My specialist experience working with students with SEN to develop trusting and meaningful relationships: Across all of my teaching roles (as a dyslexia specialist teacher, Reading Recovery teacher and leader, special school teacher and leader, supporting children in care), my way of working has supported the individual needs of children so that they can achieve to the best of their ability, and I build positive relationships not just with the children themselves but with their wider family, as these relationships are the key to learning. Working with children in care, it was particularly important to develop a relationship with each child as quickly as possible, as many of these children had had negative life experiences. This work also reinforced my belief in the central importance of involving parents/carers and families in a child’s education and working together in the best interests of the child. I like to create a calm, secure relationship by getting to know the child well and showing them that they can trust me to always find the positives and never to lose patience with them; I also find out about what each child is interested in and motivated by, and use this wherever possible in their work. For example, with a very reluctant writer with ASC, I allowed him to write about Minecraft as a way in to writing sentences. I offer unconditional positive regard to all the children I work with. It is crucial in involve parents or others at home as much as possible, as they know their child best and I learn more about the child from them. At both the dyslexia centre and the special school where I worked, I had an open door policy for parents which was greatly appreciated.
I understand that I am usually just one part of a team working with a child, and I listen to others who also know the child, as well as contributing my own developing understanding of the child. I am positive, finding the good in everything, but I am also honest about how things are going including if there are any issues.
My experience teaching autistic young people: In my roles within a generic special school (KS2 teacher, primary lead for English and Maths, Outreach manager, interventions manager), I worked with many autistic children, across the whole spectrum of need. I understand the wide range of characteristics of those with autism, and the huge differences between individuals, with regard to sensory needs, language development, social skills, and the need for structure and routine, and was able to meet these needs both in the classroom and outside it. I taught a English and Maths across the whole of KS2, which encompassed a very side range of attainment, and so often required a highly individualised approach, particularly with regard to the teaching of number. The children I taught all made good or better progress from their own starting points.
I also have significant experience of working with autistic children in mainstream contexts, both as an advisory/outreach teacher, where I was called upon to advise and support mainstream teachers and SENCOs in order for them to better meet the needs of autistic children in their classrooms. This usually included setting up effective visual timetables, establishing clear routines, individual work stations for some children, adapting teaching so that the child could experience success, and good communication with home. I have also delivered training in autism for school teams in these roles, as well as in my role as Head of Education at nasen (National Association for Special Educational Needs).
My experience teaching young people with anxiety: Almost all of the children with whom I have worked over the years have experienced anxiety, and many have had very high levels of anxiety. I have come to understand that anxiety (particularly around uncertainty) is often the root cause of many of the behaviours that we observe in children who are experiencing difficulties in school and with learning, particularly those children who are autistic. I am very successful at identifying anxiety and what may be causing it, and interacting with a child in such a way as to minimise their anxiety. This includes being very calm in my approach, being predictable in my responses, structuring lessons in a similar way each time to support predictability and teaching self-management techniques such as breathing exercises. I have found that children with anxiety (whether in a mainstream or special classroom, in 1:1 work, or outside of school) respond very positively to me, and this has enabled them to be better able to learn the subject I am teaching them.
My experience teaching Maths: I have taught primary Maths in a range of different roles: as a mainstream KS2 classteacher, as a KS2 teacher in a special school, and as a KS1 teacher in a specialist Language Resource Base. This means that I have experience across the whole attainment range, having taught children who are gifted in Maths as well as those for whom Maths is a particular challenge, due to dyscalculia or as one aspect of their overall needs (autism, dyslexia, global delay etc). I adapt my approach to meet the individual needs of the child, but this usually involves the use of concrete apparatus and a structured programme, based on creating success for the child.
