The Quiet Miracle: Why Visual Supports Still Matter in Secondary Classrooms

By Richard Archbold. Richard is a SENCO working in a mainstream secondary school in Birmingham. He also recently graduated with a Distinction on our Masters programme. In the article below, he makes the case for introducing task boards and other visual supports in secondary schools, not only as learning aids, but as an important way to boost self-esteem in neurodivergent learners.

Some of the best things we do in education do not look especially impressive at first glance.

A task board is a good example of that. It is not flashy. It does not require a new platform, a consultant day rate, or a colour-coded folder that gets launched in September and quietly dies by October half-term. At its simplest, it is a clear sequence of steps: first, next, then, finally. A visual route through the task.

And yet, for some autistic pupils in secondary classrooms, that small piece of structure can be the difference between sitting stuck and getting started.

One teacher described this kind of support as “not a silver bullet, but for some students, it’s a quiet little miracle.” That phrase stayed with me, probably because it captures something we sometimes forget about inclusive practice.

Often, the most powerful changes are not loud, dramatic or expensive. They are thoughtful, consistent and rooted in what pupils actually need.

Not magic. Not a cure-all. Not another grand claim about transforming education overnight.

Just a small, practical adjustment that can make the classroom feel more predictable, more accessible and, frankly, less exhausting for pupils who spend much of the day trying to work out what is expected of them.

Why visual supports matter in secondary schools

Visual supports are often associated with primary classrooms or specialist settings. In secondary schools, they can sometimes be dismissed as too basic, too young, or somehow not academic enough.

I think that is a mistake.

Secondary schools are complex places. Pupils move between subjects, rooms, teachers, routines and expectations several times a day. The language changes. The layout changes. The task type changes. Even the unwritten rules change, depending on whose classroom they are in.

For many pupils, that is manageable. For some autistic pupils, particularly those who experience difficulties with executive functioning, working memory, processing speed, sensory regulation or anxiety, it can be a lot.

A teacher can give perfectly clear verbal instructions and still have pupils who have not fully processed them. That is not defiance. It is not laziness. It is not pupils “not listening”. Sometimes they have understood the first step but lost the second. Sometimes they are trying to hold too much information in their head. Sometimes they are waiting because they are anxious about getting it wrong.

That waiting matters.

Lost minutes at the start of a task add up quickly. If a pupil spends the first part of every lesson watching others, trying to decode the task, or waiting for an adult to repeat the instruction, they are not accessing the curriculum in the same way as their peers.

Visual supports help because they make the invisible visible. They break the task down. They reduce the demand on memory. They give pupils something stable to return to without needing to ask, again, “What do I do now?”

That small shift can protect dignity as well as support learning.

What task boards can look like

A task board in a secondary classroom does not need to be complicated. In fact, the moment it becomes complicated, we have probably missed the point.

It might be as simple as:

First: read the model answer.
Next: highlight three key features.
Then: write your own paragraph using the sentence starters.
Finally: check your work against the success criteria.

In another lesson, it might be a visual checklist for a science practical. In maths, it might show the order of steps in solving an equation. In history, it might support pupils to move from source analysis to written explanation. In English, it might help pupils structure an extended response without needing repeated adult prompting.

The format can vary. It should vary.

A good task board is not about producing one perfect template for every subject. That rarely works. What matters is the principle behind it: clear sequence, reduced ambiguity, manageable steps and a visible outcome.

Done well, it gives pupils a way into the work.

And sometimes that is the bit we underestimate. We can spend so much time thinking about stretch, challenge and outcomes that we forget to ask whether every pupil can actually get started.

The link with cognitive load and UDL

Cognitive Load Theory reminds us that working memory is limited. If a pupil is using most of that capacity trying to remember instructions, decode expectations or work out the order of a task, there is less capacity left for the actual learning.

That is especially important for pupils who already find transitions, language processing or task organisation difficult.

A task board acts as an external memory support. It holds the sequence, so the pupil does not have to. That means the pupil can focus more of their cognitive energy on the curriculum content rather than the logistics of the task.

Universal Design for Learning also gives us a useful way of thinking about this. UDL is not about lowering expectations. It is about removing unnecessary barriers so more pupils can access ambitious learning. Visual supports do this well because they offer information in more than one way. They support independence, reduce anxiety and allow pupils to monitor their own progress.

In other words, they are not an “extra”. They are part of good classroom design.

What the research process taught me

Last year I completed my Masters in Education with Real Training. Part of this provided the opportunity to carry out an action research project in my setting. The most useful learning from this work was not simply that task boards can help pupils. I already believed that visual supports had value. The deeper learning was about how inclusive practice actually becomes embedded in a school.

It is easy to write about inclusion in policy terms. It is much harder, and far more important, to make it visible in classrooms.

For me, this reinforced something important: Universal Design for Learning cannot be rolled out as a finished product. It is not a laminated checklist or a set of slides delivered once in CPD. It has to become a way of thinking. What is the barrier? What can we make clearer? How do we reduce unnecessary cognitive load? How do we support the pupil to become more independent without lowering the ambition?

It also reminded me that research in schools only matters if it changes practice. The best moments were not the neat findings or the tables of data. They were the small classroom moments that you only really notice when you are close to the work: a pupil starting without waiting; a teacher realising they had repeated themselves less; a student describing the board as “a checklist for my brain”; a colleague noticing that a strategy designed for autistic pupils was quietly supporting others too.

That is where practitioner enquiry becomes powerful. Not when it sits in a document, but when it changes the way we think about the next lesson.

Teacher ownership matters

One of the biggest lessons in rolling out any inclusive strategy is this: it cannot simply be done to teachers.

Schools are full of well-intentioned initiatives that made sense in a meeting, looked beautiful on a slide, and then collapsed the moment they met real classroom life. Teachers are already balancing curriculum demands, behaviour, assessment, marking, pastoral issues, workload and everything else that lands between 8:30 and 3:30.

So, if we want visual supports to work, we have to be realistic.

Staff need to understand the purpose. They need to see the benefit. They need examples that make sense in their subject. Most importantly, they need permission to adapt the approach rather than feeling they have been handed another non-negotiable template.

A history task board will not always look like a maths one. A science practical will need a different structure from a poetry analysis task.

A Year 7 class may need something more explicit than a Year 10 group. That is not inconsistency. That is responsive teaching.

The best implementation happens when we agree the principles, not when we police the formatting.

Teacher ownership is what moves a strategy from compliance to culture. When staff shape something, try it, refine it and see it work, it becomes part of their practice. Not because someone told them to do it, but because it helps.

That is the sweet spot.

Inclusion does not always need to be complicated

There is a tendency in education to make inclusion sound far more complicated than it needs to be.

Of course, some pupils need specialist support. Some need external agency involvement, therapeutic input, statutory assessment, personalised provision or significant environmental adjustments. We should never pretend that a task board replaces any of that.

It does not.

But we should also be honest about the power of everyday classroom practice. For many pupils, inclusion begins with clarity. It begins with knowing what is happening now and what comes next. It begins with not having to rely on an adult every few minutes. It begins with a classroom where expectations are visible rather than assumed.

A task board can say to a pupil:

• You do not have to hold all of this in your head.
• You can check.
• You can start.
• You can come back to the sequence.
• You can do this.

That matters.

It also matters that visual supports often help more pupils than the ones we originally had in mind. Pupils with ADHD, SEMH needs, EAL, low confidence or weaker working memory may all benefit from a clearer route through the task. So may pupils who are tired, anxious, distracted or simply unsure.

That is one of the strongest arguments for inclusive design. When we design carefully for pupils who experience the greatest barriers, we often improve the classroom for many others too.

Independence is not the same as leaving pupils to struggle

We talk a lot in schools about independence. We want pupils to become more independent learners, more resilient, more confident, more able to manage challenge.

That is right.

But independence does not develop by removing support and hoping for the best. It develops when support is structured in a way that can gradually be reduced, transferred or internalised.

For some autistic pupils, adult prompting becomes part of the lesson routine. The pupil waits. The adult repeats. The pupil starts. The adult checks. The pupil continues. Sometimes that support is necessary, but we need to ask whether it is building independence or simply maintaining dependence.

Visual supports can create a bridge.

Instead of repeating the instruction, the adult can redirect the pupil back to the board. Instead of hovering, they can step back. Instead of becoming the only source of clarity, they can point pupils towards a resource that helps them manage the task for themselves.

