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Daniel Bowman

@vrih.bsky.social
66 followers 131 following 146 posts

SEND dad navigating EHCPs and the fight for provision. Engineering manager. Coffee obsessive, dry-garden tender, occasional runner. East London.

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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I find it concerning that the Government SEND training goes down the route of if student can't take in verbal information, here's 2 slides of how you can verbally repeat the information at them until they get it right and single them out. Some teachers are going to get the wrong message from that.
A screenshot of a Government Speech, Language and Communication powerpoint slide showing an interaction where a pupil is struggling to process auditory information.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
From Hackney's SEND reform plan. Anyone else think this sounds a touch illegal? "a data-driven gatekeeping mechanism before any statutory ECHNA is triggered"
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
By the same measure people are applying to ADHD, my arthritis isn't real. It doesn't show up on any tests and has only been diagnosed by observation and interview. Yet without the drugs that cost the NHS many thousands of pounds a year, I would not be able to function in society
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
That feeling as a parent when you're jealous of something you bought for your son but you can't justify spending that money on yourself. Today's item: a yeti water bottle.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
OK. Some coffee people are crazy: goodswitch.coffee/products/goo... That's $129 for a fancy lever to go in your $45 brewer. That's proper audiophile territory.
goodswitch.coffee
GoodSwitch Classic - 316L Stainless Hario Switch Lever
Hand-brushed 316L surgical grade stainless steel lever for the Hario Switch 01, 02, and 03. Drop-in replacement with a solid, lasting fit.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Genuine intrusive thought courtesy of the SEND reforms: do I limit my son's support in primary so his assessed needs are high enough to get him the right support at secondary, or give him what he needs now and let him crash out at secondary instead. I don't love that this is a real calculation now.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Today’s bring humbled by my son: ‘Dad, you don’t put your heart and soul Into your cooking and thats why it tastes bad’. Not even 7 years old
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
3D printing and AI solve the same category of problem: things not worth anyone else's time to solve for me. Today's job - 30 minutes designing a stand for my son's Squish-a-longs, so he stops losing them and gets to display them instead. A couple of quid in filament well spent.
A 3D printed stand for Squish-A-Longs in grey filament. The stand holds 16 Squish-a-longs and they lock in place.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Interesting how many people think grief is compulsory and think they get to set the terms of yours. You're allowed to feel however you feel about Anne Widdecombe's death. If that's a problem for someone, the mute button is right there.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Wanstead Flats is looking like it’s ready to go up in flames from the slightest spark. It’s so dry out there
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Reposted by Daniel Bowman
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 08/07/2026
Trump: "We had 11 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan"
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
@departmentforedu.bsky.social has published the research meant to support inclusion bases, and it's pretty damning. Only 50% of secondary pupils have a positive experience, they're more susceptible to bullying, and those in bases feel othered and overwhelmed navigating lunch halls and hallways.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Schwartz have clearly decided saving a few pence on lid ink was worth it. The print's so faint now you can barely read it. The only reason to buy Schwartz over cheaper, better spices is convenience, making them inconvenient to use sure is a choice they've made.
3 old and 3 new Schwartz spice jars in a drawer. The lids of the old jars are clearly legible. The leads of the new jars are barely readable due to much fainter ink.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
The government proposing a ban on social media for under 16s is just them putting their pants on their head and screaming “we don’t have any influence over US tech companies”. It’s desperation to be seen to be doing something when they can’t do anything meaningful.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Waltham Forest's Assistant Director of SEND started in December. The advert for her replacement went up on 4 June. Six months. That's less time than most families in the borough wait for an EHCP and it's a £100k job. What's gone wrong here?
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The pyramid of SEND. I sent a 20 word email, which triggered a form being sent to me requiring a 200 word response, which triggered a questionaire requiring a 2,000 word response. I dread what's next but I fear a dissertation on play therapy is about to be written.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
"Make That Movie" is exactly the kind of show that Channel 4 would have made for the post-pub slot in the mid-2000s and it's all the better for it. Strong recommend, but maybe have a beer or 2 first. www.channel4.com/programmes/m...
