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Starting primary school - BBC Parents' Toolkit - BBC Bitesize

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Advice and games to help you and your child prepare for primary school, then thrive during their first year.

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BCP Council Family Information Directory and Local Offer

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specialist early years intervention, inclusion, child transitions

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The EEF is an independent charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement.

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Learning conversations: 3 to 5 years - Best Start in Life - NHS

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Help your child learn new words and build conversations by chatting about your day and talking together—they’re growing their language skills with every sentence!

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Tiny Happy People is here to help you develop your child's language skills. Explore our simple activities and play ideas and find out about babies and toddlers' amazing early development.

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Children’s language development and parenting advice - BBC Tiny Happy People

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A chatty child is a happy child, so Tiny Happy People is here to help you develop your child’s communication skills through simple interaction and play.

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Helping your child feel ready for school is a team effort - find out more.

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Some of our favourite books for children who are starting school. Whether they’re nervous or excited, these books are perfect for preparing your little…

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This page was written following our Community of practice about transitions. We had a lot of sharing and questioning about this and so we thought we would share it here. Transitions are inevitable Transitions are an inevitable part in every child’s journey. Many papers, articles and books have been written on the subject, some of which […]

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Being school-ready - a guide for childcare professionals to help children in this transition.

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Supporting school transitions | Resources

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Resources providing practical tips and tools to help pupils, schools, parents and carers to manage changes and transitions throughout their time at school.

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Dealing with change and transitions toolkit : Mentally Healthy Schools

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Resources for younger and older pupils all about dealing with change, and potential transitions, at the end of the academic year.

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Moving Up! The transition to secondary school : Mentally Healthy Schools

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An animation and teacher toolkit to help children with the transition to secondary school.

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Starting secondary school - BBC Parents’ Toolkit - BBC Bitesize

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Advice for parents who have a child starting secondary school this year, with tips on the emotional and practical sides of the transition.

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Advice for professionals on guiding young people through transition.

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Returning to schools being fully open after the Covid-19 lockdown is going to be hard. It is very hard to try and predict what it will look like or when or how it will happen. Regardless of whether it is as early as May, or possibly not until September or even later, we have to hope that we will have a proper chance to plan and not 48 hours notice from a press conference. We must be aware that it will be a very different experience for every school and for the different people - children, staff and parents - within the school. We have some experience of returning to school that we can draw on. We experience this in miniature at the end of each summer holiday, but this return will be much more complex. We will need to be honest with ourselves and each other about how difficult this experience will be.

Whatever, the school setting there are going to be a number of key things to consider and include in our plans for the return to school for all.
Schools have not been shut
Despite the news headlines, we know that the majority of schools have not been closed and many school staff have continued to work in schools, including during the school holidays, though not always their own school. Further, the vast majority of teachers have continued to work providing education and support from home. We must recognise these experiences, particularly where staff have continued working over the Easter (and possibly the summer) holidays. Staff are going to start tired and this will impact on their ability to lead, manage and respond to change.
Don't pretend that everything is normal
For many of us, adults and children, the return to school will be greeted with a huge sigh of relief and we will want to pretend that the world is returning to how it was, but we will all have been changed by the experience of Corona. It will take time for us to adjust to the 'new' normal. We will need to recognise and allow for this by being kind to each other and ourselves.
Re-establishing routines
For many the re-establishment of routines will be difficult. This will not just be for school routines; it will also be for those basic daily life routines, such as sleep and getting up. We know that this is difficult and a source of anxiety at the beginning of every term, but this will be on a larger scale. We will need to allow a period of adjustment and be aware of the impact of trying to re-establish these routines for staff, parents and children. We will need to re-learn the rhythm of the school.
Re-establishing expectations
We are aware that different people will have had very different experiences during the lockdown. Some will have been in school throughout, though for them school will have been a very different place. The majority of children will have been at home and each of them will have had their own experience. It will take time to re-establish and re-learn the expectations of school behaviour and learning. We know that much of learning is based on practice and we will all be out of practice with this.
Differences in learning
Across schools there will be a huge range in what learning children have engaged in while not in school. There will be children who have spent every day, including the holidays, engaged in formal learning activities and completed every piece of work set by the school. Equally, there will be children who have not engaged in any focused learning activity for the entire time they were not in school. Most children will come somewhere in between. We need to be clear that learning from home is not the same as learning in school. We will need to respond to what children have learnt, not what we expected them to have learnt. We will need to understand what children have learnt and what they have forgotten. Preferably we will do this informally, to restart children's schooling with formal testing will mitigate any focus on re-building relationships and exacerbate the anxieties about restarting formal schooling. It will be more important to value and celebrate what children have learnt.

