Katie

My experience in developing meaningful and trusting relationship with children with SEN: 

AUTISM: I have worked closely with children with SEN, particularly Autism for many years. Understandably, it takes time for a child to trust someone who they have not worked with before and I am respectful of the time it takes for a student to ‘warm up’. Strategies I like to use and have found successful, include bringing some items/photos about myself and my life to share with the child. I also share my likes and dislikes and stories about myself that I think are relatable and relevant to the child I am working with. During initial sessions, I like to have the session where the child feels comfortable, and the session is carried out in a relaxed and casual manner (even if it includes sitting down or lying down on the floor!)

I have found through experience of working with children with autism, it is so important to find out and encourage my students to tell me their likes and dislikes and show me their favourite items too. By basing lessons around their ‘likes’ or by using their ‘likes’ as incentives to complete an activity, I have found lessons are a lot more successful. For example, one of my students loves anything to do with flowers and so every time he tries to complete an activity with great effort I reward him with flower stickers that he gets to stick on every piece of work; this makes him immensely happy and proud of his own achievements which I believe is highly beneficial in supporting the child want to learn and engage.

I also write schedules up on a whiteboard at the start of a session, to ensure that the child feels in control and also so that there are no sudden surprises that can cause discomfort. When children are feeling particularly anxious or not ready for the lesson, I wait patiently until they are calm and ready. This has been a successful technique, particularly when working with children with Autism. For some children who are not comfortable with sharing their thoughts with me, I like to use a puppet or cuddly toy as I find some children are more comfortable talking to the toy and find it easier to open up. Once trust is gained between myself and the student, the puppet/toy is generally no longer necessary. Lessons and activities are planned around the child’s interests and the level of work is built up over some time, to ensure the child feels success from the start. It may seem the difficulty of work is ‘too easy’ at first, but this strategy is to help encourage the child to keep going and to build confidence.

For autistic children who struggle with unexpected changes, I always keep to the same schedule e.g. starting with Phonics and reading, moving into writing then Maths and ending with a story. Knowing the schedule and what to expect can greatly reduce the anxiety children may feel and by supporting the child with feeling more in control, the lessons often run smoothly.

AUTISM- HIGH-FUNCTIONING: My skills and experience supporting students with HF Autism: I have worked in the primary educational setting for ten years and within these years, I have trained and worked in both mainstream schools and a special school supporting children with HF Autism, as a teacher, interventions teacher and as a teaching assistant. Recently, I have been a class teacher and Year Leader in a North London junior school where I planned and taught tailored lessons and interventions for SEN-D children. I worked closely with the school SENCO to create learning plans to suit the needs of the children; this involved accurate assessments, setting achievable targets and the development of a tailored curriculum. I have also worked as a tutor for many years, and in this time, I have worked with a number of children with ASD; I tailor my strategies and approaches according to each child’s individual needs and use a range of resources such as visual timetables, PECS, colourful semantics, writing frames and many other manipulatives such as Numicon, dienes etc. to support children’s learning and understanding. I also use the children’s interests to help me plan engaging and interesting activities suitable for the individual child.

ADHD: I have worked for many years as a class teacher and as a tutor for children with ADHD. Strategies that I like to use include simple instruction and steps to avoid confusion and overload. As it can be difficult for children with ADHD to listen and engage, calmly repeating questions and reminding children to ‘zone in’ on the question that is being asked can help children to focus. Also, allowing children some time to talk about what is on their mind, will help relieve the anxiety or the intensity of their thoughts – this may be a set time at the beginning or end of the lesson and one in the middle of the session as sometimes it is these thoughts that need to be vocalised, in order for the child to regain attention and not let their burning thoughts/questions consume them and prevent them from learning or hearing instructions.

I have also used mindfulness techniques to support learning and often use the children’s interests to plan for lessons. Other tools can be used to support the need for movement, such as squishy toys and tactile materials for sensory needs. It is important to set boundaries early on and to encourage with positivity. I have also used incentive schemes to encourage attention and concentration.

