1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,840 Hi, my name is Jordan. I am a special education teacher from the UK. I share my passion for 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:11,040 everything communication, sensory regulation and fun lesson ideas for my classroom of disabled 3 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:17,120 pupils aged 4 to 11. Each week I am joined by experts in the field answering your questions 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:22,800 and sharing our knowledge and experience working alongside our beautiful young people. Let's get started. 5 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:31,360 Welcome back to another line. We're going to be joined by Anna today who is an early years and 6 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:37,440 SEND specialist and has designed her own curriculum to meet the absolute growing need and I'm sure you 7 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:42,320 guys are aware of this as well. The absolute growing need of SEND in mainstream especially 8 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:47,520 in early years because they often haven't got their EHCP yet, so haven't got you know gone to 9 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:53,280 a special school or specialist classroom like mine. So yeah mainstream are having to manage that and 10 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,760 she's created her own curriculum and way of working with that and I'm really excited to speak to her. 11 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:02,720 The most exciting thing I think is that she was actually nominated to be part of this podcast 12 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:07,840 by one of her colleagues and I just think that is the most wonderful thing. So the fact that her 13 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,640 colleagues think so highly of her that they were saying they were saying to me she's amazing, 14 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:17,040 she does such great work, she has to be on your podcast, she's got so much to share. I just thought 15 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:22,000 oh yeah of course what a compliment to have your colleague say that about you so I'm really excited 16 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:28,640 to meet Anna. Yeah let's get her on. Hello. How are you? Not too bad thank you. Yeah so I was just 17 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:35,120 saying that you were nominated by one of your colleagues to do this. Yes I certainly was. This 18 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:42,240 was the biggest compliment ever can I just say. Well I have an amazing team around me so they 19 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:48,640 could all be here as well talking it through. And how what does your team look like? How many 20 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:54,160 you know adults are in there and it's mainstream right? Yeah mainstream so we're a single form 21 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:59,520 entry school. I'm the full-time class teacher but I'm also the early years lead so I oversee our 22 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:04,240 nursery as well which takes from two so there's two rooms for me to oversee but I lead in one 23 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:09,360 because I have an awesome nursery team who just need me to check in and support once in a while. 24 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:16,640 So my classroom is myself and then I've got one full-time TA but that full-time TA might 25 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:22,400 be different on different days. We might occasionally get a third adult every now and then but very 26 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:30,880 rarely. Okay and then and how many children are in your class? So we have a pan of 30. I'm normally 27 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:36,720 sort of in the mid mid-20s. This year we are at 18 and as everyone's probably very aware the birth 28 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:41,520 rate is just dropping and dropping. So 18 is actually a really healthy number for our area. 29 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:51,920 Of those I've got five children that either have or need to have an EHCP and further diagnosis and 30 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:58,160 investigation. Okay so you're having you're managing your class you're supporting these five 31 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:03,200 children not only through teaching in your class but also with the paperwork there's a hell of a 32 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:08,080 lot of work that goes into getting that provision and getting that support isn't there? There is. 33 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:13,520 What does that look like because this is something that I don't know about. I get lots of questions 34 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,920 about the EHCP process. It's something that I've never been involved with. I do lots of work with 35 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:23,280 EHCPs but I'm never the one that starts the process because they've already got them by the 36 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:30,080 time they come to me which is a huge luxury. Yes. So could you just explain to me from entry what 37 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,760 information you're told or not told on you know maybe it's different for every child but yeah a 38 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:37,280 bit of that and then also how do you start gathering information what does that look like 39 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:43,920 what's the process of that? So like say it's different depending on the level of need of the 40 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:51,120 child or the nursery that they've come from. So sometimes children come to us with absolutely 41 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:56,640 zero done in terms of any sort of evidence gathering any sort of what would have been known as 42 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:02,960 like an IEP a few years ago so any sort of provision map that's like targeting a small 43 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:09,680 step over a period of time and then being reviewed. So if they come with none of those so if I think 44 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:17,280 back to two years ago I had three non-verbal children join me in the space of three weeks one 45 00:04:17,280 --> 00:04:22,960 after the other and none of them had anything done so they had already been in a reception setting 46 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:28,320 elsewhere and then joined a part way through the academic year but had zero paperwork in place. 