accessible maps of the school to support with getting used to new surroundings; and introduction to the Pastoral and SENCO teams. They also shared examples of beautiful, hand-made lanyards and suggested that these could be used in schools to make it visible to neurodiverse students the members of their school community that they could reach out to if they needed support.  

The second group – a collaboration between James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS) and Harris Boys’ Academy East Dulwich –  presented a project that invited students to empathise with and explore the experiences of neurodiversity through creative writing. Students used their web design skills to create a bespoke website for the project: https://neurodiverse-writing.com/ Through a poster and promotional material, they shared a writing competition across the SSLP schools, receiving 26 entries including poems, short stories, and discursive writing. Together, they created a shortlist of 12 entries and from this, with the support of the SENCOs in their schools, they selected four winning entries across the categories of most creative, most informative, most inspirational, and most relatable. The group also shared some extracts from the winning entries. 

From ‘A Tight Grip’: And don’t worry about being different. Be thankful for it! There is no one on this planet like you, who thinks like you, who completely understands you. Our brains all work in unique, and amazing ways. 

From ‘Meep’: Thirteen and diagnosed with autism. It’s one of those odd ages where most teenagers are becoming familiar with a version of themselves that they know. But I felt different, and I began to see the world with a perspective that changed me.  

From ‘Still in Bloom’: Awareness of differences dawns, a shared sight, 

We’re all blooms in life’s ongoing fight, 

Rising from stems, into the light, 

Together, in bloom, our futures bright. 

The group shared a booklet containing the 12 shortlisted entries. They hope that this booklet, along with the neurodiversity creative writing competition perhaps being adopted as an annual competition, will be shared with students across the SSLP schools.  

The third group, with students from St Thomas the Apostle and Dulwich College, focused on fundraising. They chose to support the local charity Down’s South London. They were commended by members of the audience for shining a light on Down’s Syndrome, an aspect of neurodiversity that is not always widely focused on. As well as showing and promoting their fundraising merchandise of a tote bag with the SSLP and Down’s South London’s logos on it, they also shared clips from their excellent interview with two of the trustees from the charity, Gün Akyuz and Lívia Campello Lang. In response to a question asking what the general public can do to support people with Down’s Syndrome, Gün shared, ‘it’s about being kind. It’s about being aware. If you see someone that needs a little bit more help than you, that you are able to do that [for them].’ She went on to say, ‘don’t limit opportunities for people with Down’s Syndrome. If you give them opportunities to do things, they can do them. Don’t assume that they can’t.’ The students hope to go on to share the recording of the interview more widely through assemblies in the schools. They also continue to promote and sell the tote bags at school and SSLP events to support the on-going fundraising focus of their project.  

Finally, the fourth group explored expressions of neurodiversity through art. Students from Kingsdale Foundation School, The Charter School East Dulwich, and The Charter School Bermondsey decided to run an art competition with entries open to all schools in the SSLP. To get the competition started, Kingsdale Foundation School ran some workshops with Key Stage 3 and Sixth Form enrichment groups.  The workshop focused on synaesthesia where the students listened to music and painted what they could hear. Tina Hunter, a dyslexia specialist from Bell House – a volunteer-led charity in South London championing creative education and lifelong learning for all with a particular focus on neurodiversity, learning support and wellbeing – adjudicated the competition. Here are the winning and runner up entries with Tina’s comments: 

Winner: Year 7, St Michael’s Catholic College. 

‘I love the bold images and strong colours of this image. The flow between senses is so powerful and important in the learning journey and this image demonstrates the link perfectly.’ 

Runner Up: Year 12, Kingsdale Foundation School 

‘Wow!! Love the way the head opens up the thoughts, dreams, and tunes of the mind. It is so joyful….as is neurodiversity!’ 

Runner Up: Year 12, The Charter School East Dulwich  

‘The stance of the character here is very strong; like a conqueror. The space location represents what it can feel like looking at others from a different perspective. The protective mask of the space figure keeps them safe in a, sometimes, alien location. Wonderful story telling.’ 