Key to this celebration and recognition, will be to remember that much of what children may have learnt will be very different to 'school learning' and certainly not on the curriculum. We will need to take time to find out who has learnt to bake a cake, build a wall, become an expert on the Roman Army or the life of an Amazonian dolphin. Even more, those who have been a carer for a sick relative or dealt with grief for someone they couldn't see. This learning and possible trauma is not on the curriculum but will be key to who our children are. Teachers' responses will be key to how children are able to reintegrate into school and the people that they will become.
Exclusion
There is much in the media about the divisions between access to learning during the lock down for different children. This is epitomised by the case being brought by The Good Law Project asking Southwark Council to provide resources for children whose lack of access to electronic resources is effectively excluding them from education. This exclusion is happening across the country and hitting the most vulnerable and disadvantaged families hardest. Some of these children will be attending school on site, but many are not. There will be many children who did not meet the criteria of 'vulnerable' but are not able to access learning, on or offline. Their experiences will exacerbate the divisions between the haves and have nots.

Successful accessing of learning from home depends on many factors. As children become older, they may become more independent in their learning. But for the majority of children, learning will depend on the role of parent as 'teacher'. This depends on parental skills, interest and commitment. It is further impacted by the parents' work commitments, educational and language levels. Further there are issues of space to learn, as well as access to physical and online resources. We are aware that not all children have online and broadband access, but many lack access to basics like paper and pencils.

Further, we cannot assume that this is not an issue for middle class children. Just because a family has appropriate internet access, it does not mean that they have access to appropriate or sufficient devices to access education. There are particular issues where parents are working from home, impacting on their time to support education and increasing the demand on the family's computer resources.
Difference between those who have been on site and those who have not
There will be significant differences for children who have and have not been on the school site during the lock down. It would be wrong to assume that those who have been in school are OK. We need to remember that these are our most vulnerable families. There may be issues of stigma as their vulnerability has been highlighted by the fact that they have been in school during this time. Further, there may have been a feeling for these children that school is their safe place and as others return to school, they are intruding on it.

Some of the children who have remained in school will be the children of key workers. For many of these, there will have been additional trauma. They may have experienced family separation as a move to protect some members. Even without this, they will have known that their parents were putting themselves at risk. The clapping for the NHS may have made children feel supported, but equally may have acted to highlight the risks their parents faced. The simple impact of not being able to hug parents when they returned from work will have been huge for many children. These children will need additional support as we begin the return to 'normal.'
Safeguarding
We will need to be really vigilant about children who have experienced abuse during the lock down. We know that a third of child sexual abuse and the majority of child abuse and murders occur within the family. There has been a significant rise in domestic abuse during the lock down. Many children will have suffered significant harm during this time. We need to be aware of this as a possibility for all our children, not just the ones we had identified as vulnerable.

In addition, we need to be aware of the threats and possible abuse that children may have experienced online during this time. There are increased risks from adults and the exposure to harmful images and threats. Further, as the lock down has forced more and more of children's social lives to move online, we need to be aware of the increased risk of online peer on peer abuse.

We will need to ensure that children have safe spaces to talk about their experiences during the lockdown. We will need to ensure that all children have access to trusted adults who will listen them and are ready and trained to respond to them effectively.

We need to remember that it may take a long time for children to reveal any abuse. They may communicate it through behaviour and other indicators, rather than through disclosure. All staff need to be aware of this and able to respond appropriately and immediately.
Bereavement
There will be few communities that will not have lost members to the coronavirus. It is essential that we recognise this and take time to mark and celebrate their lives. Also, it is essential that we are clear with children who has died and who has not returned to our setting for some other reason- house moves, job changes, parents deciding to continue with home education, etc. This will need to be discussed, or children and social media will build up rumours and stories that will be neither helpful or healthy.

