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My specialist experience working with students with SEN to develop a trusting and meaningful relationship;

Communication and compassion are at the forefront of my teaching. I am determined to connect and meet the student ‘on a level’ that is relative to their needs. I make a conscious effort to learn about what the child is passionate about, what they are interested in and their learning styles. Humour and play are key elements of sessions, and plenty of opportunities to be silly and laugh. As I stated above, learning is fun and safe and nurturing environments foster learning and engagement.

My specialist experience and skills when working with students with ASC (previously ASD), ADD, ADHD, speech and language needs;

My 11 year educational experience has been within an SEN provision, a mainstream setting and a home-schooling setting. Students have often had co-occurring needs with Dyslexia and I am highly experienced in adapting my approach to suit the needs of the student. I follow the VAK theory where a multi-sensory approach enables students to secure learning more successfully and students create personalised learning tools in our sessions. I gained distinction in the phonics strand of my Primary teacher’s training (QTS) and furthered this knowledge when achieving my OCR Level 5 Diploma in Dyslexia, where systematic synthetic phonics was a large part of the course.

Sessions are structured with visual timetables, checklists for tasks, and opportunities for movement breaks and space to share life events, achievements or any worries. I promote emotional literacy, social communication and self-awareness in every session, where the zones of regulation are visited at the start of the session, and revisited throughout to support the student in accessing their learning and maintaining mental health.

My specialist experience and skills when working on executive functioning skills;

In every session, executive functioning skills are modelled, explored and consolidated, to ensure that the sessions are personalised and focus on natural methods of learning and processing for the student. These skills cover the areas of sequencing, organising ideas, working memory, using a plan, using a checklist for working, adaptable thinking, planning, self-monitoring, self-control/ regulation, time management and general organisation. The aim is that these personalised strategies are imbedded in to a student’s daily life, to develop independence and self- esteem.

My specialist experience with teaching English;

I have a huge passion for stories and the power of communication. My primary teacher’s qualification (QTS) and COR level 5 Dyslexia diploma provided a deeper understanding of the importance of language and how it can be processed, understood and expressed in different ways. I have worked with primary, secondary and college students and my English lessons are therefore varied in approach. Activities may include: role play of stories, sequencing of ideas, story maps, word walls, comic strips, checklists for writing and comprehension, hot seating, character passports.  Consolidation of learning is key and for tools to be created in a personalised way.

My specialist experience supporting students to boost confidence and self-esteem;

In the early stages of sessions, I gain an understanding of what approaches to use with a student. This may involve competitions, specific and meaningful praise, reward systems, and opportunities to reflect and record something that they are proud of from each session. This maintains a record of their self-reflection and progress relative to their needs. I also record lesson notes after each session that parents and carers have private access to, which encourages transparency between the teach and families, and for successes and progress to be evidenced and communicated.

My specialist experience providing engaging sessions to inspire a love of learning;Learning is fun and exciting! My sessions in involve exploring, playing, taking risks, creating games, challenges and team work. A safe and nurturing space is established from the beginning and so students feel like they can be silly and have jokes with me, whilst trying their best and taking pride in their work. I care about my students and how they are feeling day-to-day, and this compassion shows the students that they can show up as themselves each day with no judgement from me. I am able to adapt to the student’s need and some sessions may involve table top tasks, other sessions on the floor, and other sessions could be trips outside or to venues like the shops or museums. The multi-sensory approach is a key part of my teaching.

My specialist experience and skills supporting students to develop their independence; Functional skills are a key part of learning. I have experience with working in a multi-disciplinary team and so incorporate occupational therapy and speech and language strategies in to my teaching practice also. This may involve creating timetables for the home environment, checklists for what is needed to take to school and bring back home again, creating recipes to cook their favourite meal, to drawing and laminating visuals with student for how they can tie their laces or tidy their bedroom. Independence can also overlap with attachment and a student’s ability to calm their nervous systems, if they feel anxious or activated. I have experience with working with students who have attachment needs in both primary and secondary school, and so am able to observe and recognise how this may present, providing a safe and consistent space.

My specialist experience and skills when working with students with Dyslexia and as a reading specialist;

I gained distinction in the phonics strand of my Primary teacher’s training (QTS) and furthered this knowledge when achieving my OCR Level 5 Diploma in Dyslexia, where systematic synthetic phonics was a large part of the course.

