10 Effective De-Escalation Techniques to Diffuse a Meltdown
Sometimes, things can get too overwhelming for students and they can enter a 'meltdown'. They lose control over their behaviours and...
Top 10 Sensory Fidget Toys for your Classroom in 2022
Fidget toys took the world by storm in recent years and their benefits are endless. They act as self-regulation tools that increase...
Why We Need More SEN Teachers & Teaching Assistants
Statistics from the Department for Education have reported a 9.9% increase in the number for Educational Healthcare Plans (EHCP's) issued...
5 Best Teacher Planners 2022
As teachers or teaching assistants, we undoubtedly love a bit of stationary! The summer holidays is a perfect time to grab a new planner...
Top Tips for Teaching Students with PMLD
Teaching children with PMLD is an extremely rewarding, but challenging profession. These wonderfully unique pupils have a high level of...
Veganism in Education - Supporting Pupils
Becoming vegan-inclusive in your everyday teaching and learning practice benefits the wider cohort as well as the vegan children....
What is ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) and Why is it so Controversial?
Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is an intensive intervention therapy based on the science of learning and behaviour. Widely used across...
10 Common SEN Interview Questions & How to Answer Them
It's hiring season! As a SEN Recruitment Consultant, I have spent the last few weeks constantly coaching teaching assistants and teachers...
Autism in Women and Girls
Attitudes towards autism and gender are changing, although we still have a long way to go. Many autistic women and girls are still...
Top 5 iPad Apps for Children with SEN
iPads have been a technological revolution for us all, but they can also be a revelation for children with SEN. There are over 20,000...
How to Make a Pupil Passport
Pupil Passports are a person centred working tool suitable for those supporting pupils from EYFS through to post-16 provisions. The...
Social Stories: What are they and how do you make one?
Social Stories are a fantastic way of helping children with SEN, predominantly autism, understand and cope with new experiences, changes...
How Do I View IEP's as a Former Special Education Student?
For many families affected by a disability, an education can often be a scary view for the student being educated. The fact that he or...
Supporting Students with Anxiety
1 in 6 children are currently experiencing mental health difficulties, and anxiety is one of the most common conditions, affecting...
Supporting Students with Speech & Language Needs - Strategies for Teachers & Teaching Assistants
Speech and language skills affect all areas of learning and children who are under-developed or delayed in their understanding or use of...
Why 'Traffic Light Systems' Don't Work
Methods of behaviour management that publicly name students are counterproductive and ableist. That statement may ruffle some feathers...
What is Attention Autism?
If you work with children with additional needs, specifically those with ASD, you may have heard the term "Attention Autism". Attention...
Attachment & Trauma in Education
What is Trauma? Although we want to think that every child grows up in a safe, loving environment, this is sadly not the case and many,...
5 Amazing Benefits of Music Therapy for Children with Special Needs
Music is a language that is universal, regardless of race, gender, heritage, ability, age etc. Music can make us feel numerous different...
Top 10 Behaviour Management Techniques
We all want every lesson to be the dream lesson, where children are enthused, excited and involved with all aspects of learning. They ask...
Understanding Challenging Behaviour
One of the most difficult things that teachers, teaching assistants and support staff need to overcome in the classroom is managing...
Supporting Children with Down's Syndrome
We are all mostly familiar with Down's Syndrome, some of you may have a child with Down's Syndrome in your class. You will be conscious...
Asperger's Syndrome: A Personal Story
This is actually somewhat of a really personal blog. My boyfriend, Vincent, was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) when he was in...
Conduct Disorder in Children
Whether you have taught in mainstream schools, SEN/SEMH Schools or Alternative Provisions, you will have no doubt come across children...
10 Top Tips for an Autism-Friendly Classroom
If you are working within the education or child-care sector, chances are you have cared for or taught a child with Autism Spectrum...
Introduction to Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs
In 2020/2021, over 200,000 children in the UK received either SEN support or an EHCP for Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs...
5 Best Strategies for Supporting Children with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)
PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) is widely understood to be a profile on the autism spectrum. Whilst recognised by the National...
Supporting Children who are Non-Verbal
When people hear that a child is non-verbal, they often assume that that child is autistic or has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Whilst...
Anti-Bullying Week: How can TA's support children with SEN regarding bullying?
There are many contextual factors - support staff, poorly differentiated activities, and separate teaching - may lead to children with...
Meeting the Unmet Needs of Children with Challenging Behaviour
A child's real needs often lie beneath behaviour and too often they go unseen, unheard and unmet.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder - Tips & Resources
Oppositional Defiant Disorder - what is it? Dealing with oppositional defiant disorder in the classroom can be difficult but here's some tip
Top 5 Books for Your SEMH Library
These books allow the emotional centres of the brain to express deep and complex emotions.
ADHD - 6 Top Tips!
In the UK, it is thought that between 2-5% (1 in 30) of school aged children have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. ADHD...
Supporting SEN Pupils in the Transition Back to School
What a couple of months it has been! If you had told me in December 2019, that in early 2020, all schools would “close” (though we know...
Autism - 3 Minute Overview
A simple guide to what Autism is and how it affects children.
Trauma Informed Teaching - Supporting Learners Suffering from Complex Trauma
We all want to think that the children in our classrooms, our after-school clubs and in our community are living safe, happy and...