I am highly experienced SEN teacher with 17 years of experience working with children, young people with special educational needs. I am fun, energetic and charismatic, leaning on student strengths and interests to build strong rapports that enhance relationships and attitudes to learning. I take both a therapeutic and academic stance to learning, ensuring that barriers are overcome in order to enhance engagement to learning. I have managed holiday camps for primary and secondary aged pupils: organising activities within the community, as well as academic, play-based and creative sessions. I am well versed in co-ordinating and managing provisions for students with EHCPs, as well as supporting those with EOTAS packages. I aim to create a safe, nurturing and welcoming environment, that inspires a love for learning and personal development.
My experience working with young people with SEN, developing trusting and meaningful relationships to create a safe environment: I build trusting relations with children, forming a safe-outlet to better help children manage their emotional challenges and communicate their needs. I provide a safe, supportive environment to implement strategies to support and develop independence skills. Building a rapport with children and developing a trusting relationship is paramount! This is both for verbal and non-verbal children and young people. Incorporating interests and likes, whilst highlighting strengths & achievements are key to engagement and rapport building.
My specialist experience teaching students with ADHD/ADD; I thoroughly enjoy supporting students with ADHD/ADD. I understand their challenges with organisation, executive-functioning, time-management, transferring their thoughts onto paper, emotional regulation, focus and concentration. I have supported children in academic and non-academic settings and have a vast tool bank to enhance their productivity. I am creative in enabling their access to learning, whilst ensuring sessions are fund and engaging for sustained focus. Implementing clear consistent boundaries and movement breaks also works well.
My specialist experience teaching autistic students/ those with ASC: Aside from having family members with ASC, I have also taught children with such needs. I understand the impact on families and the challenges that come with communication and understanding. In this sense, I take a therapeutic approach, whilst maintaining firm boundaries. I find it important to use student strengths and interests to help engage them within learning, allowing them the freedom/flexibility to express their ideas in their way. Using literal language is key, as opposed to figurative, and offering real-life relatable examples to help them see alternative perspectives, as they often require support to see things from other's perspectives. Such students often require lots of praise and encouragement, but also the opportunity to be stretched and challenged- key for those who are gifted/high functioning (they like be treated like an adult/equal). Discovery-learning and exploration also works well. Sensory-activity based breaks can also support regulation and re-engagement to learning.
I have also worked with them to support difficulties around OCD. Comprehension around balance in life is paramount. I understand the masking, sensory overload, emotional dysregulation and PDA that may come with such a diagnoses. So I provide a safe, supportive environment to implement strategies to support, develop independence skills, and prepare them for adulthood. For some students with ASD they can become non-verbal or display mutism. It is important, with such individuals, to maintain consistency and use activities that involve multiple choice answers to create ease in their communication. Building a rapport with them and developing a trusting relationship is paramount! Incorporating their interests and likes is also key to their engagement and rapport building.
My experience teaching students with PDA: Being flexible around structure and transitions, patient and using children's strengths and interests to engage them is paramount. Experienced in using low-demand language and collaborative goal-setting. I often impliment de-escalation over compliance in order to support with emotional regulation. I believe in employing the young person: it is important to give children options/choices that will help them to feel valued, an equal and in control. I de-personalise requests and directions and use indirect and informal approaches. Again, building a rapport is key, and I make learning fun, engaging and enjoyable.
My experience with SEMH: emotional regulation, boosting confidence and self-esteem/holistic therapeutic approach: I believe it's imperative for children to understand their mental/emotional blocks. I work on helping children feeling empowered, making progress both personally and academically. This alongside focusing on their strengths helps to build their confidence and self-esteem. Ensuring that work set is accessible is imperative in this area, challenging tasks should also be attainable. When a young person is able to see their achievements, it builds an intrinsic motivation to continue and want to do better. Fostering a learning environment that encompasses this is key and something I practise daily.
My experience providing fun sessions to help students engage in learning: I am known for having a really warm, bubbly, friendly personality. I am an active, up-beat smiley person, who injects bundles of energy into lessons, making them fun. I am a great listener and am keen for students to voice their opinions. I tailor sessions, finding creative, active and fun ways to help students learn and engage in lessons. This includes adapting lessons to incorporate interests, devising a series of short activities to sustain engagement, allowing movement, and using lots of visual, sensory items and role play to enhance learning.