47 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:34,400 So it means starting from scratch so you need to start with by building a provision map so that you 48 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:40,000 can start building evidence that you are trying to target really small steps that are behind their 49 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:45,600 peers and that the high quality then the intervention that you're putting in is either showing very very 50 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:52,000 small progress or not showing a lot of progress at all. You need to get other agencies involved as 51 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:57,920 well which in this day and age is getting harder and harder so most recent speech and language 52 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:02,800 referral that was done by my nursery team only came through a couple of weeks ago so that was 53 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:08,800 about 11 months waiting for just the triage phone call so it's really important to get the other 54 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:15,200 agencies in and those referrals done as quickly as possible because you need all of the agencies 55 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:21,600 involved to actually contribute towards the part one of the EHCP. Yeah and that's even if they're 56 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:25,680 NHS if they're private then it's a whole different organising you've got to try and convince the school 57 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:31,360 to pay you know or sometimes parents are paying privately for these things just to get the 58 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:36,400 reports it's an absolute mess isn't it and ultimately what that means is it's taken 11 59 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:40,720 months that means well they've definitely gone through nursery without the financial support 60 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:45,920 and the you know the legal requirements support but often they end up in year one by the time 61 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:51,760 they get access to the school. It's not uncommon these days for a child so if I have a child join 62 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:58,640 me in reception class in September with zero evidence gathered for whatever reason it isn't 63 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:04,240 uncommon for them to be either just leaving year one or just entering year two before an EHCP 64 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:11,360 has been agreed by the county and funding provided however funding these days isn't 65 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:18,720 isn't a huge amount so of my five in my current class one child has his EHCP mainly based on a 66 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:26,880 medical need over any other need his EHCP if it's broken down in terms of how much we get funding 67 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:33,200 wise it covers about an hour and 20 a day and needs full time or needs needs a lot needs full 68 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:42,480 time. Yeah yeah so even with it there are still huge battles and barriers aren't there to learning 69 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:51,520 yeah okay definitely yeah and and you've got quite a high need I can imagine coming in as well if 70 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:58,480 if if they're non-verbal non you know non-speaking medical needs yeah um without giving we don't 71 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:04,160 want to give any personal information here but what kind of needs are you seeing in a more of generic 72 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:11,840 terms would it be similar to in line for example? I believe so it's getting more and more as though 73 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:19,120 it's like a a specialist classroom or unit based within um a mainstream school so you've got your 74 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:23,920 communication and language which we've seen over the last few years has been dipping fairly 75 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:29,600 significantly for the neurotypical children as well as our neurodiverse and that's something to 76 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,440 consider when you're the reception teacher is I might have some children that have got zero 77 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:40,320 speech currently and we are trying to find a way to support their development of language through 78 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:46,160 visuals or through sign language whatever sort of we feel is most beneficial to them but you also 79 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:51,680 have children that are neurotypical and are they are not meeting their age related expectations 80 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:56,880 because there's a speech and language delay for them as well so they need your one-to-one attention 81 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:02,320 just as much as your high need children so that's really complex to do as a teacher when there's 82 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:09,040 two bodies in the room and everyone needs you that's really hard to plan for and consider 83 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:15,200 because otherwise your neurotypicals begin to fall behind because you're having to put so much energy 84 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:20,000 into your diverse children who have significant need that you're gathering all this evidence for 85 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:24,800 to be able to get them the paperwork that they need to be able to get the funding that they deserve 86 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:31,520 and eventually maybe in time a place in in a special setting where they might flourish 87 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:37,120 yeah so so that's speech and language and there are probably there are lots of reasons I'm sure 88 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:42,160 why speech language is is low across the board and we're seeing similar in my mainstream school 89 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:46,960 as well I think it's across the board it's just quite poor isn't it I think um yeah it comes down 90 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:53,920 to parents ultimately not knowing how to support that language development at those early stages 91 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:58,880 doesn't it let's let's not let's not let's call it what it is and similar for fine motor skills 92 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:03,440 I'm sure you're finding as well holding pens pencils mark making are you finding similar in 93 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:10,320 that kind of area as well yeah yeah um we find that our physical isn't quite as low as our language 94 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:17,760 but it is definitely something that has dipped over time and it's very apparent which children 95 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:23,600 attend nursery settings more regularly than others because they get the high quality language they 96 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:28,560 get the bedtime stories they get the nursery rhymes all those things that are needed to help 97 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:34,080 grow that vocabulary and and model that speech which I think sometimes parents are in such a 98 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:38,960 