Preparing an autism friendly secondary classroom

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Photo from Ann Memmott www.annsautismblog.com showing what visual hyper-sensitivity can be like in a classroom.

As I promised, here are my tips for secondary teachers getting ready for the next school year.  There are likely to be a number of autistic students or other SEND needs coming into your classes this year and I want to share some of the tips and advice that I would usually pass on to secondary teachers.

Emma, Sarah, Alison and I work with around ten secondary schools and our support looks very different from the work we do with primaries.  The differences in the way a secondary school works brings up additional challenges for the school SENCO and for individual teachers.

Firstly, the movement between lessons, having up to six different teachers each day and the responsibility of being organised, on time for lessons and doing homework are major challenges for autistic / SEND pupils.  On top of that is the minefield of social relationships, especially in Year 7 when children are meeting lots of new children from different feeder primaries and everyone is working out new relationships and friendships.   I’m not going to go into all the challenges and issues in this blog, but give teachers some tips on how they can make their classrooms and lessons autism/SEND friendly and a little bit of advice for a whole school approach that really makes a huge difference.

“Daily Transitions

“I was really scared of the corridors.  All the noise and so many people made my brain scream.  I couldn’t focus on where I was going and so I hid until everyone had gone.  I was always late for lessons.”  Girl with ASC, Year 7.

Once an autistic student has started at a secondary school it is common for them to take longer than most students to be able to settle into the routines of changing rooms between lessons and coping with the different teachers that they meet throughout the day.  Some students will need escorting (by teaching assistant or other students) to each class for some time.  Others may benefit from being allowed to leave each class early to avoid the sensory overload of the corridors and travel to their next class in the quieter corridors.  In Year 7 a buddy system may be set up so that autistic students are not left behind when a class moves on.

Teachers should be aware that it can take some time for the student to adjust to their voice, subject matter and style when they have just come from another teacher who may be very different.  Subject teachers can support this by

  • Having a seating plan and allowing the autistic student to choose where they sit (where they are comfortable, with a friend, can see the main focus of the lesson, get to the door easily).
  • Giving the autistic student time to settle, longer than other students, speaking to them kindly to remind them where they are and which subject they are now doing.
  • Get to know the autistic student, talk to them about their interests and use this as a basis for your relationship.  They will appreciate you for it.”

This is an excerpt from my book “How to Support students with Autism Spectrum Condition in Secondary School” page 23 published by LDA 

The Classroom environment

  1. Each subject teacher will want to make their classroom welcoming and most of all, functional for a classes of different year groups coming into their room each day.   Displays tend to be less of an issue for secondary rooms but clutter can be as much a problem for children who are visually distracted and find it hard to focus as in any classroom.
  2. Have a clear space around your whiteboard.   Enables students to focus solely on the screen / board.   You could put key vocabulary words for the topic on the wall at the side of the whiteboard for those whose attention may wander slightly.  You’d have to change this for each year group but if you have them on Velcro they can be easily changed.
  3. Display visual pictures with key vocabulary.  This helps students remember and understand if they miss or don’t understand verbal information.
  4. Keep class rules simple.   Most rules can be summed up in 2 points:  Be safe.  Be kind.
  5. Have a seating plan and keep to it.  It really is worth allowing autistic/SEND pupils have some say in where they sit.  For example, having to look over the tops of other people’s heads can mean accessing what is on the board more difficult for them.
  6. Suggest disorganised students colour code their timetable with the colour of the subject exercise books.  It might help them bring the right book to your lesson.
  7. It is likely an autistic student or SEND will struggle to have the right equipment.  If that’s going to be likely in your class, have a spare set for them, kept in class and that they can access without making a fuss at the beginning of the lesson.

Accessing lessons

  1. Copying off the board takes a lot of switching attention which can be so difficult for Autistic/SEND students.  Plan to give out printed copies of the text and ask students to highlight key words or important points, it is much more effective.
  2. For those who find writing difficult; find other ways of recording what they know, so they can vary how they record their work.   For example, most computers have speech to text (they can try this for homework first), or typing it on a laptop or even dictating to a recording device.   Diagrams, mind maps, power point, photos and other visual recording can help some pupils.
  3. Remember your autistic students could be the best student you have, they may know as much as you do about your subject and be extremely bright.  But that could mean they are easily bored and don’t get the point of when you need to go over information for other students.
  4. Printing off homework on sticky labels and giving these out means homework is always accurately recorded in their planners.  If you have an online homework system, make sure the autistic/SEND student (and their parents) know how it works and can access it.
  5. A pupil passport is a great way to give every subject teacher the key information about each student; read it and plan the strategies into your whole class teaching.
  6. Use TAs wisely.   The hardest thing is finding time to talk to them but if you can make time you will reap the benefits.   (This is easier when a TA is based in a department,  make sure they are part of departmental meetings).   Have a look at this publication from the Education Endowment Foundation for tips on using TAs better.
  7. Group work is a common complaint from my autistic students,  they hate it!  I suggest subject teachers plan structured paired work to help all students work collaboratively, and build up to group work.   A structure, with well-defined roles works best.  See our blog on group work. 