My experience teaching young people with dyscalculia: I have wide experience of teaching children with dyslexia, many of whom experience difficulties with number as part of that, as well as with children with a diagnosis of dyscalculia (and those without a diagnosis, but who had a dyscalculic profile), in my roles working in a dyslexia teaching service, leading a KS2 dyslexia centre and in a special school. I understand the particular and extreme difficulties with number and the teaching strategies which support its development (such as the use of concrete apparatus and the over-learning of number facts, using a structured programme). I always start by finding out what a child is able to do independently, and build from there, as it is crucial for a child to feel successful, particularly with a subject where they are likely to be feeling unconfident. I recognise and celebrate small steps of progress. These strategies mean that I have been able to support children with dyscalculia to experience success and make progress.
My experience teaching young people with speech and language needs: I lead a KS1 Language Resource Base (a special class within a mainstream school) for three years, where all 10 children had a diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD, previously Specific Language Impairment) and had significant needs in this area. This meant that I worked very closely with Speech and Language Therapists to implement both individual and group programmes, focusing on aspects of language such as listening and attention, receptive skills, expressive skills, word finding difficulties and the pragmatic use of language. I also taught English and Maths to the children, and supported them to integrate into their mainstream classes for other subjects. It was very rewarding to see the progress that was possible with the right combination of support.
Many children that I have worked with in other contexts (including the dyslexia centre, special school, children in care) have also had speech and language needs (there is often an underlying language need in many diagnoses of SEN), and I have always prioritised language/communication development as the key to learning.
My experience working with young people to boost their confidence and self-esteem: Across all of my roles (as a dyslexia specialist teacher, Reading Recovery teacher and leader, special school teacher and leader, supporting children in care), I have worked with children who come in with low levels of confidence and self-esteem. Developing confidence is absolutely key to learning. I do this by finding out exactly what a child is able to do at the moment (rather than focusing on what they cannot do) and using this as a starting point. This means that a child experiences success in every lesson, which then enables them to open themselves to try something which they find more difficult and so learn. I always build in lots of revision and repetition to lessons as part of this process. I use specific praise which indicates to the child exactly what they have done well, so that they continue to do it. I also move forwards in as small steps as a child needs, so that we don’t leap ahead into something that they are not able to do, and employ scaffolding strategies (based on Vygotsky’s ‘zones of proximal development’), ensuring that I remove each scaffold as the child no longer needs it. These strategies together, and the child’s developing awareness that they CAN do it, really boost confidence and self-esteem.
My specialist experience providing engaging sessions to inspire a love of learning: Across all of my roles, I have tailored my approach to the individual needs and personality of the child. For some children, this means using a very structured and repetitive approach which eases anxiety, whereas for others I am led more by their interests and what they are indicating to me by their mood on a given day. I am flexible in my approach so that if what I have planned is not working, I will quickly adapt it. To engage and maintain attention, a 1:1 lesson will have lots of different elements or activities, for example talking about their day/week, using concrete apparatus, verbal rehearsal, playing an educational game, writing on a white board, listening exercises and so on. Because lessons are pitched so that the child is able to achieve success whilst learning, children remain engaged and begin to enjoy learning.
My skills and experience supporting students to develop their independence: Independence is the most important thing for a child to develop, as it will not only increase confidence, but will provide a life-long essential skill. As a Reading Recovery teacher and leader, ensuring that the child (whatever their age or cognitive profile) does everything that they are able to do for themselves is a crucial element of lessons. This is achieved by the skillful use of ‘prompts’, so that rather than inadvertently giving the child the answer (when I know that they can do it), I prompt them to use a strategy which will enable them to find the answer for themselves. This hugely increases confidence as well as independence.
Working in a special school, all of the children and young people had significant needs but I ensured that every single one of them whom I taught did everything that they could for themselves. This included reading and maths skills, but also self-help skills such as dressing, going to the toilet, asking for something in a shop and so on. Many of these pupils had come to the school with ‘learned helplessness’ (usually from being offered too much support previously) but all were able to progress and become much more confident in their own abilities through this development of independence.
Overall, my range of experience has given me the skills to teach children with English and Maths difficulties, whatever their cause, including dyslexia and dyscalculia. Many children with these needs also demonstrate difficulties with working memory, processing and executive functioning and I include the development of these in my lessons.
