Local Association Board Case Studies
Contents
Dr Helen Ross – South West Representative
Tell us a bit about yourself – whereabouts are you from, what kind of job do you do?
At the moment, I'm a special educational needs teacher two days a week in a state school in Stonehenge, in Amesbury; it's just a regular comprehensive local school and it's lovely. And then for the rest of the week I do assessments and dyslexia tutoring and things like that. I do research as well, so I’m quite a busy bunny! Years ago when I was in Barnsley, I taught which is what spurred it all on; the kids need so much help, but you have these ridiculous mandates coming down from London, about what kids should be able to do and when, and its just not like that. So, it all kind of inspired me to get a little bit grumpy with people basically and do something about it!
What’s your personal connection to dyslexia?
Well, I have dyslexia, so reading for me is a proper nightmare, it does my head in. I just find it really, really tricky. And for me its just a bit of a faff really. I’m quite clever, and most of the time I’m able to engage with stuff, but there are times when I think if I can’t engage and I’m not daft, then if people aren’t as academic, book smart, and geeky as I am, then its going to be a real battle for them, so I just need to kind of do something with the brains I have got because not everybody is in the fortunate position that I am in. There aren’t enough voices in this world for those people that aren’t necessarily going to go to Oxbridge etc. and so there is an acceptable success trajectory that seems to be universally agreed by 1% of the population in the UK, and it makes me really cross, so I have to just do what I can to do something about it.
How did you get involved with the Local Association Board?
It all started when I started my PhD. I live in Wiltshire, and I got put in touch with Caroline who is like a guru around all things dyslexia, and she sort of put me in touch with a committee locally, and then I met a chap called David Williams who was quite active with the BDA a few years back, and they kind of pushed me towards the LAB and suggested that I get involved with it. They are both just so active that you couldn’t help but be inspired by it – it was always my plan when I was up in Barnsley to do stuff that would get me making noise in the right places perhaps that gave access to Policy making, I suppose, and it just really, really matters to me. That all spurred me on quite a lot.
I have been involved since 2015 - it’s a good wodge of time! It's one of those things that has absolutely flown past. It seems like no time since yesterday – like where did that time go?!
What does your work with the Local Association Board involve?
Day to day you are kind of a point of contact. You funnel information up to the Management board, and then you funnel information down to Local Associations. Its sort of a point of triage – you might get a general enquiry about something, and then we as a group decide what to do with it. So, it’s sort of like phoning reception and we are a switchboard, but quite an important switchboard!
We also administer funding – we have a funding pot and people apply for £150, £250 or £400 and that needs to be going towards something local – a Local Association project. And that’s a really cool thing actually. There was one which ran in Shropshire a few years ago to do with Arts and Crafts, and it was a brilliant project, that wouldn’t have been possible without the funding.
There has been so much discussion around the source of the money for the funding pot and how its used as we all have different opinions, but its really nice to have a pot of money which is available for use on a project specific allowance. It means that when you have an association that isn’t particularly affluent, and they need maybe a couple of hundred pounds to be able to do something – and for some groups that is a lot of money – having access to that potential is really cool, it makes a vital difference to some people. It can be really significant.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of the Local Association Board?
I’m quite nosy! So, what I quite like about it is that I get to know what’s going on across the South West. I am an inherently nosy creature, and so I have my Spidey Senses out in the local counties around me, and what’s really cool is that there are other members who you can work with quite a lot, so you just meet some really great people, who you kind of have a common ground with. Over time, you develop friendships, and the knowledge that we can combine makes us greater than the sum of our parts. You have people who are quiet, but they are SO worth listening to, and their knowledge is exceptional, they are amazing.
There is an experience of constantly learning because we all have different perspectives on life. Some of us are lecturers, some of us are teachers, some are doctors, we all just have such different histories, and our perspectives are so different – we have different lenses on, and that’s really useful to be a part of. You are never on your own as part of the LAB, and you can always ask for support.
Anything else you’d like to tell us about your Local Association Board experience?
Joining the LAB can be a baptism of fire, but in a good way - it's the best way to learn, especially if you want to become involved with a charity and do a little bit more work with charities. So many members of the LAB are on the trustee board, so it's a really good starting point to learn the ways that charities run. It’s something I'm really passionate about and that I thoroughly enjoy. For me, being a member of the LAB is a privilege, and it becomes a part of your life and who you are.