Melissa

   My specialist experience working with young people with SEN to develop trusting and meaningful relationships: I have a range of experience teaching students with various SEND, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, PDA and ASC and deliver effective strategies to support them in their learning. I use engaging resources in fun and structured lessons to help students understand tasks/content and develop their communication skills, enabling them to succeed in activities. As I understand the difficulties and challenges children with neurodivergence encounter, I am able to build trusting and meaningful relationships with them by using their interests in sessions and checking in with them to ensure their wellbeing in day to day life and supporting however I can. I have a caring and compassionate approach towards students which helps to build trust and ensures a positive working relationship with them. I am patient, kind, consistent and understanding which helps to build and strengthen relationships.

Specialist experience working with young people with autism/ASC: I have experience working with autistic students, helping them with practical and academic work by working alongside them and supporting them step by step which can encourage and motivate them to complete tasks. I am flexible in my sessions to ensure their needs are met so that they feel safe and supported. I provide a visual timetable and visual prompts to reduce anxiety and use lots of praise to motivate  and encourage them. When working online, using writing frames and colours to annotate work is effective and provides clarity of information for students with ASC. After training as a speech and language therapist, I undertook a research role at Reading University working specifically with minimally verbal and non verbal children with ASC, supporting their language learning through music and speech therapy.

Experience working with young people with Pathological Demand Avoidance: When working with children with PDA, I reduce the need to ‘achieve’ and meet demands and expectations to encourage them in a session and use a collaborative ‘we’ approach to tasks. I currently work with a young person with PDA and make the sessions flexible, yet engaging, with alternative activities in mind if one doesn’t work for the child on that occasion. A flexible and facilitative approach has worked well so far. I incorporate the child’s interests to motivate them in a session and make the task meaningful for them, in order for the child to see its importance. I often use humour with children and adapt to their own humour, which helps me to build a relationship with them and helps them to feel secure in lessons. I also give the child choices, to give the child a sense of control which helps lessons to run smoothly. I am adaptable to meet children’s needs and I change my approach if they feel anxious, so that they feel safe.

Experience working with young people with anxiety: I have experience with students with severe anxiety and use a clear structure in my sessions to reduce anxiety and visual timetables to help students know what is coming next in a session. I reduce expectations and demands for children so they don’t feel they are expected to complete particular tasks and I am always patient and understanding. If a child experiences anxiety, I adapt an activity to help them to feel safe and supported and ensure that they feel regulated. I also use multisensory ways of learning to engage students and teach in a cumulative and sequential way to reduce overwhelm and build confidence, which breaks down learning, reducing anxiety. I give lots of praise to students with anxiety which helps me to build positive relationships with them. I enjoy supporting students with anxiety and monitoring their progression and anxiety levels over time.

My experience teaching Secondary English : I have extensive experience teaching English, focusing on areas such as creative writing, reading comprehension, spelling, grammar and exam preparation. I also teach iGCSE English Language and Literature and can teach a wide range of texts, including ‘Of Mice and Men’, ‘Macbeth’, ‘An Inspector Calls’ and GCSE Anthology texts featuring poetry and prose texts. I often go through poetry/ texts using multisensory teaching online, using BitPaper to ensure teaching is highly interactive. This helps to ensure students understand and can analyse key texts. I use writing frames, sentence starters, planners and visual resources to help students formulate their ideas and encourage them to annotate text. With creative writing tasks, I like to give a clear structure and examples of model answers which support students and give them ideas of what to write.

My experience teaching Secondary Maths: I regularly teach maths up to KS4 level, which can support preparation for GCSEs. I use a structured and multisensory approach to online maths learning, which involves using visuals to help students understand topics e.g data handling, number and measure, word problems and young people can use and apply their new knowledge understanding in tasks to check they understand and to enable them to perform their maths skills in stages. I often give praise to students to enable their confidence to grow.

My experience teaching primary and secondary science: I have experience teaching primary Science up to KS3 level and have experience teaching the IGCSE Edexcel syllabus for Biology, Chemistry and Physics. I enjoy breaking topics into small chunks and asking students to learn actively, completing interactive activities online to check their understanding of concepts. I recommend science experiments that can be done together in sessions and at home to check understanding and make science practical when combining with online learning to make science learning motivating and fun.

