Special Education and Inclusive Learning
Teaching Resources, Sensory Stories and SEND Information
This is a record of an #SENexchange online discussion on Making Schools Listen: Amplifying Parent Voice in Education. This aligns with value 5 of the School of Joy Approach - community and coproduction. A few years ago I co-wrote a post with Claire Ryan on school/parent partnership. I wrote it from the perspective of the… Continue reading Making Schools Listen: Amplifying Parent Voice In Education
The Town and Country Sensory Story was written for the cornerstones industrial revolution topic. This was designed to be meaningful for PMLD learners as well as their peers so they can all take something away from the shared experience of multi-sensory storytelling. If you are interested in finding out more about sensory stories have a… Continue reading Town and Country Sensory Story
It is not uncommon to see EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plans) targets linked to Social Skills, Play and Peer Interactions However these often present unique challenges to children with SEND and especially autistic children. These challenges go beyond “they don’t know how”. It is much more complex than that. When designing interventions to meet… Continue reading Peer Interactions, Social Skills, and Play: EHCP Targets
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
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
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 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
Why Developing Child Voice in SEND is a safeguarding priority it is essential you ensure child voice is a top priority in the inclusive classroom. You cannot overstate the importance of providing children with opportunities to demonstrate choices throughout their education. In early years education, this is acknowledged through EYFS documents (Early Years Foundation Stage).… Continue reading Child Voice, AAC, and Safeguarding
Teaching emotions and explaining feelings to children is essential. A child cannot self regulate without recognising and starting to understand how they feel. It is also important for children to start to understand how their actions affect others. There are many ways to approach this but one of my favourite ways is to incorporate storytelling.… Continue reading Teaching Emotions: 6 Picture Books
A guest post on great SEN apps. For many children access to school ended in March 2020 due to the coronavirus. Now that the spread is slowing down, however, they’re allowed to reopen fully. But a survey conducted by the National Foundation for Education Research found that 60% of school leaders feel ‘unprepared for some aspects of… Continue reading 5 Interactive Apps Geared Towards Special Needs Students
A new, free to download printable comic and colouring book and six-minute animated film - Charlie & the C Monsters - has been created. This is designed for the unique purpose of explaining non-verbally how Covid-19 is spread. It explains steps that can be taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus. It also shows children… Continue reading Covid-19 without words – Charlie and the C Monsters
Waiting: Strategies for use at home & school Waiting can be a challenge for many children. As a teacher and a parent I have had to find ways to teach children to wait for a whole range of things. Throughout the day in the SEN classroom there are natural lulls in planned activity. This may… Continue reading How To Teach Children To Wait
I couldn't resist this for £7 at Wilko. A fun little AAC game especially for children that find anything to do with Poo hilarious. This requires 2 aaa batteries for the moo or fart noises. The premise of the game is that each player chooses a boot colour. You then spin the spinner to decide… Continue reading AAC Game: Gassy The Cow.
Making use of your sensory garden. Outdoor learning is an essential part of all children's education. Getting out of the classroom provides endless opportunities for academic learning and personal development. This post will outline key possibilities provided by creating a sensory garden or even through utilising an existing outdoor space for learning opportunities. Whether that… Continue reading Sensory Garden: Outdoor Learning
This winter themed Sensory Story has been written for our "Time" topic where we are exploring the seasons. Snow Bear provides plenty of opportunities for exploring the cold of the Arctic. I have included a subtle message about climate change which depending on the age group you use it with may be useful to tie… Continue reading Sensory Story: Snow Bear
Flipping the Narrative on Special Educational; Needs and Disabilities. Collated by the inspirational Elly Chapple (visit her site CanDoElla here) this list of top tips for NQTs and those working in education is essential reading. It features contributions from top educational authors, teachers, parents, SENCOs, school governors and caring passionate people. All of the people… Continue reading Top SEND NQT Tips from #TeamSend #FlipTheNarrative
Rethinking Assessment for PMLD learners. In 2015, Cherry Garden School decided their assessment and reporting procedures were no longer fit for purpose. Although we had just received our third consecutive Outstanding judgement from Ofsted, we were aware that our assessment 'data' wasn't always meaningful, and that many of our children didn't make typical linear progress.… Continue reading Assessment for PMLD
This guide will provide information about the meaning of over 100 widely used acronyms.
There were so many important developments in the world of special education during the first part of 2019. Many seem to be focussing (and about time) on humanising the stories behind the labels and pushing for accountability of those in positions of power.
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