That is important for dignity. Many pupils do not want an adult standing beside them. They do not want to ask for help in front of their peers. They do not want to look different. A task board can provide support without making the pupil feel singled out.

It is subtle, but subtle matters.

A quiet miracle, but not a magic wand

I still like the phrase “quiet miracle”, but I would use it carefully.

Task boards are not magic. They will not remove every barrier for every autistic pupil. They will not compensate for poor relationships, unclear teaching, inaccessible curriculum design or a lack of wider SEND support. Poorly designed visual supports can become clutter. Overly wordy ones can increase cognitive load rather than reduce it. If they are introduced badly, they can become just another laminated initiative.

And education really does not need another laminated initiative.

But when task boards are used well, they can make a genuine difference.

Sometimes the most inclusive thing we can do is not to create something bigger, louder or more elaborate. Sometimes it is to make the next step clearer.

For the pupil who usually waits but starts, who usually needs repeated prompting but checks the board, who usually feels overwhelmed, but completes the task, that is more than a strategy.

It is access.

And access is where meaningful inclusion really begins.

When children do not have access to a safe and secure environment in their formative years, this can have a profound impact on how they see themselves and their place in the world.

While secure attachment to a primary caregiver can promote healthy brain integration, insecure attachment can lead to heightened stress responses, affecting long-term social, emotional, and cognitive functioning.  

By the time they reach school, a child’s attachment needs can affect their ability to learn. Signals from teachers could be misinterpreted and nervous systems are far quicker to enter “fight or flight” responses.  The resulting impact on executive function can mean that struggles with working memory, organisational skills and ability to focus become commonplace. 

Schools can play a crucial remedial role by adapting their approaches and applying attachment theory as a way to understand children’s behaviour. This means shifting focus away from “What’s wrong with this child?” to “How can we provide the appropriate security they need to thrive?‘”

In this blog we look at how this can be achieved, while recognising that every child is an individual.

Principles of Attachment Theory

Secure attachment is formed when an infant feels safe, trusted, and understood by their caregiver. This feeling develops into a healthy emotional bond, typically within the first 18 months of life. It acts as a secure base for exploration, fostering confidence, emotional regulation, and resilience. This attachment pattern is built through consistent, sensitive, and predictable responses from a caregiver to a baby’s needs.

Circle of Security

The sequence of the child expressing a need and the caregiver’s response forms what’s called a Circle of Security within which the child grows. As long as that need is met relatively often by a parent or caregiver, trust develops.

The academic John Bowlby suggested that when a secure attachment exists, the baby develops an internal sense of calm that they can draw on when they encounter a stressful situation, using the mother as a “secure base”. He argued that humans attach to their caregiver for safety, not just food and warmth and that the quality of these relationships in the first two years of life can dictate a child’s later self-regulation and self-esteem.

After the age of one, children have already developed what Bowlby referred to as a functional “internal working model.” This becomes the archetypal narrative that a child creates around their own self-worth and relationship to others. The model is informed by their interactions with their primary caregiver.

Bowlby argued that the early years are a highly sensitive period for secure attachment to develop and that disruption to the mother-infant relationship or emotionally unavailable/inconsistent caregiving responses could have lasting implications for the rest of a child’s life.

The Strange Situation Test

Mary Ainsworth, a close friend of Bowlby, took his ideas and attempted to translate them into measurable data. By observing how infants aged 12 to 18 months reacted to a series of standardised stressors, including the entry of a stranger, the departure of the primary caregiver (usually the mother), and the crucial “reunion” moment, Ainsworth identified three distinct patterns of behaviour.

Securely attached infants: showed distress when their mother left, but were easily soothed upon her return, quickly using her as a “secure base” to regulate their nervous system and return to play.

Insecure-avoidant infants: appeared indifferent to their mother’s departure and actively avoided contact during the reunion. The child has learned that with this particular caregiver, crying won’t elicit a caregiving response so they suppress external signals of their distress.

Insecure-anxious infants: became intensely distressed by separation but were not easily comforted on their mother’s return or willing to return to exploring. They exhibited behaviour such as seeking closeness while simultaneously pushing the caregiver away or showing anger. Without a consistent caregiving pattern to draw upon, the infants were unsure whether their mother would successfully respond to their needs and help them to regulate, or whether they would be emotionally unavailable. The resulting anxiety causes their nervous system to become overwhelmed.

Later on, researchers also found that there was a small but consistent proportion of infants who didn’t fit any of the above. A fourth category, “disorganised” was added.

Criticism of the Strange Situation Test

Mary’s original concept of these attachment patterns, although foundational, has faced some criticism for its cultural bias, extreme focus on early maternal care, and deterministic view of development.

Critics also argue it pathologises diverse attachment styles and oversimplifies complex relationships by boxing individuals into rigid categories. Some toddlers, for example, have been observed to display apparently different attachment styles with different parents.

Why does learning about attachment theory matter for school staff?

Despite the complexity surrounding attachment theory, its core principles can prove highly relevant for anyone working in a school environment.

If staff move from seeing attachment as a means to label a child, and instead view it as a broader lens through which to understand behaviour as communication, the concept becomes incredibly useful. The key things to emphasise are;

• The behaviour patterns that children with attachment issues fall into can significantly impact their ability to learn. Some of the behaviour we identify as ‘difficult’ or ‘challenging’ may, in fact, be a result of heightened stress responses and anxiety rooted in early relationships. It needs to be approached with compassion.
  
• Our internal working model can be re-tuned. Studies have shown that attachment styles aren’t immutable. This is encouraging when you consider that children’s brains are incredibly “plastic” and much better able to form new neural connections than adults.

How then, can educational professionals go about helping children with attachment issues?

What to look out for:

While identifying an attachment style is best left to an educational or child psychologist, there are things that teachers and, in some circumstances, TAs can look out for that can help identify behavioural indicators of attachment issues.

This includes;

• reluctance to enter into trusting relationships with teachers or TAs
• conversely, behaviour that could be described as clingy or “attention seeking”
• low persistence in the face of challenge
• risk of being easily over-stimulated
• outbursts of anger

When a child’s internal view of themselves and the world is negative, they may also be more prone to:

• anxiety-driven behaviours (voice alterations, heightened sensory responses e.g flinching to touch, difficulties sitting still etc.)
• disorganisation – due to poor executive function (they may often be late or find it hard to hand in homework)
• difficulties with transitions
• struggles making and keeping friends

The Learning Triangle Model

Any classroom learning involves a child’s relationship with the teacher and the learning activity. Children learn best when they feel safe and secure in their relationship with the adult, which helps them to focus on the task.

The classroom learning context mirrors the Circle of Security between a child and caregiver explained earlier. In the same way an infant needs a secure base to explore, pupils need a secure base to learn.

Dr Helen Geddes’ “Learning Triangle Model” considers the three-way relationship between student, teacher and task. It is firmly based on the classic insecure avoidant, insecure anxious and disorganised attachment styles. However, if we resist the temptation to label these behaviours with attachment style categories and think about what the child is communicating, we can use this to make adjustments to the task and how we relate to the child in the learning context.

Supporting “connection-evading” behaviour

Geddes links this back to the insecure-avoidant attachment style, but the term “connection-evading”, may be more helpful as it encourages us to focus on the behaviour, not the label.

These individuals may play down their needs, always maintain a safe distance from others and rarely ask for help. They are, however, often masking high levels of anxiety. Connection-evading behaviour communicates that a pupil is finding it hard to trust in the relationship with the adult in the classroom and is more comfortable focussing on the task. They may also show a “flat” response to praise or criticism and behaviour such as avoiding eye contact. 

KEY FOCUS: Use the task as the lever to build the relationship, as this is less threatening. Allow the pupil to develop their sense of independence and time to gain confidence in the safety and security of the adult present.

OTHER THINGS TO TRY:

• Sitting side-by-side or at an angle to the student. Look at the work together, rather than positioning yourself directly opposite them.
  
• The right balance of task autonomy and support: Break down tasks so they can do more things independently but also make them aware that you are available close nearby.
  
• Third-person language: Talk about the “character in the book” to discuss feelings or challenges indirectly.
  
• Low-pressure praise: Check with the student whether they are comfortable receiving positive feedback in front of the class or would rather it was done privately.
  