Parents

  1. Set up an email link with parents.   Some secondaries have good parent communication systems in place, others have yet to get there.   But as a subject leader try to communicate directly with parents about their child in the first half term.   They will want to know how they are settling in.  You could send a postcard.  Ask them if there is anything they can share that will help you teach their child in your subject.  It maybe having a spare PE kit in school will be vital for them actually having PE kit.  It may be that you need to email the ingredients for cooking directly to the parents to ensure that the student will have what they need.  English teachers might use a book they really like.
  2. Pass on any information (especially good things) to the SENCO or pastoral leader whoever is the person who might speak to parents the most.   Having up to date information to hand will make their job much easier.
  3. Talk to other subject teachers and the SENCO before you contact parents about a behaviour or other problem.   It will be important to know if there is a similar problem in other subjects and if there are any particular links.   For example, it could be a break time issue that impacts on your lesson just after break and other subjects find the same on the other days.

Behaviour

  1. School is often overwhelming for autistic/SEND students.  Be aware of sensory sensitivities and needs.   The student may need a break occasionally.   A time-out card can help them do this without fuss.  They can be taught how to use this to calm down and return to the class.
  2. Low level disruptions are often attempts to communicate.   Students who find it hard to follow or join in conversation often act loudly or silly because that gets feedback and acceptance from their peers.   Structured paired work and teaching conversation / public speaking skills can help the whole class.
  3. Other low level disruption occurs when a student doesn’t understand what they have to do or feel they can’t do it.  They might be unable to ask for help, or try to distract you from asking them what they have done.  Don’t just explain using the same words – a task may need breaking into smaller chunks and explaining more clearly.
  4. Be aware of those who find being the centre of attention too much to cope with.  Give them chance to answer questions through writing answers down on a whiteboard, talk to them individually and don’t point out anything they are doing in front of the whole class.
  5. Talk to your autistic/ SEND students about what they are interested in.   Especially if they have a topic they like to talk about a lot.   They will really appreciate you taking a few minutes every now and again to chat to them about it.   Get to know them and what makes them tick.   All children work well for the teachers they know like them.
  6. Students with autism can be very honest.   I was once told I stank because I’d put perfume on that day.   Don’t take anything personally.   If they are shouting obscenities at you they are VERY stressed and you should use your skill to help them not get into verbal combat with them.
  7. Know who you can call for help.   Prevention is better than reaction but if you are in a position where the student can’t cope with your lesson and has become angry or upset, know what the plan is and follow it carefully.   It works best when every teacher has a visual card with the plan on it that they can show the student and so reduce verbal language which causes more stress.
  8. Have high expectations of behaviour,  but know that autistic / SEND students often need support to achieve those standards.   Writing a clear explanation down of what you want, rather than telling off for what they are doing wrong works much better than lots of nagging.  Believe me!

 

 

There’s lots and lots of other advice I could give but not much space in this blog.   Here is the link to the ten top tips sheet that can be printed and given to secondary teachers. .  In my Secondary book I have put a lot more about transitions, accessing the curriculum (more subject specific information), behaviour support, social support, puberty and SRE as well as exam support.   It is aimed at non-autism-specialist teachers but SENCOs will find it really useful too.  It’s a handbook to dip in and out of.  (Get the sticky tabs ready.)   Hope you might think of buying it! 

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Preparing an autism friendly primary classroom.

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Photo from Ann Memmott www.annsautismblog.com showing what visual hyper-sensitivity can be like in a classroom.

