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 … Read more
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 … Read more
ECT Advice: Flipping the Narrative on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Collated by the inspirational Elly Chapple this list of top tips and ECT Advice (Early Career Teachers) 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 … Read more
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. … Read more
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.
Written for us by an Early Years leader, this post outlines a suggested phonics session, the activities and routine will be appropriate for all mainstream settings, and with a little imagination to any SEN setting. The phonics session mirrors what I taught to my class. Keeping the same routine really helped my autistic learners and is the key takeaway from this post.
Recognising your own emotions and identifying effective strategies for managing these is a key skill for any child.
The importance of adapting inclusive school learning environments Every student, whether in special schools, an alternative provision or general education classrooms has a dream inclusive classroom. This utopian learning environment will be different for every learner. Some learners may need wide-ranging environmental adaptations requiring specialist input. There are some common environmental adaptations we can all … Read more
There are many many children out there who are crying out for help. There are many dedicated, enthusiastic, creative and compassionate people who are desperate to help. These people need help, we are increasingly facing highly complex issues that very few educational professionals are equipped to deal with. I am writing this as a teacher but I know there are CAMHS workers, social workers and support staff throughout the country who are feeling like this.
These are the resources I have made to use with my class to support learning about Remembrance Day this November. Poppy themed with a UK focus all use similar images and symbols . I hope they are of some use with your children.
These books are only those I have read and can recommend. They all follow an inclusive and positive support ethos. They all also focus on the only part of behaviour support we can control – ourselves. If your school has a zero tolerance behaviour policy read these and make it your mission to get that rewritten.I will get around to doing a second post but I need to get reading first!
Internal Antecedents: Does Behaviour Really Come “Out of the Blue?” Often overlooked, internal antecedents are an important element in behaviour support. This article is based on my experiences working with Autistic children who also communicate in ways we find challenging. We do our best to find patterns, clues and reasons for episodes of challenging behaviour. … Read more
These are 10 simple ways to prevent challenging behaviour escalation by making small changes to your interactions. In our PBS training, these are called active interventions. In reality, there are thousands of these, the better you know the child the more adept you will become at identifying the most effective strategies in your teacher’s toolkit … Read more
One of the most interesting things I found on the Twinkl site was the “create” feature, this allows you to build a range of resources from displays to interactive games to worksheets. Now I’m not the biggest fan of a worksheet but with a bit of laminating they can easily turn into a folder task. I hate seeing folders of random sheets that all use different fonts imagery etc. If I am creating a pack for a topic it is much better that all the resources have a common look and feel. It just looks more cohesive and planned.
Transition Resources for supporting Children with change “If a child is Autistic, they do not like change”. This is the biggest stereotype attributed to autistic people. The most widely repeated generalisation (In schools anyway). With any blanket statement it is inaccurate and too simplistic. A better comment would be “Change causes anxiety.” or “The thought … Read more
Autism awareness is an essential concept with ever increasing need for us all to seek a greater understanding of what it means to be autistic. However it must be more than holding an assembly, or watching a video. We must make real and ongoing adaptations to ensure our learning environments and school communities are as inclusive as possible.
Sensory and Storytelling Umbrellas When you listen to a speaker you need to be inspired. Your mind needs to fill with ideas as they speak. I had the pleasure of listening and watching Flo Longhorn at a conference late last year and came away with a desire to rush out and put these ideas into … Read more
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
What Are The Best SEN Teaching Resources We asked a number of experienced SEN teachers to share the Best Special Education Resources they use in their classrooms. There is a range of high-tech ideas mixed with a good helping of classic hands-on teaching resources. During the discussion, educators shared their innovative approaches towards using various … Read more
You must be logged in to post a comment.