Sylwia

My expertise lies in the assessment and teaching of SEN children who are below age-expected levels in English, Maths and other subjects of the curriculum.  I do this by designing individualised learning plans and differentiating the curriculum to match their individual needs using specialist interventions and therapies. As a former Assistant Head of Autism Base, I have successfully designed and implemented a specialised curriculum for SEN Early Years, KS1 and KS2 children including English, Maths, Science, foundation subjects and life and social skills programmes. I have co-conducted annual reviews, contributed to writing children’s EHCPs and liaised with multiple outside agencies including Education Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Social Workers. I have also provided training and advice to mainstream colleagues how to best include and support SEN learners in their classrooms.

My experience working with students with SEN to develop trusting and meaningful relationships

 In my over 15 years of experience with SEN children, I have observed that the most important building block for developing trusting and meaningful relationship with a child is proving them with a sense of safety, a space when they can be themselves, accepted as they are. Ensuring that your child feels safe in my presence, will be my priority.  Sometimes this may look like playing structured games or engaging in special interest activities or conversations. Establishing a meaningful relationship based on safety and trust is not build overnight, but once achieved,  creates a wonderful, solid  foundation where the progress can unfold.  In my experience, it can only be achieved by adopting a gentle, steady approach with an open heart and mind.

My experience teaching young people with Autism/ 

My skills and experience supporting students to develop their independence

 Having worked for many years with children with Autism, I do recognise the importance of structure and predictability as a vital part of their learning process.  I have been able to successfully provide this using visual timetables and the elements of TEACCH method which fosters the concept of working in an ordered manner with a clear beginning and end of a task, develops independence and helps your child with organisation skills.  In my experience, providing the predictable structure and being consistent with a schedule, not only helps to teach your child be more independent with time management but it also can reassure them to know what is coming next – especially if they prefer a predictable routine.  It will also give them the sense of control and as a result reduces their anxiety.   This approach is also useful when working with children who struggle with executive functioning skills which in my experience can be children not only with Autism, but also with ADHD or memory processing difficulties.  

I have extensive experience supporting children who struggle to plan, make decisions, organise and following through with schoolwork or other responsibilities.  I achieve this by employing a mix of specific strategies such as the use of checklists (that break down the steps necessary for completing a task) or pictures of sequenced routines (e.g morning routine for visual learners, “first, then, next” cards) to name a few.  With older learners, I  find it essential to explain the rationale behind learning new skills, otherwise things like planning might feel like a waste of time or needless energy drain.  I have found that children who struggle with organisational skills often feel pressured by their time commitments and responsibilities and can be very averse to delay.  They are constantly weighing up things to see if it is worth their effort, and planning can feel like a waste of time if they don’t understand the rationale behind it.

My experience teaching young people with sensory/auditory processing needs

 Addressing children’s sensory needs comes before any learning can begin. It regulates their nervous system and provides the balance, that their own bodies/ sensory systems are often not able to provide.  To optimise their learning experience, some children will require frequent sensory breaks, some may benefit with a sensory task before the session, others will benefit with one to close their session to relax and “let go” after a period of concentration.  Cranio-sacral therapy provides this kind of relief, especially to these children whose anxiety affects their senses and day to day functioning.

My experience teaching young people with speech and language needs

 When supporting children with communication, speech and language difficulties, I often use Colourful Semantics as an approach to help your child develop skills in sentence development, understanding questions, developing narrative, understanding written text and developing vocabulary.  I also find it extremely effective for children who have English as an additional language (EAL).  I love using Colourful Semantic for its use of colour-coding, visuals and because it can be particularly useful for children who are starting to develop language, have limited vocabulary, or who are confident talkers but struggle to organise the grammatical content of their sentences.

My experience teaching primary Maths and English

As a SEN teacher, I have an extensive experience in planning and teaching differentiated English and Maths lessons, to plug the gaps in the children’s learning so that they can successfully access mainstream education or access the learning in specialised settings – in small groups or on a 1:1 basis. I incorporate lots of visual resources in both English and Maths learning and make it as experiential and hand on as possible. I make sure that the tasks have a clear structure and are broken down into small manageable steps.  

