Charlton Park students Charlie & Harry work together on Harry’s Wiki

We would like to wish huge congratulations to our friends and co-developers at Charlton Park Academy for achieving a rating of ‘Outstanding’ in the recent Ofsted inspection of their residential school provision.

Rix Research & Media have worked closely with Charlton Park Academy, a residential special school in South–East London, for many years. Our UEL Social Work students are placed at Charlton Park as part of their ‘Readiness for Practice’ module. They work with young people at the school with the aim of developing their self-advocacy skills.

To enable this communication the young people develop Rix Wikis, on which they capture important information they want to share and can use to rehearse their message in preparation for reviews. This helps the young person to then advocate with confidence and take a more active part in their own review meeting.

Charlton Park Academy are trailblazers in their innovative use of technology to assist communication and person-centred planning. They run an annual conference for assistive and inclusive technology called ‘Communication Works’.

The school have been working with Rix Wikis since 2012. As early adopters of the Wiki system they have played a critical role in its development and refinement. Charlton Park have pioneered the integration of Wikis into the curriculum and became the first school in which every student has their own Rix Wiki. This practice was commended and the benefits highlighted in the ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted report:

Students have access to the latest technology to assist their communication. This has led some to make remarkable achievements in how they can communicate with others and express their preferences. All students continue to make very good use of their personal ‘wikidiary on tablet computers. This provides students with a safe platform to communicate their wants and needs and to share their experiences. Parents and staff can also contribute to this. This ensures that students have a voice and that adults listen to them.’

Charlton Park Academy Social Care Inspection Report

A Charlton Park Student’s Wiki

You can find out more about how students at Charlton Park use their Wikis by watching Charlie’s case study video.

The Ofsted report also highlighted the student-centred focus at Charlton Park, the outstanding leadership and overall experience of children and young people, as well as the effective actions taken by the school that ‘contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences’ for them.

We hope that we can continue building on our work with Charlton Park Academy and learning from our valuable co-productive relationship with this innovative and person-centred school.

Students at an Oxfordshire College have kicked off a year-long research project in which they will use their Wiki skills to mentor and support learners from local schools as they make the transition to College. The ‘Mainstreaming’ project, based at Abingdon & Witney College, combines use of the Rix Wikis with added secure social media and personal organiser tools to help provide peer support and mentoring for the school leavers and make their transition to further education easier.

The students at the College have been working with Wikis for two years as part of Oxfordshire County Council’s Wiki Start Up programme. They have already produced a Wiki called ‘Transitions’ that provides guidance and encouragement for their younger peers by sharing their own memories of leaving the comfort of the familiar school setting and engaging with the wider community at College. The college students call this ‘mainstreaming’ – and they recall finding the transition a challenge; “I was a bit nervous” explains Kieran in a video clip on the Wiki, “But now I am really brave about coming to college” he says, “…and it’s good!”

Rix Research & Media is working in collaboration with multimedia advocacy software company, Multi Me on the project, alongside staff and students from the College and 5 local schools.

Our shared research goal is to trial the potential of adding more accessible online tools to the Rix Wiki and to explore the new system’s potential to facilitate peer support for young people with learning disabilities. The ‘WikiMe’ software created as a prototype for the project features secure multimedia social networking, with additional goal setting, calendar and diary tools. College students will link up with the school leavers, share stories and message each other in the run up to the new academic year in September. The students are learning to mentor and advocate for their younger peers and friendships are being built online that will help make the transition easier for the school leavers. School and College students are acquiring valuable digital skills on a secure online space where all can learn how to use social media safely and in a positive way that can help others face the challenges of adulthood.

Early feedback from the college staff and students has been enthusiastic. Veena, a Teaching & Learning Assistant at the College, posted a comment on the WikiMe network after the first session, “I can see that this is a nice safe place to have a conversation or just show an opinion in a very simple way. Ideal for our students.” Student Connor gave ‘thumbs up’ too and singled out the Goal tool, which he found helpful as it set out the day’s work into step-by-step tasks so that he could get on with his work at his own pace – which is very swift!