Experience teaching children with Speech and Language Needs: I am a qualified speech therapist therapist and have experience supporting children and young people with speech sound disorders, social communication difficulties, expressive and receptive language needs and use evidence based practice to support them. In my experience as a speech and language researcher at Reading university, I devised engaging ways to support children’s language using intensive interaction therapy, focussed stimulation therapy and music therapy techniques to support functional language development which enabled children with ASC to develop relationships at school, ultimately improving their social skills.

My experience working with young people to develop social interaction and friendship skills : I am a qualified speech therapist therapist and have experience supporting children and young people with social communication difficulties (including children with ASC). Developing social interaction skills using social stories and social scenes to develop students’ confidence and language when potentially interacting with others is an aspect of social communication I enjoy teaching and practising as role plays can be really engaging and fun ways to develop friendship and social skills. Also looking at texts and themes e.g National Friendship Week can also give young people a chance to discuss understanding of social contexts which I enjoy.

My experience developing confidence and self-esteem: I have experience creating a safe, encouraging environment where students feel valued and able to express themselves. I use positive reinforcement, clear guidance, and age-appropriate activities to help individuals recognise their strengths and build a sense of achievement. By listening to their needs and adapting my approach, I support them in overcoming challenges, trying new things, and gaining confidence in their abilities. Over time, this helps them become more self-assured, resilient, and willing to engage with others.

My specialist experience providing engaging sessions to inspire a love of learning: I like to focus on my student’s strengths and planning fun, personalised lessons which helps me to engage them in my sessions and has enabled students’ confidence, self-esteem and independence to develop and thrive. I use praise frequently to motivate students which builds their confidence and resilience and plan varied activities to support their targeted needs to develop their love of learning.

My skills and experience supporting young people to develop their independence: I provide a collaborative approach to begin with in sessions to help the person feel supported and to develop our relationship. I scaffold activities depending on the child’s ability and existing knowledge which enables their confidence to grow and as a result children have then felt ready to explore their ideas and make decisions on their own, which has resulted in them showing their creativity. I like to give praise and reassurance to children in response to their independent learning.

My experience working with young people with ADHD: I have extensive specialist teaching experience with students with ADHD and help to support their attention and listening skills and also organisation and time management skills. I use structure in my sessions to reduce anxiety and visual timetables to help students know what is coming next. I also use multisensory resources to engage students and teach in a cumulative and sequential way to support overlearning and memory, which are affected by ADHD/ASC. I enjoy supporting students with ADHD and monitoring their progression over time.

My experience teaching Executive Functioning Skills and Study Skills: I have supported children with EFS deficits for 10 years, providing strategies to support task initiation, emotional regulation and planning amongst others. I have provided support with study skills and techniques/tools which can be used by students in all subjects. The use of multisensory resources and explaining metacognitive approaches to learning can encourage students to reflect on their own learning and how they learn best. Resources such as Quizlet, BBC Bitesize, and use of visuals and colour are examples of strategies which can be practised in the context of subjects/curriculum content which I tailor to the syllabus of what a student is learning to support their memory. Different approaches work for different students, so I am adaptive to the needs of the student up to and including A levels.

Experience teaching children with Complex Medical Needs:

I have supported several pupils with complex medical needs, including epilepsy and cerebral palsy, ensuring they are fully supported in their learning and wellbeing. I ensure that I understand each pupil’s EHCP and work closely with parents, carers, and medical professionals to ensure their needs are consistently met. I liaise regularly with parents and school staff to maintain up-to-date knowledge of each pupil’s medical routines, triggers, and emergency procedures. I adapt activities so that all pupils can participate meaningfully which includes managing rest breaks for pupils with fatigue or health conditions, and creating calm, predictable routines for children who may experience anxiety due to their health.

Experience teaching children with sensory/auditory processing needs: I am mindful that students may have sensitivity to noise and the number of visuals on screen in my online lessons, so I ensure that I limit the amount of information given to them on screen and verbally. I break down tasks verbally so that students have to process and understand verbal instructions to help them complete tasks. I ensure that I repeat information to students who may have difficulty processing and understanding information so they are clear on how to complete a task which we can complete together.