“The classroom is each teacher’s mini-kingdom and the ‘home’ of your pupils for most of the school day.  Teachers lavish care and attention on how it is set out and how they decorate it, and spend time organising furniture and equipment that they and their pupils will need to access throughout the year. In primary classrooms, hours are spent printing and laminating and setting out displays, and carefully choosing words, pictures and prompts for pupils’ writing, maths and topic work.   Coat pegs and drawers are labelled, boxes and books are given out and groups of tables are given a name.  In the Early Years, parts of the room are often sectioned off into creative, ‘small world’ or sensory play areas and most classrooms have a common focus area, usually in front of the whiteboard, where pupils will gather to listen to the teacher presenting a lesson.   At the beginning of the school year, the classroom is bright, stimulating, labelled, and ready for a new intake of pupils.” 

Lynn McCann (2017) page 21

“Now imagine you are in a busy foreign railway station.  You know you have to get somewhere but you’re not quite sure how to read the strange symbols that indicate the destination on your ticket.  The signs are in a script that you don’t recognise, the trains are loud, noisy and smell strongly of diesel.  The buzzing crowd is pushing and jostling you in a direction you’re not even sure you want to go.  Some people come towards you making attempts to grab your bag, and you feel scared and threatened.  Other people gesticulate with signs and mouth strange words, but you don’t understand and they soon go away.  You spot what looks like an official and make your way to them, but they are just shouting random words in a language you don’t understand through a megaphone. Your head hurts, you are sick with anxiety and frustration and you have no idea how to cope.

School can feel like this for pupils with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC).”

Lynn McCann (2017) page 21

Had this photo so long I’ve lost the source – sorry!

This is an excerpt from my book “How to support Children with ASC in Primary School” and there’s lots of advice and information about how to do just that in there.You can find it on LDA Learning Publishers website if you’re interested.

But in this blog I’m going to share some advice about how to get ready for an autistic child who might be coming into your class this September, starting with some key tips that can make a classroom autism friendly and yet suitable for all children. Then I will give you some tips on how to make yourself ready.

Environment

  1. Have a visual timetable and use it.  Here you can read about why this can help children learn independence.
  2. Have clear spaces between display boards and keep displays simple.
  3. Leave clear space around whiteboards.  Less chance of being distracted.
  4. Make sure where child is to sit is accessible for them, without having to navigate obstacles or pass lots of other children closely.
  5. Check light levels, noise from other rooms, smells and cut down on things hanging from the ceiling.
  6. It’s always best to start minimalist and let the child tell you what they can cope with on top of that.  As they settle in you can involve the autistic child in what could go on the walls.
  7. Use table top vocabulary/maths reminders rather than word or number walls.  Then you just get them out as needed and they are not there all the time.
  8. Keep clutter on top of cupboards and tables to the minimum.

Welcome

  1. Make a booklet reminding the pupil about their new classroom, with a picture of the class staff and an outline of what will happen on the first day back.  Send it to the child’s home with a welcome note.
  2. Read the notes from the last teacher and highlight all the positive things about the child.   Have a box of toys, magazines etc of their favourite things ready for them on the first day.
  3. Know their sensory profile.  If they use headphones, have a storage place for them near their seat.   If they have a wobble cushion, make sure it is ready for them on the first day back.
  4. Have whatever visuals they used in the last class, ready for them to use again (or a similar set if they need renewing).  This is not the time to say they don’t need them anymore.

Inclusion

  1. Make plans to support the child and their peers to be able to interact well with them.  This could be by setting up a games group, buddy system for playtimes or supporting partner work in class.
  2. Support the children to access classroom routines by having visual supports such as a schedule, or writing a ‘story’ for them about how things work in your classroom.  Pictures and written instructions are easier to refer to and remember than verbal instructions. Make them positive and encouraging.
  3. Plan how the autistic child might access class lessons.  They may need a whiteboard, visuals, a copy of the story book for themselves, a fiddle toy or a TA supporting them.  Spend time with the TA beforehand to plan how this might work.
  4. Plan to teach the child yourself.  Timetable this in, so that you are their teacher, not the TA.  Be a team where you both know the child well.

Parents

  1. Find out the first names of the parents.
  2. Arrange a date to meet and listen to their story as soon as you are able to in the first couple of weeks.  Just listen and get to know what their hopes for their child are.  They will have some really helpful tips and information for you to support their child. 
  3. Suggest a way to keep in touch regularly with them.  A home-school diary works well.

Yourself

  1. Don’t feel overwhelmed by what you might not know.  Ask for advice/help earlier rather than later.
  2. Plan time to plan regularly with your TA.
  3. Get to know the professional working with the child and make friends with them.  They might do a lot extra for you (we do!)
  4. Read about autism by all means but don’t assume the child in your class will be just like the children you read about.  Get to know them and their strengths as well as understand their frustrations.
  5. Be positive and calm in all circumstances.  It is a child and behaviour is communication.  That can help you ‘read’ what they are trying to tell you.

