Best practice

SEND & Covid: Supporting students in the months to come

The return to school last month may have been particularly challenging for our students with SEND. Garry Freeman reminds us of the basic principles of supporting students’ underlying needs – which will be more crucial than ever in the months to come

Full school re-opening: Supporting SEND pupils

As schools re-open to all students, those with SEND may well need more support. Stephanie Glenister outlines how we can help pupils – both those who have been attending school during lockdown and those who have been at home – to transition back into ‘normal’ school life

SENCOs under siege

The Covid-19 pandemic has heaped much more pressure on an already stretched SEND system. Daniel Sobel considers the key problems and outlines how we must move forward

Moving beyond the label: Needs not diagnosis...

For many parents and too many professionals, the diagnosis is seen as a magic answer and the solution to a child’s difficulties – but it is not. Sara Alston discusses the risks involving diagnostic labels and looks at how we must provide SEN support based on need

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Behaviour: Verbal and non-verbal communication

There are many children who expend much of their time and energy trying to decipher adult communications and masking their responses with ‘poor behaviour’ when they feel that they have misunderstood. Sara Alston looks at verbal and non-verbal communication

Back to School Guide: Teaching & Learning

In this 12-page guide, we consider what teaching and learning should look like in schools from this September when all pupils are due to return following the Covid-19 lockdown...

Language difficulties: Assessment and action

Given the importance of language skills, the assessment of difficulties early on is vital. SENCO Nicky Parrott discusses her schools’ approach to spotting problems and some of their interventions to improve outcomes

Working effectively with vulnerable children

There are many things schools and teachers can do – both little and large – to understand and support vulnerable children. Educational psychotherapist Angela Greenwood advises

SEND: Engaging with your parents

In the last of three articles on parental engagement, Dorothy Lepkowska looks at SEND – an issue where effective and open collaboration and communication between parents and schools is vital

Attachment and SEMH: Supporting our children

Pikemere School has been working to prioritise issues of Attachment as well as social, emotional and mental health challenges. Emma Lee-Potter explains how the school trains its staff and supports pupils

Understanding and supporting SEMH pupils

Drawing on the outstanding work of Adelaide School, a special provision in Cheshire catering for pupils aged nine and upwards, Sarah Barlow offers advice to mainstream schools on supporting students who face social, emotional and mental health challenges

The rising tide of sensory troubles: An overview

In a three-part series for Headteacher Update, inclusion specialist Joanna Grace addresses the sensory challenges that many pupils face, the resulting behaviours we may see in schools, and how teachers should handle these problems

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