Dyslexia that it is often co-occurring with other additional needs, and that the teaching approach is appropriate for a range of needs. I currently work 1:1 with students with Dyslexia and other co-occurring needs and I have a strong passion for normalising Dyslexia and seeing it as a wonderful strength. I have been working in the SEN sector for 11 years and started my career as a learning support assistant prior to my QTS teacher’s training and OCR level 5 in Dyslexia training; providing me with imperative experience in understanding how to support students with a variety of needs in a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach. I oversee personal 1:1 and universal whole school approaches within a school for Dyslexia support; providing staff training, staff modelling and liaising with parents on a regular basis.

My specialist experience and skills when working with students with Dyslexia;

I currently work 1:1 with students with Dyslexia and other co-occurring needs and I have a strong passion for normalising Dyslexia and seeing it as a wonderful strength. I have been working in the SEN sector for 11 years and started my career as a learning support assistant prior to my QTS teacher’s training and OCR level 5 in Dyslexia training; providing me with imperative experience in understanding how to support students with a variety of needs in a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach. I oversee personal 1:1 and universal whole school approaches within a school for Dyslexia support; providing staff training, staff modelling and liaising with parents on a regular basis.

My Dyslexia employment history has been within an SEN provision and mainstream setting, working with students in primary, secondary and college stages of education, with a diagnosis of Dyslexia and/or co-occurring needs. My teaching process starts with analysing diagnostic reports, following recommendations, screening for up-to-date needs and strengths, planning on a needs-led basis in line with the student’s school schemes of work, and regularly carrying out assessment for learning. The lessons incorporate phonics, reading, writing, spelling, structuring ideas, eye control, memory, problem solving, whilst working on personal learning strategies across multiple subjects, and focusing on maintaining self-esteem with self-awareness. I ensure that the lessons are varied, multi-sensory and linked to the student’s interests to ensure high levels of engagement and meta-cognition. Learning is fun and inspires and enthuses passions for natural interests.

Visual stress and eye control needs often overlap with Dyslexia due it being related to visual processing. I am a qualified Irlen Syndrome/ visual stress assessor and can provide this service within school or home settings, with an assessment report, overlays and recommendations where appropriate. I am also informally diagnosed with Dyslexia and so have a sensitivity to how students may be feeling with their learning and how to break down the cognitive load with tasks.

My specialist experience and skills when working with students with Dysgraphia;

Is in pre-school, primary and secondary phases of student’s education journeys. Important first steps that I take are to refer to the diagnostic report and plan with the report recommendations in mind. This may present itself as the student struggling with writing consistency, recording ideas in writing, spelling, structure. As well as with maths related skills such as struggling with place value, number formation, organisation of number operations and equations. It is often co-occurring with other needs and learning tools are explored in my sessions to create personalised and meaningful strategies for each individual student.

This involves having open communication with the student about how they are feeling, what is working for them and thus, trying out various pencil grips, different sized writing guides, sharing the writing load, avoiding copying from a board, screen or workbook and using squared paper to support with visually organising their mathematical workings. We take regular breaks in sessions and I provide clear modelling for activities to develop visual mapping skills. Sessions are varied, multi-sensory and fun to continue to progress with fine motor skills and self-confidence.

My specialist experience teaching students with sensory needs…

Important first steps are to familiarise myself with recent reports outlining sensory needs including sensory diets, sensory integration needs and the necessary approaches to meet the needs of the child. This is then incorporated in to every session in the form of zones of regulation toolkit/ strategy building, personalised movement breaks, multi-sensory learning, games, grounding exercises, opportunities for reflection, and opportunities for meta-cognition to develop.

Early on in the session I will also gauge how the student is accessing the lesson content and resources, and whether materials need to be simplified to avoid visual overload, or parts added to. This is to ensure the appropriate level of stimulation and accessibility is achieved. I will also adapt my use of verbal language dependent on the child’s expressive and receptive language needs, to allow for time to process and generate responses. This way they are accessing auditory information that enables their sensory needs.

Prior to working on the zones of regulation tool, if the child is able to access the activity, we use ‘The Blob Tree’ visual tool as a way to initially check in about feelings. We also work on the emotion coaching 5 step tool to support with naming emotions, their courses, responses and possible solutions. I model these activities throughout to normalise and support with accessing our emotions and communicating about them.