There is so much more I could tell you but then this blog would be too long.  Please do look at my other blogs if you want to know more, and of course, as I’ve written the thing,  I’d love you to buy my book as there’s loads of helpful stuff in there.  

Enjoy your class this year. 

Next time getting ready to teach children with autism for a secondary teacher. 

prepare visual resources that are familiar to the child.

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8 ways to help Autistic pupils manage anxiety

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I was born worrying, so my mum said.  I don’t really know what it is like not to have a million worries running through my head all at once.  Every conceivable disaster is imagined once my brain focusses on a particular thought – There’s a downside to having a wild imagination.

But over the years I have learned a lot about anxiety and have many strategies that work for me in coping with it.  I can manage it.  I can recognise when it comes, what it is and fight it off.   Sometimes it goes quietly, sometimes I’m exhausted after the battle.   But I usually win these days.  Anxiety doesn’t control me like it used to.

There’s an upside to having a wild imagination too.  I can write stories and get really involved in a fantasy world in books and films.  I love craft and sewing.   And I can empathise when others tell me they are anxious all the time too. Anxiety’s energy can be harnessed for good.

When I work with children and young people who are autistic, they often seem anxious and many will tell me that they are…

www.emotionworks.org.uk

I do a lot of 1:1 and small group work with children and teenagers and whenever I bring up the topic of emotions, anxiety is what they all feel, often all the time.

When anxiety is there all the time, your brain is connected to the stress hormones and adrenalin that it creates. It is easy to develop an ‘I’m either high or low’ persona and crave the extremes of emotion because you don’t know how to ‘be’ without it.

You can also access our new Autism and Anxiety Course with Schudio TV for just £20.

Tony Attwood said that people with Asperger’s don’t know what ‘calm’ is (at a conference I was attending). This is what the children I work with tell me. It makes us telling them to ‘calm down’ useless. How can they do something they don’t recognise?

This is some of the support we use and I hope by sharing them,  you might find something to help your anxious autistic child.

1. One

Make sure first and foremost that it isn’t something that you are doing or others are that is causing the anxiety. This includes poor support, poor communication and not recognising their autism needs. It includes looking out for bullying and social isolation. Anxiety is not always the child’s issue but can be the result of other’s poor understanding and support.   It can be hard to accept that we are talking too much, nagging, dismissing the anxiety (“Don’t worry about that” etc) or causing sensory anxiety.  But it really is okay.  Son’t be hard on yourself but examine what you and others do, the autistic child, young person or adult’s responses and work to reduce the demands that cause anxiety from yourself, others and the environment.

2. Two

Check out their sensory sensitivities.This is the first port of call for me as sensory issues can be the source of most of an autistic person’s anxiety. Then you can help them find ways to manage the sensory overload or under-responsiveness, change the environmental factors that are contributing and introduce sensory activities.  Remember it can take time for an autistic child, young person or adult to recognise their own sensory differences and process the sensory information coming into their brains.  Some may be highly sensitive and anxious about going anywhere in case their senses may be assaulted, or not knowing what the sensory demands are causes anxiety. Others may take days or weeks to register the sensory demands and have a delayed reaction.  And some may need extra sensory input to be able to process their environment and the demands that are put on them.  It is so important to understand, support and work with the sensory needs of autistic people.

3. Three

I always explain and teach the child about their sensory systems and about self-regulation. A really good book I use as a reference is “Max and Me”. It is written with primary examples but I have used the story theme to talk to secondary pupils really successfully.  Mostly they will learn from experience and supportive people who understand and explain things to them.  It takes a long time to learn to recognise and self-regulate. We mustn’t expect the child to be in control of their emotions, but teach them how emotions affect us and explore what they are like inside, the physical responses as well as the thoughts and feelings.  “The incredible 5 point Scale” is a good visual resource for some autistic children and young people.  There is something else that they should be taught too, that we can seek out trusted others to help us regulate (feel better).

4. Four
I have been using Emotion Works (see my blog about this here) to get the pupils identifying and noticing that they are anxious and where or what triggers it. The visuals and components of emotions in the cogs are brilliant and I have used these with primary and secondary children,  just adjust the communication accordingly. We use symbols that come with the pack, pictures and talk, depending on the child’s communication strengths. It has been good to look at other emotion words that go with anxiety so that we can explore a greater range of situations and give words to the feelings they have. But the essence is this – we often only look at the behaviour and try to figure out what the trigger was.  We can work out the child is anxious, but it is really helpful to connect these elements  trigger = body sensations = intensity = behaviour.  From this we can look at what could make them feel better by addressing the body sensations and intensity rather than just the trigger.

