ADHD Through the School Years by Colin Foley, ADHD Foundation UK

We were delighted to have Colin Foley, BA PGCE MA, National Training Director at ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity presenting online on the topic of ADHD Through the School Years recently.

Colin Foley is the training director of the ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity, an integrated health and education multidisciplinary lifespan service in based in Liverpool. The Foundation is the largest patient led service of its kind in the UK and Colin co-ordinates training for over 15,000 professionals very year, covering a range of professional development programmes.

The ADHD Foundation is one of only three organisations in the UK to offer a cradle to grave multi modal service for families and adults affected by ADHD, offering psychoeducative and psychosocial interventions, skills training for families and young people, Family Therapy, CBT, counselling, Stress reduction and behaviour support programmes.

Colin leads the Training department, designing and delivering professional development courses for education health and social care professionals. Colin also event manages the Annual International Conference on Neurodiversity & Mental Health  on ADHD, Mental Health and Neurodevelopmental Conditions.

After a twenty five year teaching career in the secondary sector up to Senior leadership level, Colin was the first Specialist Leader in Education to be appointed in his area and led the Outstanding Teacher Programme and the Improving Teaching programme for the National College.

Colin’s work for the ADHD Foundation is grounded in empowering teacher’s to deliver outstanding outcomes for children and young people with ADHD through raising awareness of the specific symptomology of conditions such as ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia and Tourette’s syndrome and related co-occurring mental health challenges.

Colin is passionate about improving the knowledge, skills and understanding of childcare professionals to improve teaching and learning and raising academic attainment for young people with learning needs to improve life chances and reduce the health, education and socio economic  inequalities that impact on the 1 in 5 human beings who are neurodiverse.

Colin believes that providing practical classroom strategies that every teacher can use at all key stages, with knowledge on how to identify learners of concern, reduce learner anxiety, promote their psychological resilience and a ‘strength based approach’ to what learners can achieve, is essential for any outstanding education provider.

 

Here is a copy of the full presentation:  Colin Foley ADHD and the School Years June 2020.