News

State President's Greetings Sheila Roberts January 2013	I hope everyone is charged up and enthusiastic for 2013. Ok, the Olympics in London and all the enthusiasm they brought out in all of us are over, but in DKG, we have some great events both at home and abroad to look forward to in 2013. The first of these is our State Conference in Tonbridge on Saturday 23^rd March. The second is our European Regional Conference in August which this year will be in Amsterdam. Our State Conference promises to be a very worthwhile day. We are so lucky to have speakers, both international and national of the highest calibre. The topics they will cover are varied but all rooted in ‘Recognition and Support’ for the needs of all our pupils in mainstream schools. I am sure we have all had experience of pupils joining our classes whose first language is not English.’ What to do and how do we bring out the best in those pupils?’ is sure to be covered by Dr.Adriana Fishta-Bejko. Adriana joins us from Canada but was brought up in Albania so has vast practical experience of what it’s like to be in a class when you are not familiar with the language. It’s an area of education very close to my heart as my two sons spent three years as ‘little English boys’ in a French primary school in Paris. They were given no extra support, apart from the kindness of the class teachers, so I do know first-hand the difficulties such children can face in our schools. In saying that, as an Ofsted Inspector I have also seen first-hand a level of support in some schools in Tower Hamlets which is nothing short of amazing. Our two speakers from London are very impressive. Pauline Maddison began her career in Education as a teacher of Classics in Sunderland but developed an interest in children with special needs and behavioural difficulties. She became an advisor to the government on SEN provision and was then seconded to run SEN Department for Education in 1994. Her career has continued to be high flying and often high profile too, notably as advisor working with Haringey on the ‘Baby P case’ and subsequent improvement in its service. She is currently Director of Children’s Services in Wokingham which has recently been judged to be the best place in UK for bringing up families. Kate Weedon is a Speech and Language therapist and Clinical Team Leader for a group of primary schools in Brent. She works in partnership with parents, school staff and other professionals to maximise children’s potential, both socially and academically. She will share with us how she identifies communication difficulties and an insight into the methods she uses to help the children. Again, I am sure everyone has encountered children in their classes for whom communication is a difficulty-another area I am particularly interested in, having a severely autistic daughter who has suffered throughout her life because of communication difficulties. As well as our high calibre speakers we will also welcome Marika Heimbach our vivacious and lively European Regional Director. Among other things, such as joining with the three speakers to answer questions from the floor during a planned Panel session, she will bring us the latest news from Austin Texas. Marika will join us for the evening meal at a local ‘gourmet’ pub. I hope many of you will manage to stay for the meal. So I look forward to seeing most of you at the conference and sharing relaxed social moments as well as the excellent education programme. The European Regional Conference in Amsterdam, 7-10 August, is a must in our calendars. Apart from great international speakers it is always fascinating to share insights into how things work in the nine countries which make up our region. It is always a joy too to socialise with our fellow European members of Delta Kappa Gamma,-meeting new friends and deepening long standing friendships. There will be some very interesting local sites and visits to enjoy too. I love the rich tapestry of Europe! So, on a final note, what a great year ahead! Please endeavour to come to both conferences. They rely on your support for their success.
Dorcas Rogers President of Alpha Chapter February 2013	Welcome from Alpha Chapter in London. If you want lively discussion; interesting visits to parts of London that are often off the tourist trail (sometimes with a specific educational focus, sometimes purely because it is interesting!); talks from a wide range of speakers talking about topics that pertain to education in its widest context; friendship and an opportunity to network.... then look no further. Alpha chapter is for you. Our year is planned from now until August 2013 with excellent speakers and interesting visits laid on. Look at our programme and put the dates in your diary. All meetings and visits will be sufficiently close to central London for you to make a day of it if you want to with some shopping before and a visit to a show afterwards. We are a small but exceedingly diverse group of members and love to meet new people some come and join us. If you want more information don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail at dorcas.rogers@btinternet.com of telephone me on 07508510732. My first meeting as Chapter President was on 15 September and I was anxious that everyone had a chance to have a chat and settle in. I wanted members to explore how they saw the Chapter moving forward over the next two years. I am hoping to capitalise on all of the best that we currently offer but also look for areas to improve. In this way I hope to pass on a strong legacy to the next Chapter President in 2014. I asked members to explore where we are, and where we want to be in two years’ time. This allowed for plenty of discussion. Members not present were asked to send in their ideas. In October we visited the market near Maltby Street followed by lunch at an interesting old pub whilst en route to London South Bank University. During lunch we met our speaker, Pauline Maddison. Pauline has had a distinguished career in many aspects of Children’s Services. In her fascinating and lively talk she explored the history of provision, as well as examining current priorities and trends. She spoke movingly about improving the life chances of the most disadvantaged children. If you missed out on Pauline’s inspiring talk then make sure you come to the GB conference on 23 March as she will be speaking again. Our November meeting began with a fascinating presentation by Sheelagh Mealing on the training and development of the ‘unqualified work force’ within our nursing profession. Sheelagh outlined her work at London Southbank University, where her department offers relevant and much-needed training courses to support this important NHS workforce. Members found many parallels within the education world. Using ideas collated from the previous meeting, members continued the discussion on the way forward for Alpha Chapter. If what you have read so far sounds interesting come and join us for our April seminar. It will be held at the Institute of Education, Bedford way WC1H 0ALon the 20th April 2013 from 2.00 to 4.30. We have two excellent speakers. Liz Day from London South Bank University will speak on "Improving schools with reference to the London Challenge Project" and Cindy Glover will speak about her work at the Mental Health Foundation as a group facilitator and her current project to develop a self help group for those with early stage dementia". Admission to this seminar is free. To reserve a place contact Diana Bell at dkg.info@yahoo.co.uk