• Avoiding emotionally intense topics in 1:1s: until the student has built a secure relationship with you.

Supporting “connection-seeking” behaviour

This references the insecure-anxious attachment style. Again, if reframing this to focus on behaviour however, we could call this “connection-seeking”. These pupils are so focused on making sure that their relationship with the teacher is okay, that they’re not able to engage in the learning. These are the pupils often labelled as “attention seeking”. They may escalate behaviour to recapture attention if the teacher looks busy and find it hard to shift their attention from the teacher to the learning task.

KEY FOCUS: Continue building a close connection and provide reassurance that you are “holding them in mind,” even when you are busy.

OTHER THINGS TO TRY:

• Showing unconditional positive regard: This applies to all pupils, but may need to be made more overt/frequent for a connection-seeking student. The EMR (Establish Maintain Restore) approach recommended by the EEF is just one way of structuring little and often interaction. Building a “secure base” can start with simple things like showing interest in their life outside the classroom.
  
• Scaffolding independence: Foster self-reliance by briefly supporting a student at the start of a task before stepping away. Use subtle “proximity praise,” a quick glance, or a light touch to reassure them of your presence and availability as they work.
  
• Using memory cards/sticky notes: Writing a note and sticking it to the wall lets the pupil know that we’ve acknowledged what they wanted to ask or do, but will return to them when there’s time.
  
• Allocating clear roles and responsibilities for group work: Anxious pupils can come across as overbearing with peers so this may help.

Supporting “connection-distorting” behaviour

These children may have the most difficulty integrating thoughts and feelings. They may show inconsistent responses when relating to others. Geddes associates these pupils with the disorganised attachment category.

KEY FOCUS: Interventions will focus on creating levels of safety and predictability. In reality, many of the things listed below could also support many pupils with attachment issues, but they may especially help those displaying connection-distorting behaviour.

OTHER THINGS TO TRY:

• Transitional objects and timers, especially for younger children
  
• Visual timetables, to give predictability and five minute warning before transitions such as group work or demonstration.
  
• Social stories, to help re-enforce what we might expect when adults behave in a certain way and also to provide scripts for seeking support.
  
• Boosting choice and agency; this applies to both connection-distorting and connection-evading pupils.
  
• Remaining calm and predictable, so that children learn that your mood does not dictate their safety.

The three pillars of support

Regardless of what type of attachment behaviour a child may display, keeping the below in mind will help you deliver the most effective support.

Relational support. This can be as simple as using morning check-ins and creating meaningful moments of connection throughout the day. The quality of peer relationships is also really important for modulating attachment styles, so structured group activities, playground zoning, and things like lego therapy can help.

Safety and security. Creating stable, predictable environments and routines can lower anxiety, supported by trauma-informed techniques. Since transitions can cause insecurity, proactively planning for scheduled, unscheduled, and micro-transitions (like moving around the classroom) is crucial for pupil support.

Supporting a sense of self. Children need to know that we value them with all the baggage that they bring with them. This means modeling positive self-talk, helping them understand their emotions and recognising and praising when they have managed their emotions so that they’re able to build confidence in themselves.

Some things to remember:

Be explicit – are you frustrated with this task today?
Wonder aloud – I wonder if you’re feeling this way because (showing you are thinking about them without demanding a response)
Show connection – sometimes I feel like this too
Check understanding – are you thinking…..?

Systematic delivery of these techniques in a whole-school approach can make a positive impact. A 2022 meta-analysis of 305 schools undergoing attachment-aware training carried out by researchers from Oxford University revealed reductions in sanctions and improvements in headteacher-reported scores for pupil engagement, as well as wellbeing. Other studies have also reported improvements in academic performance and a decrease in exclusions.

Relevant courses

You can learn more about how to provide inclusive practice and interventions for the most vulnerable children in our Social and Emotional Mental Health Needs course. Leaders can also learn how to overcome barriers and fit attachment training into their overall mental health strategy in our Senior Mental Health Lead Advanced Award.

“It doesn’t help to react – you have to reflect” – Heather Geddes

Attachment problems may account for more behavioural difficulties in the classroom than we realise. Regardless of their age, children fundamentally need secure relationships to regulate their emotions and engage with learning.

Teachers often respond in the moment to challenging behaviour, but in an attachment-aware school, the ideal situation is to also be able to take a moment to step back and reflect on why it might be happening.
Sometimes this might involve helping children to articulate their feelings; other times it could be adjusting how we present the task.  

Adults often worry that talking about some of these challenging areas will make things worse for young people and increase their anxiety. Typically, however, the reverse is true. What we often find is that it reduces their levels of uncertainty and increases their sense of security.

We must be proactive in our approach because the long-term risks are significant: often children who have difficulties with attachment can internalise those difficult feelings. This can not only impact academic achievement, but later on, can also lead to significant mental health difficulties, such as self-harm, anxiety, and depression.

As school professionals, providing a secure base for these children today means that we are protecting their ability to learn in the present and their wellbeing in the future.

References and useful reading

Bergin, C. & Bergin, D. (2009). Attachment in the classroom. Educational Psychology Review, 21, 141-170.

Bomber, L. (2007). Inside I’m hurting; Practical strategies for supporting children with attachment difficulties in schools. London: Worth Publishing.

Bomber, L (2011). What about me? Inclusive strategies to support pupils with attachment difficulties make it through the school day. London: Worth Publishing.

Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. London: Routledge.

Geddes, H. (2006). Attachment in the Classroom. Worth Publishing.

Gerhardt, S. (2004). Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby’s Brain. Routledge.

Madigan, S., Fearon, R. M. P., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Duschinsky, R., Schuengel, C., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Ly, A., Cooke, J. E., Deneault, A.-A., Oosterman, M. and Verhage, M. L. (2023) ‘The first 20,000 strange situation procedures: A meta-analytic review’, Psychological Bulletin, 149(1-2), pp. 99–132.

By Dr Sue Sheppard, Educational Psychologist and Module Leader for Real Training
This article originally appeared in the Tes and is available here

How do you help a student who becomes nauseous and has panic attacks whenever they set foot near their school? I once worked with a young person for whom this was true. She was unable to leave her house to go anywhere, even to visit her grandparents. 

I’ve been an educational psychologist for over thirty years, specialising in autism. In the past decade, I’ve seen a steep rise in casework around supporting students with emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA). This shift is reflected in the latest DfE figures showing an increase in severe absence amongst students with EHCPs.

Some of these students, like the girl mentioned above, might struggle to attend school at all. Others have a history of periods of sporadic attendance. They may spend the last days or weeks of a school holiday highly anxious about the beginning of a new term, and then not manage to transition back. 

What is true for all of them is that, as educational psychologist Meg Fairclough puts it, it’s a matter of “can’t, not won’t”. So what do teachers need to understand about EBSA? And what support can they offer to help get students back into school?

What causes EBSA?

EBSA is an umbrella term used to describe children and young people who have severe difficulty in attending school, due to emotional or mental health needs. It is often a particular problem for students with autism. 

Triggers for EBSA range from sensory overload and anxiety about tasks, to social relationships with peers becoming more complex as students get older and difficulty transitioning to a new class. 

However, for many autistic students, school isn’t a place where they can be themselves, and this makes it challenging for teachers to get to the bottom of what might be causing their problems with attendance.

It may be tempting to sit down with the individual and ask open-ended questions, such as “what’s difficult about coming into school?”, but these can be very challenging for autistic students to answer. Similarly, questions that ask students to predict solutions, such as “how would you feel if we arranged X for you?” are also tricky, as autistic children and young people often cannot imagine something they have no experience of. 

Instead, asking something like “what hasn’t worked?” can be an easier way to start the conversation. It can also be useful to observe changes in behaviour that may be early warning signs of EBSA, and explore these patterns as a way of identifying where the difficulties lie. 

For example, are there certain lessons where time-out cards are always used? Are there always difficulties around transitions or at certain times of day? Have teachers noticed reduced communication, less engagement in learning or changes in friendship patterns? Are they spending all of their free time on their own in the library?

An educational psychologist can help schools make sense of possible causes, using different tools and techniques to elicit pupil voice and explore belonging, as well as assessing children for additional needs that may not have been identified, such as processing challenges.

Some schools have also found EBSA risk profiles helpful to ensure preventative rather than reactive approaches.

