My specialist experience working with young people with SEN to develop trusting and meaningful relationships
Bonding with my student is at the core of all my teaching practice, using my ample compassion and empathy to listen, understand and accept the person for who they perceive themselves to be, and then working from this point to make a journey for positive progress. I tailor learning and activities around their sensory processing profile and interests and invest in celebrating who they are.
My experience working with young people with ADHD and ASC
I have run a Resourced Provision Centre for High School Students with Neurodiversity where over half the cohort had ADHD and all had an Autistic Spectrum Condition, run a Department in a Primary Specialist school for students with Neurodiversity and taught and cared for Students with ASC and ADHD pre- and post diagnosis as an SEN teacher and SENDCo. I therefore have a wealth of experience to share with our Neurodiverse community. Having participated in some Pilot schemes with CAMHS and the charity Autism Understood, I work with an affirmative approach, identifying and celebrating our neurodivergent traits and empowering each person with knowledge and understanding of themselves. I work on self awareness of energy levels, impulsivities and emotion regulation management strategies to help each individual understand their unique profile and work with it, even embrace it. I also use the Autism Education Trust Progression Framework to help identify our unique ASC profiles and areas to develop. I provide structure, predictability and routine and communicate through visuals including comic strips and social stories.
My experience working with young people with PDA
Having worked with students with Mental Health needs in Special Schools, with High School students in Resourced Provision including high mental health needs, I have a lot of experience assisting students with a PDA profile and those needing a trauma-informed approach. Working closely with CAMHS, social workers, Educational Psychologists, Barnardo’s, Manchester Hospital School and other agencies around the child and their family, I have helped distinguish between PDA and Emotional Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA), and adapted our support accordingly (each profile needing very different approaches to meet need), resulting in positive change and re-engagement. I currently support a student with PDA online each week through EOTAS funding, helping her re-engage in learning.
My experience working with young people with Anxiety
I currently work as an Associate Head in a specialist school for young people with high Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs including a variety of complex anxiety difficulties. Often combined with a combination of all or one of sensory processing difficulties, the challenges of the onset of puberty, the minefield of social media and the digital world, managing the experience of neurodiversity in a neurotypical world and the relentless demands of the British Curricula, it is no wonder that many of our young people struggle with anxiety and related mental health difficulties. I use my experience to provide genuine understanding, empathy and solutions (for those open to them). As anxiety and PDA require very different approaches, I work out which profile we are working with before offering a tailored approach.
My experience working with young people with Sensory and/or auditory processing needs
I have a wealth of experience teaching students with substantial sensory processing difficulties and thread it through my multi-sensory teaching approach. I undergo a sensory mapping audit to identify the student’s hypersensitivities and hypo-sensitivities and tailor my teaching to cater accordingly. I also work explicitly on sensitivity management, identifying techniques to help manage unavoidable exposure to unfavourable sensory situations, as well as gently expand sensory exposure eg food tasting sessions.
For students who struggle with auditory processing, I provide Total Communication techniques adding sign language, visual cues, repetition and sequence scaffolds. I have also undergone daily auditory processing interventions to assist strengthening this area of challenge.
My experience working with young people with SEMH / mental health needs
As a recently promoted Associate Head at an SEMH school, helping students with significant mental health difficulties is very much my speciality. I work on building my relationship with each student and find young people quickly accept my non-judgmental characteristics that put them at ease. I perceive behaviours simply as forms of communication and work gently and patiently with consistent standards to build bonds and guide students towards learning.
When bonded and focussed on a hands on activity, I will explore at the student’s pace, matters that are troubling them and gently offer empathy, alternative perspectives and suggested actions or solutions (if my student is ready for this stage).
My experience working with young people with social interaction and friendship skills;
Having worked on the well researched pilot project HAVEN (by CAMHS), where we helped young people develop friendship skills in a child-led and safe environment, I am adept at enabling neurodivergent people find their social confidence through common interests. On a more explicit level, I have used many strategies and approaches to teach social interaction skills to those interested in the subject using ‘Lego Therapy’, ‘Language for Emotions and Behaviour’ and other such strategies and interventions to help navigate the social maze constructed by neurotypical people to make it more accessible for our neurodiverse community.