Even for those who have not experienced a death in their family or community, any illness will become a greater source of anxiety as the link between illness and death will have been reinforced in a way that was not common experience in twenty first century Britain. This will lead to more anxiety and may make many children (and adults) more risk adverse.
Sensory needs
Many children will be looking forward to the return to school but will find being around people difficult, frightening and overwhelming, particularly if we move rapidly from social distancing to a return to school. We will need to be aware of this and support it. For some children this will be exacerbated by a fear of people in general. Having experienced weeks, or even months, of social distancing, children will have received an implicit message that other people are dangerous. Further, their experience of other people, beyond their immediate family, within their personal space will have been limited. For many the hustle and bustle, movement and number of people in school will be difficult. We need to be aware that many will express their sensory issues and anxieties about the proximity of others physically.
Separation anxieties
The majority of children will have become use to being with their parents and immediate family for an extended period. Even for those who are excited to regain their freedom and see their friends, this is a potential source of anxiety. There will be children who struggle with this separation and experience anxiety while they are in school, particularly where their family includes key workers or those going back to work in crowded spaces.
Special needs
The impact of all these issues will be even greater for those with special needs. Their learning will have been impacted as will issues of being or not being in school, managing change, routines and anxieties. There will be particular issues with managing transitions into school and where there is a change of setting.
Transitions
If we are not back to September, there will be particular issues with children who are transitioning from one school to another. Normally, we spend much of the second half of the summer term preparing children for their moves from primary to secondary etc. But potentially there will be many children who have left a school without a chance to say 'goodbye'. It will be essential to mark this transition. We need to consider ways to invite children back to have closure, say goodbye and mark the transition. Remember that this should include any staff who are leaving and children making transitions at non-standard times.

Equally, there will be issues for children starting in a new setting. Some of whom may even be starting in a setting that they have not visited. It will be key to support their transition into school. We need to think about and consider the processes, we would have implemented for information exchanges with previous settings and parents, visits to the school or home visits to meet the children. We need to consider how much of this can be moved online and how much needs to be moved to September. It will be important for children starting at a new setting at any age to have a staggered start, slowly allowing them to become accustomed both to the new setting and either the new or returning experience of school.
Uniform
Most children will have grown over the time that they have been out of school and so their uniform may not fit. Particularly if we go back to school on short notice, many parents will struggle to get new uniform for their children. This may be exacerbated by financial issues faced by parents without work and issues related to production, import and sale of non-essential goods. So, schools will need to consider relaxation of their uniform codes. Children will need to be welcomed back into school, not penalised for not having the right uniform.
Support for staff
As school communities we will need to support our staff, including those who have experienced loss and trauma. Some will have been in school without a real break throughout the crisis, while others may have been working exclusively from home. Others will not have been working at all. We need to allow ourselves time to rebuild and reform our school communities.

We need to consider particularly the stress headteachers have faced and their need for support. Many have made difficult decisions and had to respond to a barrage of government guidance which often has been less than clear. This was not part of the NPQH! There is a clear role for governors and MATs to support all their staff, particularly school leaders.
Relationships
Key to all of this is going to be re-building relationships. We need to be aware that this will not happen overnight. We need to give ourselves time and be kind.
Ideas to consider for supporting children back into school
· Use of staggered starts. School is going to feel overwhelming as people return and we will need to re-establish routines and relationships. Consider using staggered starts and part-time timetables to support everyone to adjust and allow children (and staff) time to talk about and share their experiences and learning. A slow start will enable us to build resilience in the long term.

· Focus on rebuilding of relationships and establishing routines. Most schools start the school year with this. In this case, we will need to extend this process so that we establish a firm basis to move on from. Unless we give this priority, schools will struggle later on.

· Don't start with formal assessments of what children have learnt. Balance the need to move on with the curriculum with the more important need to re-build relationships and mark the new start.

· Mark the transition, including inviting leavers back to say goodbye and mourning those your community has lost.

· Safeguarding training to ensure that all adults are ready and able to listen to children's experiences during the lock down and respond appropriately to disclosures and indicators of abuse.

· Consider providing extra time and support for your DSL. After every school holiday, there is a rise in the number of disclosures of abuse. As children return to school after the lock down, this is likely to be even more true. The DSL will need time and emotional support to manage this effectively.

· Provision of safe places and trusted adults for children to talk to.

· If we are not back until September, would it be possible for children to start the school year with the teacher and/or in the same classrooms that they had last year and then change teachers at the October half term? How could this be managed and how would you support children where their previous teacher was not available?

· Review your uniform code to allow for children who are not able to get new uniform and/or whose old uniform does not fit.

· Consider how to provide additional support to children who have not accessed formal learning during the lock down. Remember that these may not necessarily be the children you expect.