channel4.com
Make That Movie
Sitcom from Sam Campbell following a hotshot director and his elite team of filmmakers
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Imagine being 82, a multi-millionaire and still blaming your parents for why you're a bad person. Mr Humphrys, at some point you're just a bad person because of you. www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...
thetimes.com
John Humphrys: I think I was an alcoholic. Imagine marrying me
At 82, the former Today presenter doesn’t pull his punches, even when the subject is his violent childhood or failed relationships, the BBC — or the Today team
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
My fears about SPPs confirmed - if your child’s need isn’t common enough that one of the few packages cover it there’ll be no compulsion on LAs to provision support. This will leave children around the edges without an education.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
On the webinar today Georgia Gould said tribunals would still be in place for needs assessment and SPP disputes. They’re only being weakened on naming placements. @spcialndsjungle.bsky.social first I’ve heard of that. Are they changing their stance?
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
@georgiagould.bsky.social saying that tribunals aren’t going away for needs assessments or support packages. That seems like a huge u-turn snuck in.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Your widget factory has costly rework from errors caught at the end of the line. You can: 1. Remove quality control and potentially sell broken widgets 2. Fix failures earlier in the production line 3. Do both 🧵👇 #sendreform
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Just out of a meeting with my MP and it worries me the lack of critical thinking gone into SEND reforms. The argument they make is that they need to stop spending money on tribunals to invest in early intervention and then you wouldn't need tribunals anyway. 1/2
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Reposted by Daniel Bowman
Special Needs Jungle @spcialndsjungle.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Important update on the SEND consultation legal action. www.facebook.com/share/1Hpp7...
facebook.com
Melissa Hayhurst
SEND families and supporters. I want to give an update on our legal action challenging the consultation process for the SEND reforms. Many of you will have seen the Government’s proposed SEND...
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
The way I see the SEND proposals: current - everyone has a right to an education but you might have to fight hard to get it proposed - if you're the right kind of disabled it's probably going to be easier, but if you're not you lose your right to an education
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
So a consultation where councils are having budgets threatened already if they font implement towards the proposal before consultation closes and they won’t take any feedback on the most controversial part of it. Not sure how this is a consultation.
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
So this is what they clearly mean by inclusion in SEND reforms walthamforestecho.co.uk/2026/03/13/…
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
I put some thoughts together on the SEND white paper and what it might mean for my son. Plenty mote thinking to be done in the coming weeks. www.danielbowman.co.uk/2026/03/15/i...
danielbowman.co.uk
Is the government removing my son's right to an education? Thoughts on the SEND White Paper
On February 23rd the government published the SEND white paper - SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First. This is meant to be the start of a …
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
With the Government already set to punish councils that aren't aligning to the SEND white paper before the consultation even closes, how is there any legitimacy to it? schoolsweek.co.uk/revealed-dfe...
schoolsweek.co.uk
Revealed: DfE's secret plan to cut special school expansion
Documents reveal how councils' deficit plans will get top ratings for avoiding expanding specialist provision
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Americans celebrating pi day today. Wait until they work out the rest of the world celebrates it on April 31st
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Daniel Bowman @vrih.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Beautiful views of that famously attractive landmark of the Millennium Dome. Might as well just paint the windows white
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Reposted by Daniel Bowman
Nicole Dempsey @ndempseyinco14.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
SEND Reform Reflections, part 1 – ‘Presence vs. Participation’  Or, ‘When is inclusion not really inclusion?’  I set aside an entire evening to read the SEND reforms consultation but ended up, in that first sitting, only getting as far as page 8. I got stuck on some peculiar wording and ended up…
inco14.wordpress.com
SEND Reform Reflections, part 1 – ‘Presence vs. Participation’ 
Or, ‘When is inclusion not really inclusion?’  I set aside an entire evening to read the SEND reforms consultation but ended up, in that first sitting, only getting as far as page 8. I got stuck on some peculiar wording and ended up down a rabbit hole of research papers, emailing European research organisations, and wondering whether or not I’d already lost the plot when I wasn’t even out of the introduction.
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