My specialist experience teaching pupils using sensory/play activities for primary – KS1 and 2: Many students, in particular children at primary age, or older students (who are functioning at primary level), learn through play. They often need to have all senses stimulated in order to engage. There is often a need to be very creative and playful in approach, incorporating interests, tangible items, drama/role play to engage the children. Where possible, it is good to get the children moving around (standing and sitting) to develop both fine and gross motor skills, asking lots of questions and discussing what something might look like/how it feels is another way for them to learn as they play with various sensory objects. Modelling behaviour will be key. I also try to ensure learning has practical tasks; useful for children with both ADHD and ASD.
My experience teaching Primary English and Maths: I have taught many primary students at home and online, with a focus on English, maths and humanities. I am able to use play to develop literacy and numeracy skill sets, ensure fun short tasks to enable engagement and sustained focus, and the use of the iPad where necessary (for those who are non-verbal, or not confident with fine motor skills- writing). Maths, phonics, reading, reading comprehension, and writing are all areas I have experience in delivering.
Specialist experience teaching English (AQA English language and literature specification), including phonics reading and writing – I am a qualified English teacher, who also completed further training within Primary phonics. This training was imperative in understanding the literacy fundamental skills learnt in Primary to enable students to access the curriculum in KS3 and 4. Given this is my specialist focus, I have a vast bank of resources, for both primary and secondary, comprehension and writing sections of GCSE exam papers. I am able to: amend resources to the correct academic level, use synonyms, real life examples and imagery to aid comprehension, break down tasks into smaller more manageable chunks, ensure students understand exam questions and aligning mark schemes, help students to transfer their thoughts onto paper, expand upon their answers, and work within timed constraints. Well skilled in teaching and improving GCSE English grades, enabling students to pass their GCSE English exams. Also well skilled in supporting phonics and literacy in primary. Primary and KS3 maths and humanities are other subjects I'm experienced in teaching.
My specialist experience teaching students with speech and language needs: I have ample experience teaching and supporting students with speech and language needs. I understand that they may struggle with word retrieval, comprehension/inferencing, articulating themselves and transferring their thoughts onto paper. I have a variety of resources available to support students in these areas from a phonics programme, synonyms and words banks to help expand their vocabulary, reading comprehension activities, but also discussions and conversations around topics of interest to help build their confidence along the way.
My specialist experience supporting young people with complex medical needs: Many of the young people that to work with have complex needs: they have a combination of Specific learning difficulties, with disabilities and other medical needs. Multi-agency work is key to understanding the holistic needs of any young person. Being understanding and patient will also be key. Many of these young people have experienced some for of trauma, it will be key to be empathetic, whilst taking a positive therapeutic mentoring approach. Getting to know the young person and building trust will be key in fostering consistent engagement and enable progress.
My experience supporting young people with anxiety: I have supported many students with anxiety, finding it important to ascertain the root cause in order to know triggers and how to support. Taking a therapeutic stance is key here in order to support engagement to learning.
My experience teaching 1:1 Study Skills and executive functioning skills/supporting students with their homework: Particularly effective with students with dyslexia, slow processing and memory difficulties, ADHD/ADD, ASD (including high-functioning autism), sensory processing disorder, PDA, those disengaged with learning, anxiety and depression, low self-esteem/confidence, and those who have English as a second language/studying abroad. My experience includes:
awareness of self: attributes, personal strengths and weakness
teaching study and executive functioning skills; - note taking, revision techniques, exam techniques, focus and concentration;
develop a meaningful trusting relationship - paramount to student engagement, development of independence, and key to enhancing significant progress (primary age through to 6th form/college/young adults)
support with understanding and consolidating class notes, in addition to support with organisation and homework completion
Providing therapeutic mentoring, counselling-like support
task initiation/procrascination
supporting with emotional dysregulation
providing fun sessions to help students engage in learning;
devising bespoke visual timetables to support revision and independent study/work completion- enabling structure, routine and develop of independence skills
Support to troubleshoot issues, providing an external neutral/non-biased perspective to help reduce anxiety
sustained attention strategies
personalised social stories to help them understand social/behaviour/communication/peer group difficulties.
