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Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

Children with ADHD – how to support their siblings

Brothers fighting
Sibling rivalry is a common issue in many households, but it can be extra challenging for the family of a child with ADHD. We offer expert advice on ways you and your family can negotiate living with ADHD.

Stephen Hemmings is a child with ADHD. When family friends visit, 10-year-old Stephen is the most likely of mum Sharon’s four children to ask whether they’d like a cup of tea, then to serve it in a teacup with a biscuit or two on the side.

He is typical of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – bright, articulate, imaginative and loving.

But he is also the most likely to snatch a toy away from his three-year-old sister, crash-ride his bike into his 12-year-old brother and burst into the room while his 14-year-old sister is chilling with school friends.

“One minute he is the perfect gentleman. The next he’s provoking his brother and sisters,” says Sharon. “Stephen is full on. He doesn’t focus on anything for very long, hardly sits still and is always bored. So he’ll often invite himself to get involved in what someone else is doing and then ruin it if they protest.”

Rivalry in the home

Sibling rivalry is a part of every family, but when one of the children has ADHD disagreements can become more frequent and wearisome.

The problem is that children with ADHD often misjudge social situations. They’re impatient, butting into conversations and speaking loudly over others to get their points across. They may also do silly or inappropriate things, to the embarrassment of their parents and siblings.

Children with ADHD are often excluded from social gatherings, such as parties. And the bad news for siblings is that they can often be lumped together and rejected on the same grounds.

Another reason why siblings may feel resentment toward the child with ADHD is because they tend to demand and receive more of the parents’ attention.

Support for siblings

Dr Graeme Lamb runs a clinic for children with ADHD and their families in Newham, east London. He says it can be difficult because the symptoms and behaviours of ADHD are so often misconstrued as bad behaviour or attention seeking.

“Siblings of the child with ADHD can be subject to these negative media messages, which can have even more of an impact if there is little communication in the home to help them to understand what the sibling is experiencing,” explains Dr Lamb. “Helping siblings to see the child as having a disorder may be helpful.”

Services for siblings

The Sibling Support Service run by Barnardo’s offers specialist support to the brothers and sisters of disabled children through group work.
The service aims to reduce the negative impact of disability on siblings and encourage the inclusion of siblings when family support needs are being assessed.

It offers opportunity for siblings to express themselves in a safe and secure environment without fear of upsetting their families, build confidence and have the opportunity to recognise the positive aspects of their family life. They are also helped to recognise and find ways to cope with difficult behaviours they may experience at home or school. This includes being able to answer difficult questions posed to them and curious peers who want to know why their brother or sister is ‘different’.

For more on this and similar services in your area visit www.barnardos.org.uk.