This week is Children’s Mental Health Week run by leading charity, Place2Be. The theme this year is My Voice Matters and in order to help, we’ve pulled together an infographic with our top tips for strengthening pupil voice in school wellbeing initiatives.
According to the latest NHS data, between the ages of 8-25, an estimated 1 in 5 young people (that’s roughly five in every class) now suffer with mental health difficulties. Listening to children’s voices is central to making school-based wellbeing initiatives more effective and impactful.
Interested in reading some real-world examples and mini case studies?
Read more in our blog: Every Voice Matters: Strengthening Pupil Voice in Wellbeing Initiatives
Andrew Chadwick, NASENCO, Senior Mental Health Lead Advanced Award
Andrew is currently the Safeguarding, Ambition and Inclusion Lead for Focus-Education. Prior to this, he was Head of School and SENCo in a primary school in Yorkshire.
Andrew is incredibly passionate about delivering high-quality education, and equality, to all children. He has taken the time to review what he gained from our Senior Mental Health Leadership Advanced Award below, as well as providing some general tips for anyone new to the role.
What made you choose the Real Training courses over other options?
I found Real Training through the NASENCO qualification. The thing which sold it for me was that I wanted to do an online course that I could take at my own pace, the time that I wanted to use, and when I wanted to do it. Real Training provided high-quality support and an active peer group which was really beneficial. When schools were given the funding for Senior Mental Health Leadership, I knew that Real Training would give great support, high-quality training and real-school life examples. It was the Senior Mental Health Leadership Advanced Award training through Real Training, in the list of DfE providers which was a particular draw as I wanted to get the biggest impact for our children as possible.
What was your experience of learning with Real Training?
Both courses were excellent. You definitely get out what you put in. Tutor feedback is really helpful. It was also good to have them gently nudging every now and again and checking in. Contact with tutors is always swift. Campus Online makes things really clear. You know what you need to complete and where you are at any time.
How have the courses helped you to make an impact at school?
The real benefit in both cases is that the course fits in with what we need to do in school. After studying the Senior Mental Health Advanced Award, I developed a training package for staff around trauma, and was able to give this to staff to support individual pupils. I was able to think more widely around mental health and how to support parents and staff as well as children.
How have the courses helped you to develop as an educational professional?
I have a better skill in regards to reflection. I have also developed my skills in building, analysing and then evaluating projects.
What are the top three things you rolled out within your setting, since completing the courses?
- A wider range of training for staff
- Support for parents
- A wider range of resources for school – children and staff.
Related articles:
Read our blog: Getting to Grips with The Senior Mental Health Lead Role
Watch highlights from Andrew’s sixteen month follow-up with Joanna Wood, course leader:
Improving Mental Health in a Yorkshire Primary School: A Whole-School Case Study
Matthew Lee, Real Training tutor and former Deputy Headteacher responsible for Inclusion at ICS Amman, explores what SEN professionals should know before making the move to international schools. First published in the January/February issue SEN magazine, accessible here.
International schools are more varied in their ways of working – so research them carefully
If you are looking at applying for an international SEN vacancy, you need to be selective about the schools to which you apply, as there is a much wider range of schools internationally, each with very different ways of working. If you wish to remain in a more British-based setting for your first international placement, look out for a COBIS school which has recently completed a BSO inspection so you can read the inspection report. You can find these on the ISI or PENTA website, if they’re not on the gov.uk site yet. The main source of information on schools in the international sector is internationalschoolsreview.com where for a small subscription, you can read in-depth reviews from teachers on most international schools.
SEN provision will vary based on the type of school you are in
As most countries across the global South do not have provision for SEN students in specialist provision, there is often a much larger number applying for mainstream schools, and schools are often under a financial pressure to accept students which you may struggle to support depending on your experience. As the schools are nearly all private entities, some of them will be academically selective, and some will be non-selective (however even these schools will often turn away students with the most significant needs). It is well worth knowing the type of school you are applying for and the range of students you are comfortable with arranging support for.
Parents will be informed by local beliefs and cultural attitudes towards SEND
In the majority of international schools, there will be some parents from the host community, who will be informed by their local beliefs about difference. However there will also be expatriates who each have their own understanding. One of the many differences is perhaps how medicalised many American parents’ understanding is, and how much they favour specific therapies like Applied behaviour Analysis (ABA). Many children with autism will go from their international school to an ABA clinic, or have an ABA therapist (often paid for by parents) with them in the school. Some schools even have Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) professionals on staff, and this approach is far more prevalent in international schools than approaches like TEACCH or those based on the social model of inclusion.