What to do when EBSA is entrenched

In cases where EBSA becomes more entrenched, rather than just trying to eliminate obstacles, it is useful to consider what might draw pupils back in. When children are so anxious they cannot attend school for weeks and months, building resilience can only be achieved when they are first in a positive mental space.

For example, if you know that students enjoy particular lessons or activities, could they start by coming in just for these sessions? 

Some creative thought might be needed here. I once worked with a student who struggled to attend school or leave the resource hub, and we ended up setting up a pseudo mini-enterprise for him. He liked the office staff and began researching and ordering the stationery supplies for the school. He enjoyed it, learnt from it and actually ended up saving the school money. He had a purpose and reason to be in school. For others, it’s been guitar lessons, working out with a fitness coach or showcasing their animation skills in assembly. Schools must find ways to help all autistic pupils feel like they are listened to and valued.

Embedding personal interests into the day and making sure there is someone in school who ‘gets’ them can trigger a strong sense of security.

On top of this, teachers need to recognise that overcoming EBSA is an ongoing process. 

Psychologists have recently adapted James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente’s ‘cycle of change’ model to support EBSA. This model acknowledges that young people need to be aware of their readiness to change and understand that relapses can occur.

Each positive step should be celebrated. A student who comes into school at 4pm for half an hour to chat to a teacher or see a friend has achieved something. A student who attends a school trip is making progress.

It doesn’t follow that they are then ready to join lessons or, conversely, that failure to repeat the achievement the next day is an indicator that progress isn’t going to stick.

Whole-school approaches to mitigate risk of EBSA

Alongside individual interventions, we need to think about systemic change.

Making school a place where autistic pupils feel like they belong might involve introducing a more flexible curriculum that feels relevant to pupils; carrying out sensory audits and making sure you’re offering autism-friendly environments; providing more certainty and structure in daily routines; making autism training accessible to all staff; and adapting lessons for students who need more processing time. 

Schools may also need to look at whether their resourced provision offers sufficient opportunities for contact with friends in mainstream classes and evaluate how inclusive their enrichment and extra-curricular offer is for students with SEND. 

There are various toolkits, as well as our postgraduate-level training courses in autism that can help schools refine their whole-school approach and develop staff training plans.

The value of small gestures

Getting children back into school is a team effort. 

Schools can help by ensuring there is a consistent team around the child; planning “meet and greets”; getting plans in place should a key person be absent or unavailable; and providing “scripts” to help students answer questions from peers about where they have been or why they have to leave early. 

Most importantly, however, students need to feel part of the solution – not that it’s something being done to them. To return to the girl I mentioned at the beginning of this article, we realised we could tap into her love of roller skating, which she couldn’t really do that well on the uneven ground in her back garden. 

We tried roller skating in the street, every week getting a little closer to school – luckily, only a few streets away.

Once this was established, we put a plan in place to restart attendance. We encouraged her to skate around the school grounds at a quiet time, meet the headteacher and then transition into the building. She had the support of a nominated friend at breaktimes, an alternative place to eat lunch and zero judgement if she was late or had a setback. 

I’m now pleased to say she attends full time.

She had the support of all her teachers, but one of the best things the school did was to create a dedicated space for her to put her pink rollerskates when she transitioned into the building. It was a simple, but incredibly meaningful action that signified there was a place in school for her.

Often, it’s the repetition of small gestures like this one that convince children we know them, we care about them and that they belong.

Dr Sue Sheppard is a practicing educational psychologist. She is also Real Group’s specialist EP for autism and module leader for Real Training’s postgraduate courses in autism. She has been a consultant to the Lorna Wing Centre for Autism (part of the National Autistic Society) since 1996 and is embedded in the internationally recognised DISCO diagnostic training team. 

After starting her early career as a specialist teacher, Sue worked as an EP for numerous London boroughs. She has been instrumental in setting up provision for children with ASD across early years, primary and secondary. She continues to work in schools and with families and undertakes specialist psychological assessments of autistic children and young people. 

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• 93% of delegates rated the course tutor feedback, support and interaction as ‘good’ or very ‘good’.
   

Comments from our delegates!

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• Lisa T, CCET Intensive delegate, 2025

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• Melanie Ann O, Access Arrangements Course delegate, 2025

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If you are thinking of enrolling on a course with us, either for the first time or are a returning delegate, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on +44 (0)1273 35 80 80 or contact us here.
 

Now that the dust is beginning to settle around the white paper, join our panel of leading SEND and inclusion experts as they discuss the key issues raised and help you lead your teams through the proposed policy shifts.

We’ll be covering the following:

• The key issues leaders need to manage beyond the headlines
• How SENCOs and SLT should prepare for the proposed changes (and potential workload impact)
• The implications of moving to ISPs (Individual Support Plans) 
• Examples of effective use of inclusion bases, TAs and specialist time
• How to reassure parents that their child’s needs will be met
• How you can use your voice to influence change

Recommended for:

SLT/SENCOs from primary, secondary and special settings

Date and time:

7.30am – 8.30am, Friday 20 March 2026

Not going to make it? Register anyway and we’ll send you a copy of the recording.

Panellists: 

Margaret Mulholland, SEN and Inclusion Specialist at the Association of School and
College Leaders.

Gary Aubin, Director SENDMattersUK;
Director of SEND for Whole Education;
Education Endowment Foundation SEND Associate.

Rebecca Gonyora, Director of Inclusive Learning  Every Child, Every Day Trust;
Deputy Regional SEN Lead for London (Whole School SEND);
Module Leader and Tutor for Real Training

Dr Siobhan Mellor, Educational Psychologist;
Director of Pedagogy and Learning for Real Training

Moderator:

Dr Mark Turner, Educational Psychologist;
Co-Founder Real Group and Real Training

Submit a question:

Have a question you’d like our panel to address? Please contact imogen.barber@realgroup.co.uk before the session. There will also be a Q&A session at the end of the webinar.

On Monday, the government released its major new white paper for schools, representing the biggest proposed shake-up to SEND policy in the last decade. 

We believe the intention to increase direct, early access to expert support and make inclusion a priority in all mainstream schools is a positive step forward, as is the commitment to placing evidence-based practice front and centre for every child.

The white paper aims to fix a system characterised by an escalating demand for EHCPs as the primary mechanism to access fully resourced SEND support. Whilst there is excellent practice happening across our schools, access to significant funding remains, as the white paper observes, “locked behind bureaucratic statutory processes”. Too many children face delays getting all their needs met, overwhelmed parents often feel like they have no choice but to fight tooth and nail for an EHCP, and council deficits are on track to hit £6 billion. 

With EHCP requests more than doubling over the last decade, the backlog has reached a point where one in 14 children are waiting over a year for extra help. Meanwhile, time from specialist professionals has been funnelled into activities such as EHCP applications, detracting from their capacity to help school staff with early intervention and support for children with additional needs.

The white paper sets out proposals to change this, focusing on building capacity to support more children in mainstream environments, before re-calibrating the SEND system as we know it.

Here are some of the key points, plus the questions we think are yet to be answered.

1. Digitised Individual Support Plans (ISPs) for all children with SEND

The government intends to strengthen the “universal offer” for all children through a £1.6bn Inclusive Mainstream Fund, backed up by SEND training for school staff, good use of adaptive teaching, improved school environments and enhanced enrichment opportunities.

Should pupils need additional help beyond this, it is proposed that schools, nurseries and colleges will have a statutory duty, (once the law has changed) to record this in an Individual Support Plan (ISP). These digital documents will be created collaboratively with parents, with outcomes reviewed at least every 12 months. They are likely to be included in Ofsted inspections.

Crucially, pupils on ISPs will be able to access time with specialists (educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists etc.) without having to wait for a diagnosis to access support.

Tiers are as follows:

• Tier 1: Targeted. Structured support will be provided by schools using a clear, trusted national framework. Needs will be documented and reviewed using the Individual Support Plans (ISPs). For example, small group interventions for speech and language support.
  
  
• Tier 2: Targeted Plus. More specialist support for children delivered by SALT, EPs or OTs. Children in this tier may spend time in the school’s inclusion base. They may also have a short-term placement in an AP (Alternative Provision) or special school.
  
