My specialist experience working with young people with SEND to develop trusting and meaningful relationships:
The relationship we hold with young people is at the core of successful support and something I never take for granted. I have always invested a considerable amount of time in getting to know my students and families at the outset of working with them and pride myself on the quality of those relationships. Without trust on both sides, the progress a young person will make will be impacted. It is important that as tutors, we are able to share supportive and constructive criticism with our young people within a trusting and safe environment.
Young people may feel vulnerable in tutoring environments, sharing their weaker areas as part of their sessions. Inevitably, this can make working on these areas difficult cognitively and emotionally. The relationship held between the young person and tutor is the safety rope that allows the young person to open themselves to change, safe in the knowledge that they will not be judged on any errors they may make. Predictable, supportive yet challenging are the words I would use to describe sessions with me with a view to building confidence in the young person to challenge themselves and take risks with their learning; it is by allowing themselves to take these risks, that they will progress most effectively.
My experience working with young people with Autism:
Young people with autism in mainstream schools have been a part of my teaching career since the beginning. I have worked with young people with a diagnosis of autism both in groups, classes and 1:1 tutoring sessions at home, in school and in alternative educational provisions.
Work with young people has often focussed on supporting their anxiety around the school environment and navigating peer and adult relationships. How to navigate this world with space to discuss concerns has been central to this support. I focus on Executive Functioning skill development and support with systems and routines. It is important to be flexible in methods of communication and work outcomes in order to maintain trust and motivation.
In addition, as young people approach GCSE, I have found that they benefit from specific question by question teaching to enable them to transfer underlying skills from one task to the next, meeting the specific needs of exam boards. This often involves developing a formula or series of self-made guidelines within which they can work, giving them the confidence that they are on the right track. This reduces anxiety around the outcomes of their work and when given clear feedback, generates a pathway to improvement.
Orienting my work around interests and strengths also allows them to work on topics of interest in a secure environment, reducing issues with motivation.
My experience working with young people with PDA:
My experience working with young people with PDA has been in school, small group provisions out of the mainstream and in 1:1 tutoring situations. It is important that these sessions are based on a strong and trusting relationship. Working with PDA involves adjusting your script when it comes to task setting and support. Low level demand and presentation of choice is most effective but without a strong and trusting connection, progress will be minimal.
Being the carer for a young person with a diagnosis of PDA, is also extremely complex and my work also includes communication with the carers as they best know their young person. Resistance to tasks can be generated in a surprising number of ways, carers will often see or hear things that can support my work with the young person. Learning environments must be predictable whilst concentrating on the development of skills, reaching for the best work the young person can achieve and promoting emotional regulation as a fundamental to managing tasks and their completion.
My experience working with young people with speech and language needs:
Having completed some language development modules over my teaching career, I have worked in tandem with Speech and Language therapists for the last 17 years. I have learned a great deal about structuring language development work with my 1:1 students and have found systems such as Hotmaps useful in supporting thinking processes around KS3-5 writing and reading tasks.
Apart from a stand alone diagnosis of language delay, there are often language issues relating to other diagnosed learning needs. I have supported a student with significant speech and language difficulties through KS5, adapting resources and liaising with teaching staff regarding their needs in the classroom whilst completing an Advanced Diploma.
My experience teaching GCSE and Functional Skills English:
I have extensive experience supporting English up to GCSE level in schools and with my 1:1 students, teaching and supporting for all four main exam boards AQA, OCR, Edexcel and Eduqas. I have also taught Functioning Skills to Level 2 in English to young people in specialist settings with successful outcomes at GCSE and Functional Skills Level 1 and 2. I am flexibility in approaching tasks, meeting the individual needs of my young people both academically and in terms of their confidence, something I acknowledge is at the heart of many feelings of failure in young people with SEND.
I am aware that those young people struggling with the requirements of the GCSE or functioning skills qualifications benefit from some security in terms of their approach to answering the questions. I can help them to develop a system they understand and in which they can feel confidence when under pressure in their final exams.
My experience teaching core literacy skills:
I trained as a Specialist Tutor for students with Specific Learning Difficulties 30 years ago and have seen many reiterations of ‘the right way’ to teach literacy. I have been able to watch and learn as the ebb and flow of a variety of teaching strategies have come in and out of fashion. The benefit of a life time of learning is that I now have a wide range of available approaches to teaching core literacy skills to all ages from 7 years to adult and can adapt one or more of these to suit individual needs and also the available support for practise during the week between lessons.
I am perceptive to the anxieties that young people experience when exposing their weaker areas to a tutor. It’s important to be sensitive regarding the feelings young people frequently harbour when faced with the idea of trying something new. They may have similar feelings around making mistakes after years of failing to make progress with their literacy. I have a good history of my young people making excellent progress and regaining their self-confidence with this approach.
My specialist experience supporting people with working memory issues and other executive functioning skills (EFS):
Having recognised that much of my underlying training with young people was to identify and improve their EFS, I trained in 2025 as an Executive Functioning Skills Coach (this was carried out with a leading EFS training provider in UK and the USA). I have found many opportunities working with young people who have shared their day to day difficulties as a result of their neurodiversity. There are many reasons why someone’s EFS need support and carefully structured support plans with appropriate challenges can be transforming for many young people.
Issues with Working Memory is something commonly associated with young people who are experiencing difficulty retaining learning as well as in the reading and production of extended writing. I can share a wide variety of ideas and support packs for revision and working on literacy assignments with a higher memory load as a result of many years in support of young people from Yr 4 to Yr 13 and into higher education. Repetition and rehearsal are key to this but as these come with a high boredom factor, I have ways to make this process slightly less tedious. Learning their own focus limits and to use breaks effectively is crucial to developing an effective working pattern.
I can empathise with issues in this area as I have direct personal experience as well as that of my close family. These programmes may last a few weeks initially but then move into a maintenance stage where they are revisited every few weeks whilst focussing on other areas of support.
My skills and experience supporting young people with ADHD:
My experience supporting young people with ADHD is both personal and professional through my work in school, specialist provision and 1:1 tuition. I am aware of the need to support Executive Functioning skills and this involves significant adjustments to my teaching model to adapt tasks to accommodate limited focus and motivation. I am sensitive to the likelihood of issues relating to low self-esteem in their work, the need to develop structure for revision sessions as well as time to address regulation of alertness levels within their day.
Planning prior to completing extended writing tasks is crucial but often a challenge without apparent reason for those with a diagnosis of ADHD; using oral and visual planning tools can be a great help. These may be using IT or on paper and best trialled to see which suit the individual and the task. Young people will have preferences, but this does not preclude offering them fresh experiences with a variety of tools. I use scaffolding when working on writing tasks, leading to the development of personalised writing frames created in tandem with the young person; these will be adapted to each new situation and modelled. The young people will slowly acquire the skill to adapt these structures to whatever situation they face. This confidence in facing new writing problems and being able to find a practical solution is incredibly valuable in terms of academic progress but also self-confidence in their ability to work independently.