There is a greater range of need in most mainstream international schools than schools in the UK
Some of these private schools are selective, and may therefore have a slightly reduced range of needs, however many have financial pressures to accept students in fiercely competitive markets where every student’s fees counts and there can be a lot of pressure on SENCos to accept children (if the SENCo is even consulted). This can result in many students who, in England would be better served in specialist schools where learning is readily adapted to their needs, being placed in a mainstream class with their same-age peers despite their developmental levels. Setting up rigorous screening should be an immediate priority for you for all new applicants, and visiting a specialist school before you leave the UK (if you have no experience) would be highly beneficial as it is more difficult to access this area of expertise internationally where there are only a handful of international specialist schools.
Para-professionals and shadow models are more likely to be present
There’s also greater use of para-professionals, with schools often employing a shadow model where parents will pay directly to an external person to shadow their child. This model has many downsides, as you get little control over the hiring of the person involved. The schools which do not utilise a shadow model will often have teams of qualified teaching assistants. The level of education is a major difference form the majority of para-professionals in the UK, as is the size of the teams which are typically much larger as these people are often paid a ‘local’ wage which is likely a lot less than many of the teaching staff, and they receive a limited benefits package. This can lead to a lot of dependency among children, and a real priority for every international SENCo at the moment is to review deployment in order to promote independence.
It’s worth taking the time to find an online community of SEND professionals
When making the move to working in an international school, remember that everything you take for granted is gone. You will likely be more isolated, and it’s important to build a professional community of SEN professionals online for support. Teaching in an international school can be very rewarding, but it is not without its challenges.
Matthew Lee completed a PhD in Social Justice and Education at Lancaster University, specialising in understandings of inclusion and inclusive leadership. He has been a senior leader in multiple award-winning inclusive international schools for over a decade and now tutors on Real Training’s iSENCO course. He has recently published on international school pastoral structures, the unique benefits and challenges of leadership in international schools, and supporting marginalised groups in international schools.
Andrew Chadwick was a senior mental health lead at a primary school in Yorkshire and is now Safeguarding, Ambition and Inclusion Lead at Focus-Trust.
Dr Joanna Wood, Andrew’s course tutor, caught up with him a year after finishing his course to see what impact the plan he launched had on mental health and wellbeing provision in his school. He also talked to us about how he had taken his learning forward into his new role across fifteen schools at the trust.
Embedding a positive ethos around mental health
Mental health has always been important but after Covid, Andrew found himself (like many), dealing with an increasing number of problems surfacing not only from pupils but also parents and staff. He was keen to avoid a piecemeal approach, where mental health training was only for the few.
“If you want something to embed properly it needs to be a whole-school approach rather than just an add-on.” Andrew explains. “Having a standalone person trained to tackle or troubleshoot mental health doesn’t feel that inclusive. You need a strategy for parents, children and staff; everything that you do as a school community – and someone senior to lead it.”
Hear from Andrew below on why the need for a whole-school approach led him to take the Advanced Senior Mental Health Training course and his tips for embedding a positive ethos on mental health.
Developing an action plan and a tailored trauma programme
In Andrew’s school, there were pupils from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, including individuals whose behaviour was hard to manage, linked to childhood trauma.
Whilst on the advanced course, all delegates create and get detailed feedback on an action plan. Andrew’s plan led him to implement the following tactics;
- a weekly play therapist sessions to tackle trauma
- a drop-in mums-only wellbeing group
- a parent outreach and communication programme via newsletters
- specific staff training for those responsible for pupils who had experienced trauma
- all-staff training on social-emotional needs and mental health
- a cross-staff working party that reported back to the SMHL
- an adapted version of the Zones of Regulation
- wellbeing resources for both staff and parents on the school website
In the below video, he describes his approach to trauma training and the incredible impact it had on one particular student when parents, staff, and senior leaders were able to work together around a unified strategy.
Helping parents with their own mental health – the “penny-drop” moment
“The impact that a parent’s mental health can have on a pupil is massive. The course was really good for that – it shaped my thinking” explains Andrew. “It was half way through doing the reflective journal that I ended up doing a complete 360 to refocus on parental mental health. It was a penny-drop moment.”
One of the other things that was top of mind for Andrew was that some children are very good at masking. “Sometimes issues can be dismissed by schools, especially if the behaviour isn’t immediately obvious or disruptive” he explained. “We took a different view and thought; well if it’s an issue at home then it’s still an issue in school and we should try to address it. As soon as we proactively communicated with parents and they could see we were trying they were a lot more open with us. Building relationships and trust then allowed us to have the more challenging conversations.”