 

The Social Inclusion of Learners project (SoIL) are hosting networking conferences and seminars across Europe to share our research findings and build a network of professionals.  Rix Inclusive Research are hosting the SoIL conference in London and we would like to welcome educators and teachers to join us on the 20th April 2018.

Conference details:
Date: 20/04/18
Location: Good Hotel London
Time: 9am – 5pm

Picture from the SOiL conference in Bratislava, October 2017
The Social Inclusion of Learners project (SoIL) is a collaborative project funded through the European Commission’s Erasmus + programme. SoIL is a cooperation of six partners bringing together their respective inclusive, individualised learning methods and expertise. The objectives of the project are to:
  1. Evaluate inclusive, individualised teaching methods in the classroom.
  2. Foster the inclusion of disadvantaged learners (including children of newly arrived migrants and people with disabilities) whilst preventing and combatting discriminatory practices.
  3. Empower teachers to be able to address the needs of all learners and understand the diversity of learners.
  4. Build a network of experts, educators and policy and decision makers to disseminate information and progress.
  5. Create open access resources to empower educators.
Rix Inclusive Research are hosting the SoIL conference in London and we would like to welcome educators and teachers to join us on the 20th April 2018.
By attending, you will find out about:
  • Apps and tools that you can use in your teaching practice
  • The principles of Multimedia Advocacy
  • Tips on making information more inclusive and ‘Easy to Read’
  • See the impact of the ‘School on the Move’ and meet students who are part of it
  • Meet other professionals and share ideas
GUEST SPEAKER:
Margaret Rasfeld, Founder of the ‘School on the Move’, Germany
Margret Rasfeld is the founder of the Schule im Aufbruch (School on the Move) and she will be joining us in April to deliver a one hour lecture on the approach and its impact on education.  Margaret will also facilitate a workshop with students from one of her schools. This presentation will be of particular interest to the UK teachers.
SPEAKERS:
Prof Andrew T. Minnion MBE, University of East London, UK
Athina Tempriou, University of East London, UK
Debbie Kilbride, University of East London, UK
John Galloway, Tower Hamlets, London Local Authority, UK
Tina Gazovicova, CVEK, Slovakia
Stana Schenck, Schenck Consultants, Germany
Gosia Kwiatkowska, University of East London, UK
Keep up to date on the SoIL project by following our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SOILkeyaction3project/
Project Partners: Rix Inclusive Research from London, Schule im Aufbruch from Germany (School on the Move), aTempo from Austria, CVEK form Slovakia, Gemeente Maastricht from Netherlands, Casa Corpului CCD – Didactic Centre by the Ministry of Education in Romania and Schenck Consultancy from Germany.

Richard Lohan from Camden presenting

Our Rix Community Event on Tuesday 27th February may have taken place in blinding snow blizzard, but everyone attending walked away from the day with a clearer vision of how they can use Wikis to make information easier to understand and more person-centred.

The aim of the day was to go back to basics and re-calibrate people’s ideas about what makes a high quality Wiki.

Richard Lohan, Accessible Information Officer for the London Borough of Camden, shared Camdens’ Wiki portal of accessible public information Wikis. Richard explained his working approach to making & maintaining this exemplar set of Wikis that provide information about council services and local activities in Camden.

Follow the link to see how Richard’s consistent ‘one image, one sentence, one idea’ and use of photo-symbols and sound make information that is extraordinarily clear and easy to understand.

Richard delivered a workshop where he gave practical tips and guidelines on how to make information better for everyone. Perhaps the most vital point Richard stressed was that since the 2010 Equality Act, “making information easier to understand is, in fact, a legal requirement” and a reasonable adjustment that is the responsibility of all local authorities and education organisations to make.