I will also work on identifying areas of sensory need with the student and provide recommendations to explore resources that support them; such as the use of a wobble cushion, chew toys, fidget toys, ear loops, tinted workbooks or screens.

My specialist experience with teaching students with English as a second language (EAL);

I worked with a child with EAL, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, language delay and attachment needs, to pass her English and Maths assessments for Portland Place. I really enjoyed working with children to provide some routine and familiarity during the uncertain times of lockdown, and enjoyed adapting to the online format to continue to plan fun and engaging lessons. I have also worked with students with EAL in a school setting where 1:1 weekly sessions were a vital part of their learning programme, to learn and consolidate phonics, develop conversation skills, and to secure their functional skills assessments.

My specialist experience teaching children with behavioural needs;

Behaviour is always a form of communication and so I consistently ask ‘why?’ when it is presented. Clear expectations, teacher/student/parent agreements are created collaboratively from the beginning of the working relationship, and my experience has been based in both the school and home setting for both primary and secondary aged students. This involves creating suitable learning environments that are both stimulating and safe, and positive reinforcement strategies that work the student; including reward contracts, short and manageable tasks, and tasks linking to interests. Spaces for the student to go to self-regulate are established from the beginning, and the zones of regulation are taught, modelled and incorporated in to day-to-day life in a consistent way, to highlight that all feelings are valid. If it has been difficult for the student to make sensible choices, a restorative approach is taken, to work on reflecting on what has happened when they are ready to access this, and what they could do differently next time.

My experience supporting young people with dyspraxia;

I have with students from primary to college with co-occuring needs, often an overlap with Dyspraxia. I would ensure that I am previously aware of the area of Dyspraxia that the student needs support with; motor, verbal or oral, and work with them to create visual aids and tools to support them in both the home and school settings. From the beginning of working with a student, focusing on details such as seating position and how comfortable their chair is, are vital.

In every session, executive functioning skills are modelled, explored and consolidated, to ensure that the sessions are personalised and focus on natural methods of learning and processing for the student. These skills cover the areas of sequencing, organising ideas, working memory, using a plan, using a checklist for working, adaptable thinking, planning, self-monitoring, self-control/ regulation, time management and general organisation. The aim is that these personalised strategies are imbedded in to a student’s daily life, to develop independence and self- esteem, to the support and enable their Dyspraxia.

My experience and skills when working with students with additional learning needs whilst working on STUDY SKILLS including GCSE and A level subjects including English, Media Studies and Art;

I have worked with students who have been completing their ELC Art certificates, GCSE English, A Level Art and A level media studies. Sessions and support has focused on organisation of ideas, evidencing work and the ability to reflect on their personal practice and processes. Planning and structuring essay answers has been a key area where students have needed guidance and frameworks to maintain clear and concise written communication. PEE paragraphs, language techniques, analysing and interpreting texts, revision, study skills are focused on and as the workload increases during a student’s school career, timetabling and scheduling deadlines is also supported.

Study skills are broken down in to visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning. The process is personalised and involves learning videos, flashcards, breaking processes down in to clear steps, creating posters, and consolidation.

As mentioned above, my other career is within the Arts sector as a designer and art director for theatre and film, and so this specialist experience and skill set is also applied to sessions relevant to the individual.

My specialist experience as a learning mentor;

I love to learn and grow myself, and regularly attend workshops or courses to further my practice and knowledge within the arts or dance. I share this love for learning with students and not only identify things that I enjoy and find easier, but also my journey of learning at school and areas of learning that were difficult for me. This is with the aim to be relatable and ‘on a level’ with the student, to breakdown fears around failure or resistance to tasks that are challenging. I also openly voice when a student has taught me something new and provide opportunities for them ‘to be the teacher’ in assessment tasks where they can identify my errors and corrections to be made.

In the secondary school that I recently taught at; I had daily check ins with students that were on my caseload as well as students that were assigned to me with me being their keyworker. This holistic and mentoring role was highly important in supporting the student emotionally and ensuring that they transitioned to the school day feeling understood and listened to.