“Rightly or wrongly there’s not as much provision out there as there used to be – we could sit and complain about this or we could do something about it. That’s where the senior mental health role and the training comes in.”
The impact of a whole-school approach to mental health
Adopting a system-wide approach allowed Andrew to create an open culture around mental health. Establishing an all-staff working party helped facilitate this, and he was pleased to see lunchtime cover supervisors and support staff also keen to attend meetings.
Did this system-wide approach ultimately have an impact on things like attendance and behaviour?
Andrew believes so. “I think it did have a positive impact. People were having conversations about mental health more openly and with confidence,” he reflects. “If a pupil or parent was saying they were a bit anxious about coming to school, staff weren’t just waiting on me saying, let’s try this or that. Instead, they were able to say; don’t worry we can help, so when that pupil arrives in the morning we can try one of our strategies to make it easier for them to come in.”
Learning as you go and bringing everyone on the journey
Some of the initiatives he implemented were met with initial reluctance and uncertainty from certain staff which had to be worked through, while other strategies needed to be adapted in order to see success.
For example, the additional attention pupils received after putting themselves in an angry zone during daily check-ins inadvertently incentivised some children to deliberately mislabel their emotions. Although understandable, this needed to be discouraged by making initial check-ins much lighter-touch.
Reflecting on the benefits of the Senior Mental Health Leadership Advanced course
For Andrew, the course helped him evaluate his school’s current strengths and weaknesses as well as where they should go next, including more strategic use of the data.
“The course is your day-to-day job and that’s one of the things I really liked. It just prompted me to probe what I was doing and be a lot more strategic.” Andrew reflects.
“As an example, we didn’t just launch Zones of Regulation, we actually looked at what we wanted to get out of launching it. We developed our own school version of it with our staff and they were fully on board and had a say in it which made rolling it out much easier. We were also more strategic around how we used the data from our Key Stage 2 mental health checks and targeted spot-checks for vulnerable individuals.”
Read more: Andrew’s review of the senior mental health advanced course and its benefits
Carrying learning forward working across the trust
Andrew is passing on his knowledge throughout the trust, especially when it comes to teaching staff the power of gentle, casual check-ins, modelling their own feelings and self-regulation for the class to observe and helping pupils achieve this for themselves.
Putting in place quality supervision as well as focusing on staff well-being are his two other major priorities right now. “We want our teachers to know that if they are feeling angry or overwhelmed they can come and knock on the door of a leader and that leader’s going to stop everything and talk to them.”
A new initiative: Mental health cookery classes
Andrew also took the time to share with us some ambitious new plans he has to continue to engage parents. Over nine weeks, parents at one particular school will be invited to cookery classes with a really important, but informal message about mental health delivered by the tutor each week. Incentivising attendance and breaking down barriers using a naturally social activity such as cooking and sharing food will, he hopes, help reduce stigma and also get people talking.
Read more
Explore Real Group’s advanced or certificate-level senior mental health training courses.
Deepen your knowledge of the whole school approach in our blog: Getting to Grips with the Senior Mental Health Lead Role
Read Andrew’s review of our Senior Mental Health Lead advanced course
Feedback from our delegates is very important to us. This is why we ask every delegate to fill out a feedback form upon completion of their course. This provides us with extremely valuable data on what we’re doing right, and where we can improve. We’ve been carefully analysing the data from 2023, and below are highlights from the results.
- 93% of delegates rated our course as good or very good.
- 94% of delegates rated the extent to which their course met their developmental priorities as good or very good.
- 94% of delegates rated the course tutors as good or very good.
Comments from our delegates!
“Great interaction with other settings across the country and sharing practise and troubleshooting. Interactive sessions with a knowledgeable and realistic tutor. Good access to tutor around the online sessions. I feel like I have been able to produce a plan that is really purposeful.“
- Sabine Croxall, Senior Mental Health Lead Certificate Delegate, 2023
The support is fantastic, the courses are organised and informative and the outcomes are extremely beneficial.”
- Cherie Haywood, CCET Intensive Delegate, 2023
“If you want to study for a course which allows you to work at your own pace and receive feedback in a timely manner then Real Training is for you. All resources needed were provided as the library of resources through EBSCO was excellent.“
- Sara Grice, NASENCO Delegate, 2023
“I have recommended Real Training to a number of colleagues because the courses are so clearly laid out, they are motivating and the variety of learning opportunities make the course interesting.”