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The many problems of returning to school

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Returning to schools being fully open after the Covid-19 lockdown is going to be hard. It is very hard to try and predict what it will look like or when or how it will happen.

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Preparation for Adulthood from the Earliest Years

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BCP Council Family Information Directory and Local Offer

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Ordinarily Available Provision: Thresholds and expectation of schools and settings - NCB

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Welcome to the Council for Disabled Children’s ‘Thresholds, quality and changing conversations: expectation of schools and settings’ training.

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while the number of teachers in mainstream schools in england has remained relatively steady over the last decade or so

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the number of full-time equivalent tas has more than trebled since 2000: from 79

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700. teaching assistants comprise over a quarter of the workforce in mainstream schools in england: 35% of the primary workforce

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and 14% of the secondary school workforce. the number of full-time equivalent tas has more than trebled since 2000: from 79

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there are currently more tas in english nursery and primary schools than teachers: 273

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900.1 about 7% of tas in state-funded schools have higher-level teaching assistant (hlta) status. a key reason for increasing the number of tas was to help deal with problems with teacher workloads. in 2003

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the government introduced the national agreement to help raise pupil standards and tackle excessive teacher workload

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in large part via new and expanded support roles and responsibilities for tas and other support staff. the growth in the numbers of tas has also been driven by the push for greater inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (send) into mainstream schools

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with tas often providing the key means by which inclusion is facilitated. given that sen pupils and low-attaining pupils are more likely to claim free school meals (fsm)1. tas also work more closely with pupils from low-income backgrounds. indeed

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expenditure on tas is one of the most common uses of the pupil premium in primary schools

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a government initiative that assigns funding to schools in proportion to the number of pupils on fsm. a combination of these factors means that schools now spend approximately £4.4 billion each year on tas

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corresponding to 13% of the education budget. this presents an excellent opportunity for improvements in practice

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with such a large and already committed resource in place. the recommendations in this guidance recognise the fact that schools are operating within already tight budgets; however

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noticeable improvements in pupil outcomes can be made through the thoughtful use of existing resources

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Guidance to help primary and secondary schools make the best use of TAs

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Our latest research helps you to improve the impact that teaching assistants have on pupils’ academic outcomes. Download to discover the most effective teaching-assistant-led interventions.

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Deployment of teaching assistants: 4 key messages for school leaders

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What are the key considerations for school leaders from the newly-updated EEF guidance?

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How can we ensure Teaching Assistant preparedness

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Ensuring Teaching Assistant preparedness through structured collaboration, clear roles, and evidence-informed strategies

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SEND For All - CLF Professional Development Platform

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The following links to on-line training and resources have been selected support all colleagues on how we meet need, develop our understanding of inclusion and special educational needs and disabilities.​ 20-minute Whole School SEND CPD Units​ This series of online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units is designed to support those…

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SEND For All - CLF Professional Development Platform

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The following links to on-line training and resources have been selected support all colleagues on how we meet need, develop our understanding of inclusion and special educational needs and disabilities.​ 20-minute Whole School SEND CPD Units​ This series of online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units is designed to support those…

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The Universal SEND Services programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and will run from 2022-2025. It aims to bring together support for learners with SEND in schools with support for learners with SEND across further education (FE).

To deliver our ambition of improving preparation for adulthood from the earliest years all the way through education, in a seamless, joined up way, nasen is working in strategic partnership with the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), whose mission is to improve the quality of teaching and leadership in the FE and training sector, and the Autism Education Trust (AET), who have years of experience in supporting and informing education professionals about autism.

Please make sure that you are signed up to receive communications from the member community through your free Whole School SEND account to get access to all outputs from this programme. Register below, if you haven't already.

What is the 'Universal SEND Services' Programme?

Too many children and young people with SEND continue not to achieve their ambitions, and not all schools and colleges are yet inclusive and welcoming of learners with SEND.

The aim of the Universal SEND Services programme is for all children and young people with SEND to attend education settings where:

Leaders prioritise SEND in their improvement plans by acknowledging that SEND is everybody's responsibility.

The education and opportunities for children and young people with SEND are built into every policy, not added in afterwards.

School and college leaders consider preparation for adulthood from the earliest stages when designing the curriculum and through other opportunities.

They are taught by professionals who are reflective in their approach to meeting the wide range of needs in their class.

Teachers are better equipped to identify needs earlier and can adapt their teaching to address and support these needs effectively.

The expertise of parents and the voice of the learner is valued to pursue a truly co-produced educational experience.