  
• Tier 3: Specialist Support (which forms the basis of new EHCPs). Reserved for children with the most severe and complex needs. There are seven types of Specialist Provision Packages currently mooted, although this is still being worked on. Children on a specialist package will have an EHCP, but their day-to-day details of support will be recorded through their ISP. They will be consistent across the country, ending the current “postcode lottery.”

It’s worth re-emphasising that no changes to the support given by EHCPs will begin before September 2030.  

What remains unclear: The big questions here concern the extent to which the threshold criteria for obtaining an EHCP will change, as well as what the individual price bands will be for each package. It will be interesting to see how far the specialist provision packages will be able to flexibly accommodate the needs of each individual.

The ultimate long-term aim of the whitepaper, however, is to bring down the number of children on EHCPs not simply by setting the bar higher, but by increasing effective support in schools and therefore reducing the likelihood that a child will need one. 

2. New National Inclusion Standards and an updated Code of Practice

There will be a new national framework of high-quality, evidence-based interventions that every school can draw upon to develop ISPs. This will be drawn up by a panel of experts who can summarise the evidence on “what works” for teachers, and is expected to be in place by 2028.

Each year, schools will be required to produce an inclusion strategy (replacing the current SEND Information Report) detailing how they meet these national standards and are using their funding. This will be subject to Ofsted inspections.

The new proposed areas of development; (formerly areas of need) in the updated Code of Practice include difficulties with executive function, motor and physical, sensory, speech, language and communication and social and emotional categories, in order to support needs-led provision.

What’s still unclear: Changing the “areas of need” to “areas of development” in the Code of Practice is an interesting and positive idea, however the proposed categories need further expert and sector scrutiny, as do the Specialist Provision Packages. It isn’t clear, for example, how mental health support will sit under the new packages. It is also unclear how children with development needs that span two or more areas will be provided for.

3. EHCP reassessment in Year 6, 11 and 13

It is proposed that, from 2029, children issued with a Specialist Provision Package will be reassessed at the end of primary school, and again before they leave each subsequent phase of education.

But there will be a “triple lock” of protections for children while the system is being updated.

• The reassessment will only come into action in September 2029, meaning children currently in Year 2, for example, will be the first cohort to be reassessed in Year 6. Early Years children with an EHCP will not be reassessed until the end of primary school.
  
• Transfers to the new system won’t happen until a full academic year later however, in 2030, when ISPs should be fully up and running. Children will keep their existing EHCP in the interim period.
  
• There are no plans to change provision for children who currently have a place in a special school.

Our thoughts: While logical, reassessing children at the beginning of Year 6 could have its drawbacks. It is unlikely that primary school teachers or parents would respond positively to plans to withdraw an EHCP at a sensitive time when children’s needs often are changing. It could also be a source of additional anxiety for children preparing to start Year 7.    

Building parental confidence in the ‘Targeted’ and ‘Targeted Plus’ categories is vital. Implementing the ‘Experts at Hand’ initiative (explained later below) and proving its efficacy before 2029 will be key to building effective capacity to meet children’s needs early and establishing trust in the system.

It is also worth noting that once the new system is up and running, EHCPs won’t be reviewed annually, as is the case currently, but between each Key Stage.

4. Schools to form ‘SEND Groupings’ with direct control over new inclusion fund

In a major departure from the current model, mainstream schools will be given their own commissioning budgets for SEND support. The government is making £1.6bn available for three years as part of an Inclusive Mainstream Fund. 

Schools are expected to form local “clusters” within the next three years to pool this funding so it can be used effectively.  The longer-term objective is for all schools to become part of a trust.

The white paper says this funding is to “develop targeted, evidence-based support offers such as transition programmes or group interventions – without requiring formal assessments or diagnoses.”

What remains unclear: We don’t know whether there will be a minimum size for these clusters, or how schools will be expected to negotiate how budgets and resources are split. There may be concerns around what happens when the pool is used up and how to handle in-year admissions. It’s also unclear what funding will be provided after the three years and whether it will be sufficient to retain and grow the TA workforce needed to help support it, on top of things like the additional therapist time and assistive technology that might be required. 

5. £1.8bn to create a bank of specialists, known as “Experts at Hand”

£1.8bn will be set aside between 2026 – 2029 for Local Authority commissioned support services such as educational psychologists, SALT, occupational therapists, etc. These will be called “Experts at Hand”. The fund is further divided into a £1bn pot for expert professionals and £800 million for outreach services, provided by special schools.

The government says this will equate to roughly 40 days of expert support for an average primary school and 160 days for a secondary school each year.

Earlier in February, the government announced that they plan to train at least 200 educational psychologists in 2026/2027, with more funding to follow in 2028.

Our thoughts: A major consideration will be how quickly will the SALT and EPs currently working in the system will be able to refocus their capacity and resources to support children earlier in the school system? Will enough specialists be available to deliver effective early support and manage the ECHP reassessment process? The number of new EHCPs is expected to rise until 2030. Add to this the additional reassessment work from 2029 and the demand on EP time will be significant. Some industry voices have also raised concerns about the availability of staff in special schools to provide outreach.

6. Parents retain legal right to appeal, but tribunals won’t be able to name a school

Parents will retain the ability to appeal decisions, such as whether a child should be assessed for an EHCP as part of a Specialist Provision Package, and which school the child should attend.

However, the document accompanying the white paper: SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First mentions that tribunals will not be able to name a school placement for a child.

If parents are not happy with what’s in a child’s ISP, they will have to go through a school complaints system first, before being able to complain to the Local Authority, or to the government. This will now have to include an independent SEND expert on the panel. A new digital system for managing complaints will be introduced.

What’s still unclear: If the law changes, will the impact of a tribunal losing the power to name a school placement result in significantly fewer appeals? Could this change support a renewed focus on the importance of the pupil’s current school and parent working effectively together?

7. Inclusion bases in every secondary school

As already announced a few weeks ago, a separate £3.7bn fund will go towards creating new inclusion bases that will replace what’s currently known as SEN units, resourced provisions, and pupil support units. They will provide tailored learning environments and equipment and will be separated into:

• Support bases (school/MAT funded) and
• Specialist bases (LA funded)

What’s still unclear: How schools should update their policies around who should access the inclusion base to avoid inappropriate referrals. If a child’s needs cannot be effectively met within the school’s support base, what will be the mechanism for reassessing the move to a specialist base?

8. £200m SEND CPD package

This was announced in advance of the white paper and will cover training for professionals in nursery, primary and secondary and FE settings. 

There’s also a commitment to continue working with the EEF and promoting evidence-based practice which we fully support.

9. National Price Bands for independent special schools and greater curriculum controls

New national “fee bands” will be set for different types of Specialist Provision Packages. They are expected to be fully implemented from 2029 onwards.

While reports leaked prior to the white paper suggested a cap of £60,000, the official white paper focuses on these “price bands” which will vary depending on the complexity of the child’s needs. 

What’s still unclear: Could the proposed National Price Bands for independent special schools pose a risk that these schools may decline to meet the needs of some pupils, potentially forcing Local Authorities to incur higher costs by establishing new, urgent, or alternative provision?

10. New inclusive progress measure and updates to School Admissions Code

The white paper recognises that “we need to ensure breadth is recognised in our accountability system” and so proposes to consult on including more creative subjects in Progress 8. 

To ensure that access to high-performing schools is not dependent on household income or local house prices, the government will develop new resources to encourage schools to adopt more inclusive admission arrangements, while tightening the rules to ensure banding produces representative intakes. This builds on existing tools in the code that allow schools to prioritise children who are eligible for the pupil premium.

11. Measuring belonging to become compulsory

A new Pupil Engagement Framework will be published by the government later this year and all schools will be expected to measure belonging. There is strong evidence that a child’s sense of belonging and their attainments are positively linked.  We would all support the aspiration for children and young people to feel like they belong to their school, and so encouraging schools to focus their resources on supporting this ambition is helpful. 

The white paper states: “We expect schools to make effective use of this data, highlighting evidence-based practice that can be embedded into their improvement plans, which not only improve engagement, but also support outcomes including attendance and attainment.”

What’s still unclear: Will schools need to report on belonging scores for individual cohorts, such as pupils with SEND? Which standardised belonging indexes will be used?

What next for SENCOs?

Ask the experts: If you’re uncertain about how to prepare, join our webinar happening on Friday March 20th where we’ll be discussing the practical implications of some of the changes.

