Biography: Dan Guiney

[Dan Guiney]

Biography

I am Daniel Guiney. I read History (2.i Hons) at the University of Sheffield in 2000 and trained to teach under the tutelage of Bob Unwin at the University of Leeds (PGCE) in 2001. I began teaching history at Springwood High School in King's Lynn in 2001 and consider myself an exciting and dynamic classroom practioner. I then became a Year Leader at Neatherd High School in Dereham in 2003 before moving on to take on my present role as Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator in 2008. I have hugely enjoyed all my roles and presently work at Wayland Community High School, an 11-16 comprehensive in Watton. The three paragraphs below outline some of my achievements in these three fields.

History. I have a genuine passion for Irish history as well as that of Industrial Britain. Some of my achievements include regular healthy exam results: my most recent GCSE results showed considerable value added including 13 A*s. I have led several history trips. These have included sites as varied as the National Archives, the British Library, IWM, local castles, universities, themed events, and a city history trip. I have also led residential trips for approximately 100 students to both Berlin and the Battlefields of France and am an established GCSE examination marker. I have also led various history projects within school. These have included working on British Council International Projects. During the summer of 2008 I was awarded the Her Majesty Queen Mother Great War Scholarship by the Royal British Legion and spent 5 weeks researching the Norfolk Regiment on the Somme, the findings of which I fed back at county network which will impact upon all schools in Norfolk. I am presently working on a Gifted and Talented project based around the research skills I developed during this work and am looking forward to the follow up exhibition which will be on display in Norwich Castle museum in July 2009.

Pastoral. My pastoral responsibilities have included creating and implementing whole-school strategies to deal with challenging behaviours, the findings of which I published in the British Journal of Pastoral Education. I have also devised PSHE schemes of learning, regularly delivered enspiriting assembly programmes, organised Year 11 Leaver's Proms and Leaver's Books, and implemented stress-busting and exam-busting workshops focussed on revision skills. This also included devising a mock exam results simulation day and using data to boost student performance. 36% of my Year group achieved at least one grade above their Yellis predictions, up 24% on the previous year. I have found the application of ICT invaluable in promoting a positive ethos and in rewarding student success. Pastoral projects I have been engaged with include the CAMHS project promoting positive mental health across school settings nationwide. The objective of the project was to encourage multi-layered friendships, provide students with genuine vehicles of self-expression, and to boost student ownership. I delivered my findings in October 2007 in two 30 minute talks at the Healthy Schools conference at Carrow Road, Norwich. I have also delivered a workshop to a variety of childrens' service professionals on the subject of student self-advocacy at the Norfolk Secondary Behaviour Forum. Moreover, I have an ongoing passion for social and emotional aspects of learning. I very much hope to pursue this in the near future and am presently writing up my findings which I hope shortly to publish. This year I will be completing a TLA in collaboration with partner schools and county advisors on the issue of anti-bullying.

SEN. I greatly enjoy my present role and have had real and measurable success in helping students progress with literacy and numeracy working both within classroom settings as well as through supportive withdrawal. Moreover, I work dynamically within a multi agency approach and manage a team of twenty five full and part time Learning Support Staff and three SEN teachers as well as working within a whole school approach. I aim to successfully reduce barriers to learning and to ensure that every single student is given real and genuine opportunities to fulfill their potential and to leave as independent, happy citizens who are not afraid to take appropriate risks in their academic and life long learning. I was excited to be asked to be a keynote speaker at the second annual SEN conference in Nottingham in April 2008. Moreover, I am presently pursuing a Masters Degree in Advanced Educational Practice at the University of East Anglia with a research focus on Autism which will dovetail neatly with the exciting challenges of my present post. I am in the process of compiling a 'rough guide' for future SENCos in Norfolk based upon my experiences of the role in 2008-9. I maintain an extremely professional, well-organized approach to my work and take pride in everything I do.

All students have a role to play in society and inclusion is the key factor in enabling them to integrate successfully, achieve economic well-being and make a positive contribution to society as outlined in the Every Child Matters Agenda. Those who have worked with me know that I am wholly student-centred, genuinely inclusive, and have a wealth of experience working with students with a variety of learning needs including those with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, ASD, Autism, and Meares Irlen amongst many others. In order to achieve this I have written and managed hundreds of Individual Education Plans, delivered whole school in-service training on the first phase (SPLD - Dyslexia) of the Inclusion Development Plan, as well as resourcing and delivering personalized one to one and small group support sessions for students with additional needs beyond those being addressed in the classroom.

I have also been specifically deployed to my strengths to teach SEN classes. I am familiar with a range of SEN software such as Successmaker, Clicker 5, and Nessy. I have developed strong strategies for motivating and inspiring students with SEN in order to raise self esteem and belief in their ability to achieve, and am in the process of organising a Presentation Evening in order that students with SEN are publicly recognized and praised for their successes and progression. I am familiar with a range of literacy testing methods and have used NEALE analysis and Youngs to monitor the progression of reading and spelling scores for my students to enable them to have ownership of their progress.

I am trained in the Common Assessment Framework and I have acquired and developed a bank of experience in my first year as SENCo. In these roles I have re-written SEN policy in conjunction with county advisors and managed numerous meetings as well as liaising regularly with external agencies such as School Health Advisors, Children’s Services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Educational Psychologist Services, Behaviour Support, Education Welfare, Housing Advisory Team, and Attendance and the Looked After Children’s Teams. I have developed excellent working relationships with local primary schools in my areas and have led many statement reviews as well as helping plan transition for students with a variety of needs. I have always found that the greatest success is achieved when parents’ contributions are welcomed and valued in collaboration with school staff. I have worked closely with parents and offer them advice and expertise in order that each student’s learning needs can be met at home as well as in school.

I value and respect all members of my SEN team and understand the importance of creating opportunities to allow them to develop and use their individual skills to their best advantage. I have deployed my Learning Support Assistants using insight into their skills and personal interests. I have also worked hard to ensure they receive up to date training on a number of key areas. Personalised Learning has an important place in meeting the needs of students and I have enjoyed working as part of the Senior Management Team as well as with other Heads of Faculty and the whole school community to provide an insight of what the needs of the students on the SEN Register are in broadening the curriculum. One specific example would be the work I did with the canteen staff in enabling a student with ASD to access menu choices. Furthermore, I am able to observe and appraise members of my team and offer supportive feedback as well as to effectively integrate new staff into existing structures. I haev developed a mutually supportive relationship in particular with my SEN governor.

There remain many areas I seek to develop and I am planning to self-fund myself on an OCR SPLD course this year.

Outside of school I have many varied interests. I recently attended as SSAT tour which focussed on SEN and school management in Hergotenbosch in the Netherlands and am volunteering to teach English for one month at a school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, over the summer of 2009 for which I have successfully raised funds through charitable means. More specifically, I especially enjoy cookery, gardening, travelling, cricket, and particularly canoeing and indeed any combination of the above.

Most importantly, I place relationships at the heart of a very child-centred approach to learning and I rather enjoy it!

Edited May 16, 2009 by Dan Guiney