Social stories are a tried and tested way of teaching social skills but for some learners they are too much. I needed a way to remind a student of the rules but in a way that didn’t single them out as being the focus of the story. Some people will say this won’t work as autistic children can’t generalise…. but anyone who has worked with autism knows a lot of what people say is actually a myth or just does not apply to an individual.
Free Printable Transport Topic Teaching Resources for EYFS, KS1 and SEN This post contains some more transport topic-themed free printable worksheets/folder tasks. For any special education teacher working with students who need assistive communication interventions such as symbol support or PECS, some have been developed to meet specific speech and language targets and goals. These … Read more
Improved Communication Through Alternative Behaviours Many young people I have taught have found efficient and effective ways of communicating a need or a want at some point in the past. That then becomes their primary way of communicating. Unfortunately, as they grow and develop into young adults, this communicative behavior becomes a barrier to so … Read more
Early Career Teachers (ECTs) – Consider Special Schools when you are Job Hunting. If you are a recently qualified ECT and looking for a teaching post I would urge you to consider working in a specialist provision, whether that be a PRU, special school, specialist unit or residential school. The children deserve your energy and … Read more
Lynn McCann writes this post about developing an effective model for delivering continuing professional development courses. She supports a range of schools and other educational organisations with students with additional needs. Lynn runs a consultancy business, she is definitely concerned about the outcomes of her support on the children. She supplies a lot of free … Read more
When you are a teacher of autistic children, you have a really important role in their lives, you are in a position with responsibility to carry out a task that can impact their wellbeing for life. How often do we question our ability to do this? I don’t mean write a lesson plan. I mean educate a child who processes the world differently to you.
Tips for managing your emotions. Challenging Behaviour: Managing The Emotional Impact on Yourself Part of my current role involves training the new PBS instructors for the county special schools. This is a great opportunity to ensure a consistent approach and ethos towards challenging behaviour between schools. It is also a chance to collaborate and learn … Read more
How To Effectively Manage Challenging Behaviour When faced with displays of behaviour that challenge most schools resort to sanctions and consequences. For some this may work. If you work with Young people with a special educational need, mental health issues, or those experiencing that most troubling of all childhood issues – Puberty; need you to … Read more
This is a follow up to part 1 there are a huge number of great SEN blogs with ideas, resources, and inspiration for you to read and engage with. These are just some I have enjoyed reading and wanted to share them with you. Tracey Lawrence – Tweets as @behaviourteach Assistant head, and host of … Read more
The TEACCH Approach: Personalisation not Normalisation One of the main issues I have with labels is the group children with a huge array of skills, interests, and talents together and that leads to approaches to their education that try to suggest it will work with anyone who has that label. I have used the TEACCH … Read more
These blogs are those that I have visited often and found great ideas, positivity or inspiration for my own writing from. Due to the nature of the blogosphere there are likely to be many great blogs I have missed, some great bloggers are reticent to promote their writing. If you know of a great blog please add it to the comments I will be doing a second post later this month.
Challenging Behaviour: Differentiation in Discipline Updated September 2024. This discussion on Differentiation in Discipline may be one of the more contentious blog posts, School discipline is a constant concern in the press and for teachers. I am the lead for behaviour, mental health and pastoral care in a UK special school for autism and children … Read more
Ideas and Values for Developing a Wellbeing Focussed Curriculum. Links to the original Wellbeing Curriculum posts: Part 1 Part 2: Teaching the wellbeing curriculum It is our job as teachers to remove barriers to learning, in online safety it is often the curriculum that forms a barrier to meaningful learning. The fact that online safety … Read more
Three essential components to SEND education. Special education is a fantastic career option. I am always urging NQTs to consider SEND education as an option for their careers. It is different from mainstream education in a number of key ways. However, that intrinsic desire to provide the best outcomes for the children you teach is … Read more
Teaching The Teacher Teaching and learning is the root of education. The two words go very well together. However, we often employ the phrase to suggest that we as teachers are doing the teaching and that it is only the students who are doing the learning. I dread to suggest it but I can imagine … Read more
Key Skills for Effective Special Education Teaching Teaching students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) requires a robust set of competencies. While these skills benefit all teachers, they are especially critical for those in specialised settings. Here is an expanded version of the article with a passionate tone about supporting students in special education: Special Education … Read more
Why Discuss Inclusion? This article is an account of a professional discussion on inclusion between teachers, SLT, parents and carers. It is essential that inclusion is a subject that we discuss regularly. Inclusive education is an issue has an impact on every school and every classroom. It is an area close to many people’s hearts … Read more
Autism and the barriers to friendship This is a situation that occurred a while ago and now both students are a couple of years into their new placements I feel it can be written and anonymity maintained. The names are made up, ‘Jack’ is what one of my current students calls me despite my trying … Read more
Autism Education Infographic (UK) I work in a specialist school for children. It is my job to educate young people with a range of diagnoses to the best of my ability. Now those children have to have an EHCP to access our provision. They are all referred to us by the local authority having had … Read more
SEN Education Infographic Data While the statistics I am about to present are specific to the month of January 2015, it is essential to understand that they represent the most current and recent data accessible at the time. The following SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) education infographic has been meticulously crafted based on the … Read more
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