- Andrea Palmer, CCET Online Delegate, 2023
The idea of a Senior Mental Health Lead for schools and colleges was first put forward in the DfE’s 2017 green paper on supporting children and young people’s mental health.
Now it’s the Government’s ambition that every school will have a Senior Mental Health Lead (SMHL) in place by 2025. To support this, a training grant of £1,200 is available for courses that start before 31 March 2025 for eligible state-funded schools and colleges in England.
What does the Senior Mental Health Lead role involve?
With more children presenting with mental health issues, having a senior mental health lead to spearhead mental health coordination as well as early intervention is essential. This role is designed to equip the whole school community with a strategic action plan, embed an open and positive culture around mental health as well as driving the processes, policy, and training that help classroom-based staff to act with greater confidence.
While anyone can become an SMHL, they must be able to influence, inspire, and drive system-wide impact, liaising with parents, school staff, wider mental health support teams, governors, family liaison officers and pupils themselves. The most successful SMHLs we meet always have an aptitude for change management, the ability to win people over, and the resilience to manage bumps in the road.
“The focus of the lead should be strategic, putting whole school/college approaches in place, ensuring a coordinated approach.” – DfE
A critical time for mental health in schools
According to data from the Office of National Statistics, teachers are now the primary people children turn to for help with their mental health. Despite this, recent surveys from Teacher Tapp and the Early Intervention Foundation indicated 40% classroom teachers don’t feel confident helping children with mental health needs, while 97% want further training.
A worrying cocktail of factors is increasing the pressure put on teachers; emotional-based school refusal has been more prevalent since the pandemic, there has been a considerable uplift in children being referred to CAMHs and access to educational psychologists and mental health professionals has not scaled sufficiently to keep up with demand.
The cost of living crisis has also exacerbated a mental health poverty trap. A recent Action for Children survey highlighted that 47% of children from low-income backgrounds now worry about their families not having enough money to live on.
8 principles of a whole-school action plan for mental health and wellbeing
Public Health England has set out eight core principles that form the basis of a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing, which we’ll look at in more detail below.
The SMHL should take responsibility for all of these areas, however we suggest when it comes to creating a specific plan for change, this should be focused on just a couple of areas, typically over the course of a school year. A Senior Mental Health Lead training course can help you think strategically about the role and structure your plan.
1. Leadership and Management
The SMHL should review and update school policies, evaluate interventions, and make sure wellbeing champions have clearly defined roles within the setting, including succession planning and role redistribution as required.
2. Student Voice
Knowing that their voice is heard and valued can help pupils feel part of the school and wider community and give them a sense of belonging and control over their lives. Peer support has been demonstrated to be an effective tool to boost wellbeing.
3. Staff Development, Health and Wellbeing
Without building resilience in your own team it’s challenging for them to instill it in others. All staff must have the time and the tools to check in on their own wellbeing.
4. Identifying Need and Monitoring Impact
Working with the SENCO and DSL (if indeed these are separate roles) the SHML ensures vulnerable groups are identified and supported using the most appropriate interventions. They will adapt tools where required and evaluate progress.
5. Working with Parents, Families and Carers
Parents and carers should not just be “kept in the loop” when it comes to mental health and wellbeing but recognised as a critical and active part of it. The SMHL will drive a strategy to raise awareness and reflection about wellbeing as well as support and signpost parents of children with more acute needs.
6. Ethos and Environment
Strong relationships and a culture of belonging at school or college can act as a mental health buffer. The SHML should join the dots, communicating a positive values-based approach and using local services/resources to enhance their school’s messaging and develop social, emotional, and mental health partnerships in the wider community.
7. Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
The SHML lead should work with colleagues to develop a cross-curricular approach to promote mental health and wellbeing.
8. Providing Targeted Support and Appropriate Referrals
This involves examining the efficacy of early interventions, perhaps using comparison groups to assess what is working, as well as looking at whether the right interventions are being applied for the right pupils, and where time and money are best invested.
The diagram below shows the eight principles and how they fit into the wider school and wider community ecosystem, considered as several bands with pupils at the centre. Depending upon which of the eight aspects an SMHL chooses to prioritise each year, the level of stakeholder engagement and also the time required to make a significant impact will vary.
Which education professionals most often take on the Senior Mental Health Lead role?
For all the reasons outlined above, the SMHL should ideally be someone on your senior leadership team who has the authority to drive change.
Our own analysis of Real Training data shows that over a third of delegates undertaking our senior mental health lead training are head teachers or assistant heads, while 17% are SENCOs or assistant SENCOs.
