Special Education and Inclusive Learning
Teaching Resources, Sensory Stories and SEND Information
How can we create a school every child enjoys attending? This was the premise of the #SENexchange discussion on the 2nd June 2021. Below is a write-up of the discussion about creating the school of joy. You might also enjoy reading this book by Action Jackson. Whilst not SEN specific the book captures the ethos… Continue reading Creating the School of Joy
Why should you give children breaks to help them learn? This post was inspired by an overheard conversation and links two issues. Access to planned interventions and the provision of learning breaks throughout the day. A parent of an autistic child was questioning whether a school should have stopped their child from attending their sensory… Continue reading Using Breaks To Enhance Learning
These three transport-themed books are firm favourites in our household. Vehicles and transport are always popular themes from Early Years to Journey planning in secondary school. Have a look at my transport-themed teaching resources. These have been chosen as they passed the test of holding the attention of our younger children. They are good quality… Continue reading Three Transport Books for Children 2-4
I was recently talking to our speech therapist about a project I was involved with in 2011. This was with Tim Ryland who has sadly passed away. The Nurturing narrative event was held in partnership with the Kent CAT (Communication and Assistive Technology Team). I looked it up to find that the website (TimRylands.com) was… Continue reading Nurturing Narrative: Games and Literacy
Our Charles Darwin: Voyage of the Beagle multi-sensory story was Written for a Key Stage 4 class. To link with the cornerstones topic “Darwin’s Delight”. There is some quite complex vocabulary so this story fits into our stage 5 immersive storytelling band. I wrote this more for SLD pupils than PMLD but you can adapt… Continue reading Darwin: Voyage of the Beagle Multi-Sensory Story
Why Is Awareness About Autism Important & How Can We Support Autistic Children? This is a guest post for inclusiveteach.com. Autism is common but as deceptive as a chameleon on the bark of the tree it's climbing on! You may be autistic, but still be unaware of it owing to the lack of diagnosis or… Continue reading Why Awareness About Autism is Important
Mother of God it’s the Line of Duty Sensory Story! No copyright infringement intended (Sorry BBC, please don’t sue) just a bit of fun. I wrote this with older sensory learners in mind. Sometimes sensory stories are not fully age appropriate for adults with PMLD. There is no reason not to engage people based on… Continue reading Line of Duty: The Sensory Story
Advice for using visual timelines with ASD children Guest Post A child using Picturepath on the iPad It’s well understood that many children find comfort in routine, and that maintaining routine reduces problem behaviours. Equally visuals, such as PECS cards, and timelines are widely used alongside a strong routine across both home and school to… Continue reading Advice for using visual timelines with Autistic children
Imposter syndrome is a really common issue for people in education. I started this website as a reflective blog whilst completing the NPQML leadership course, since then it has evolved into a special education teaching resources and ideas website. Over the last 5 years, over half a million people have visited. I know this is… Continue reading Imposter Syndrome in Education
Our recruitment and interview process posts are very popular. However we haven't talked about the teaching interview activity. One of the questions we get asked is around the teaching side of the interview process. Candidates for teaching positions almost always have to demonstrate their teaching skills through an observed teaching activity. During the interview process… Continue reading The SEND Interview Teaching Activity
If your child has a disability or issues with mobility, it's important to make the home environment comfortable, safe and accessible. The traditional home layout will not always work. Especially if your child uses a wheelchair. When it comes to modifying the home it's important to create a space where your child isn't just safe… Continue reading Ways of Making Our Homes Comfortable for Children with Disabilities
In SEN one of the most important things is to get to know your pupil. All about me sessions are a generally accepted part of the process. These lessons are often done in September on change of class or on the transition into school. I am a real fan of using tangible resources where possible.… Continue reading All About Me: Resource Review
In this post, we will look at two great resources to buy and two free to make maths manipulatives. As an SEN teacher, you will be used to making the most of what you have. Specialist sensory toys, resources, and equipment are usually very expensive. This means the SEN teacher needs to get creative when… Continue reading Make Your Own Maths Manipulatives
Re-connection and Relationships in the Post Lockdown Return to School Re-connection and relationships. This is a record of the #SENexchange Discussion following the wider reopening of UK schools for the easing of lockdown on March 8th 2021. Many schools had been closed to most pupils from January. Children with an EHCP, vulnerable pupils, keyworker children… Continue reading School: Reconnection & Relationships #SENExchange
Easter Activities for SEND Children Easter games and resources are great for use in a number of SEND focused activities. I would use this with a wider age range than they are designed for. This raises questions about how age appropriate each resource an I discuss this issue in this blog. Context in choosing resources… Continue reading Easter Games: 3 Great Toys
Multi-Sensory Stories For Key Vocabulary These two super simple sensory stories cover just one concept each. Hot and Cold. This vocabulary is reinforced by everyday objects that are cold and hot. You shouldn't need any expensive resources and can adapt each line to fit what you have available. Please visit our main sensory story page for our… Continue reading Hot and Cold Multi-Sensory Stories
A Traditional Easter Sensory Story This is my attempt to capture the key themes of the traditional Easter story in the format of a sensory story. Being relatively complex I have had to remove a few elements and reduce some situations to single lines. I have not shied away from the more violent sections but… Continue reading An Easter Sensory Story
We got our hands on these three great maths game resources from Learning Resources. I had seen a post on instagram with the pirate treasure game. It was being used by a speech therapist so I was very excited when I got a chance to have a play learning session with it. I am currently… Continue reading 3 Engaging Maths Games
This blog is going to explore how just with a poundland power-bank we can create simple and affordable sensory lights. We can use these as a 1 off activity or to integrate into your multi-sensory storytelling. As we all know if you put "sensory" on the front of any product you can double the price.… Continue reading Sensory Lights: USB Power
Whether an activity or interest is age appropriate is an ongoing argument in SEND education. Frustratingly it seems to only apply to children with SEN. Particularly regarding activities for PMLD learners and the special interests of autistic children. Even more annoying is when we label something "not age appropriate". The person doing so is usually… Continue reading The Age Appropriate Argument and SEND
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