EDUCATION EDITION
neurodiversity and SEN,” she says. “It’s a really exciting time to be in my role.” SEN education is all about knowing what’s right for each individual, which is essential given that support includes everything from allowing extra time in exams and assessments to breaking down complex instructions into smaller, simpler pieces or providing occasional movement breaks in class. Schools often produce customised education plans – usually called individual education or learning plans (IEPs or ILPs) that designate the support systems each child receives and what they’re designed to achieve. Relief at being understood Feeling heard and understood by schools can be hugely liberating for students. “It’s that mixture of relief and joy that someone has recognised how they operate and what their profile of learning is,” describes Julia. “After years of observation, I can take a basic snapshot of how a student is writing and how they perform and say ‘Ah, you do it like this,’ or ‘I can see that your head is so full of ideas, but that you’re struggling to structure them and write them out,’ and they often think, ‘Yes, that’s exactly me.’” While the school or college SENDCo usually takes the lead in drawing up a plan, how it’s implemented, reviewed and amended is often a highly collaborative process involving teachers, the family and of course the young person themselves. Much of the support is offered in the classroom, so getting the environment right for all students is a priority for schools. Many teachers say explaining the same thing 20 different ways rather than 20 things in the same way caters to different learning styles. “It’s about reiteration, reframing and modelling,” Julia continues. “Approaching each topic in visual, auditory and kinaesthetic ways – whatever will lead to that light-bulb moment.” A fundamental part of Stoke College’s approach is what Julia calls “the golden thread of SEN… it’s an ethos that runs seamlessly through all learning. If you deliver teaching using a variety of methods, all the students in the class are likely to benefit from those strategies, whether neurotypical or neurodiverse.” Getting organised A formidable amount of effort goes into examining the learning process. This often Feeling heard and understood by schools can be hugely liberating for students
starts with the basics. Elpida at MPW talks about ensuring students know what they need to bring to each lesson and how to organise their folders. After all, she states, “This is what they are going to use for revision at the end of the day.” Lessons are typically interactive. At MPW, students might be asked to explain a process or concept to their peers to check their understanding. Worksheets might include questions spanning different levels of difficulty, from more accessible to highly challenging, while simple changes – such as giving 40 seconds for students to work out their answer to a given question – can make participation far more equitable. “It’s all about putting innovative strategies in place earlier on, which enables pupils to recognise and articulate areas in which they’re struggling so we can better support them,” says Rebecca at Kimbolton. Pupils there will be operating in an increasingly ‘low-demand’ environment. Instead of being confronted with a blank piece of paper and asked to create an essay from scratch, they might be given key words or phrases to utilise, while a student who ‘hates that laborious writing process’ might be encouraged to dictate everything into their phone. “It’s looking at what they do and enabling them to do it in their own way,” says Rebecca. “They
62 DECEMBER 2024 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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