Other presentations included Judith Appiah & Michal Tapps from the PurpleSTARS Project, who demonstrated how Wiki can be a useful tool for researchers & co-researchers alike.

Rix Co-Director Gosia Kwiatkowska also made a presentation that brought the focus of Wiki use clearly back to the principles and approach of Multimedia Advocacy. Breaking down the components of self-advocacy Gosia explained how “without putting these principles into practice, the Wiki is just a tool like anything else“.

Richard’s accessible information workshop

 

Gosia presenting

The adverse weather conditions (and perhaps the looming April deadline for transition to EHCP) meant for a smaller than usual attendance, however the smaller group gave us the opportunity to deliver a highly person-centred community event that really addressed the needs of everyone who came.

All attendees were asked to identify individual learning goals in the morning and by the end of the day had successfully met their learning objectives!

Actress Sally Phillips was hosted by the Rix Research & Media team this week and introduced to our Rix Wiki software, when she made a public appearance at UEL on Monday to talk about her career and her advocacy work for people with Down’s.

Sally is well known for her role in TV and Film, including Smack the Pony, Miranda and Bridget Jones Diary. She is also a mother of Olly, who has Down’s Syndrome and is a passionate advocate for people with Down’s. Sally produced and hosted a BBC Documentary called ‘A World Without Downs’ in 2015, which challenges the whole set of assumptions behind the pre-natal screening for Down’s and what this reflects about the way our society and the medical establishment views people with this condition. Ms Phillips received an honorary doctorate from UEL in November 2017, in recognition of her high profile advocacy work for people with Down’s.

Following her presentation, which was chaired by the Rix Director, Professor Andy Minnion, Sally joined the Rix team and some of our Wiki Champions at the Rix Centre and learned about our work. Ms Phillips met with Rix staff and Rix Wiki Champion, Claire Watts, whose son Alfie also has Down’s Syndrome. Alfie has learned how to build his own Rix Wiki and this helps him to share his life, his interests and achievements and communicate his needs and aspirations with teachers and the various other professionals that work with him.

Claire used her son’s Wiki to present Alfie’s story to Ms Phillips and show how the Wiki helped to improve the way in which her son is supported and perceived as an individual. Her presentation clearly resonated with Sally and echoed some of her own experiences.

Ms Phillips was impressed by the Rix Wiki tool and said that she felt her son Olly would love to have one of his own. We look forward to seeing how Olly, his mother and his family get on with Rix Wikis over the coming months. Watch this space!

 

Re-set your Wiki Button!

Rix Wiki Community Event

Tuesday 27th February 2018 – 10am – 4pm

Rix Research & Media, University of East London Docklands Campus, London. E16 2RD

Calling all Wiki Coordinators! The next Rix Wiki Community Event is going back to basics:

  • Rethinking Wikis for Information
  • Making images work for you
  • Gearing up Easy-to-Read with Multimedia
  • Re-focusing on Multimedia Advocacy – Putting it into practice with Wikis

We’re gathering together great models of best practice that we’ve found out about, that we want to play back to you our community of Wiki users.

We will be sharing the outcomes from our 2017 Rix Wiki Impact Evaluation, as well as talking about Wikis for Local Offer and really zooming in on how to support people to make great Wikis & make your information Wikis even better.

Click HERE to download the flyer or to book your place email rixadmin@uel.ac.uk

How Do Rix Wikis Impact the Effectiveness of SEND Service Delivery?

Free Webinar with live Q&A

Aired: Wednesday 19th February 2018,  13:00 – 13:30

Andy Minnion MBE discusses findings from our research, which included nine Local Authorities, showing the impact of Rix Wikis in making SEND provision more efficient.

 

Key Findings discussed:

 

  • How Efficiencies and Cost Savings are being achieved through streamlining personalisation, improved administration, a reduced need for meetings and paperwork and less litigious negotiations.
  • How Rix Wikis have improved Communication between providers and families, meeting SEND Reform aspirations for less adversarial interaction between families and local authorities with reduced disputes and tribunals.
  • How Local Authorities are using Rix Wikis to provide Accessible Information, signposting people to services and information to complement and improve the Local Offer.