Peer mentoring support for school leaders

We offer peer mentoring support to school leaders, specifically in schools where a judgment of Requires Improvement (where SEND was identified as an area for development) was received at their last Ofsted inspection. We hope that headteachers and others will value the opportunity to engage with our Regional SEND Leaders, and that this will translate over time into improved provision and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

Action Research & Lesson Study

Led by the University of Derby Inclusion and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (ISEND) Research Cluster, the Action Research and Lesson Study project aims to support schools, colleges/FE staff to develop their own bespoke small-scale research projects that focus on inclusion and removing barriers to achievement for children and young people with SEND. Divided into two strands, over the next three years, it will support the development of 50 new Lesson Study projects, and 75 new Action Research projects.

Innovation for SEND

TheBIG Idea for SEND project is delivered in partnership with The Sea View Trust. Our remit is to identify, evaluate, document, sustain, validate and scale-up promising school/college initiatives which benefit children and young people with SEND. The ambition is to create an accessible national database to widely share what works for learners with SEND. Project participants will receive high-quality, free CPD to share their ideas and support their engagement in simple, effective, class-based research.

Resource update and exemplification

We have developed a wealth of resource materials over years of supporting the schools and further education workforce to develop inclusive practice. We remain committed to updating these existing resources, such as case studies and videos, to extend their relevance.

Parents and Carers

Whilst the Universal SEND Services (USS) programme is predominantly aimed at supporting the continuing professional development of educational professionals and enabling the cultural / leadership shift towards inclusive practice, we also recognise parents and carers as key stakeholders and a number of our resources - such as our Ask, Listen, Do leaflets - are aimed at helping to develop successful partnerships between families and education settings.

Latest, events news and blogs about the programme

Get regular updates

If you would like to be informed about the latest developments and outputs from the Universal Services Programme please complete this short form. We also recommend that you sign up for the free membership and opt-in to the WSS member community through your communication preferences.

nasen House
4/5 Amber Business Village
Amber Close
Amington
Tamworth
Staffordshire
B77 4RP

Tel: 01827 311500
Email: welcome@nasen.org.uk

Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 16:00

Fox Court
14 Gray's Inn Road
London
WC1X 8HN

Email:
info@wholeschoolsend.com

Opening Hours :
Monday to Thursday
09:00 - 17:00
Friday
09:00 - 16:00

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The Universal SEND Services programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and will run from 2022-2025. It aims to bring together support for learners with SEND in schools with support for learners with SEND across further education (FE).

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This series of online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units is designed to support those who work with children and young people in schools and further education settings to deliver an inclusive experience for every learner.

Funded by the Department for Education, and developed in partnership with Real Group, these free-to-access units build on learning from our Ambitious About Inclusion modules.

In all, 20 units will be released over the next two years. Units on Safety and Belonging were launched in October 2022 and have since been completed by over 1200 practitioners with consistently positive feedback. Over the next few months we will be launching further units - check back regularly for the latest releases.

Each online unit takes 20 minutes to complete and is supported by a live online networking session, facilitated by a regional SEND leader. Places are limited, so early booking is advised - please see below.

Please note, you must be logged into your free nasen or Whole School SEND account to access these online units.

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This series of online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units is designed to support those who work with children and young people in schools and further education settings to deliver an inclusive experience for every learner. Funded by the Department for Education, and developed in partnership with Real Group, these free-to-access units build on learning from our Ambitious About Inclusion modules.

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Effective scaffolding

Scaffolding was put up on the side of my house just before the start of the pandemic, staying there for months while much of the country locked down (requiring daily reminders to my son not to climb up it). The scaffolding ended up being in place far longer than it should have been.

Likewise, in my Year 11 teaching last term, I found myself over-supporting a pupil with Developmental Language Disorder.

I provided an additional scaffold for extended writing tasks, without thinking enough about how to remove the support as and when it was no longer needed. While I was taking a completed writing frame to his desk, and assisting him like this throughout the year, I should have considered the steps towards independence, appropriate to his learning needs and to the progress he was making.

This might have meant giving him a partially completed writing frame, or asking him good questions so that he could complete it himself. Such an approach can increase the challenge for him and gives him the clear message that his need for additional support had reduced over time.

The point of scaffolding - whether on a house or in a classroom - is that it provides the support required, which is then removed when no longer needed. For teachers, how and when we remove our classroom scaffolds is a vital part of effective practice for pupils.