5. Five
Naming an emotion helps. Recognising that this feeling is anxiety, worry, frustration and what the difference is does take time. Some autistic people have a difficult time recognising emotions. We just take it at the child’s pace. We might work with just 2-3 words or (in one particular child) 20-30 words.  Start to build your own word list of emotions and we find it useful to work with the 5 point scale.  We also use visuals from www.do2learn.com and group emotion words into sad, happy, angry and worried columns.  We make sure that at the start of the scale is one of the words – calm, okay or fine as our baseline.  Because, let’s be honest, we are not usually just happy or sad. You can help by making talking about emotions part of your everyday like and have a commentary on your emotions.  Simply say things like “I’m tired and it’s making me a bit grumpy.  I’m going to have a rest to make me feel better.”  See below for a way we have put a word list together with some of our pupils.  This took a long time, we didn’t rush it and let the pupils contribute at every point. We did work about what each work meant and felt like to each person.  With younger children it can take years to get to that point.

6. Six
Introduce positive emotion words. Living with anxiety 24/7 often means that the person doesn’t really focus on positive emotions and times that they might be happy or content are rare. Anxiety can be in the background all the time and so to bring positive emotions to the fore needs some training. Mindfulness techniques are really useful but make sure they make sense to the person and aren’t too abstract.

7. Seven
Teach the science of anxiety. My pupils love this booklet from GoZen. http://www.gozen.com/understand-your-childs-anxiety-infographic/ I use it with mainstream pupils, sometimes upper KS2 but mainly in secondary. It’s there to help the children understand what worry/anxiety is and how it affects us physically and our responses.

8. Eight
The last part is generally the longest and hardest. Finding ways that help us manage anxiety and change it into ‘calm’ or just ‘okay’ is okay. There are lots of things to try on the GoZen site but I know this is an individual pursuit. Coming alongside the child and trying things out, maybe recording what experiences help them feel better does take time. Often autistic children will use escapism to hide away from the anxious feelings. This is often in video games, books or You Tube videos. (which can be really helpful too.)  I try to help them find things that don’t just stop the anxiety being at the front of their mind for a while (because if that is your only strategy then there is a higher risk of turning to drugs, alcohol and other substances to mask the feelings later in their lives). Tony Attwood again, recommends ‘fixing the feeling’ by putting together a toolkit of strategies that work for them. I put together a booklet with the following headings and together we explore what tools the pupil has.

  • Physical Activity tools (Quick release of emotional energy)
  • Relaxation tools (Slow release of emotional energy)
  • Social tools (People and social activities that make me feel better.)
  • Thinking Tools (Thoughts, problem solving ideas, my favourite things, gratitude)
  • Special Interest Tools (Being an expert in my interest)
  • Sensory Tools (slowing down the messages to my brain)

These are not failsafe strategies and not all these things will help all autistic children. They are just some ideas and strategies I have developed with and for the children I support. It is important that the child ‘owns’ what they are learning and knows it’s about their own self-regulation. Anxiety is a huge part of life and for some, it is the environment that is the issue, not their self-awareness.  We work with children individually and in small groups to work out how it is for them and then work with them to help them navigate and manage the anxiety they feel.  It has to be with them, for them and at their pace. 

 

Please do share your tips and ideas too. Thank you. 

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Post 16 Transition for students with SEND / ASC.

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At this time of year many secondary teachers are thinking about the looming GCSE’s for their Y11’s and may also be thinking about what happens next for their students. If a student has SEND / ASC then there are additional challenges when leaving school and moving on to the next step in their educational lives.

I often find that the student’s themselves realise in Y10 that they will soon be leaving school. For some they may be so relieved that it’s all they want to think about.  For other’s it’s such a massive change in their lives, after all, being at school is all they’ve ever known, that the anxiety it causes can seriously impact on their concentration, mental wellbeing and motivation in school.  Some are so anxious, they cannot bear to talk about it.

This blog is co-written by @Mr_ALNCo an FE Teacher who’s created a role for a Transition Support Worker at his FE college in South Wales. First I am going to look at transition to college or training from the viewpoint of the school, and James is going to offer advice from the college’s point of view.

from www.do2learn.com

What Secondary Schools can do.