Have your say: The consultation is open for 12 weeks (closing 11.59pm 18th May 2026). The DfE has specifically asked for the views of “teachers and leaders.” This is your opportunity to have your voice heard. Respond to the consultation here:

Develop a robust communications plan: Parents will understandably be anxious, so schools should be developing a cadence of communications, as well as one-to-ones and drop-ins. When preparing content for SEND newsletters, asking AI to predict some of the questions parents may be thinking about might be helpful, especially as LLMs are currently digesting a lot of requests from parents who are keen to get their head around the changes. 

Take a look at the separate, shorter documents for parents that the government has published.

Improve outcomes for your students by extending your team’s SEND training

Inclusive classrooms need skilled support professionals so that all learners can succeed.

We are proud to launch the all-new International Diploma in Inclusive Classroom Support, designed to extend the expertise of experienced teaching assistants, LSAs, individual support assistants, and junior assistant teachers specifically in international settings.

How the Diploma can make a difference to your learners and setting

This 12-month level 5 qualification offers incredible impact:

• From Assistant to Specialist: Delegates will deepen their knowledge of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and inclusion, giving them the confidence and practical skills to assist with early identification and to lead targeted interventions for learners with SEND.
• Growth Beyond the Theory: Practice-led learning, with the support of an in-school mentor, means delegates evidence their progress by applying their knowledge and immediately putting it to use in your setting.
• Access to Experts: Tutors on the course, who will guide and provide valuable feedback, have been hand-picked for their experience in international settings and their commitment to driving inclusion in schools. SEND Masterclasses, presented by experts in topics such as EBSA, dyslexia, autism, ADHD, and speech and language delay, will be an opportunity to expand delegates’ knowledge and gain inspiration.
• Global Recognition: On successful completion, delegates will be awarded the NQual Level 5 Diploma in Specialist Teaching Assistant, an Ofqual regulated qualification, providing a prestigious benchmark for your school’s professional development standards.

Building on established internationally-focused SEND training

Our postgraduate International Award in SEN Coordination (iSENCO) is already highly regarded as a programme for leaders of inclusive education. It is validated by Middlesex University, so you can be further assured of its quality.

The Inclusive Classroom Support Diploma empowers even more practitioners so that your culture of inclusion is cohesive and seamless. Train your whole team with us!

Find out more and apply

The first cohort begins on 15 May 2026. Make a booking today. You can also share our course flyer with your colleagues.

To find out more, including eligibility requirements, please visit our course page.

The past couple of years have seen a doubling down of effort to enhance pupils’ sense of belonging in schools, with links being drawn to wellbeing, motivation and absenteeism, as well as academic achievement.

Although particular targeted interventions show signs of promise, improving belonging typically involves whole-school systematic and cultural changes. This relies on building the right foundations, starting with relationships in the classroom. When relational inclusion is prioritised, we ensure every pupil feels valued, we demonstrate that their contributions matter, and we invite them into a shared sense of place and reference. There are no quick fixes, but backing this up with plenty of opportunities for cooperative learning, peer bonding, and strong inclusive practice can have a positive impact on pupils’ self-esteem and has the potential to improve their sense of belonging.

Lack of belonging an issue for UK schools – but potential signs of improvement

Data released after the pandemic illustrates the problem of belonging in UK schools. An analysis of TIMSS data between 2019 and 2023 has shown a stark decline in pupils’ emotional engagement with school after transitioning to secondary level; a drop noticeably more pronounced in England compared to other countries.

Lately, the picture is perhaps more hopeful. Survey results from the DfE’s Pupil Experiences in School report show a 12 percentage point increase in the number of secondary pupils stating they felt they belonged at their school ‘most or every day in the past week’ in May 2025, compared to the same time the year prior. Time will tell whether these green shoots of improvement can be sustained.

It’s worth remembering that the survey also showed that 16% of secondary pupils said there was “rarely” or “never” an adult who “really cares about me” in school, an improvement from previous years, but a demonstration of the work still to do. The problem of belonging is less pronounced in primary schools, but it is still something that needs to be addressed, especially amongst pupils with SEND.

An intentional system for maintaining positive staff-pupil relationships

You’d be hard-pressed to find a teacher who doesn’t value and pursue positive relationships with their students. Yet stretched timetables and the pressures of meeting targets can erode relationships over time. By way of example, a 2024 University of Bath report found that secondary pupils felt their sense of psychological safety and belonging was undermined by several factors, such as being put on the spot, having misunderstandings dismissed as ‘laziness,’ or being treated unfairly. These classroom experiences directly contribute to a wider sense of isolation from adults.

Dr. Larissa Gaias from the University of Massachusetts recommends that schools make time for an intentional approach to relationship building. “Relationships in general, regardless of their nature, without intentional efforts tend to degrade over time,” Gaias says, “we need intentional ongoing efforts to keep those positive relationships intact”.

Some things to think about, in order to follow Gaias’s advice include:

Revisiting the Establish, Maintain, Restore (EMR) method

While the Establish, Maintain, Restore (EMR) framework is a staple in many classrooms, its success relies on being fully embedded and prioritised across school, with staff given time to reflect. Segmenting pupil registers into establish, maintain or restore categories can help teachers and behaviour teams build a bigger picture of their student population, spotting not only individuals, but also trending groups of pupils that might need greater focus or coaching support. Categories are divided into the following;

• Establish: For new pupils. Focus on getting as much background information as possible, “talk them up” to other adults, use activities to get to know them, send positive notes home, show genuine excitement for their presence, and give one-to-one time to establish psychological safety.
• Maintain: For the steady middle. Don’t let them become “invisible.” Keep the momentum with low-stakes high-impact moves: warm greetings at the door, quick “weekend check-ins”, “this or that” voting for conversation starters, celebrating achievements, giving targeted, derserved praise and recognising effort, not just outcome.
• Restore: For pupils where the bond has frayed. This requires the most intensive effort, prioritising empathetic listening, collaborative problem solving and structured restorative sessions to repair trust, including (where necessary) admitting when we may have overreacted or made mistakes.

Placing restorative practice at the heart of behaviour policy

Restorative practice is a key part of the EMR approach. While consequences for behaviour remain, it redirects focus away from re-instating obedience towards rebuilding relationships by listening to students. Moving away from punative punishment can be an essential part of helping students feel heard and fairly treated in school. A Teach First report noted that five out of the six secondary schools who scored highly on indexes of inclusion and attainment used disciplinary systems grounded in restorative practice.

Some schools quoted in the report above, ensure that if detentions have to be issued, they are always held same day so teachers can follow up with reflective conversations and an all-important fresh start the next morning. Others have appointed a designated Head of Year who has purely pastoral responsibilities to help immediately reset behaviour before punishment is necessary.

For restorative practice to work for all pupils, the process must be both accessible and adaptable. For neurodivergent individuals, traditional verbal scripting can be a barrier. Effective schools adapt this by using visual supports (like comic strip conversations) and ensuring students are fully regulated before attempting a restorative dialogue – even if that means waiting until the next day.

Finding a system to notice the good things

Simple visual cues, such as gratitude boards in corridors or ‘hype boards’ in classrooms, can serve as effective prompts for connection. By dividing these boards into sections for both teacher and student to leave positive sticky notes to recognise weekly wins and positive actions, teachers can build a regular habit of positive affirmation.

This example is from a US classroom, but still demonstrates a potential system to notice the good things.
Credit @Loolislearning. Video available here

Tapping into a shared sense of place

Mariya Mobeen is an Assistant Principal in a large mainstream secondary in Bradford and Lead Tutor on our course, Educational Leadership through a Cross Cultural Lens. Her school has started offering tours of the local community to all new teachers. “We realised that staff who have the best relationships with students are those who know the community really well,” she says.

Mariya explains that, as well as encouraging a “shared frame of reference” so staff can easily converse with students about their lives outside of school, it can also make lessons more engaging. “A local area of interest can also be incorporated into geography lessons, a takeaway shop can raise a smile in a maths question – there are so many ways to show young people that their world matters to us too and to help teachers and pupils feel that they have this shared space and connection,” she adds. It can also help the curriculum feel more purposeful.

Regular staff training in trauma-informed practice and attachment

Most schools have some level of training, but this is not the same as regular scenario-based practice and a consistent shift away from “punishment” to both logical and consistent consequences for unwanted behaviour. Staff also need the headspace and skills to practice self-care and avoid empathy drain.

