An Inclusive Blended Learning Strategy for SEND.

Blended learning and SEND NEU

This post on the design and delivery of an inclusive remote learning strategy for all our children is published in response to the latest Government lockdown. Many schools remain open to vulnerable and critical worker children. However for a significant number of children there is no on site access to education. This may be due … Read more

Safeguarding: Using AAC for Non-Verbal Pupils

Why Developing Communication is a Safeguarding Priority it is essential you ensure developing child voice for non-verbal pupils is a top safeguarding priority. 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). If you … Read more

Reward Systems: Rewards and Natural Consequences

Reward Systems: Rewards and Natural Consequences 1

Personalisation and Purpose of Reward Systems at Home and School I am a fan of personalised reward systems in schools as a way to achieve a very specific goal. As a behaviour modification strategy, I have struggled to find a suitable system. I have found star charts or token economy systems a good way for … Read more

Maths: Multisensory Activities for Teaching Big and Small

Maths: Multisensory Activities for Teaching Big and Small 2

Big and Small Teaching Activities Big and Small These concepts are generally taught together but we also use them to describe objects without a comparative object. “wow that’s a big smile” “What a big yawn!”. We throw around size-related mathematical language with scant regard to accuracy. “I’ve made a huge mistake.” “You are a massive … Read more

How assistive technologies benefit students with SEND

How assistive technologies benefit students with SEND 3

How assistive technologies benefit students with disabilities In the U.S. alone, 7.1 million students (almost 14% of all students) are classed as receiving special education and have an identified need for assistive technologies. Since inclusive education is a priority and legal requirement if outlined in IEPs. The government, educational institutions, and non-profits strive to provide … Read more

Diversity: 3 Great Picture Books

Diversity: 3 Great Picture Books 4

Picture Books About Inclusion and Diversity For School and Home Diversity in society is a really important topic to start addressing with children as soon as possible. This is especially true for children in a special school they are already marginalised in certain sections of society. I found these books when looking to resource our … Read more

5 Interactive Apps Geared Towards Special Needs Students

5 apps chosen to support SEN pupils with virtual learning

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 … Read more

Covid-19 without words – Charlie and the C Monsters

Covid-19 without words - Charlie and the C Monsters 5

Covid-19 Response & Impact on Children’s Mental Health Update August 2023: This post now seems to be an artefact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The comics and resources created to support children through the pandemic were creative and continue to influence practice today. We now know there has been a dramatic negative impact on children’s mental … Read more

Covid-19: Back To School Resources

Covid-19: Back To School Resources 6

A collection of resources to support the transition of children back to school during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. As with all inclusiveteach resources these are free to use and designed for pupils with SEN. I primarily work with autistic pupils and need engaging, simple visuals to aid their understanding. We now know that the pandemic … Read more

Quality of Life: Reducing Anxiety

Quality of Life: Reducing Anxiety 7

The Value of Compassion This post is a reflection of the #SENexchange discussion on Quality of life and our favourite things. It took place during the Coronavirus crisis in April 2020. Our definitions of what education, life and security look like have been tested. Education was redefined overnight, and the structures and routines we built … Read more

Mr Potato Head Scavenger Hunt

Mr Potato Head Scavenger Hunt 8

The Mr Potato Head scavenger hunt is a great accessible activity that can be set up for AAC (Augmentative and assertive communication). There are many other activities you can use Mr Potato Head for: Following Instructions Developing Fine Motor Skills Team work and interaction Emotions Playing with food Problem Solving Sequencing Senses (Worksheet available below) … Read more

Spitfire: A VE Day Sensory Story

Spitfire: A VE Day Sensory Story 9

Our Spitfire VE Day sensory story forms the third of a collection of sensory stories written to be delivered during the week of the 75th VE day celebrations in May 2020, Now Updated for the 80th Anniversary of VE Day in 2025 with a sound board that contains the sounds for our sensory story you … Read more

Free Life Skills Sensory Stories for SEND & EYFS Learners

Free Life Skills Sensory Stories for SEND & EYFS Learners 10

Life Skills Sensory Stories: Preparation for Adulthood Help your learners master real-world independence skills with our free Life Skills Sensory Stories. These engaging, multisensory tales are designed for SEND, EYFS and post-16 learners, focusing on key functional tasks like sorting socks, washing up, and dressing for the weather. Each story comes with a free downloadable … Read more

Sensory Templates For Early Literacy

Sensory Templates For Early Literacy 11

The influence for these early literacy sensory templates is the book Find Colours by Tamara Shopsin and Jason Fulford. It features die-cut pages which you “colour” yourself by holding them over different surfaces that become the colours. Early Literacy Activities One of the challenging elements of special education is finding or creating motivating and engaging … Read more

Sensory Story: We are Knights!

Sensory Story: We are Knights! 12

Knights and Castles Sensory Story I wanted to do a more fun sensory story. Heavily inspired by Pete Wells And his very funny sensory stories I wrote “We are Knights” for our History topic. Just a bit of fun but I have included suggested sensory resources, movement opportunities and some follow up activities around positional … Read more

AAC Game: Manic Martians:

AAC Game: Manic Martians: 13

I teach in a autism specific classroom. The majority of the group are non-verbal and use a range of AAC (Augmentative and alternative communication resources). A common learning objective that links to a child’s EHCP targets is social interaction. This requires a commonly understood communication method. The key to this is using simple symbol/images which … Read more

Sensory Story: Dunkirk

Sensory Story: Dunkirk 14

Dunkirk: A sensory story compliments our Blitz story. They were written to support the teaching of the World War 2 history curriculum around the VE day celebrations in 2020. As with our other free sensory stories it was written for a PMLD group. Due to the nature of the content. This story does not link … Read more

Encouraging Independence In Students with SEND

Encouraging Independence In Students with SEND 15

Developing Independence at School and Home It is essential we educate our children for the life they will lead as adults. For safety, wellbeing and the ability to control their direction in life. Independence will be a sliding scale for many children but we need to enhance this wherever possible. Independence skills are a key … Read more

How To Teach Children To Wait

How To Teach Children To Wait 16

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 … Read more

Hygiene Routines and SEND

Supporting children with health and hygiene routines

This post outlines the questions and suggested strategies from the #SENexchange discussion on Life Skills: Health and Hygiene routines. You can download a PDF of the collated discussion below. Please share if you think this will help someone. What barriers do people with Sensory Processing differences face with common hygiene routines? Update: check out this … Read more