 

Links referred to in the webinar:

Camden’s Rix Wiki information portal:

https://www.rixwiki.org/camden/all-our-wikis/

 

Rix Wiki’s embedded into the Camden local offer website:

http://cindex.camden.gov.uk/kb5/camden/cd/advice.page?id=sKy7Tk8j30U

Sensory postcards at Tate Modern

On the 24th and 26th of January this year, the PurpleSTARS mounted a ‘Pop-Up Museum’ at the Tate Modern to highlight the group’s innovative approach to making public culture more relevant and engaging for people with learning disabilities. The Pop-Up was featured as part of the Gallery’s Tate Exchange programme designed to provide educational experience themed around their Art Exhibitions.

Our Pop Up Museum was inspired by a show at the Tate Modern by the Kabakovs, celebrated artists from Russia who use different formats and materials to explore the relationship between art exhibits, their audiences and the authorities that commission art and influence what is deemed to be worthy of putting on public display. The PurpleSTARS were particularly inspired by an installation by Ilya Kabakov called ‘The Man Who Never Threw Anything Away’, made in 1996 and based on an imaginary character who had collected all of the ordinary items and rubbish he gathered throughout his life and then labelled and displayed them in his apartment. The Pop-Up Museum provided a way for visitors to the Kabakovs’ Tate Exhibition to rethink their own throw-away items in the same way, share their own stories of daily life and take part in a re-worked version of a public installation.

Visitors to the Pop-Up Museum were asked to donate a personal object to share any memories and stories associated with their contribution. The PurpleSTARS team guided visitors through the process, supporting and encouraging them to reflect on the sensory dimensions of both their objects and their memories. In this way the Pop Up Museum provided visitors with a cluster of multi-sensory experiences, making the Museum accessible for visitors of all ages and with different abilities. One visitor who created a display featuring pair of used theatre tickets with her mother said of her visit to the Pop-Up, “What a wonderful way to build a memory and story around an object I thought I had very little connection to. Awesome to sit with my Mum and make something together. Thank You”

The PurpleSTARS effectively co-curated their pop-up Museum on the spot at the Tate with its visitors. The team ran creative arts and media activity; using interactive postcards to make labels for the collection and interviewing visitors about their objects on video, running a photo shoot lit with purple light – and building a Sensory Pop-Up Museum Wiki on the spot with all the contributors.

On Friday, Judith, Rafaro and Kate from the Purple Stars delivered a ‘Ten Minute Tate Talk’ about the Pop-Up in front of Kabakov’s installation – making a piece of history as the first ever ‘Tate Talk’ to be delivered within a paying exhibition!

The Pop-Up Museum’s Wiki serves as a permanent Archive for the temporary Museum, providing a way to share the work of the PurpleSTARS more widely and inspiring other Exhibitions and Museums to consider adopting the creative approaches developed by our Enterprise to make their own collections more inclusive.

The ‘Pop Up Museum’ is to be one of a set of Training and Consultancy packages that the PurpleSTARS will offer UK Museums and Galleries when the Enterprise launches later this year. You can visit the PurpleSTARS website at www.purplestars.org.uk.

This project is the latest focus for the Rix Research & Media’s collaborative work with artists and technologists from Reading University and people with learning disabilities affiliated with Rix, who have developed skills and expertise in making public culture more inclusive. The PurpleSTARS sensory specialists are based at the Tower Project in East London and have been developing their professional service offer for Museums and Galleries with Rix as an inclusive enterprise in collaboration with Reading University and Tower’s Jobs, Enterprise and Training programme (JET). The project is supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council as a Follow on Project for the three-year Sensory Objects Research Project that the partners completed in 2016.