The SENDcast · 2026-06-11 · 55 min
When schools stop doing things *to* students and start doing things *with* them, everything changes. Dale is joined by Claire Cannon a national inclusion consultant at Indigo Owl Coaching and Consultancy and Alice Phillips, a Year 11 student currently taking her GCSEs and a neurodiversity advocate with Tourette's. Together, they explore what student self-advocacy really means - and why so many schools are still getting it wrong. Alice speaks with remarkable insight and honesty about her own experiences: fighting for the right to wear a hoodie; being sanctioned for not going to lessons when she physically and mentally couldn't and spending years masking at school. Claire brings the professional lens - unpicking why schools default to rigid systems over individual understanding, and what genuine listening actually looks like in practice. About Claire Cannon Claire Cannon is an experienced educational leader with 20+ years in education. With extensive experience across both mainstream and specialist settings, Claire has worked in a variety of roles including Assistant Head in secondary AP (SEMH) and SENCO across two education phases.
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