My experience teaching Maths, English/Literacy and Science
I have taught English and Maths to every year group through Primary and Key Stage 3 for pupils with special needs. I have been a primary school subject leader for Maths, modelling teaching and honing tailored teaching with positive whole-school impact on raising attainment. I have also taught Maths in High School including Maths Functional Skills for Key Stage 3 and 4. I use multi-sensory methods, hands-on learning, models and images, real life examples and a variety of different methods that my student can relate to, before applying their new-found skill to different contexts.
For English, I have been the teaching lead in assessment for learning techniques and an advocate for the inspiring Talk for Writing methods. I have written and developed English Curricula at two special schools over the last 3 years and taught teachers how to teach Phonics, Reading and Writing. Introducing engaging topics and texts, I bring the subject alive through talk, art, Drama and IT where appropriate. We work together on different skills and aim to bring them all together for independent writing to celebrate and showcase all the new skills learnt.
Having two Science A Levels myself, I enjoy and do teach all the Sciences up to Key Stage 4. Adopting hands on illustrations of new concepts is a challenge I embrace and try and incorporate fun and experimentation safely and effectively in my practice.
My experience teaching Study Skills and Executive Functioning
As Resourced Provision Manager, I taught Study Skills every week to my students explicitly, but also brought them tailored tools to help with their organisation, and memory aids. Always with the focus on each person’s goals and aspirations, I provide opportunities to practice the skills for improved studying, knowledge retention and independent living.
My experience working with young people to boost their confidence and self-esteem
I love to nurture each person in a safe environment. Having run a specialist setting for social, emotional and mental health difficulties and worked with pupils with low esteem in many different contexts, I am adept at understanding pupil’s behaviours as simply a form of communication, which very often stems from low confidence. Building a sense of safety and trust, I help my students reflect on their development and track their own positive progress, celebrating each small step, in ways they can identify with and accept. Through specific-labelled praise and affirmation, I nurture a sense of self respect and value. I focus on effort, as well as outcome where appropriate, to develop resilience to challenge and self-motivation to aspire.
To develop independence, I provide different self-help tools that my student can use with growing independence, to achieve outcomes. To feel empowered with self determination and control within safe parameters, I provide choice and voice in what we do and learn, all contributing to independent life skills, so our young people can safely and confidently become more a part of our wider community.
My specialist experience providing engaging sessions to inspire a love of learning
Inspiring a love of learning is my speciality and is intrinsically linked with understanding my student, finding sources of motivation and interest, and linking to capacity for fun. I use all sorts of alternative methods and resources, engaging in hands-on, active and multi sensory activities and games tailored to the sensory needs of my student. With this established, we then link fun activities with what may be seen as demand, challenge and negative pressure – learning. Accepting these negative experiences and moving forward in a new way, patiently and empathetically, can be the fresh start needed to nurture curiosity, exploration and acceptance of support.
As part of my highly tailored approach, I enable choices and a pupil-led journey, within safe and consistent parameters, and encourage independence. Through praise and support in a trusted environment, I gently coax my student with affirmation and consistency to an achievable outcome while learning to accept mistakes and failures as simply a part of life and learning. With curiosity, exploration and self-determination positively channelled, a lifetime of discovery awaits!
My skills and experience supporting young people to develop their independence
For my more able and neurodiverse students, I work on a life skills curriculum and the AET Progression Framework for Independent living to plan together and achieve tasks and activities in preparation for adulthood and community living. I feel the empowerment of self determination, responsibility and independence are key skills that are an underlying fabric in all my teaching, nurturing confidence and self-value through the realisation of their capabilities.
I work on independence at every stage of development – from using eye gaze to choose a food, holding a spoon to eat, tying shoe laces, catching a bus, writing a CV or applying to College – I support and celebrate every step of the way.