My experience working with young people to boost their confidence and self-esteem:  I regularly use praise to all pupils to increase their self esteem and when getting started on activities, I give examples to answers to help their confidence which in turn develops their independence. I give reassurance to children who are unsure of themselves or a task and use a collaborative approach in a calm and patient manner. I scaffold tasks to begin with so that students can develop awareness and understanding of activities which can support their confidence and self esteem and give rewards such as sticker charts and prizes. I also create activities such as quizzes with instant feedback to engage and encourage learners which can develop their confidence.

My experience teaching young people with SEMH/Mental Health Needs: I have previously taught young people who may have barriers towards learning due to their mental health and I adapt my teaching so they are supported and feel confident in themselves to succeed. I use praise and encouragement so that students feel value within themselves and I break teaching down so that it is less overwhelming for students and they are able to understand ‘small steps to success’ to help motivate them. I go over a plan of what we will do in the session and plan short activities which are motivating for the student in order for them to progress.

Experience working with young people with working memory difficulties: When I support pupils with working memory needs, I ensure that information is written down and repeated verbally to help them retain and manipulate information. This ensures that tasks and information is accessible and they can succeed in tasks. I also ensure that I give students enough time to answer questions so that they can use information to help them work out an answer in their head. I also ensure tutees are given opportunities to remember information by asking them to write/type information in a way that makes sense to them, so that they can remember and work out answers to questions.

My experience teaching young people using a child led, activity based style: I currently work with a child where all sessions are child led. I produce resources and ideas for sessions which a child can use in a way they enjoy to engage them. Sessions are open ended and enquiry based, where the child can develop the session topic depending on their interests and curiosity. For example, providing an online interactive whiteboard encouraged the child to draw their own story which has developed into a storytelling project and is now being entered into a gaming competition based on the main character.  I enjoy working with children using this flexible approach, as the most creative ideas come out of it which can be so motivating for children.

My specialist experience providing sessions focusing on STEM based learning: I incorporate a lot of science and technology based activities with students as I find that some students with Autism and PDA are heavily interested in these areas. Recent session topics have included the role of technicians within science and understanding the role maths plays in our society and game based learning using maths. Discussions on the use of AI within science have been topics which students have enjoyed debating and designing practical projects which students want to explore.

Mentoring and executive function skills experience: I often mentor pupils with high levels of anxiety, frustration and help them to manage their overwhelm by breaking down tasks and activities into smaller chunks to motivate them and make them feel they are progressing with small steps to success. This also links in with executive function support as I am able to monitor and support students to initiate tasks, reduce task avoidance and manage response inhibition.

Experience teaching young people with Global Developmental Delay: I have worked with children who have difficulties in their physical, cognitive, communication and social skills and find effective ways to motivate and inspire them to support their development across these areas, in person and online. I am excellent at supporting social and emotional development, enabling students with GDD to meet targets and milestones.

My experience working with young people to develop social interaction and friendship skills : I am a qualified speech therapist therapist and have experience supporting children and young people with social communication difficulties (including children with ASC). Developing social interaction skills using social stories and social scenes to develop students’ confidence and language when potentially interacting with others is an aspect of social communication I enjoy teaching and practising as role plays can be really engaging and fun ways to develop friendship and social skills. Also looking at texts and themes e.g national friendship week can also give young people a chance to discuss understanding of social contexts which I enjoy.

Specialist experience teaching students with dyslexia: As I am Level 5 dyslexia trained, I have a wealth of experience tutoring children of all ages who have a range of dyslexic profiles, including difficulties in reading, writing, spelling, memory, comprehension, organisation and processing abilities. My lessons have a structured, cumulative and sequential approach, which includes overlearning many different concepts to support student’s memory. I use online resources such as BitPaper to engage students with dyslexia and using this highly interactive method helps with overlearning and makes it easy for the student to learn online. I integrate multisensory learning, using visual, auditory and kinaesthetic methods to help the student learn.

Specialist experience teaching students with Dypraxia/DCD:  I have a wealth of experience tutoring students with dyspraxia. My lessons have a structured, cumulative and sequential approach, which includes overlearning many different concepts to support a student’s memory. I can support sequential memory by asking students with dyspraxia to sequence pictures/events in a way that will support their memory through collaborative learning. I use online resources such as BitPaper to engage students with dyspraxia and using this highly interactive method helps with overlearning and makes it easy for the student to learn online. I integrate multisensory learning, using visual, auditory and kinaesthetic methods to help the student learn.