set clear expectations/realistic goals, maintain respectful boundaries. I will hold students accountable, encouraging them to take responsibility over their learning (in particular for teenagers and young adults)
differentiated and appropriate scaffolding e.g. writing frames, sentence starters, prompts (visual and verbal), additional links to read.
revision and organisational skills: time/workload management
motivational coaching to increase confidence, self-esteem and work out-put
past paper exam questions (if working towards an exam) alongside mark schemes
praise and encouragement, positive reinforcement and positive affirmations to reset a positive mindset
ability to use a clock/diary effectively
coaching and role play to help the development of positive peer relationships
exam stress-management
going through work completed in class to embed learning and clarifying misunderstandings
developing working memory (repetition, auditory and visual recall, use of colour and bold headings, spacing of work)
support to help develop social skills, so that children may devise healthy meaningful friendships
My experience as an EOTAS coordinator: I have vast experience in managing EHCPs, overseeing academic progress and reporting back to families, coordinating EOTAS packages for young people, and chairing Annual review meetings. I have worked with students with complex opposing needs online, and in-person. I have a broad understanding of challenges faced by both parents and the young people with EOTAS packages, thus equipping me with the knowledge of how an EOTAS package can be successful. I understand the need to build a good rapport and spend quality time getting the know the young person: obtaining clarity needs (likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, history and challenges, in addition to their goals/aspirations) with them direct/ from their parents, and other professionals. Experienced in advocating and implimenting the best possible package of both academic and therapeutic support, whilst working collaboratively.
I am an incredibly personable person with great administration skills. I can support tutors in understanding SEND and adapting academics so that its accessible, have systems in place to collect data, can manage budgets & resources, devise timetabling & venue arrangements, troubleshoot issues and being creative regarding implementing strategies to support academic progression, and devise reports, whilst promoting social-emotional well-being.
Liaising with tutors, psychologists, psychiatrists, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist and counsellors enables me to obtain a wholistic understanding of any young person's needs. I am able to decipher professional written reports and implement appropriate strategies and provisions to support a young person. I am experienced being a central person of contact in assessing the needs, planning a suitable provision, coordinating and communicating, and overseeing the delivery of education and therapeutic services for a young person. As a matter of course, it is my duty of care and role to then monitor, evaluate and report on the progress for the provisions in place on a half-termly basis.
My specialist experience supporting students develop their independence/Mentoring: I was a Connexions PA for the local authority for 5 years before going into schools and teaching. I have an appreciation for education that goes beyond the academics within the classroom, and am in full support of engagement within activities within the wider community, in addition to the development of their independence. I am a realist who always tries to adopt a mentor/positive role model role to teaching. Character building and life skills are imperative for any growing young person. I always try to relate the curriculum to real life examples, whilst giving real-life scenarios to help students think about the wider world, preparing them for adult-hood. Giving them options to allow them to make informed decisions, encouraging accountability over their learning, mapping out/timetabling when they can complete their homework/prioritising their workload vs play/social free time, are some of the matters I discuss with students to help develop their independence. Listening and taking on board their views before offering an alternative perspective is also key. Their engagement in such discussions and within other activities can reduce academic pressures, support with the boosting of self-esteem and confidence, general knowledge and enhance learning. The development of independence skills ties in heavily with study and the development of executive functioning skills also, for which, I support students with on a weekly basis, within school and on a 1:1 supporting the participation of activities within the wider community. This assists with the preparation into adulthood. Consistency is key. Teaching, explicitly study skills is also useful for students who struggle with independent learning. To add further, I was a nanny to 3 children where we engaged in a variety of activities within the home and wider community; baking, cooking, trampolining, bike rides, theatre trips, museums, park walks, swimming, football, ballet etc. such activities also serve as great rapport building. I currently continue these activities with some of my private clients.
