As students slowly try to get to terms with the 'new normal' and how they can now interact with their peers and teachers within the school environment,Ìýsome of your learners, especially those with SEN, may be feeling more anxious and stressed. To help keep them on track, we are offering a number of digital resources that allow you to assess, educate and support young people either face to face or remotely while keeping them engaged during these challenging times.
We understand that in-person sessions may not be possible right now.Ìý
Telepractice enables you to continue to provide care, by applying familiar online technologies to connect you to your students in a virtual session.
If you decide to use remote sessions, you must consider all the surrounding issues related to this change in service-delivery method.Ìý
Our telepractice guidelines explain the use of our products in relation to your professional practice, so you can safely continue to provide that all important support to your students.
Q-global is our web-based administration, scoring and reporting system that enables you to administer a selection of assessments, remotely or via telepractice, so you can continue supporting your clients during social distancing. Q-global also allows you to input results from paper-and-pencil assessments to generate scores and produce accurate comprehensive reports.
Standardised scores can help you provide evidence of ability in key areas for your students’ access arrangement and Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) applications. Schools and colleges trust us to provide them with reliable measures, including the WIAT-III UK for Teachers, WRAT5 and DASH.
Our dedicated Access Arrangements pageÌýincludes theÌýlatest guidelines and regulations, links to useful sites, andÌýinformation on the tests from ÃÛÌÒapp Assessment which are suitable.
We've created an Access Arrangements and Disbled Students Allowance Interactive Guide.
One in five learners has a special educational need. By identifying difficulties early on, schools can work with families and pupils to have a positive, long-term effect on development and achievement. We are here to help support you with a range of assessments, interventions and CPD resources, so that you can help students participate, progress and enjoy school life to the full.Ìý
We’re dedicated to helping you maintain your CPD throughout your career, with a range of training tools, programmes and unique award sponsorship.
Discover our wide range of tools and events designed to help you continue to develop and support the needs of the students you work with.
We believe all young people should be able to access their learning in a way that meets their individual needs. Find out how we've been supporting accessibility in schools.
ÃÛÌÒapp resources that can help provide additional support to students with Special Educational Needs:
We believe everyone should have the same opportunity to achieve their full potential and to be successful at school. That is why we are here to help you to support your students throughout their educational journey from assessment and intervention to examination, so they can succeed no matter their need.
Learn more on our range of resources and support in our "Supporting your SEN students interactive guide".
Mental health is an important part of staying healthy, especially during these uncertain times. Practising mindfulness at times like these can help to rewire the brain to work in calmer and more positive ways. To help get you started, we’ve created a series of videos and guides, which will introduce mindfulness techniques you can practice at home that are suitable for teachers, young people and parents.
Additional support on wellbeing and anxiety can also be found on the following websites:
Wendy Lee has been a Speech and Language Therapist for 30 years, and was previously Professional Director at The Communication Trust. In this post, Wendy looks at the importance of identifying children with SLCN, the options once a child has been identified, and what works.
One of the significant requirements of the Children and Families Act 2014 (known in SEN circles as ‘The SEND Reforms’) encompassed the redefinition of the role of the SENCO.
Schools are legally required to have a SENCO, and if they are new to the role, they have to attain the National SENCO Award within three years of taking up their post.Ìý
Fergal Roche, CEO of writes about school leaders’ concerns about pupil wellbeing.
At the end of last month, the government announced that it is to invest this year – welcome news, surely, but will it make enough impact?
In the school year just gone, The Key asked some of the country’s school leaders what health and safeguarding issues affecting their pupils they were concerned about, if any. , with 67% of those surveyed saying this was a worry. Domestic violence and cyber bullying were next, of concern to more than half of those surveyed (58% and 55% respectively) – followed by bullying and obesity (38% and 36%).
All such issues not only have implications for the classroom – affecting pupils’ concentration levels and consequently their grades – but also life beyond the school gates, with unresolved issues likely to have a serious impact on children’s prospects.
School staff work tirelessly to do the best for their pupils, and increasing numbers of schools are employing their own counsellors or drawing on voluntary services to tackle the complex issues they’re facing. We, too, have seen leaders coming to for help with things like writing a mental health policy, how to boost children’s self-esteem and what to do if a pupil is self-harming.
However, many of the school leaders my team and I speak to are frustrated at not having access to the professional support they need to best help their pupils.
Gary House, headteacher of Lady Hawkins’ School and Sixth Form in Herefordshire, explained that as well as a range of social factors, he sees his pupils contending with pressure after pressure in a school context. He’s also worried about the impact of the extra pressure on school staff who aren’t equipped to provide specialist help:
“With declining social services support due to diminishing council budgets, more and more is having to be dealt with in schools. We take our duty of care seriously, but to do the best for our students, specialist mental health support services are needed. If we are not careful a dangerous cycle will develop; students worrying and teachers suffering as they worry about not having the specialist skills to support students in need of mental health care.â€
Our survey found that Gary’s view is mirrored across primary and secondary, maintained, academy and privately-funded independent schools; the profession wants to help but specialist support often isn’t available locally.
I know of a secondary school in north London that is fortunate to have a CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health services) worker based in school once a week to help identify and support students in need, as well as train and supervise staff. The school has other fantastic initiatives too, such as non-teaching managers for every year group, who carry out daily check-ins and build up good relationships with students and parents. It also has an effective transition programme which ensures its pastoral team receives essential information from primary schools, so it can make appropriate support available to incoming students as soon as possible.
Sadly, not every school has the resources to offer this type of support structure, but there are other things schools can realistically do – for example:
Even with such measures, there’s only so much that schools can achieve alone, and our survey findings on school leaders’ concerns suggest that there is a long way to go. The government’s promised investment in addressing children’s mental health issues is a good start; let’s hope it’s directed in such a way that all schools up and down the country can call on high-quality specialist support to protect the wellbeing of children and young people in their care.
For further information on The Key visit or follow on Twitter / .
Follow Fergal Roche on Twitter