9 example tactics the Senior Mental Health Lead could consider
Tactical interventions are only relevant when considered in the context of a particular action plan and setting, but for the purpose of illustration, below are some examples of what the SMHL might be doing:
- Evaluating strategies such as Zones of Regulation and embedding them across the curriculum and into the school day
- Creating a mental health referral toolkit
- Establishing a regular drop-in session aimed at supporting parents/carers of children with Special Educational Needs
- Assessing the suitability of new technology to monitor or facilitate wellbeing (but not necessarily managing rollout)
- Strengthening the student wellbeing council
- Revising PSHE policies and documentation to ensure all aspects of mental health are being covered effectively and in line with latest guidance
- Evaluating the success of existing targeted interventions e.g. The Art Room as group therapy
- Creating a strategy for parent education around their own wellbeing and mental health first aid as well as wellbeing activities their children are undertaking in school
- Devising a plan and budget for staff training on focused interventions e.g. bereavement or trauma
Why is a whole-school approach advantageous?
When the school community comes together around mental health they build a culture of belonging and early intervention processes that are scalable and more effective. It’s important to have a common language around how feelings are labelled, as well as shared wellbeing practices that are more likely to become rituals.
Without a whole-school approach, inconsistency, dysfunction and uncertainty can creep in or ideas can simply not take off. Staff may not know about the mental health policy or who the wellbeing team are, interventions may be ad-hoc only taking place once need is severe, practices may vary from class to class, and wellbeing limited to one-off workshops.
How much time do Senior Mental Health Leads typically devote to the role?
The amount of time the role requires depends in part upon the size of your setting, access to resources, and the level of complexity of mental health needs. As an example, in a recent DfE survey, 43% of SMHLs said they dedicated half a day each week to the role, and 10% spent between half and one day a week.
It’s important to bear in mind the importance of regular liaison with colleagues in your provision and the wider community as well as the leadership responsibilities of the role. Completing a training course can also help you identify focus areas and prioritise your time.
How should a Senior Mental Health Lead be using data?
Data-driven decision-making is a key part of the role. This could have a number of functions including:
Snapshot data – from regular wellbeing questionnaires for staff and pupils that can form a longitudinal benchmark
Intervention data – the results of screening tests applied to specific children to determine if mental health problems might be present
Evaluation data – understanding the impact of the various interventions being applied
The Senior Mental Health Lead might also want to cross-reference this with data about SEN status, socio-demographics, attendance, etc. to develop a fuller picture of behaviour within their setting.
How can your setting benefit from Senior Mental Health Lead training?
Training for the role is not mandatory but carries distinct benefits. It can help mental health leads extend their knowledge of the very latest SEMH theory and translate this into a relevant action plan for their setting.
You should be able to walk away from a good SMHL course with a plan or ‘blueprint’ for change that you can action immediately, plus a collection of useful resources to help you.
SMHLs who study with Real Training gain the unique benefit of expert guidance and structured feedback on their plans from practicing Educational Psychologists. Our alumni also typically find they can pass on learning and resources to the teachers in their school – with incredibly positive results.
Find out more about the benefits of a formal SMHL qualification. Take a look at our Senior Mental Health Lead Certificate or Advanced Award.
We are delighted to announce the launch of a new module designed to help SEND leaders drive more successful improvement initiatives.
The 60-credit Auditing and Leading Improvement (ALI) module equips delegates with the knowledge to conduct a data-driven audit of their SEND provision and lead whole-school improvement projects.
Delegates will create and roll out a structured improvement plan for their setting, with support from a highly qualified tutor, helping prepare them for either internally-driven evaluation or external inspections, such as OFSTED.
Our first cohort starts 15 January 2024 and is available to book now. ALI forms part of our postgraduate SEND programme, awarded and quality-assured by Middlesex University.
Upon completion, delegates will have a thorough understanding and experience of using implementation science, brought to life through critical assessment of real-world case studies from practicing SENCOs. They will understand how to triangulate data from their own setting, apply evidence-based SEND research and lead change through strategic management approaches.
Dr Siobhan Mellor, Director of Pedagogy and Learning at Real Training, explains the thinking behind the newly created course; “Bringing about change in school is challenging and all too often it simply doesn’t stick.”
“This course has been designed to help a broad range of strategic SEND professionals get to grips with data from their setting, pinpoint areas of weakness, manage stakeholders and maintain critical momentum behind their improvement initiatives, so good ideas don’t get drowned out over time.”