The Y10 and Y11s I work with who have ASC are often very worried about leaving school. However, working with them to explain what leaving will be like, what options they have and developing some plans that enable them to see the way ahead can be really important. If they have an EHCP then transition meetings should start in Y9. By the time they get to Y11, the meetings should be with the college or other establishment they are going to go to and make a plan of support that the student and their parents can contribute to.  If no EHCP their needs are still important and preparing them for college or apprenticeships is just as important.

  1. Include their parent’s ideas and start with a familiar member of staff who knows the student well.  With the student, work out a number of choices they have for the their future. Talk about their aspirations, their favourite interests and subjects they might do well in.  I use a decision making visual to look at the pros and cons of each option, including what grades might be needed (and what option is available with lower grades if relevant.) This information is shared with parents and the family given time to explore and discuss with their child. I have done this in Y9 to help a student choose their options, but mainly with Y10s and Y11s,  depending on the individual.
  2. Use the internet to research the possible colleges and courses the student might be interested in. There are often a few places to choose from, depending on your area. School 6th Forms might be good for some students for familiarity, but for others might be limited on choice of subjects. Every student will need treating individually to find what will work for them.
  3. Find out what apprenticeships are offered and if support is available for their SEND needs. Present that information to the student and their family, and encourage parents to arrange some visits to these places as early as possible. One student I have worked with has been set up with a farming apprenticeship in conjunction with the family, a local college and a local farm. All bespoke for him.
  4. Talk to the student about growing up and teach them some practical life skills, again working together with parents. Using public transport, making phone calls, sending emails, using money and paying for things are really important skills to help them move on from school into post 16 life.
  5. Plan, talk, prepare, visit, familiarise, support and talk positively about the next stage. But don’t overdo it. They still have to finish their time at school and some pupils with SEND /ASC might not be able to cope with thinking about exams and college. In that case, plan some transition support after GCSEs have finished. One school I worked with brought the student back into school after GCSEs and he worked with his previous TA on getting ready for college with great success.

And now from @Mr_ALNCo

What Colleges can do.

Transition for learners with SEND/ALN is something that traditionally is rather inconsistent across the FE sector in Wales or where it is consistent, the chance to share this good practice is often limited. Many practitioners who work with learners with SEND/ALN know the importance a good transition pathway into college can have for learners.

I am lucky, in that I have a supportive Principal and Vice Principal who supported my view of the importance of transition, allowing me to create a specific role to help support transition and reviews within the college. A new post which we feel will have huge beneficial impact.

Much like the Local Area Reviews now taking place in England, Wales has seen a huge change in make-up of its FE provision over the past years, resulting in fewer, larger, more resilient colleges.

In addition to this, the Welsh Government has introduced a bill into the Senedd in Cardiff Bay which, if passed, will bring about the biggest change to the SEN system in Wales for the past 30 years. Much like the duties contained Children and Family Act 2014, (although there are some differences), FE, for the first time will have new statutory duties, one of which is to maintain an Individual Development Plan for learners with SEN/ASD. If you want to know more, visit the Welsh Government’s ALN pages on its website.

It is crucial that FE in all areas start to plan for this now. If we want better outcomes for our learners with SEND/ALN we need to make sure that they get the best possible start in college. How then can we ensure this happens? From a FE perspective looking out to fellow practitioners in schools, the 4 elements below go some way to helping

  1. Link with your college’s Learning Support department. There are many talented and caring professionals who can advise on course choice, adjustments and transition arrangements. Open up the lines of communication and don’t be afraid to ask questions
  2. Share any relevant material which will help support the learner. If the learner has a One Page Profile, this is a great way for staff in college to get to know the learner.
  3. Invite the college to any Annual Reviews which are taking place for learners who are expressing an interest in college. The more we know about the learners’ aspirations and support requirements, the easier it will be to work together.
  4. Many colleges hold open days and bespoke events in quieter times for learners with SEND/ALN, if not contact the college who will normally be more than willing to arrange a bespoke meeting/tour. Our college has recently introduced VR tours, something that fellow FE colleague, Joe Baldwin has used as a powerful transition tool.

For each learner, we hold a review within the first term to see how they are settling into college. This gives us an opportunity to change the things that aren’t working and continue the things that are working well.

Much like our learners, we as a college are always learning.

@Mr_ALNCo

You can access our FREE course with Schudio TV about transitions, including an update from Cardiff and Vale College Here