Runner Up: Year 7, The Charter School East Dulwich 

‘This is such a simple but impactful image and statement; it shows wonder of all things around us and it made my heart sing.’ 

The winning work will be made into posters and displayed at Bell House, Dulwich to inspire and inform others. The students shared that they hoped that the art works created through the competition will get people thinking about neurodiversity. They also shared that one of the legacies for their project will be for the competition and use of the synaesthesia lesson resource to be run and shared every year to continue to raise awareness.  

The project launch part of the day was concluded with closing comments by Marcia Brissett-Bailey. Marcia is recognised in the Top 5o Influential Neurodivergent Women in the UK, is a Dyslexia advocate and Co-founder of the British Dyslexia Association’s Cultural Perspective Committee, and author of Black, Brilliant and Dyslexic. She said, ‘it is such a privilege to be invited to the SSLP Student Voice Neurodiversity Projects Launch event. I am absolutely blown away by the young people sharing their work on their projects. Let’s continue to change the narrative [around neurodiversity].’  

In the afternoon the students were able to celebrate their wonderful achievements with a silent disco. A student from St Saviour’s and St Olave’s said, ‘I’ve been to a silent disco before but nowhere near as good as this! It is good being with friends from different schools too. I think the silent disco is a good celebration for recognising neurodiversity. The headphones and music help you to be in your own world so there is no need to feel pressured or judged by others.’  

The day demonstrated the strength of the collaborations across schools, both in terms of the projects that they had produced and what they had been able to learn and share more widely about neurodiversity, and also the links and friendships created. One student from Westminster City School said ‘I thoroughly enjoyed this entire project, and I can tell you for certain that I am not the only one who hopes to do something like this again. Everything was organised perfectly in my opinion, and I really feel accomplished having completed this programme. Thanks to everyone who contributed, and it makes me a bit sad that it’s over.’ 

We now look forward to a follow-up meeting to make effective plans and actions to ensure that each of these projects creates a legacy for the further support for and awareness of neurodiversity for the partnership of schools across Southwark.  

Teachers from twelve SSLP schools joined the in-person event at James Allen’s Girls’ School for our final Aspiring Leaders: Neurodiversity event of the year. We were delighted to be joined by guest speakers Anne Sheppee, Neurodiversity consultant and Dyslexia specialist, and Fee Kempton an EdTech consultant specialising in the application of AI in the classroom. They delivered training and an interactive workshop specialising in the application of AI in the classroom to support neurodivergent learners. Colleagues were able to try out a range of AI-powered apps designed to support specific executive functioning needs, such as time management, organisation, and task initiation. It was also a wonderful opportunity for colleagues from across the SSLP schools to connect.  

We were delighted to also be joined by attendees from BT and Microsoft, showcasing Microsoft Surface devices, with a selection of accessories that support accessibility. They also very kindly ran a prize draw to win a Microsoft Surface laptop sponsored by BT. We are thrilled to announce that a teacher from Westminster City School is the winner! 

Other events that have taken place this academic year as part of the Aspiring Leaders: Neurodiversity have been led by Arron Hutchinson, the Education Training Director for the ADHD Foundation, and Danae Leaman-Hill, Director of External Affairs and Development at Ambitious About Autism. 

We look forward to continuing to develop further discussions and resources across the partnership around this year’s theme of Neurodiversity.  

Thinking About… Unlawful Killings with HH Wendy Josephs KC took place at The Charter School Bermondsey(TCSB) on Thursday 23^rd November.

Students from The Charter School North Dulwich, JAGS and Dulwich College joined students from the host school to explore a case example of a murder trial from Wendy Josephs’ book ‘Unlawful Killings’. The gym at TCSB was transformed into a courtroom, students and staff into the Defence, Prosecution and those accused of the murder, and the audience into the jury. With detailed explanations throughout, Wendy Josephs shared how cases unfold and illustrated what it is like to be a murder trial judge, to have to confront some of the brutal crimes that take place, and how you have to collectively reach a decision – and judgement – with your fellow jurors. After the spokesperson for each of the groups passed their verdicts, Wendy revealed that this was also the decision that she had come to! We hope to be able to explore another case at a future event. Well done to all of those involved – especially the students that acted out the events of the trial, often unscripted and needing to be responsive as the evidence was shared!