My experience supporting children with their handwriting;

In my teacher’s training and OCR level Dyslexia diploma, I learnt to think ‘outside the box’ to develop specific skills such as handwriting and to scaffold the approach. This involves exploring the grip, using pencil grips where needed, working on letter formation, using a handwriting guide, making practicing fun, encouraging drawing and puzzle games, tracing, drawing letter shapes prior to focusing on scale and consistency. Alongside handwriting skills, typing skills are also developed to provide a balance of skills and respite from the labour involved with handwriting. Programmes to develop touchtyping can be recommended during sessions.

My specialist experience and skills when working with students with anxiety;

It is vital in my practice to provide a safe and secure space for students. At the start of every session we will refer to the zones of regulation visual to support with identifying feelings and how we are supporting ourselves to feel happy and ready to learn. This encourages sharing of successes and also worries; if worries are shared we will talk through this in a feeling focused approach, draw out the situations with the comic strip approach and support with identifying next steps. We will also take part in mindfulness and grounding activities where necessary such as breathing, focusing on our surrounding, to support with calming the nervous system. Throughout this process, I will model sharing my feelings, to support the student in feeling comfortable.

My experience supporting children with writing resistance;

With the above tools, frustrations or resistance with writing will be explored to create a compassionate space where the student is also extended to achieve the most that they can. A variety of learning tools are used to relieve the pressure of writing including, dictating, modelling, reading and editing, checklists, cloze exercises, acting, comic strip frameworks, short activities, sharing the writing load, with a continued conversation about how the student is feeling.

My specialist experience with teaching Maths;

Similarly, to my English teaching experience, my primary teacher’s qualification and OCR level 5 Dyslexia diploma informed a deeper understanding for time, shape, space and measure within Mathematics. My maths sessions explore the patterns within maths, starting with the foundation skills with concrete tools, and the importance of discovering maths in real life; creating purposeful and memorable links to day-to-day maths skills. As with English activities, tasks will involve developing ICT skills also and working on maths learning programmes. Students that I have worked with have been fearful of maths or found it very abstract, and then went on to take entrance exams for their preferred schools.

My specialist experience with teaching Science;

I have QTS in primary teaching Science and lessons involve theory, explicit teaching of the language terminology and plenty of opportunities for interaction. I love to start a session with an object or item to grab a child’s attention, that will then lead to questioning and discussions. Opportunities for students to explore and investigate is important, to allow for students to find their own discoveries. This leads to developing critical thinking and the skill to predict and question why phenomena occurs around us and the nature of the world.

My experience and skills when working with students with additional learning needs whilst working on 11+, Literacy and Maths Functional skills tests, Non-verbal and verbal reasoning;

My experience with exams in these areas has involved working with students, parents and school to create a plan for the preparation period. Ideally this would ensure that the student does not feel unnecessary added pressure and that there is plenty of time to secure skills and confidence.

I refer to recent reports, carry out assessment tasks, to ensure that work covered is linking to their learning style, needs and topics that need consolidation. Core literacy skills and core maths skills are focused on and exam strategies and time management are also key skills that are developed.

We will also focus on verbal and non-verbal reasoning skills alongside practice questions and papers. Practice questions will be reflected on and broken down, to ensure that skills learnt can then be applied to future questions. Visuals, checklists, games and multi-sensory tools are key in the process.

My experience and skills when working with students who had experience trauma and health problems;

I worked as a student’s primary teacher in a home school setting, focusing on Literacy and Maths skills. They had become highly fearful of re-entering a school setting due to multiple surgeries and had not yet secured letter sounds at age 5. I provided a highly personal and nurturing teaching approach where play-based learning was key for this individual. Within this time, the student made incredible progress and began to attend a school provision part time.

I also have experience with working with students who have been adopted, are in foster care, or who have safeguarding needs. I uphold high levels of compassion for individuals and ensure that I am aware of the individuals specific needs, whilst being part of a multi-disciplinary team supporting them.

Whilst teaching, I also am motivated to work on my own personal growth to ensure that I am a balanced care giver and educator.

My specialist experience working with Complex Developmental Trauma;

The first step in the process is to speak to professionals that are currently working with the child to gain a day-to-day understanding about them, as well as referring to their recent reports and recommendations.

