Students from ten SSLP schools joined together at Kingswood House on Wednesday 22nd 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 29th 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.
