My specialist experience working with young people with SEN to develop trusting and meaningful relationships
I have extensive experience supporting children and young people with SEN to build trusting, meaningful relationships, especially those who have been out of education or have had negative past learning experiences. I believe that learning starts with feeling safe, so I take time to listen, observe, and work at each child’s pace, responding carefully to their individual needs. By creating a calm, supportive environment, trust grows naturally and children can re-engage with learning and thrive.
My experience supporting young people with ASC
I have worked within specialist provisions for children and young people with an Autism diagnosis for the past 13 years as a teacher, SENCo and Senior Leader. In this time, my experience is that the individual approach is the only way to go. By really understanding the individual needs, I can adapt resources and approaches to suit the learner. This may include visual aids, now and next boards, hands on learning, reduced language, chunked learning, scaffolding, as well as using the child’s individual interests to personalise the approach to the curriculum. I also have a vast wealth of experience around the impact of Autism on mental health and how that can affect how the individual’s self-esteem and approach to learning. Therefore, part of my work is working with the individual to create strategies which boost their independence, confidence and self-esteem.
My experience supporting young people with anxiety
I have spent the past 12 years of my career working with children and young people who have experienced significant anxiety, whether linked to other diagnoses or due to trauma. I therefore naturally embed into my planning consideration for how the learner will be feeling and how engaging with lessons, particularly with a new adult, can be extremely anxiety provoking. I understand the need to go at the child’s pace and together, to aim to make tiny steps of progress each time we meet.
My experience supporting young people with sensory/auditory processing needs
Having worked with pupils who have wide ranging needs, I understand that sensory and auditory processing needs often come hand in hand with other diagnoses, such as Autism. I therefore plan different ways of presenting information to support these needs. This can include visual aids, chunking information and reduced language to manage the cognitive load for the learner. I will also consider their sensory needs and have had experience of incorporating a ‘sensory diet’ into planning, when recommended by an Occupational Therapist. I also understand that the learner may need a sensory or movement break to manage their capacity to process information or may require sensory aids to support emotional regulation.
My experience supporting young people with social interaction and friendship skills
Throughout my career, I have supported young people with both social interaction and friendship skills. I understand that when supporting young people with Autism, this is often a factor. As a Thrive Practitioner, I have had training which enables me to identify such skills that need support and build interventions to develop these. I make these age appropriate and personalised to the child I am working with. These are also interventions that can be shared with the family and other adults who are also supporting the child. Using Thrive, I can also track the progress that the individual makes, celebrating any tiny steps of progress.
My experience teaching Science, English and Maths
Throughout my teaching career, my teaching has not been confined to the classroom, delivering creative lessons to small classes, within the home and on hospital wards. Although Secondary trained, I can support a wide range of ages. With the right level of planning and preparation, I feel confident to teach across the syllabus for Key Stage 2, including English and Maths. If working with a home school, I can work collaboratively with the team to support a child with significant gaps in their learning. I have experience embedding literacy across all the subjects I have taught and have supported children with reading ages significantly below the expected range. I can tailor learning to the learner’s interests, whether it is a story, a television series, a game, sport or activity, and create literacy activities around that interest.
I have taught Science for over 20 years from Key Stage 2 up to A-Level Biology. I believe in making the subject relevant and accessible to the children and young people I work with and aim to always include a practical, hands-on activity. Throughout my career, although a Science specialist, I have also taught Maths amongst other subjects. I have a Maths A-Level and with the link to the Sciences, I feel confident teaching Maths up to GCSE level. With two children of my own, I have supported them with Maths throughout Primary and Secondary stages of education. I am particularly skilled at bringing Maths alive using more practical approaches, which can be particularly useful for Dyslexic learners who may struggle with the literacy side of Maths. In addition, I have taught Catering lessons to KS3 and KS4 students, and I’m able to use cooking as a way of incorporating numeracy and literacy in a fun and purposeful manner.
My experience developing confidence and self esteem
With the majority of my career spent working with children and young people out of mainstream education, this has involved supporting the development of their confidence and self esteem alongside academic progress. I believe one does not take place without the other and therefore, I focus initially on creating a safe environment where the learner feels able to engage. I model to them that making mistakes is part of making progress and together build on that foundation to enable them to challenge themselves. I also highlight and celebrate the strengths of the learner, so that they can move towards seeing themselves in a more positive light.
My specialist experience providing engaging sessions to inspire a love of learning
From my experience, a lot of children and young people who are seeking additional support may have negative experiences around learning. It is important that they are listened to and their aspirations explored, so that the motivation for learning returns. It is also essential that they see the relevance of learning to themselves. I can personalise programs to their own interests and experiences so that learning can become important to them as an individual. I can also use practical activities and life skills to support learning and bring it to life, giving them the skills to be motivated and resilient.
My skills and experience supporting young people to develop their independence.
Having worked with children and young people from upper Primary to the last stages of Secondary school, I have had so much experience supporting them through the different phases of their lives. Having been a form tutor, key worker, SENCo and Senior Leader, I believe that developing these skills go hand in hand with engagement in education and promoting high aspirations. As a Thrive practitioner, I have developed action plans to support those I’m working with to identify skills they would like to develop and to empower them to use strategies to make progress towards their aspirations.