DYSLEXIA: My skills and experience teaching children with dyslexia; Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that children have in the classroom. I have had many years of experience supporting children who benefit from a special dyslexia- friendly font, reading rulers and overlays. Children with dyslexia often find phonics difficult so I also adopt a repetitive sight-reading technique to help them memorise the whole look of words rather than just digraphs/ trigraphs which can become confusing for the child. I am familiar with the Toe by Toe program and have used it in my classroom with dyslexic children. This is a repetitive, daily program used to help children familiarise with spelling patterns. Often when reading, I use a reading ruler with the dyslexic student and add sound buttons to the words by segmenting the words into their phonemes. This encourages children to break down the word into more manageable chunks. Using word frames can also be helpful for children to recognise and visualise the shape of words and to remember the letters in order. Mnemonics are also a fun and encouraging way to learn tricky spelling words!

EARLY YEARS/ KEY STAGE 1: My skills and experience supporting students in Early Years and KS1: I have worked as an interventions teacher in Reception and Year 1 supporting children with Phonics and writing. I designed, planned and taught units of lessons to help under-achieving children to catch up with their peers in these subjects. In addition, I have tutored a number of children in KS1 and Reception; lessons primarily focused on Phonics, mathematics and writing, all tailored to suit the needs and age of the child. Having been a Year 3 teacher (Lower KS2), it was clear that there were a number of children who benefitted from working through a KS1 curriculum, particularly children whose education has been affected by the pandemic. I planned using KS1 materials and resources and set targets from the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1. I have also worked in Summer Camps too which incorporated the use of fun, play-based learning activities (dancing, singing, drawing, arts and crafts, baking, board games etc) which creates an enjoyable, effective and memorable way for children to learn and a style I incorporate when teaching.

ENGLISH, READING, WRITING & SPELLING: My skills and experience supporting students with English, Reading, Writing & Spelling: English, reading, writing and spelling are lessons of high importance to me. When I was a teacher, I taught literacy skills on a daily basis, in school, and I often planned my literacy units from scratch, using the Pie Corbett structure- Talk for Writing or by using The Write Stuff (Jane Considine model). The structure of one of my Literacy units include: Writing a cold task- to assess the writing needs of the student; familiarising with a model text and unpicking the specific key features used to write the piece of text; creating and drawing a story map and retelling the text to learn and hear how it should be structured; planning and writing a hot task which involves writing up the plan, using mini success criteria to guide the student. Finally, the writing is ‘published’ and written up on beautiful, bordered paper so the student has a final copy of their work. This is an important part of the unit as helping the child become proud of their writing, is an essential element of successful learning.

In addition, I teach spelling/phonics through a variety of ways, often using Phonics Play to guide my planning. Using spelling apps also makes spelling more engaging and fun and encourages children to practise their spellings!

Reading & Comprehension are again, very important to a child’s learning and I taught this subject daily with my class. For children who struggle with vocabulary and text structure, I often separate comprehension lessons into sections e.g. Section 1- read text and identity new vocabulary; Section 2- sketch the text to make sense of the text, Section 3- verbal and written comprehension questions, Section 4- activities to practise inferencing skills. I also read to children in addition to listening to children read to me, as I believe it is highly important for children to hear how punctuation is acknowledged when reading, plus intonations and use of expression also needs to be modelled to help a student read successfully.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, ORGANISATION AND INDEPENDENCE: My skills and experience teaching executive functions including organisation, planning and time management skills to develop independence: I have taught many children who have had difficulties with organisation, planning and time management skills. Sometimes, it has been due to their age and personality, but it can be a real difficulty for some children who find organisation extremely challenging and frustrating. I have used visual timetables and ‘Now and Next’ boards to support children in knowing what to expect and to allow them time to be mentally and physically prepared for activities. When children are ready to move on, I add on an extra step ‘Now, Next and After that’ to help them to familiarise with planning and to ease the anticipation of following activities. I have also created labelled boxes to encourage children to organise themselves better, particularly with their belongings. For example, this may involve a large box only used for personal belongings, such as a coat and a bag, and it is made part of the session/lesson. The lesson begins with a reminder to the child to take off their coat and place it into the box, until they can carry this activity out independently and without reminders. I have also written a colourful checklist to help children remember what they need to do, and they tick off each activity once they have completed it. Again, this strengthens their organisational skills.