What does the EEF define as ​'scaffolding'?

The EEF defines scaffolding as ​'a metaphor for temporary support that is removed when it is no longer required', providing ​'enough support so that pupils can successfully complete tasks that they could not yet do independently'.

Rather than requiring teachers to be creating different worksheets for pupils with different needs, scaffolding can be a term used to describe:

- A visual scaffold, such as a task planner.
- A verbal scaffold, such as a teacher correcting a misconception at a pupil's desk.
- A written scaffold, such as a writing frame.

This scaffolding tool from the EEF can help teachers to consider what effective scaffolding looks like and what it might mean for them in their classroom. It can support teachers to consider when and how scaffolds might be implemented for everyone, becoming a fundamental part of high-quality teaching, rather than an add-on.

Teacher workload

With a shift to adaptive teaching within the Early Career Framework, notions of teachers planning three different lessons, each with their own resources, for pupils with different needs have rightly been challenged. This unnecessary burden on teacher workload can be harmful to teachers' wellbeing and - at worst - can cap expectations of pupils.

Using appropriate scaffolds can work well as a key facet of ​'adaptive teaching'. Scaffolds can often be created live, or become embedded within planning rather than feeling like an ​'add-on'.

In terms of the impact on teacher workload, it is more manageable to think of scaffolding as a verbal reteach, or a visual provided at the whole-class level, rather than always requiring additional planning and resourcing.

Scaffolding is more than just a worksheet. It is already part of most teachers' practice - or can be relatively easily added. In harnessing the full power of this strategy, we can consider the range of scaffolds available and ask ourselves questions around how we reduce them. With these tweaks, we can bring our adaptive teaching practice closer to the evidence around what works for all pupils, including those with SEND.

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effective scaffolding  scaffolding was put up on the side of my house just before the start of the pandemic

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staying there for months while much of the country locked down (requiring daily reminders to my son not to climb up it). the scaffolding ended up being in place far longer than it should have been.  likewise

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i found myself over-supporting a pupil with developmental language disorder. i provided an additional scaffold for extended writing tasks

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without thinking enough about how to remove the support as and when it was no longer needed. while i was taking a completed writing frame to his desk

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and assisting him like this throughout the year

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i should have considered the steps towards independence

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appropriate to his learning needs and to the progress he was making.  this might have meant giving him a partially completed writing frame

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or asking him good questions so that he could complete it himself. such an approach can increase the challenge for him and gives him the clear message that his need for additional support had reduced over time.  the point of scaffolding – whether on a house or in a classroom – is that it provides the support required

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which is then removed when no longer needed. for teachers

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how and when we remove our classroom scaffolds is a vital part of effective practice for pupils.  what does the eef define as ‘scaffolding’?  the eef defines scaffolding as ‘a metaphor for temporary support that is removed when it is no longer required’

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providing ‘enough support so that pupils can successfully complete tasks that they could not yet do independently’.  rather than requiring teachers to be creating different worksheets for pupils with different needs

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scaffolding can be a term used to describe:  - a visual scaffold

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such as a task planner. - a verbal scaffold

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such as a teacher correcting a misconception at a pupil’s desk. - a written scaffold

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such as a writing frame.  this scaffolding tool from the eef can help teachers to consider what effective scaffolding looks like and what it might mean for them in their classroom. it can support teachers to consider when and how scaffolds might be implemented for everyone

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becoming a fundamental part of high-quality teaching

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rather than an add-on.  teacher workload  with a shift to adaptive teaching within the early career framework

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notions of teachers planning three different lessons

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for pupils with different needs have rightly been challenged. this unnecessary burden on teacher workload can be harmful to teachers’ wellbeing and – at worst – can cap expectations of pupils.  using appropriate scaffolds can work well as a key facet of ‘adaptive teaching’. scaffolds can often be created live

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or become embedded within planning rather than feeling like an ‘add-on’.  in terms of the impact on teacher workload

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it is more manageable to think of scaffolding as a verbal reteach

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or a visual provided at the whole-class level

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rather than always requiring additional planning and resourcing.  scaffolding is more than just a worksheet. it is already part of most teachers’ practice – or can be relatively easily added. in harnessing the full power of this strategy

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we can consider the range of scaffolds available and ask ourselves questions around how we reduce them. with these tweaks

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we can bring our adaptive teaching practice closer to the evidence around what works for all pupils

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including those with send.    the 'five-a-day' principle - scaffolding

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EEF blog: Scaffolding - more than just a worksheet

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What is scaffolding, what it is not, and how can teachers use scaffolds to boost pupil progress

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This resource can be used by all teaching staff to give ideas about ways to extend vocabulary to support all learners

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SEMH toolkit

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Find out more about how to improve students’ mental health and wellbeing through everyday practices.

