Shona

My experience teaching with SEN and learning needs: My 12 year career has been dedicated to teaching students with SEN using an individualised approach that is bespoke to each student’s needs, learning styles and personality. I specialise in teaching the core curriculum subjects; English- reading, phonics, comprehension and creative writing; Maths including the mastery, social skills, life and practical as well as functional skills and language acquisition. I am a patient, calm and encouraging teacher whose philosophy relies heavily on relationships and ensuring that children feel happy and safe to excel. I use multi-sensory, immersive and creative activities that encourage independence, confidence and self-esteem in their own abilities. Working in mixed-ability schools as well as on a 1:1 basis, I have a wealth of experience teaching a broad range of SEN. Trained in working with autism, ADD/ADHD, SEMH, dyslexia, dyscalculia, challenging behaviour, speech and language difficulties and EAL, I take the time to get to know each student, build a rapport and develop personalised lesson plans that use their strengths and interests to create a foundation for areas they require support. I take the time to get to know each of my students and build trusting and meaningful relationships as a foundation for successful and confident learning.

My experience with complex medical needs: I have worked with many students with complex medical needs including severe global development delay, extreme social anxiety, epilepsy, Sensory Integration Disorder, receptive and expressive language delay, Soto’s Syndrome and severe learning difficulties. I pride myself in getting to know the student and their parents/carers to understand their needs, current levels and goals before developing a personalised plan around them. The individual student’s development and happiness are always at the forefront of everything I do and like to work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure that the needs are being met.

My experience teaching students with speech and language needs: I have lots of experience of working with students who have speech and language needs. I have amass understanding of articulation and fluency disorders including stuttering as well as being able to use language in a socially appropriate way and have developed techniques and activities that involve memory, attention, perception, organisation, regulation and problem-solving skills. I use many techniques including talking and the use of books and pictures to stimulate language development, modelling correct vocabulary and grammar and using repetition exercises to build language skills. I have taught overseas in the UAE where many of the students had little or no English at all and all of them having English as a second language. I adapted the curriculum in many ways to ensure that all learners were able to access it. I created a learning environment that was inviting and intriguing but paying close attention to ensuring that it wasn’t too overwhelming. I used lots of visuals and clear instructions whilst always modelling correct grammar, listening and talking skills as well as consistently praising with a warm and friendly approach.

My experience with ADHD: I began my career working as a teaching assistant supporting a student with ADHD and immediately realised my passion for teaching and using creative, innovate ways to support all areas of development. I embarked on training courses including Understanding ADHD, ADHD Awareness and Cognitive Behaviour and developed many skills and strategies through both professional courses and practical experiences. This incredible journey led me to become more passionate about SEN and want to become a qualified teacher, since then I have worked with many children with ADHD and become Head of Specialist provision, blending knowledge and experience to support each child and their individual needs.

It is important to keep students motivated with small achievable tasks, clearly explained and allow them time to complete. I have found brain breaks to be paramount and will always allow breaks for body movement, singing or even talking about their interests. Providing a stress ball or a fidget cushion are small things that can make such an impact to not only a student’s leaning but also they levels of motivation. I also find it really important to talk about how they are feeling and using calming techniques to focus.

My experience teaching students with autism/ASD: I have a wealth of experience teaching students with autism including both high and low functioning in both mainstream settings and on a 1:1 basis. I find that creating a safe and stimulating environment with a clear structure and routine is an invaluable tool to making a student with autism feel calm and ready to learn. I like to take advantage of visual timetables with pictures and key words, PECS, Now and Then cards and timers. I give clear, short sets of instructions that are manageable and include strategies including repetition, matching and multiple-choice questions whilst observing behaviour patterns and being flexible to adapt the learning on the spot. I use a lot of ‘chunking’ and mixing up activities to keep the students engaged, all underpinned with a positive reward system.

My experience teaching students with PDA: I have worked with many students with PDA. I find that building a rapport with the students is paramount and I spend time getting to know them, their likes and dislikes and then utilise this within my planning. I often use a more relaxed approach, especially in the early days to establish trust and build a relationship. An indirect style of negotiation will mean they feel more in control of their learning and consequently less anxious. My learning styles are often less direct and more intuitive. I use calm and level emotions and often incorporate drama and role play into my teaching. The language and way I approach questions is very important and will often determine the response and success I get with the task. Having the right support can mean that as their trust in others and self-confidence grows, and with it their ability to cope more flexibly with the everyday demands of life.

My experience teaching students with SEMH and anxiety: I have worked with many children who have SEMH and have helped them to build on their confidence and self-belief. I have recently worked on a 1:1 basis with a student with SEMH where the parents praised my positive impact on their child’s life. I am very passionate about mental health and understanding and regulating one’s emotions, I realise the impact that this can have on every experience and challenge in life. I believe that modelling behaviour is key using social interactions to demonstrate turn-taking, listening and mutual respect. I use positive behaviour techniques and rewards for all achievements, recognising that small wins lead to big ones and every success should be appreciated. I have developed many techniques for building relationships, boundaries, ensuring safety and happiness along with being sensitive to each child’s situation. I use Social Stories to help with this as well as reinforcing zones of regulation, targeted praise and ensuring consistent communication with families/carers.