I have had experience teaching children who consistently lose their pencils and stationery- I support with their organisation by placing their items in a tray (with lips) to stop them from rolling off the side of the table; sometimes the simplest techniques are the most effective! We count the items at the start, middle and at the end of the session to make sure that they are being mindful about their belongings.

To support with time management, first, I let the child know how long a minute is, as often we expect children to understand a length of time without making sure they can estimate it first. Some of my techniques involve counting to sixty seconds, sitting in silence through a minute, seeing how many jumps we can do in a minute etc. so children can estimate the length of a minute. Slowly, we build on this estimation by saying ‘Now we will do something for half a minute’, or for 2 mins.

Occasionally, I set a timer and tell the child that a particular task needs to end when the timer ends at a certain time. I give them reminders every few minutes of how much time is left. This is all done casually and without pressure but helps the child to estimate the length of time they need for a required task.

It is important to let the child know of any plans, in advance, particularly if there are any big changes to their normal schedule. This is so that the child can prepare themselves mentally. I like to encourage children to have things ready in folders or bags etc. and to group similar items together so that they are prepared for a particular session and so that they do not waste time searching for the right materials and resources. E.g. an art box, maths box, pencil case.

I encourage independence throughout all my lessons; from spotting their mistakes to rubbing out their own work and picking up their fallen pencil. It is always important to make sure children are given the space to grow and it is all too easy for us adults to jump in and help. After modelling how to do something, I like to observe and give friendly prompts to support the child with the activity and then letting them attempt it themselves. The modelling aspect is key to showing a child how to do something which helps them to learn and try it out for themselves. Over time and consistency, children develop independence.

FOCUS AND ATTENTION: My skills and experience helping students to develop focus and concentration: Having worked with children in specialist settings and lower KS year groups and Early Years, developing attention, focus and organisational skills is something that is part of my every day practise. I encourage independence where possible and use visual cues frequently to engage learners. I also have a bank of resources that are used to develop attention skills. I tailor lessons to suit the interests of the child and I find this is a very effective way to maintain the learner’s focus and concentration.

FRIENDSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS: My skills and experience teaching social skills including friendship development and conflict resolution skills: I have been working in education settings for over ten years and have dealt with many children’s social difficulties over that time. I use a range of resources which include mindfulness tasks and social stories to support children with their understanding of how to make friends and deal with conflict. One of my favourite books is ‘My Strong Mind’ by Niels Van Hove which the children love listening to and it teaches children techniques to calm themselves down before reacting to certain negative situations. I also like to let children solve their own conflicts by allowing them to tell me what they think is the right thing to do, what they think they should do and what they actually want to do. It is important to let the child come up with their own ideas and to make their decision themselves as children need to have ownership over the reaction and decision so that they can learn how to deal with situations independently and correctly.

HANDWRITING: My skills and experience teaching children handwriting: Having taught reception, KS1 year groups and Year 3 and 4, handwriting has been an essential daily lesson. I use books with double lines to help children form their letters and control the size of their letters. I also like to use whiteboards and fingers to trace around letters to ensure the correct formation, in a fun and engaging way. Depending on the child’s control and fine motor skills, I look for ways to support pencil-holding e.g. using pencil grips, changing the thickness of the pencils or by using different types of pencils to help the child with pencil pressure.