My specialist experience teaching students with dyslexia, dyspraxia, processing and memory difficulties: differentiation is key for students with dyslexia. For students in year 7, this may include amending KS3 resources down to primary level, so that it is accessible for the child. Whilst managing and teaching within the Alternative provision, I implemented this on a weekly basis. This takes into account Maslows hierarchy of needs, but also Blooms Taxonomy questioning model. For KS4 and KS5, I amend the curriculum so that it is accessible. This ensures that a student's confidence is not knocked due to their weaknesses within their academics. Differentiation allows them to make marginal progress and boost their confidence at the same time, whilst learning. Thus making learning fun and more enjoyable. Support I give to students with dyslexia/dyspraxia, processing and memory difficulties may include:
breaking down larger texts into smaller, more manageable chunks
reading texts aloud to them
using pastel colours to help information to stand out
support with writing: 1:1 discussions, note taking together, writing frames, model answers, sentence starters, paragraph headings, planning work together
handwriting/touch type- practise
repetition of key information, and activities I.e. mnemonics to aid memory
using bullet points, tables, spider diagrams, pictures/images/videos to help with the processing of information and support independent work
ensuring teaching is multi-sensory • spelling practise • using synonyms and giving real life relatable examples to enhance engagements, aid comprehension and the processing of information
providing a variety of activities with short breaks. I understand that maintaining sustained concentration can be challenging and overwhelming and so short breaks/changes in activities may be required
My experience supporting young people with challenging behaviour: many students on the verge of exclusion due to challenging behaviour. I have managed an Alternative provision, in addition to pupils with an EHCP who are educated at home with challenging behaviours. Addressing the behaviour, as opposed to person, is key to ensuring that the young person does not feel personally attacked. It also helps them to understand right from wrong and the impact of their actions. Responses should also be imminent, as opposed to being delayed in order to help them comprehend cause and effect. Once addressed, it is important to wipe a clear slate in order to give the young person the opportunity to improve behaviours with our fear of judgement. They also need to be give autonomy, space and options to make decisions for themselves. This supports with empowerment, but also accountability.
My experience supporting young people with trauma: My students I've worked with have experienced serious trauma. Not all students are ready to talk about it, however you may see episodes of emotional dysregulation as a result of trauma. It is important to be understanding, allowing space and time for emotional offloads, whilst providing and exploring positive outlets to ensure that your son/daughter feels seen, heard and safe. This environment helps to build a strong foundation rapport, to build upon personal development and emotional regulation, which in-turn support engagement to learning.
My experience teaching young people with sensory and auditory needs: Many students I teach have sensory needs. Understanding triggers and how they may respond to light, noise and textures are key factors that can enhance and dehabilitae their learning. Being mindful of this and adapting learning environments where necessary are key factors to consider in each lesson.
My experience teaching community support and outside activities; I thoroughly enjoy being able to take students out into the community to teach and engage them in physical activities. My high energy and enthusiasm is normally quite contagious, making sessions fun and enjoyable. I find engaging in such activities is a great way to build social communication and language skills, confidence and self-esteem, independence, in addition to incorporating literacy and numeracy when possible (in a subliminal way, so that sessions are still fun and engaging). I have taken students out to soft play, trampoline parks, companion cycling, parks, swimming, museums, shopping for ingredients then cooking, and many more. I will always try to tailor visits to students interests in order to obtain the best results.
My experience teaching social skills and friendship skills: Many students that I work with struggle to socialise with other students. They may experience difficulties starting and or maintain conversations and friendships. I break down these barriers by discussing with young people what they challenges are, talking about social situations and giving suggestions as to what to say, how to say it and when to say it. We also discuss how to read other people's body language, and or interpret things that they may have said- thus gaining a better understanding of other people's perspectives. This is turn can help to reduce anxiety, rationalise thoughts and provide a more meaningful and purposeful action point moving forward. Modelling behaviour and social videos also supports with this.
My experience working as a specialist mentor to help with transitions: I have supported many students with transitions: from an alternative provision, within the community, between activities, from specialist schools and other transitions. I understand that support needs to be gradual and building a rapport is key. Young people need to feel safe and reassured. Working closely with families, schools, and other working professionals will be key to ensuring that any transition is smooth and successful. I have also supported with the completion of EHCPs, contributed within annual reviews, made referrals to their special services, and supported students with EOTAS packages.