Experience teaching students with visual stress: As a dyslexia specialist, I teach many students with visual disturbances, and can assess for visual stress using the Wilkinson’s test. I will be completing Irlen’s visual stress training in the new academic year so I can assess using this renowned process. I regularly source overlays for pupils and ensure I have the background of a screen a colour which makes it easier for students with visual stress to read. I use these colours on the BitPapers I use online to make this easier for the student.

Experience teaching entrance exams (11+) and cognitive ability: As a teacher, I have demonstrable experience tutoring children for entrance exams into very competitive independent schools and have a 100% pass rate thus far. I have tutored verbal and non verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and and I break down tasks and puzzles into small chunks to equip children with the skills needed to succeed in these tests. I am training as a dyslexia assessor and regularly use cognitive assessments to find where the gaps are in children’s verbal and non verbal abilities which then helps me to find appropriate activities to complete with a child.

Work Experience History and Skills: After graduating with QTS (Qualified Teacher Status), I started my teaching children with SEND at a very small independent school in Battersea, London, where I worked with children with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, Autism and Speech and Language impairments. In the two years I worked as a Special Needs Teacher at a prestigious inner London day school, I worked with students who had difficulty accessing the curriculum and had difficulty with social skills due to their sensory processing difficulties, hearing impairments, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, ADHD and ASD.

I supported students through whole class teaching, a 1:1 basis and group interventions, and I supported other teachers in delivering and adapting lessons for specific students, behaviour management strategies and assessment for learning. I also tailored my lesson ideas and resources to meet the needs of the children I taught, to enable them to succeed in their learning and significantly developed my students’ love of learning through praise and positive feedback.

My teamwork skills helped me build positive and supportive relationships with colleagues and senior staff, STL, parents and carers and, as a consequence, which resulted in them having confidence in me which was also seen in the children I taught. I also effectively managed students’ mental health and overwhelm by encouraging appropriate strategies in our 1:1 sessions.

As I wanted to further specialise in SEND and develop my expertise further, I undertook my MSc in Speech and Language Therapy at Reading University, having taken an interest in communication difficulties after working in London.

On the placements on my course, I worked closely with children with ASD, behaviour and emotional difficulties, dysfluency (stammering) and PMLD. I also worked with adults with acquired brain injuries, Adults with Learning Disabilities and dysphagia.

When working with children, I worked closely with other Speech and Language Therapists and I developed both personally and professionally, assessing students, setting SMART targets and planning therapy and activities together to support children and target their needs, which were often detailed on EHCPs. When working in schools, I worked with Learning Support Assistants, Teaching Assistants and other allied health professionals to support students accordingly. Due to the cooperation with the multi-disciplinary team, I learnt a range of strategies to deal with students whose education was impacted by poor communication, concentration and language skills.

I gained experience with a wide variety of tasks as a speech and language therapist, including assessing students using standardised and published assessments and using evidence based therapy to support them.

After training, I undertook a research role at Reading University working specifically with minimally verbal and non verbal children with ASD, supporting their language learning through music and speech therapy. As this was done over lockdown, I developed skills in assessing children and giving music based speech therapy online. I worked with a team of researchers to develop and plan this complex project, and as a result I developed knowledge of research methods and made my own assessments.

While working, I completed my Level 5 dyslexia teaching qualification and started screening and planning/delivering lessons 1:1 with children with dyslexia.

I also became familiar with assistive technologies – such as ACC devices – and softwares such as Nessy, Bitpaper, Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom. I started teaching online in lockdown and furthered my tutoring abilities by tutoring children for entrance exams, including 7+, 8+ and 11+ (including ISEB). My students passed their exams with weekly tutoring sessions from myself.

In my current role as an Academic Support Teacher, I am proud of the effective, working relationships that I have formed with teachers, parents and students with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and ASD. I use multisensory methods to help them with overlearning and memory to help them pass exams and achieve their very best. I also mentor students and provide effective study skills support which gives students the tools they need to succeed.

I am excellent at establishing a meaningful and trusting relationship with students, families and other professionals which has amounted to many successes in my students.

Focusing on student’s strengths and planning fun, personalised lessons has helped me to engage students in my sessions and has enabled students’ confidence, self-esteem and independence to develop.