HELPING WITH HOMEWORK: My experience supporting children to complete their homework: My tutoring sessions are usually after school or during the weekends and parents have often asked me to help their child complete their homework. Firstly, I ask the parents and child, the method/strategy that has been taught at school so I can continue using the same method. This is important as a new strategy may confuse the student. Sometimes, this requires looking up the strategies on the school’s website e.g. at their newsletter, curriculum map or calculation policy to ensure teaching strategies are consistent.

KEY STAGE 2: My skills and experience supporting students in KS2: I have worked as Year 3 teacher and Year leader for 4 years, developing the curriculum and overseeing the planning and teaching for my Year group. I often find that grammar becomes difficult in KS2 and it has been a strong focus for many of my tutoring lessons.

I have also completed school-based training in Year 5 and have tutored children aged between 4-14 years. I have taught children to prepare them for the 11+ exams too (Maths, Literacy- Verbal Reasoning, grammar) and I am familiar with the GL Exam papers.

MATHS: My skills and experience supporting students with Maths: I have developed and adapted a Maths Curriculum for Year 3 and Year 4, over a number of years and I have tweaked lessons daily to suit the needs of all the children in the class. In addition, I have Mathematics Specialism with my teaching degree and have run Maths Intervention groups for over 6 years for children who find Maths and mathematical concepts challenging. The use of manipulatives such as Numicon, Dienes Blocks, fraction walls, tens frames and place value charts is a key element of my teaching as I find it really helps children to visualise and make sense of the calculations. Revising the basic key concepts and four operations of maths is fundamental and is vital to securing a solid understanding of mathematical concepts. I have also incorporated fun role play activities when tutoring children in Maths such as playing ‘shopkeepers’ to learn how to add and subtract, familiarise with money and giving and receiving change; cooking & baking to practise the skills of measuring, reading scales and understanding the concept of fractions; plus making structures which involve estimation and calculation.

MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT: My skills and experience developing motivation and engagement in learning: I am an animated and energetic teacher! I motivate the children I work with, through a variety of ways, including praise, rewards, games, singing songs and friendly competitions. I am passionate about helping children to develop a growth mindset, a can-do attitude and a love of learning. This is the core of all my lessons, including the development of resilience and perseverance. All of these things need to be consistently built into a lesson, which I believe I achieve, in every lesson that I teach.

PROCESSING AND MEMORY DIFFICULTIES: My skills and experience teaching children with processing and memory difficulties: I have worked with a number of children with processing and memory difficulties. I support these children by encouraging them to draw mind maps and I use a technique called ‘dual coding’ which is a method designed to support the working memory. For example, when planning a piece of writing, we look at a written piece and draw the story out, act out scenes and plot the story down in its most simplest structure. Then we plan the story, first by jotting down ideas and then, through dual coding, which can be by drawing ideas out and then by verbalising them too. We do this again and again to help the child memorise through other means than just writing. Consistent retrieval activities are also in place in all my teaching sessions, as retrieval tasks not only allows me to assess their knowledge but also helps the child to retrieve the learnt knowledge from their memory and apply it. I believe it is the act of application which jolts the working memory into action to encourage better long-term memory. It is also a skill which needs to be trained. For children who find processing particularly difficult, I often use simple and short sentences to phrase questions. I often ask the student to repeat the question that I have asked to ensure that they have understood the task and are clear on what they are expected to do. If children find it hard to process information verbally, I will draw or write down the question/task and often will repeat the question in the same way- different ways of saying the same question can confuse the child further.

SELF-ESTEEM AND CONFIDENCE: My skills and experience boosting students’ self-esteem and confidence: My favourite classroom motto is ‘Mistakes are proof that you are trying!’ I welcome mistakes with open arms and often thank children for their ‘boo-boos!’ I believe it is highly important to show children that it is ok to make mistakes and often deliberately make them myself to show that it is something to embrace. Learning without mistakes is not really learning after all! From my past experience, I have encountered many children who are quite harsh on themselves, which in turn has affected their self-esteem and confidence. Through consistent approaches and praise, I have seen and witnessed children develop a growth mindset and assertiveness. There have been incredible moments in my teaching career, but the growth in confidence is definitely one of the most special ones.