Students from ten SSLP schools joined together at Kingswood House on Wednesday 22^nd November to begin collaborating on this year’s Student Voice theme of neurodiversity.  

The day started with three excellent keynote addresses from the guest speakers. The first was Anne Sheppee starting with the central question of the day: What is Neurodiversity? As well as exploring the umbrella of neurodiversity such as Autism, ADHD, Developmental Language Disorder, and Dyslexia, Anne encouraged the students to ensure that their approach was one of understanding the challenges but, importantly, celebrating the strengths of neurodivergent individuals. This was followed by Robyn Steward who openly and honestly invited the students into ‘My Journey’. Robyn summarised inclusion as ‘meaning that everyone needs to be on board and working together’ with the addition of three key takeaway points: to listen (and ensure that the other person knows that they are being listened to and heard); to establish clear boundaries; and to become part of your school communities and be valued. Finally, Katie Smith from Beyond Words invited the students to consider the different learning styles and approaches of young people, with a particular focus on visual literacy and interpretation as accessible for learners. She emphasised that with greater access to inclusive learning approaches for all, ‘people can be put in charge of their own lives so that they are not just a passenger.’  

With the foundation of the knowledge shared by the guest speakers, students then went into their groups to begin planning for the activities that they will work collaboratively on over the remainder of this academic year. Encouraged by the leaders from Young Citizens, the groups were first set some ‘hands on’ teambuilding tasks before the strategic planning and discussion commenced. There was a buzz of ideas across the different rooms of Kingswood House!  

By the end of the day, there were a range of excellent ideas shared in the student presentations. St Saviour’s and St Olave’s, Alleyn’s and Westminster City School are working together to support the school transition phase from Primary to Secondary, with ideas such as connecting families with mentors, and creating a range of resources such as audiobooks and podcasts to support with settling in. JAGS and Harris Boys’ are working on written word resources with plans to host a SSLP poetry competition exploring the experiences of neurodiversity. St Thomas the Apostle College and Dulwich College (also to be joined by Queen’s College London) are working on a fundraising project with one idea to create SSLP merchandise such as hats to sell at future events. Kingsdale, The Charter School Bermondsey, and The Charter School East Dulwich are collaborating on an Art project with plans to host a SSLP art competition (judged by a neurodivergent celebrity!) and exhibition.  

The groups met again on Zoom on Wednesday 29^th November for a vibrant and productive follow-up meeting. These regular zoom meetings during the remainder of this term and the Spring term will continue to support the on-going planning of the activities.  

Students will join together for the celebration event in May to share the outcomes of their projects and to ensure that the ideas, activities, strategies, and approaches that they have introduced continue across the SSLP schools beyond this academic year.  

We have to say a sad farewell to our coordinator. After seven fantastic years of work, in which the difference she has made has grown year by year and almost exponentially, we are saying goodbye to our SSLP coordinator Katie Barretta. All we can say by way of silver lining is that we probably kept Katie longer than we ever believed we would and that she is more than ready for the challenge of taking on the position of CEO of the charity Beyond Words. We hope Katie will continue to take an interest in SSLP beyond her time with us. She knows she’ll be a welcome and special guest when we celebrate SSLP at 21, for she’s had a major part in making us a model for independent state school partnerships around the country.

Read the full e-newsletter here

Basketball Tournament

Six schools entered teams into the SSLP KS3 Basketball Tournament on Wednesday of this week at Harris Boys Academy East Dulwich. Each school entered two teams of four students who took part in an fast-paced Olympic style 3v3 Street Basketball tournament with two leagues. The winners and runners-up of each league made it to the semi-finals, before the final. Congratulations to Kingsdale Foundation School for being crowned the winners.

Read the full e-newsletter here.