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The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014

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These Regulations supplement the procedural framework assessing a child or young person with special educational needs, and the procedure for making, reviewing, amending and ceasing to maintain an EHC plan, set out in Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (“the Act”). They require local authorities to notify the child’s parent or the young person of decisions within certain timescales, as well as notifying them of any right to appeal such decision. (regulations 3 to 31).

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Inclusive High Quality Teaching Audit Tool | Inclusive High Quality Teaching toolkit | Kirklees SEND Local Offer

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Inclusive High Quality Teaching Audit Tool

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Teachers and school leaders:

This simple checklist will help you identify what sensory input your student both seeks and avoids - and even gives you practical strategies for meeting those needs.

Get your FREE checklist

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📘 FREE SEMH Resource For SENCOs And Teachers

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Get your FREE and SIMPLE checklist for assessing your students' sensory needs.

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Helping you support autistic children and young people since 2007

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Easy, actionable, and functional Occupational Therapy activities and interventions. OT resources and information to help kids thrive.

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The Out-Of-Sync Child, Third Edition: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Differences

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Buy The Out-Of-Sync Child, Third Edition: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Differences 3 by Kranowitz, Carol Stock (ISBN: 9780593419410) from Amazon’s Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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Creating Sensory Smart Classrooms: A Practical Guide for Educators

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Creating Sensory Smart Classrooms: A Practical Guide for Educators : Chaves, Jamie, Taylor, Ashley: Amazon.co.uk: Books

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Beacon House is passionate about developing freely available resources so that knowledge about the repair of trauma and adversity is in the hands of those who need it. Please feel free to use our resources in your home or work setting.
All we ask is that you credit our team for the information and design using this credit: Image or information courtesy of Beacon House Therapeutic Services & Trauma Team | 2022 | www.beaconhouse.org.uk
As a specialist trauma service, our resources are written using a 'trauma lens' and offer information, ideas and strategies from this perspective. We know that there are other perspectives and overlapping experiences, meaning that 'one size doesn't fit all'. We are working to be as inclusive as possible and alongside this acknowledge that not everything we produce will be relevant for everyone.

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Beacon House is passionate about developing freely available resources so that knowledge about the repair of trauma and adversity is in the hands of those who need it. Please feel free to use our resources in your home or work setting.

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Our vision is to provide appropriate training for schools,communities and organisations so that they become trauma informed and mentally healthy places for all.

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E-guides | Strategies & insights for enhancing wellbeing | The Thrive Approach

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Explore a range of downloadable guides and discover actionable insights and strategies to enhance emotional wellbeing in your setting.

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Free Mental Health Resources for Schools and Colleges

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Free mental health resources for schools, colleges and families, from toolkits and lesson plans to guides, animations and templates.

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Schools | Mental Health Training and Resources

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Our schools programme helps you put wellbeing at the heart of your schools’ improvement, with mental health resources, training, and advice for teachers.

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Wellbeing in Education in Childhood and Adolescence

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The Wellbeing Research Centre serves as an academic partner to the IB in studying the wellbeing of children and young people in education. Our work emphasises that there is value in using school time, money, and resources to improve pupil wellbeing.

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improving social and emotional learning in primary schools reviews the best available research to offer school leaders six practical recommendations to support good sel for all children. it stresses this is especially important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and other vulnerable groups

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have weaker sel skills at all ages than their better-off classmates.  evidence from the eef’s teaching and learning toolkit suggests that effective sel can lead to learning gains of +4 months over the course of a year. yet – even though sel is already a large (and often unrecognised) part of their current job – few teachers receive support on how they can develop these skills in their everyday teaching practice. this is particularly important at a time when schools are reviewing their core vision and curriculum offer

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and planning to implement statutory relationships and health education.

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Improving Social and Emotional Learning in Primary Schools

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Six recommendations for improving social and emotional learning in primary schools

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A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development

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Buy A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development Reprint by Bowlby, John (ISBN: 9780465075973) from Amazon’s Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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Conversations that matter: Talking with Children and Teenagers in Ways That Help

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Buy Conversations that matter: Talking with Children and Teenagers in Ways That Help by Margot Sunderland (ISBN: 9781903269244) from Amazon’s Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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Helping every child become able to learn: nurtureuk home

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nurtureuk is a charity dedicated to promoting the importance of nurture and providing training and resources to help children and young people thrive. Discover more on our homepage.