SENSORY/AUDITORY PROCESSING NEEDS: Some people with SEN may experience sensory differences. This can be over-sensitive or under-sensitive to specific sights, sounds, smells or textures and as an educator, you must be aware that these sensory needs cause distress or discomfort. When working with a child, I will always speak to parents about each individuals’ needs particularly surrounding this area as I believe parents know their children best. By being able to be flexible around a child’s needs, whether it be printing sheet with fonts of a particular colour, not wearing a certain perfume, having calming music playing at a particular volume, I am happy to adapt lessons to suit the sensory needs of the student.

In addition, sensory differences and auditory processing needs could be how a child processes sensory information and it is important to find out when the ‘overload’ point is or where the ‘information overload’ point is. As a teacher, this is often learned through experience of working with the individual as no two children are the same and each teaching and learning experience is unique. It is also important to know how to support a child who is having a meltdown or have suddenly become distant due to anxiety caused by overload; by being aware and prepared of any possible difficulties and by being creative to guide the student back to a positive experience. This includes removing any noises that are causing discomfort and by repeating questions or giving spoken instruction in a way that is clear and comforting for the student.

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE NEEDS: Many children today suffer with speech and language needs, which is learning how to speak, understand, verbally communicate and process verbal information. Some parents are aware their children have S&L needs and they usually have a copy of the S&L assessments from a S&L therapist for me to read; the assessments always have targets to work on and I discuss with parents which targets I will support the child with and incorporate it into the lessons. I regularly update the parent on what targets the child is finding difficult or has achieved so that the report can be updated more regularly with more suitable targets.

Sometimes, parents are unaware their child are showing signs of S&L needs and it is my responsibility to pick up on these signs and relay to parents so that they can find a professional S&L therapist to assess and diagnose.

Teaching children with S&L needs requires the tutor to adapt the way they speak, in order for the child to understand. Through experience and time working with the child, I can adapt the way information is given – this may be combined with drawings, text, videos or hand gestures and I often try out a variety of methods until I know which way supports the child best with their S&L needs.

I have also worked with children with echolalia and it is important for me as a tutor to be aware of this and use their echolalia in a positive way. Often, it can be clear which phrases or words produce a positive feeling in the child, and which ones create a negative feeling. By using the phrases in the correct context, it can help the child to learn the meaning of the phrases to support their language development and understanding.

WORKING WITH FAMILIES AND CHILDREN: My skills and experience working with families and children to help them unlock and reach their potential: I have worked with many families and children over the years, both when tutoring and as a class teacher. At the end of every tutoring session, I provide feedback of the lesson, and give targets for parents and carers to work on, to ensure we are all working towards the same goal, in a consistent manner. It is also important for the family and I to understand the strategies we will jointly use and to create the sense of a ‘team’. Families know their own children so well and any information becomes invaluable knowledge for tutors as understandably, good and trusting relationships take a little time to develop.

WRITING RESISTANCE: My skills and experience teaching children with writing resistance: Often, there are children who find writing a struggle and have some resistance to picking up a pen and writing. I help to encourage the generation of ideas through exciting lessons, tailored to the children’s likes and interests and create mind maps and box up plans to help them jot down their ideas. Through drama, drawing, games and cloze activities, the children learn to write, in smaller chunks. Slowly, the children chunk together a bigger piece. With longer pieces, I allow children to type their stories and create their stories on story apps. I have found these apps really help boost the student’s love of writing and to help the children become proud of the work. For more reluctant writers, I like to ‘share’ the writing and scribe parts of the text for them to make the task seem less daunting.