How to support SEN students in the classroom

Learn some ideas and teaching strategies that you can easily integrate into your classroom to support pupils with SEN.

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Author
Lucy Hart

Published
August 2024

How to support SEN students in the classroom

Learn some ideas and teaching strategies that you can easily integrate into your classroom to support pupils with SEN.

icon of a star with a smiley face

Author
Lucy Hart

Published
August 2024

How to support SEN students in the classroom

Learn some ideas and teaching strategies that you can easily integrate into your classroom to support pupils with SEN.

icon of a star with a smiley face

Author
Lucy Hart

Published
August 2024

Key takeaways

  1. Creating a Supportive Environment: Establishing a positive and supportive learning environment is crucial for SEN students. This includes teaching about well-being and mental health, using visual aids like a class feelings board, and employing social stories to promote a positive attitude towards differences.

  2. Understanding Individual Needs: It’s important to understand the specific needs of each pupil. Teachers should seek advice from colleagues, ensure they have access to information from the SENCo, and maintain open communication with parents, possibly through a home-school contact book.

  3. High-Quality, Differentiated Teaching: Ensuring all pupils have access to high-quality teaching involves differentiating tasks to suit different abilities, using tools like DoodleMaths, and planning for peer support through talk partners. Personalized interventions complement high-quality teaching, helping SEN students to thrive.

Over the past few years, the needs of children in mainstream schools have escalated, with roughly 15% of pupils having Special Educational Needs (SEN) – that’s five children out of a class of thirty!  

Children with SEN face many barriers in the classroom, making it more challenging for them to reach their potential. And with rising costs, staff shortages and an already crammed curriculum, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for teachers to support their class as a whole – through no fault of their own! 

4 ways to support SEN students in the classroom

1. Create a positive and supportive learning environment

  • Teach children about well-being and mental health 
  • Introduce a class feelings board as part of your daily routine (visual aids are great for children with SEN!) 
  • Use social stories to model and encourage a positive attitude towards difference 

2. Understand pupils and their needs

  • Ask for advice from colleagues – you’re not expected to know everything! 
  • Your SENCo should have information for each child – make sure this has been shared with you 
  • Keep talking to parents of children with SEN. If this is tricky, a home-school contact book is a simple way to share information with parents. 

3. Continually evaluate your teaching

  • ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ – what works one term for a child, may not work the next  
  • Be open-minded to changing your approach 
  • Ask for any CPD opportunities that will help you support children with SEN 

4. Ensure that all pupils have access to high-quality teaching

  • Differentiate tasks for different abilities (a tool such as DoodleMaths will do this for you without you needing to lift a finger!)
  • Use equipment, apps or specialist software such as DoodleMaths
  • Plan in the use of talk partners – this gives children with SEN access to peer support and time to rehearse their answers
  • Complement high-quality teaching with personalised interventions 

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How can I offer further support for my SEN pupils?

While the above list may sound like a lot, we’re not saying you need to implement these alone to be able to effectively support children with SEN.  

 

With most teachers already experiencing an unmanageable workload, we need to ‘work smarter, not harder’. And luckily, this is exactly where Doodle can help! 

 

We want all children to be confident in their learning which is why we’ve created a solution that includes all learners.  

 

Powered by our Proxima™ algorithm, Doodle creates each child has a unique learning programme that’s specifically tailored to their strengths and weaknesses.  

 

By setting work at just the right level, Doodle lets every child work independently and experience ongoing success, boosting their confidence a little every day. Even better, it automatically marks their work so you don’t have to! 

 

And with thousands of interactive games, visual representations of concepts and audio dictation for every question, learning is always kept fresh, engaging and inclusive. 

 

Less work for teachers and more support for children – what more could you want? 

 

To find out more about how Doodle can help your school, why not book a chat with our team? 

Parents, try DoodleMaths for free today!

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