Peer relationships – we are like a family here

Many pupils report that having close friends and feeling respected by their peers is important for their sense of belonging. It is no great surprise, perhaps, that pupils who are persistently absent rate their ability to make friends as 15% lower than those who are not.  Some things that can help include;

Peer-based restorative practice

Large-scale US studies have shown that the use of practices such as restorative circles can reduce feelings of victimisation and can strengthen a sense of belonging in schools (Eisman et al., 2020; Melendez-Torres et al., 2021). A trial of the Learning Together intervention at 40 secondary schools in the South East of England has also shown a significant reduction in bullying behaviour and improvement in wellbeing, compared to a control group.

Encouraging a “family ethos”

Several schools have had success trying to bring in elements of nurturing and caring relationships in smaller groups akin to those found in a family environment. In Mariya Mobeen’s school in Bradford they run an additional learning provision for students with educational needs. The numbers within this setting are smaller with a higher adult to child ratio. At lunchtimes, students participate in family dining where they are encouraged to take turns serving their group, rather than queuing up at the canteen.

“Pupils are seated 10-12 to a table, one person serves from a large dish, another fills the desserts, one person tidies up etc, and often teachers will come and sit with them,” Mariya says. “It’s a really lovely initiative that helps pupils bond and socialise over a meal and has been especially useful for helping children who have faced adverse circumstances before they join us.”

Introducing more circle time in primary and secondary contexts

Jenny Mosley, an educational consultant who specialises in circle time, observes that it has often fallen off the agenda of many lessons, even in primary schools, save those involving the very youngest pupils. Yet the pupils she interviews speak of how gathering with peers in a circle “gave me a family,” and headteachers often are surprised about how effective it can be to enable pupils to tackle emotionally challenging topics.

Exploring Circle Solutions

Circle Solutions is a pedagogy for encouraging healthy relationships developed by Dr. Sue Roffey. It is similar to circle time, but adheres to a more structured philosophy drawing on positive psychology, without reference to specific incidents. The aim is for students to take the lead and come up with solutions to real or imaginary scenarios, referring to people in the third-person. It is deliberately structured to allow many students to participate in small groups, while maintaining psychological safety and giving children the ability to impact their community.

Empathy training

Two things to highlight include the LEANS resource, designed to help students aged 8-12 learn about neurodiversity, and the Empathy Training programme for 5-18-year-olds run by Empathy Studios. The latter has been found to have positive effects on teacher-rated empathy scores, emotional literacy and curiosity about other cultures in a recent study conducted by researchers from Cambridge University. Interestingly, empathy training might benefit some teachers as well. A brief empathetic mindset intervention (using maths teachers at two secondary schools in England as participants) demonstrated a significantly postitive impact on students’ feelings of belonging, as well as reducing suspensions and detentions.

Creating more opportunities for cooperative learning

What if, every so often, we set ourselves the challenge of noting down how we might support a belonging objective in lessons alongside the learning objective? While there’s not a great deal of research linking belonging specifically to cooperative learning, there are a significant number of studies that show it can lead to reduced anxiety, higher self-esteem, and improved releationships with peers, compared to settings where it is not prioritised. (Johnson et al, 2000, Van Ryzin et al, 2020, Roseth et al, 2008). This only works, however, if participation is truly equal. Revisiting strategies like Kagan’s Cooperative learning techniques, and the Jigsaw method reduces the likelihood of pupil contributions becoming unbalanced and one or two students dominating.

Targeted interventions – I can grow my sense of belonging 

Two very different, but established interventions, both involving aspects of positive psychology, include;

• The social belonging intervention. Developed by a team led by Stanford psychologist Gregory Walton, the intervention has shown strong, reliably replicated results in the US, especially with students from minority backgrounds. Students starting school or college are shown survey results from older peers graduating in order to normalise the feeling of not immediately ‘fitting in’. The older students then go through guided reflection, enabling them to provide written or video advice to the younger students and explain how things can, and do, get better. Younger students who were exposed to this showed improved persistence, better mental wellbeing and were less likely to drop out of college. It is currently being trialled in four English secondary schools.
  
  
• ELSA sessions. Research suggests that access to ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) sessions can give pupils who feel isolated the skills to build and maintain relationships with others and develop a feeling of positivity in school (Bravery & Harris, 2009; Dunn, 2020; Purcell et al., 2023). A recent literature review in Educational and Child Psychology draws a clear link between ELSA and school belonging. Qualitative feedback captured in this 2024 evaluation summary shows headteachers report a wide range of anecdotal benefits, including increased attendance and self-esteem.

For a review of the evidence behind the ELSA programme see also: 7 Ways ELSAs Can Improve Children’s Mental Health

Inclusion and representation – other people like me belong here

A tokenistic approach to inclusion can widen the belonging gap. Mariya Mobeen emphasises that inclusion must be threaded throughout everything you do and recommends conducting a belonging and inclusion audit. “Try walking the school and asking yourself, what languages, what cultures, what festivals can you see within your school and how welcoming does it seem?” she says.  

“If there’s a visual timetable, for example, are the words written in some of the students’ home languages as well? If you go to the library, can you easily find books with main characters that represent different faiths, cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicity, physical appearance, etc.? If you regularly attended assembly, would you have heard from neurodivergent people and those from different faiths or backgrounds – either directly or through narrative accounts?”

Some of the things you might ask yourself as part of this also include:

• Can students see themselves in the trusted adults available? Of course, having a good representation in your staff base is the ideal scenario. Some schools have even taken to actively recruiting ex-pupils to school support staff, teaching and SLT positions to help improve this. If that’s not possible, look at what outside agencies you could draw upon for cohorts that need it most. At Mariya’s school, absenteeism amongst Eastern European students has been a particular problem. One of the initiatives that has been most effective involves using an outreach agency made up of staff from this particular community to do weekly group sessions with the students. They address issues around school absence and aim to make coming to school seem ‘irresistible’. This can include reward initiatives like bowling or a pizza party at the end of a series of sessions.
  
  
• Are different voices represented in the curriculum? Are students only exposed to black history during one dedicated month, or all year round? Will they have studied a diverse range of authors by the time they leave school?
  
  
• How are staff informed about student backgrounds? Consider holding regular practice clinics to share pupil profiles of new joiners with all staff, so that staff are aware of pupil backgrounds and experiences prior to joining.
  
  
• Can neurodivergent students fully participate? Understandably, many pupils report that the ability to engage with the curriculum is an important part of feeling part of their school community. Researchers interviewing children with SEND aged 3-16 about belonging, identified teaching and learning as a key theme, alongside the environment, relationships and extra-curricular activities. Using inclusion by design goes a long way to address this, alongside a diverse curriculum offer, plenty of multisensory learning and well-designed spaces for learning and recuperation. When it comes to specific activities like reading, however, it may also involve offering greater choice, having dyslexia-friendly Barrington Stoke books readily available, for example, as well as the right specialist support.
  
  Some changes might be small. To support students who need more processing time,  a “heads-up” on a discussion agenda/outline might be helpful. Alternatively, a simple post-it note system can let that individual know you’ll remember to circle back to them if they want to contribute. There’s nothing more frustrating for a pupil than finding their voice just as the conversation shifts to something else. If you are asking questions or doing a brainstorming task, Dr Helene Cohen recommends pausing and letting pupils know that you’ll be asking for feedback after a certain ammount of time, in order to communicate there is no need for the pupil to be anxious about having to come up with an answer on the spot.

Read also: How Teaching Assistants can support
and champion dyslexic students.

Read also: Improving the wellbeing of autistic girls in school

Building character and agency – there are many ways I can allow myself to belong

While low self-esteem can be caused by many factors, it can be triggered when students feel their value is measured through academic achievement alone. This can create a negative spiral, limiting participation in the very activities that would otherwise help to improve mental wellbeing and build belonging. Some thoughts on how to address this include;

Extending enrichment clubs

As recently reported in the Tes, Redhill Academy Trust have had such success with their enrichment programme in which pupil premium pupils who signed up to just one extra session experienced an average attendance boost of 4.4 percentage points over the term. While we should be wary of using attendance as a direct proxy for belonging, the positive impact of enrichment clubs is being borne out in wider research, while recent reports capturing student voice demonstrate how they enhance teacher-pupil relationships and give pupils something to look forward to. A 2023 Australian study also found that participating in an enrichment club not only predicts higher scores on belonging and mental health indexes, but that the effects are still present two years down the line.