“We’ve added two pathways to recognise the different needs of SEND leaders; a SEND and Inclusion specialism designed for SENCOs and Inclusion Managers, or other SEN leads, and an Assessment specialism aimed at SENCOs, Exams Officers or those leading Educational Testing or Access Arrangements.”
To find out more, including eligibility requirements, please visit our course page.
The first cohort begins on 15 January 2024.
To ensure your space book now.
We are delighted to partner with nasen to deliver the Universal SEND Services Programme
Online SEND CPD Units
In an ideal world, every learner’s journey through education would be marked by inclusivity, ambition, and unwavering support. Unfortunately, the reality is that many children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) continue to face obstacles in their pursuit of educational attainment and high outcomes.
The Universal SEND Services programme’s ambition is poised to reshape the landscape of education, ensuring that all learners with SEND are given every opportunity to thrive both within education settings and beyond.
A Setting-Wide Approach to Support
One of the core principles of the Universal SEND Services programme is the recognition that SEND is not a niche concern but a collective responsibility. By making SEND a central focus, educational institutions set the stage for a more equitable learning environment.
Embedding SEND in Every Policy
SEND should be seamlessly woven into the fabric of every policy. The Universal SEND Services programme advocates for an approach where the needs and opportunities for children and young people with SEND are intrinsic to every policy, not tacked on as an addendum. This ensures that inclusivity becomes a fundamental part of the educational ethos.
Preparation for Adulthood from the Earliest Stages
The journey towards adulthood begins in the classroom. Recognising this, the programme encourages school and college leaders to consider preparation for adulthood from the earliest stages of curriculum design. By integrating this perspective, learners with SEND are better equipped to navigate life beyond the classroom, fostering a holistic approach to education.
Reflective Professionals
The backbone of any successful education system is its educators. The Universal SEND Services programme emphasises the importance of reflective professionals who continuously evolve to meet the diverse needs of their learners. Teachers are encouraged to embrace adaptability and innovation in their teaching methods, ensuring that each child’s unique potential is unlocked.
Early Identification and Effective Support
Early intervention is key to unlocking the potential of learners with SEND. The programme equips teachers with the tools and knowledge to identify needs at an early stage, allowing them to tailor their teaching methods effectively and provide robust provision and support. This proactive approach ensures that children receive the support they require before obstacles become insurmountable.
Valuing the Expertise of Parents and the Voice of the Learner
True inclusivity involves collaboration and co-production. The Universal SEND Services programme recognises the critical insight of parents and carers and the voice of the learner as invaluable assets in shaping the educational experience.
The Universal SEND Services programme stands as a beacon of hope for children and young people with SEND. It is a call to action for all stakeholders in education, from leaders and educators to parents and learners. By prioritising SEND, embedding inclusivity in policies, and fostering collaboration, we can create a brighter future where every learner’s ambitions are within reach, within the context of education and beyond.
Online SEND CPD Units
A crucial cog in the Universal SEND Services programme is the interactive, e-learning suite. This series of 20, online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units is designed to support all education professionals, at any level, who work with learners in schools and further education settings to deliver an inclusive experience for every learner.
Funded by the Department for Education, and developed in partnership by Whole School SEND and Real Group, these free-to-access units take 20 minutes (each) to complete and are supported by live online networking sessions, facilitated by regional SEND leaders.
Overarching themes for these units include:
- Safety and belonging
- Language and communication
- Social and emotional mental health (SEMH)
- Sensory profile
- Access to learning
- Preparing for the next stage (including transitions)
Within these units, delegates will be given the tools to improve their understanding of and confidence in supporting additional needs, as well as practical strategies to implement within their context. Each unit contains first-hand accounts from learners with SEND, as well as their families and education professionals that support them in school and further education settings. Additionally, delegates will have the opportunity to collaborate with other education professionals, using the Discussion Forum.
This series is delivered on our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Campus Online.
Register to access these free CPD units here.
Unit 1: (Click to zoom in)
Course structure: (Click to zoom in)
Example activity:
Today is Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Awareness Day!
Did you know that 2 children in a class of 30 have a DLD? This is just one of the many surprising facts about DLD.
Our Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) module builds understanding of the theories, research and practical skills that can be used to make a positive difference and improve the outcomes for people with DLD and other SLCN. Discover more
Also, please join us in celebrating the collaboration between RCSLT, Afasic, NAPLIC and Speech and Language UK’s who have worked alongside people with DLD and their families to create a new vision for the future. See ‘A vision for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) for the UK‘ for more information.