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What is ELSA?

Origins

The ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) intervention was originally developed within Southampton, then Hampshire, by Sheila Burton, Educational Psychologist. It was designed to build the capacity of schools to support the emotional needs of their pupils from within their own resources. This is achieved by training teaching assistants to develop and deliver individualised support programmes to meet the emotional needs of children and teenagers in their care. It recognises that children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are also addressed. This intervention is now widely implemented by educational psychologists across Britain.

ELSA is an initiative developed and supported by educational psychologists, who apply their professional knowledge of children's social and emotional development to areas of need experienced by pupils. They provide on-going professional supervision to help maintain high quality in the work undertaken by ELSAs, thereby helping to ensure safe practice for ELSAs and pupils alike.

Click here for guidance for educational psychology services (Local Authority or independent) interested in introducing ELSA training and supervision in their local area.
The role title of ELSA may only legitimately be used by people who:

have attended (or are currently attending) a full ELSA training course delivered by one or more fully qualified educational psychologists (courses lasting a minimum of 5 but more usually 6 days)

regularly attend half-termly supervision in small groups (with a recommended maximum of 8 ELSAs per group and duration of 2 hours per session), led by a qualified educational psychologist

are currently delivering bespoke programmes of support to individual pupils and sometimes small groups

All ELSAs must be employed within an educational establishment (or other organisation that works with children and young people), and must receive line management support in the ELSA role. For reasons of accountability and safety, the ELSA Network will not endorse anyone to work independently or on a voluntary basis as an ELSA.
Registration of ELSAs
If any of the above criteria do not apply, the role title of ELSA should not be used. Practising ELSAs are registered with local educational psychology service providers who deliver initial training and on-going professional supervision. Each service provider is responsible for maintaining a local register of practising ELSAs and will remove from their register any person no longer fulfilling the role requirements as detailed above.
The ELSA Network only endorses practice that meets these minimum standards. Find out more about the network

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What is ELSA? Origins The ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) intervention was originally developed within Southampton, then Hampshire, by Sheila Burton, Educational Psychologist. It was designed to build the capacity of schools to support the emotional needs of their pupils from within their own resources. This is achieved by training teaching assistants to develop and...

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Wellbeing Resources & Emotions curriculum | Hamish & Milo

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Hamish & Milo Wellbeing Resources - a comprehensive emotions curriculum and range of SEMH intervention programmes. We provide the framework, language and content for courageous conversations about mental health and emotions - helping primary-aged children to develop emotional literacy skills to feel heard and thrive in life and learning.

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Working together to improve school attendance

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Guidance for schools, academy trusts, governing bodies and local authorities on maintaining high levels of school attendance, including roles and responsibilities.

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Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) resources for children and families

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Emotionally Based School Avoidance Resources for families to use to support their children and young people.

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To help us keep this website secure, please wait while we verify you’re not a robot! It will only take a few seconds…

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Shop Harkla’s best-selling sensory and autism products, including swings, weighted blankets, and lap pads—all with easy free returns and a lifetime guarantee.

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Total stormbreaks completed

Happy, healthy humans

When the storm rages we teach children to create light, calm and change through movement.

Mentally healthy movement

Embedding mentally healthy movement for every child, everyday

Lifelong healthy habits

Equipping children with sustainable skills and coping strategies to thrive throughout life.

Hope and optimism helps us to see that things can change and we can believe in our potential now and in the future.

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We aim to improve children's mental health through movement, equipping them with sustainable, transferable skills and coping strategies to thrive during the complex demands of growth into adult life.

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The most important in-school factors in improving outcomes are effective teaching, including from teaching assistants, teachers and early years practitioners, and strong leadership of SEND, from SENCOs, Headteachers, nursery managers, governors and trustees.

Our menu of Continuing Professional Development and Learning provides all professionals with the opportunity to learn, develop and improve, whether you are new to the profession, have many years of experience, or are a leader in education.

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Continuing Professional Development and Learning (CPDL)

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The most important in-school factors in improving outcomes are effective teaching, including from teaching assistants, teachers and early years practitioners, and strong leadership of SEND, from SENCOs, Headteachers, nursery managers, governors and trustees.