Victoria Simms
26.9K posts

Victoria Simms
@ProfVicSimms
Developmental/Cognitive psychologist. Prof at Loughborough University


In light of some inaccurate comments regarding the rationale for SEN reform, EA wish to clarify that planned reforms to classroom support in NI are not aimed at cutting costs or reducing classroom assistant numbers. Instead, the reforms are fundamentally aimed at improving the quality of support provided to children and young people. To support this ambition, a key pillar of the reforms is to give schools more freedom to develop alternatives to a blanket one-to-one classroom assistant support model. Many schools in NI have already moved away from a rigid one-to-one approach for all children, with classroom assistants acting as integral, multi‑skilled professionals whose contribution extends well beyond traditional support functions. These reforms will help formalise and underline that approach. None of this should come as a surprise, as the approach to this reform agenda has been clear since it was set out by the Minister, in the Assembly, in early 2025. The Education Authority will next week (March 24) launch a public consultation on changes to classroom support for pupils with special educational needs. Read our statement in full here 👉eani.org.uk/news/improving…


Belfast mum appointed as director of Openreach Northern Ireland newsletter.co.uk/business/im-de…




Children in Northern Ireland are set to sit new national tests in reading, maths and science in primary school and year 10. bbc.in/3OMaBkl




A K-Pop tribute event in Belfast is going viral on TikTok as hundreds of concert-goers express their outrage. Majority of the show’s reviews indicate that most of the audience thought the concert was related strictly to Netflix’s ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’, not the genre itself.



The SSE Arena and Aiken Promotions have defended a KPop - or Korean pop - tribute show at the venue following complaints online over the quality of the performances. bbc.in/4qPrBDs


K-Pop Forever Tribute Show at The SSE Arena, Belfast





Catherine O'Hara was such a talent, and these scenes with her in Schitt's Creek will always make me laugh. RIP to a legend tbh



A County Down school principal has said it has been "very distressing" to suspend small, social‑and‑emotional support classes for children - which can improve pupils' wellbeing and grades later in life - due to a lack of funding: bbc.in/45YNj09