From my experience of being a form tutor in a secondary school for students with additional needs for 7 years, and a teacher for 12 years, a holistic and pastoral approach is vital for a child to be comfortable. I have worked with multi-disciplinary teams within the school and home school setting, and this is a key factor for supporting the child. Strategies that I use with students are regular check ins, a flexible approaching that is dependent on how they are on that day and what they are ready to access. Compassion and adaptive skills are vital, with a restorative approach that focuses on calming their nervous system in order for them to access learning.

My specialist experience working with complex Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs;

Whilst working as a form tutor for 7 years and Head of Dyslexia within the team of therapists in an SEN secondary school, every child that had SEMH needs had support and plans in place specific to them and linking to specific scenarios. The Safeguarding procedures for the child was clear and regularly consolidated within the team to ensure that it was up to date and relevant. Communication and transparency amongst the team then maintained the recommended approach to meet the needs of the child.

I provide up to date learning targets and lesson notes linking to my sessions, and welcome and uphold regular communication regarding the learning and how the lessons are progressing. In the initial meetings about the child, I ensure that I am aware of their background and possible triggers. This way I can avoid potentially problematic resources.

Prior to working on the zones of regulation tool, if the child is able to access the activity, we use ‘The Blob Tree’ visual tool as a way to initially check in about feelings. We also work on the emotion coaching 5 step tool to support with naming emotions, their courses, responses and possible solutions. I model these activities throughout to normalise and support with accessing our emotions and communicating about them.

I enjoy maintaining health and fitness, and regularly boxing train. Whilst working as Head of Dyslexia within the secondary school setting, I organised and led ‘Boxing Skills’ as part of the Friday afternoon enrichment activities. This was for students above the age of 13 and sessions focused on fitness, whole body awareness, self- control and regulation. This was a highly positive part of the week for the students that provided a physical outlet in a structured way, with the use of visuals that the students had taken part in creating.

My specialist experience supporting children with attachment disorder;

Having not received consistent love or care in crucial years of development, a consistent and caring teaching approach is precedent for the child.

I have been a key caregiver and educator in multiple children’s education journeys, whilst working as a form tutor for 7 years in an SEN secondary school. Liaising with the multi-disciplinary tram, local authority, social workers and parents/carers was part of the role, and I wrote reports and attended annual reviews for each child.

I also worked as keyworker for an 11 year old child during lockdown who was not placed in a school at the time. The child had not received a consistent education or home life and so had multiple learning gaps, a disorganised attachment disorder and high levels of confusion and overwhelm. It was fantastic to observe her progress during the online 1:1 sessions, prepare her for her new school entrance assessments, and for her to gain acceptance for the new school.

Teaching approaches were consistent, rapport building focused, with a predictable structure, anxiety minimising, modelling a secure attachment style, with grounding exercises and a variety of VAK (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic) activities.

My specialist experience in working with looked after children;

I have experience in providing workshops around the theme of pastoral care with a Birmingham based virtual school team of professionals. This focused on exploring strategies for students to thrive with, to develop toolkits for self-awareness and learning, what a confident child looks like, how to develop a growth mindset and practicing gratitude and acceptance. Language demands are initially reduced with the child whilst building a rapport and personal toolkits are created in collaboration with them, to promote ownership, independence and confidence.

A fully informed awareness about the child’s background is incorporated in to my teaching and opportunities for meta-cognition and reflection are included. It is important that the team involved with the child is clear from the beginning, with transparency and regular updates about them as a whole.

My specialist experience supporting children with working memory difficulties;

I have been working with students with SEN for 11 years and so have evolved teaching methods to support working memory needs. The cognitive load can be high when students approach tasks and so we work on breaking down the expectations in to manageable chunks, creating visual checklists, and tools to consolidate learning. This includes flashcards, games, multi-sensory creations. We also work on short term memory tasks as often as appropriate for the needs of the child; drawing, acting, speaking and listening.

My specialist experience supporting children with low processing speed;

Processing of verbal, visual and written information can often present as challenging areas for students with Dyslexia and other additional needs. In my experience as a Dyslexia specialist teacher, I initially screen the student to discover the specific areas that they are finding challenging, and use this information to inform my planning.

Students are provided with the necessary time to process information and to formulate their responses. We work on structuring their ideas with the use of visual aids and checklists, and enabling tools such as overlays are also put in place for visual stress where needed.