On volunteering: my natural progression into additional support needs and Gaelic Medium Education
Volunteering has always been important to me. I previously volunteered for charities and causes that have been close to my heart; for example, fundraising for and representing Breast Cancer Now and Beat. And long before this, as a child and into my teens I was a cadet with the St John Ambulance.
Volunteer work as parent
My volunteering these days is more focused on education and
advocating for children, parents/guardians. I was asked to set up and I
continue to co-chair the parent council for my children's newly established
primary school which has been a real learning experience. Having valued their
support throughout this, I have long championed the work of Connect and joined their Board of Directors in 2023.
As my children attend Gaelic Medium Education (GME), which
is a growing route through state education in Scotland, I've also found myself
sitting on number of working groups in relation to GME.
Perhaps my increasing volunteer engagement in education
would always have been a natural development once I became a mother, but being
a parent of children with additional needs has certainly shaped my proactivity
in this area and seen me leading rather than just contributing to my current
causes.
Dyslexia and Gaelic Medium Education (GME)
Some of you may know me as "that GME dyslexia
woman" and I'm really pleased to say that the volunteer work I've done in
this area in partnership with Dyslexia Scotland
has led to improvements in understanding, and the resources available to staff
and pupils in GME in relation to Dyslexia.
Dyslexia
Scotland run a network of branches which provide information and support to
parents of children with dyslexia through events, talks and sharing
experiences. Having identified a need for specific support for pupils in
GME, I contacted Dyslexia Scotland to explore how we can achieve this and now
lead the Dyslexia Scotland GME branch. Some highlights include appearing on the
BBC Alba TV programme Eòrpa in an episode focused on GME and dyslexia.
Alongside other parents of dyslexic pupils in GME, I discussed the challenges
of dyslexia and GME. You can watch the programme (when available) here and
you can read an article about the programme here. At the Dyslexia
in Education Conference 2023, there was a workshop on Dyslexia and GME presenting
the work done to date to improve provision in this area, for staff, parents and
pupils. You can read more about my work on GME and dyslexia on this website: https://www.emmabolger.co.uk/p/gme-and-dyslexia.html
Wider work on Additional Support Needs (ASN) in Gaelic
Medium Education (GME)
In collaboration with Glasgow City Council EducationServices, I have established an ASN in GME group, for parents or carers of a
child/children who has an additional support need and attends, or plans to
attend Gaelic Medium early years or primary school.
We run meet-ups open to Parents/Carers/Children/Siblings of
children aged 0-P7 who currently attend or are planning to attend GME or Gaelic
Early Years provision. Your child does not need a formal identification of an
ASN to attend any of our meet-ups. This is a get together where
like-experienced people can have a chat, and the kids can play in a safe,
inclusive environment. We are joined by Gaelic-speaking facilitators, and have
resources available to help support families in GME whose children have ASN.
I was awarded a grant to run an ASN in GME event during Seachdain na Gàidhlig
2025 (World Gaelic Week), the flyer for which is below. World Gaelic Week is packed with lots of other events and activities,
most of them free, so do visit the website for more information!
Additional Support Needs in GME: further reading
I've collated a few resources below, in no particular order,
which may be of interest if you are a parent/carer of a pupil in or considering
GME, or just curious about additional needs and GME.
Dyslexia Toolkit: https://addressingdyslexia.org/gaelic-medium-education/
STAG: Speech Therapy & Gaelic: https://speechtherapyandgaelic.org/
DIFFERabled: https://www.differabledscotland.co.uk/
Bòrd na Gàidhlig Consultation Response to the Learning
Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: https://www.gaidhlig.scot/en/response-learning-disabilities-autism-and-neurodivergence-bill/
TES article by Eilidh Graham, Why more ASN teachers are
needed if Gaelic is to thrive: https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/why-more-asn-teachers-are-needed-if-gaelic-thrive
Education Scotland: Additional support for learning: https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/additional-support/
Enquire, the Scottish advice service for additional support
for learning: https://enquire.org.uk/
Feumalachdan-taic (2013): https://www.storlann.co.uk/feumalachdan-taic/
Additional Support Needs: A Collective Resource for GME: https://www.storlann.co.uk/feumalachdan-taic/downloads/Storlann-ASN-Handbook210217.pdf
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