My experience of teaching Early Years

As an SEN Early Years and KS1 teacher, I have a breadth of experience planning play-based, multi-sensory lessons to ensure the youngest learners have the best foundation for further learning.  Using the CPT strategy (concrete, pictorial, abstract) when handling new concepts, I am able to provide effective scaffolding for the child to smoothly move between the stages and ensure that the sessions are meaningful, creative and fun. As a tutor, I have been fortunate to work with SEN children as young as 4 years old. Learning through play and exploration is my favourite way of engaging with a young child and discrete teaching. 

My experience working with young people to boost their confidence and self-esteem

Supporting children’s mental health and to develop their confidence and  self-esteem has been a great passion of mine which led me to become a certified Mindfulness teacher of ‘PAWs B – Mindfulness curriculum to primary aged children.  Mindfulness is a fantastic toolbox that fosters emotional self-regulation, improves concentration and the ability to cope with stress.  It offers the children a way to observe, name and understand their emotions and learn how to respond rather than react to a situation.  I use elements of Mindfulness where there is a need to refocus, concentrate or just to add a moment of relaxation between the tasks. I also offer full lessons that focus on exploring how our brain works, learning to be in the present moment, finding ways how to calm ourselves when we wobble, managing our stress, recognising the power of our thoughts, and nurturing ourselves and others.  When helping children to make sense of their feelings and emotions, I often use ‘Zones of Emotional Regulation’ that help them map their feelings and then address them appropriately.  This often has a positive impact on their previously challenging behaviour as the feeling causing the behaviour is addressed.  A big part of supporting the children’s emotional well-being is to help them have the self-belief that they can do hard things.  Using activities and techniques for promoting Growth Mindset, I offer the children a way of reframing their thinking about themselves and their abilities. I encourage them to have a go and make mistakes without being afraid of failure and consequently improve their self-esteem.

My specialist experience providing engaging sessions to inspire a love of learning

Fun and engagement are at the heart of successful learning. This will look different to everyone. That’s why getting to know your child, their interests and favourite activities will guide the way how I plan the sessions.  For some children, it will mean more movement than traditional sitting session, other will prefer to build a den and learn there, rather than using a desk. Some will prefer a session in the garden. Letting your child take a lead on the topic or activity, and observing what makes them child tick, always gives me ideas for creative sessions that are fun and inspire a love of learning.

My experience with Pathological Demand Avoidance / Oppositional Defiance Disorder

In my experience working with children with PDA and ODD, I have come to realise the importance of investing the time to build a trusting relationship with the child and find out how they experience the world around them. Acknowledging that PDA is driven by the need to control and high levels of anxiety, has helped me understand the child’s perspective and realise that the resulting behaviour often masks not only their learning potential, but the positive aspects of their character and who they are as a person. The path to supporting children with PDA/ODD is rarely easy and requires an incredible amount of patience, flexibility, and compromise. One day using subtle adaptations to our language and tone may benefit the child greatly, for example, use “I see the other children are starting to pack up their belongings” instead of “It is home time, can you please pack up your bag”.  While on other day, using characters of interest or toys in a role play can help depersonalise demands.  Sometimes, when nothing seems to work, making sure there is a safe space in the busy classroom or household where the child can go to feel calm might do the trick.

I find that focusing on the long-term objective of building a child’s ability to cope, rather than short-term compliance, is more beneficial for the overall wellbeing and success.

My experience teaching children with focus and attention needs 

A large part of my job when working with SEN children is to teach them how to focus and sustain their attention.  One of the approaches I use is ‘Attention Autism’ which offers an effective way to accomplish this.  This 4-stage method has been designed to develop shared attention and natural and spontaneous communication through the use of visually based and highly motivating activities.  Firstly, I use visually engaging sensory toys or a small object with the aim to focus the child’s attention. Secondly, I begin demonstrating a highly appealing and visually stimulating practical activity which aims to sustain concentration and attention for a longer period. Then, I invite the child to take a turn in an interactive game that aims at shifting attention.  This stage also teaches the child essential skills of sharing and waiting.  In the last stage, I encourage the child to complete a short independent activity which aims at focusing, shifting, and re-engaging the attention.

Social Understanding, Friendships

In my experience working with autistic children, friendships and social situations are one of the most difficult to navigate.  I often use social stories and comic-strip conversations to address this and as they greatly help develop children’s social understanding.  Using stick figures and symbols to represent the emotional and abstract aspects of conversation, and colour to represent the emotional content of a statement or a message, I break down a social situation into simple elements that help your child to understand it better and feel more comfortable to be a part of it when it occurs.