Gail Gladwin President of Beta Chapter January 2013	There is no escaping it, Beta Chapter has been beaten almost into submission by the weather – relentless rain (for months!) with closed roads and train lines to contend with; and the odd bit of freezing snow just to keep us on our toes. The health of various members or their families is still a concern. But do not fear – we’re still going - just. Our last meeting was a departure from the usual: just before Christmas we visited a duo of art exhibitions at the Plymouth Art Gallery: Women in Art; and In Pursuit of Art – the story of John Eastlake, a Victorian Plymothian who became the first Director of the National Gallery. So far our attempts to arrange the Spring meeting haven’t come off – remember, with such a small chapter, we do need a full house or very nearly full, to make any sense of it. We’ll probably be meeting at Loetitia’s for the foreseeable future. Our enterprising members are hard to pin down away from their busy lives. Like the swan, lots of activity under the surface: I hope to be able to report some results next time.

Sandra Blacker President of Gamma Chapter January 2013	Once again, Gamma is very fortunate to have Beechwood School in Tunbridge Wells as a venue. We get coffee and tea, a lovely room and use of AV equipment if needed. Even the parking is easy. We have had three meetings since the new biennium began. The first meeting was a talk given by Susan Rogers, a Kent Librarian and Archivist, about a Tunbridge Wells-born woman, Pauline Gower. It was her father, a solicitor and MP for Gillingham, who founded the Sacred Heart Convent School, which is now called Beechwood, where we hold our meetings. Pauline, a bright, popular girl, became a pilot, when girls had few opportunities to be other than housewives and mothers. She became the first female to take a flight. She set up anaviation company staffed entirely by women and was a friend of Amy Johnson. In 1942 she was awarded the MBE for her services to aviation, but sadly died aged only thirty-six, in childbirth. Our second meeting was a workshop given by Kate Weedon, a speech and language therapist, who is Clinical Team Leader for a group of primary schools in Brent. She gave us a picture of her role, who she works with, and how she identifies communication difficulties. Working in partnership with parents, school staff and other professionals she aims to maximise the children's full potential, both socially and academically. She interspersed the various elements of communication with lively activities which made us think (which we all do very well!), and effective descriptions of the role of Speech and Language Therapists. She explained that human communication was about sending and receiving messages. 10% of children suffer a language disorder, whilst among young offenders it may be as much as 70%. Kate explained that therapists also help adults to regain vital communication, and relieved swallowing disorders, stammering, difficulties with Parkinsons, Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neurone Disease, Tourettes Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and the aftermath of strokes. We took away lots of ideas to try with children (and grandchildren!). Our final meeting of 2012 was a craft morning followed by a bring-and-share lunch at Robbie Scahills house. Two ladies showed us how to make bead bracelets which kept us busy for two hours. I think we were all well pleased with our efforts. Seventeen members were present! Robbie was, as always, very well organised and a great hostess, despite having arrived home from Majorca the night before. Many thanks, as always, Robbie. We had a brief meeting about future activities and look forward to a lively season in the coming year
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