It is clear that while this period is difficult for everybody, there are particular groups who are receiving less support than needed. Here are a number of resources that can be utilised to help alleviate some of the stresses of lockdown for our young people with SEND.
Category: SEND specific
School Online SEND Home Learning Questionnaire – Fully Editable
It’s really useful to find out how well your parents feel that your school has supported home learning during this time. You can celebrate what worked well and also contact parents if they had an issue you were not aware of, to allow a fresh start next year. Google collates all the information for you Read More
Pupil Passport Template (primary) – Fully Customisable
Pupil passports are a great way to compliment your One Page Profiles and are a useful document to support home school links, for children to track their own targets and for them to support their own learning by developing independence. They are also handy when it comes to transitions. In order for children with SEND Read More
Back To School: Behaviours That Challenge Prevention Checklist (Blog and Infographic)
As we gradually move towards something that resembles ‘business as usual’ in our schools, we will be continuing to face a number of challenges with anxious and attention needing children. Some, we will expect to need extra resources and time. However, some will crop up unexpectedly. It’s better to have a plan that is not needed as opposed to no plan!
16 Fully Customisable, Child Centred, One Page Profile Templates
It is so important for all children on your SEND register (and other groups such as EAL and children with healthcare plans), to have ownership of a one page profile document that they can understand and refer back to over the year. I put this together for my school last year to further personalise what Read More
Fully Customisable, Child Centred, Annual Review Template (easy to screen share on a video call!)
It is so important for children with an EHCP to have a review which they can take part in as well as a document that they can understand and refer back to over the year. I put this together for my school last year which has gone down well with parents and children. In the current situation, this is a good way to share the process online during the review with screen sharing making the meeting more interactive. Hopefully with this resource, the annual review will be a more positive experience.
Successful Pupil Transition
What an impossible situation we find ourselves in. Last year, I was blogging about successful transitions for SEND pupils with all the best practice and resources ideas I could muster but in this crazy situation, none of those bells and whistles will be possible. How will children have successful transitions to another year group or school with so many variables and unknowns? I don’t have the answers but the following are ideas that you could try out without the need for physical visits. Once you know, with more certainty, what next year will look like, transition plans can follow. Even if you need to start them in September!
12 Alternative Writing And Scaffolding Ideas
Children are increasingly needing extra support when writing. Add these alternative writing and scaffolding techniques to your Quality First Teaching toolkit. They may reduce pupil anxiety and therefore improve outcomes, especially when the objective is not writing (e.g. a Science or Geography concept). Vygotsky stated back in 1989 that, “what the child is able to do in Read More
10 De-escalation strategies
Even the most empathetic staff members, who are full of inclusive practices, can come unstuck when faced with a child in front of them who has reached crisis point. With recent levels of heightened anxiety in some children (perhaps caused by a change in routine and environment), some may find it harder than usual to Read More
8 Ideas To Coax Back School Avoiders
Remember last year, when you spent a significant amount of time and effort trying to coax Ryan back to school? You thought you were gradually getting somewhere when suddenly the school closed. Ryan gets exactly what he wants and you are back to square one. Similarly, you may now have children who have become a little agoraphobic over the last few year or so – they may also become reluctant returners (hopefully this group will just need a bit of gentle coaxing rather that a more structured approach). I feel your frustration. Here are eight ideas to go some way in helping Ryan and any other school avoider back to school.