Having a range of sporting and non-sporting activities, creating girls-only groups, non-competitive groups, options that neurodivergent pupils have expressed an interest in and no or low-lost activities are just some ways to encourage participation. Staffing needs to be considered, but there are creative ways to manage this, such as hiring PE TA apprentices.

Embedding or revisiting your character curriculum

Focusing on character-led values and goals can help shift focus away from purely academic achievements, as well as build agency. Not all teachers receive explicit training in character education, however, and it can be a weak area of the curriculum. To improve belonging, Harris Academy Chafford Hundred revamped their character curriculum to include specific HACH Character Traits, a Character Hub and Character Ambassadors using shared vocabulary that’s consistently explained. House systems are just one way to celebrate character traits, and can work especially well when teachers are able to earn points for houses on certain occasions, e.g. sports day, and sixth formers have some autonomy leading them.

Tracking and celebrating non-academic achievement

Carr Manor, an all-through school in Leeds, recently featured as a case study school in a milestone report on the value of enrichment clubs released by Centre for Young Lives, and is frequently held up as an example of a school where pupils feel like they belong. The school has used an dedicated app to allow students to earn badges in extra-curricular activities that are added to personal Recognition Timelines. The timelines are linked to different aspects of their character curriculum, enabling qualitative and quantitative data can be mapped against this and recognised throughout school. It is also made available to coaches in their coaching programme, where groups of 8-10 pupils (of mixed ages) meet three times a week with the same member of staff throughout the school, focusing on character development, celebrating achievements, as well as giving practical health, careers and financial advice.

Capturing and acting on pupil voice

Pupils feel a renewed sense of agency when their opinions and recommendations are listened to and implemented. By way of an example, Harris Science Academy in East London noticed that girls, in particular, had low scores on measures of belonging. They created a designated female-only space in order to provide a safe place for girls every lunchtime. Senior female members of staff and various external organisations then held workshops to explore concerns and come up with improvements. Sense of belonging scores improved considerably amongst girls once this had been put in place. The full case study is on the ImpactEd website here.

For tips about inclusive ways to capture pupil voice read also:
Strengthening pupil voice in wellbeing initiatives

Staff, parents and local community

When staff and parents and carers also feel a sense of belonging it helps build pride and purpose within the school community. Meanwhile, drawing links between different centres of belonging between school, home and the wider community, can also help pupils feel like they are part of a network and that different aspects of their identity are mutually valued and understood. Bronfenbrenner called these interconnecting links the mesosystem and emphasised that strengthening these connections can help improve children’s development. We can also think about this through the lens of belonging, focusing on the following:

• Parental engagement. Research tells us that there is a consistent relationship between increasing parental engagement and improved attendance, behaviour and student achievement. It’s also worth reflecting that the same study found that parents labeled as ‘hard to reach’ often view the school as being in the same category. 
  
• Showing all staff are valued. Developing a close-knit community that outwardly demonstrates pride in their school can be extremely difficult when staff are grappling with burnout, or considering leaving the profession. While the nature of pressure on TAs is different, the sense of feeling left out or forgotten about can still hinder their sense of belonging. 
  
• Community outreach programmes. When school is obviously a welcoming place for lots of different types of local support groups, faiths, interest groups, it becomes more easily identified as a place where many voices are heard and respected. It also gives students the choice to open up about other aspects of their identity. 

Relationships at the heart of belonging

Belonging, at its heart, is about seeking out more significant relationships – something that’s deceptively easy to say and harder, in practice, to cultivate and maintain, especially with those pupils who are already disengaged. 

Doing this often means going back to basics, prioritising check-ins, creating space to focus on relationships and restorative practice – and it may require intentional systems and strategies in the short-term. It also means prioritising opportunities for group problem solving and teambuilding activities that allow young people to connect.

Once relationships are strengthened, then other factors can help grow a student’s sense of belonging, but this only works as long as barriers to inclusion aren’t already in the way. Schools that do this well are continuously looking for ways to offer a sense of purpose, offering alternatives to the naysayers, diversifying curriculum paths, generating a sense of school pride and celebrating all kinds of achievements together as a school community. This is underpinned by a leadership culture that allows teachers both autonomy and support.

Many young people today are lonely and seeking connection in all kinds of places, not all of them healthy or safe. It is dangerous for school leaders to make assumptions about who these pupils are; they are not just confined to secondary schools, they are not confined to one gender, sexual orientation or ethnic minority – they aren’t always the ones who will be already on your radar. This is why it’s so important that schools really listen and respond to their own pupils.

Building a stronger sense of belonging in school is arguably one of the most powerful ways to improve mental wellbeing and resilience in our children and young people. Fostering this sense of belonging is not merely an educational ideal, but a vital necessity for every student in our schools.

Our courses

You can find out more about how to conduct cross-cultural inclusion and belonging audits, identify specific areas of improvement, engage your school, parent and local community and carry out an action plan for change in our course; Educational Leadership Through a Cross-Cultural Lens.

Learn how to create an inclusive offering for autistic students, with a specific focus on addressing wellbeing and belonging in girls in our course: Contemporary Topics in Autism

Develop an action plan for belonging and tackle whole-school system-led change for mental health and wellbeing in our Masters in Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools and Colleges, which includes advanced training for Senior Mental Health Leads.

Train to become an ELSA via the Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant apprenticeship, offered by our sister company, ESF Apprenticeships. 

Children’s Mental Health Week, run by charity Place2Be, is just around the corner. This year’s theme, This is My Place, focuses on belonging.

Many children still do not feel a strong sense of belonging in our schools. Data from the 2023 International Maths and Science Survey (TIMSS) demonstrated that by the time children reach fifteen, one in three feel like they don’t belong – one of the steepest drops in any OECD country. A 2024 report from London’s Violence Reduction Unit, produced not too dissimilar results – a third of primary aged students and 44% of secondary students in London did not feel a secure sense of belonging in school.

This Children’s Mental Health week, we’re supporting the many schools and professionals who have been tirelessly trying to to reverse this trend, with the aim to help every child feel happier in school.

Activity ideas for Primary and Secondary Schools

We’re taking things back to basics with some simple activities that can help pupils understand and connect to each other and their school community a little better. With a focus on connecting, collaborating and contributing, take a look at our creative activities and games below.

The Connection Factor: How Schools Can Build a Sense of Belonging

DfE data from May last year shows almost 1 in 3 pupils were not able to agree with the statement that they felt they belonged in school “most or every day in the past week.”

In our latest blog, we take a look at some of the barriers and facilitators to belonging, including exploring aspects of relational inclusion, some promising evidence-backed interventions and innovative individual school initiatives.

Why is belonging so important?

A sense of belonging, as Maslow identified, is a prerequisite for self-esteem, achievement and finding our sense of purpose in the world. When children feel accepted and valued in school, the sense that “I can be myself here,” and that “I belong here“, they gain the secure foundations to learn and achieve. Not only does this improve their chance of success in a purely academic context, but also as rounded young people with the resilience to persevere and fulfil their passion.

Research shows us that the extent to which students feel like they belong in school has a marked effect on motivation, engagement and academic performance (Korpershoek et al.,2019) as well as anxiety and depression (McMahon et al.,2008). Children with a higher sense of belonging in school are also much less likely to engage in behaviour such as drinking and smoking (Bonell et al., 2016). There may even be a link between how strongly students feel like they belong in their secondary school and later mental health outcomes as young adults. (Allen et al., 2024).

Other resources for Children’s Mental Health Week 2026!

• Visit the Place2Be website to download free assembly guides, activities and top tips for primary and secondary schools to build belonging. 
• PE software platform Imoves has teamed up with Davies Sports to create a free collection of play and dance activities and fun games for playground Belonging Zones . Resource available here 
• Raising Resilience is holding live online workshops for Year 3 classes on the topic of dealing with big emotions and how to return to calm. Sign up here
• The School of Kindness is offering free live virtual assemblies, resources and recorded workshops on kindness.
• Sue Roffey’s book, Circle Solutions for Student Wellbeing contains lots of brilliant ideas for using circle solutions across different age groups to encourage emotional literacy, overcome challenging situations, promote teamwork and build resilience and empathy.