My experience with dyslexia: I have worked with many students who have dyslexia and have taught a class in a mainstream school where 6 students were dyslexic. I created personal timetables and checklists to help promote independence and to remind them of what is needed for the lesson, end of the day etc. I break down the instructions into clear sentences and often use visuals and key words to help with this. I take the time to get to know each student and work with their own leaning styles and interests building on things they already know and enjoy. The use of coloured layovers are also really helpful and sometimes covering part of the text or activity so it isn’t overwhelming and they can focus on smaller tasks at a time. I understand the importance of being having things set out, modelling this and allowing the student time to be organised and ready.

My experience with process and working memory: I have lots of experience supporting students with processing and working memory challenges. I find that it is important to use simple instructions and model them, using repetition and lots of encouragement and praise. Using what the student is interested in is a great way of helping them to retain information and I like to create games that involve remembering things. I find that when there is an element of competition, we often become more eager, and this is a successful strategy. I will then use positive, targeted praise and remind them of their achievements. I use lots of visuals, timetables and use clear language to remind the student what is happening next, this also helps with feeling calm and focused.

My experience teaching English: As a previous English lead, I have extensive experience and knowledge in the curriculum and what teaching methods prove successful. I always use modelling and scaffolding as a way to introduce new topics/concepts and I will always encourage my students to take ownership of their learning and challenge themselves knowing that my support is at hand at all times. I use various methods to keep my students engaged including art, comic strips, drama and using topics that they are interested in and will always provide breaks and allow for general conversation between learning.

My experience teaching Maths: as a primary school teacher, I have vast experience teaching the core curriculum subjects and understand that children can’t access the rest of the curriculum without having the fundamental skills in place. I will always strip back my teaching, closing any gaps that students have utilising what they already know to work on areas they find a challenge. My philosophy relies heavily on teaching meaningful lessons that are practical and can be applied to real-life situations. I also have a strong emphasis on learning the mastery; not only to be able to solve a problem but to answer in different ways, explaining how we have reached our conclusion and having the confidence and resilience to try new methods and learn from our mistakes. I use many techniques including repetition, recall, games and practical learning such as Numicon, cubes and other concrete equipment.

My experience teaching Science: our world is a wonderful place and it is sure to be explored. I use STEM approaches and will always incorporate practical, real-life examples to share and discover with my students. I always use a creative approach and allow students their own hypothesis and reasoning before experimenting. Science provides a laboratory of common experience for development of language, logic, and problem-solving skills and I always promote sharing ideas, being creative and learning from our findings which is a valuable life lesson.

My experience teaching other subjects: As a trained primary school teacher I have taught a range of different subjects including History, Geography, Art, Music, P.E and all of my lessons include engaging and practical elements. I am a believer in using real-life and tangible aspects in to all of my subjects and allow my students to explore. I often incorporate music, drama and P.E in to my lessons and use subjects that they are interested in to help with areas they are not so confident. I recently worked with a student who showed an interest in The Romans- we created a whole project based around The Romans which included reading, comprehension, creative writing, finding materials that could be used to build and even Roman numerals. I enjoy teaching project-based learning as there are so many opportunities that do not cap a student’s potential.

My experience supporting young people to develop study-skills and executive functioning skills: My approach to teaching as that of a calm and encouraging nature. From experience, I have found that by building trust in an environment where they don’t feel pressured, allows my students the freedom to flourish. I have developed many strategies that help students to prepare for exams;- I break down information in to chunks, use highlighters and mind-maps to summarise key points, I encourage frequent breaks and work with the student to be in control of their own learning. I work with my students to help create life-long skills and to become a confident learner, not just to pass an exam.

My experience with creating fun sessions to help engage students: Who says learning can’t be fun? All my lessons are tailored to the student’s interests, and I use practical and exploratory methods to foster a love of learning and discovering. I believe that learning should be real-life and not confined to the classroom. I love going outdoors, creating experiments and using innovative ways to engage and motivate. I also use music, drama, ICT and other ways to create meaningful experiences. I teach because I enjoy it and I aim for my students to enjoy it too.

My experience with developing independence: I have coached lots of students on managing their emotions and having an understanding of their thoughts and feelings. It is so important to have an awareness of who you are and working on yourself, without beating yourself up, but working on self- improvement and a healthy mindset. It can be easy to just to things for students but it is so important to encourage their independence and self-regulation. Modelling positive behaviours and allowing them time to complete things for themselves promotes a sense of self-esteem and confidence knowing that they can achieve what they put their mind to. I act as a support, building confidence and social skills, offering help where needed but also knowing when to step back and allow them to do things for themselves. Setting goals and ticking things off when completed can be a great feeling and offering rewards of achievement is great motivation. I also like to involve the students in their rewards and allow them to choose what they like and how they feel they should be celebrated also promotes self-awareness and happiness. I specialise in delivering engaging, practical and challenging sessions that builds on confidence and encourages a can-do attitude to learning!