busy stressful world these days are forgetting that actually a five-minute bedtime story has so 99 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:44,320 much potential to do so much good to your child's development that actually and singing a nursery 100 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:49,840 rhyme in the car rather than having the radio on or having the child in their tablet on will 101 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:56,080 give so much language development but it's really hard to get that across to people who are working 102 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:02,640 busy lives and maybe forget that actually they only need five minutes to do something that could 103 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:09,760 be really really positive yeah and there's also on that as well that's that's an environmental 104 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:16,400 experience isn't it but there's also lots of unnoticed or unfound you know physical reasons 105 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:21,520 why they might have a speech today as well isn't there and there's also talk and all sorts things 106 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:27,600 like that so and or they have got neurodiversity and that's just showing there yeah there's so 107 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:33,440 many different reasons but in this early years stage you've got such a huge diverse range 108 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:38,400 haven't you because you haven't been able to sort these children out into their appropriate 109 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:45,120 provisions yet with the appropriate support so if you know then right these kids have come in 110 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:51,360 we know that even if we start the paperwork even if we do an amazing job now we know we've got them 111 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:56,400 for early years like that's just almost guaranteed we've got them for early years what's the next 112 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:01,600 step we've got these kids we've only got i've only got one support in my room there's me there's one 113 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:09,120 support we've got 25 kids 18 kids what what how does what does that look like because there's a 114 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:15,360 huge diverse need yeah i mean communication language is only one of the needs we have 115 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:22,880 some different levels of um asd some have already been diagnosed which would then indicate at such 116 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:28,000 young age it was picked up at a very very young age and therefore has already been diagnosed 117 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:33,440 through the right pathways the diagnosis doesn't change anything it doesn't give them any funding 118 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:40,480 it doesn't give them a strategy moving forward so some of them have a diagnosis some of them need 119 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:45,200 a diagnosis which is again a different form of paperwork to then be starting for that family 120 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:51,360 and that child alongside trying to get their ehdp we also are seeing an increase in pda and odd 121 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:57,200 joining in that school now which has been very complex because it's a challenge in mainstream 122 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:03,200 that you have one classroom you are set in one room for me as early years i have a little outside 123 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:08,000 area that's attached to my room that we can then do inside and outside provision at the same time 124 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:13,840 but again with only two adults that means one adult outside one adult inside so it is challenging in 125 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:20,560 terms of our environments our settings traditionally old set up primary schools with the hall probably 126 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:24,720 in the middle of the school and then you've probably got the infant on one side a junior 127 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:30,800 and the other with classrooms both sides they're not designed for children that need regular 128 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:35,360 breakout spaces and they're not designed for children that need a quiet space over there but 129 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:40,320 i also could do with a dark space over there because i actually get stimulated by the lights 130 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:46,000 so i need a sensory area over here there's a lot of our teachers and teaching assistants these days 131 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:51,520 that know what needs to happen but we not only are sort of stuck with our funding we are stuck with 132 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:58,240 our space so it's about being really clever with what space you do have accepting that you might get 133 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:03,840 written on some reports from outside professionals that this child needs a blackout tent this child 134 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:09,520 needs a swing this child needs a chair that spins you're not going to be able to offer all of these 135 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:15,440 things you need to find the thing that will benefit that child the most and see what you can do in 136 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:21,280 terms of offering it a blackout space can be a table against the wall with a piece of fabric over 137 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:26,480 it it doesn't have to be anything costly to start with if you can work out that okay actually a 138 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:31,200 blackout tent really does work for this child then you can look at where you can get the funding 139 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:37,040 streams for it or you can take that to your senior leadership team and say actually i've tried this 140 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:43,120 it's reduced the amount of emotional dysregulation we've had this child clearly does need something 141 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:47,680 and then because you're able to prove that actually we haven't had any issues the child's been able to 142 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:52,000 access learning which means the rest of the peers in the classroom can access their learning then 143 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:57,360 you can target the provision that you actually need but back to your question about sort of what 144 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:01,920 what do you do apart from sitting there and panicking for quite a while and thinking oh my 145 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:09,440 goodness how am i going to do this that's where sort of my supporting program of blossom sort of 146 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:15,360 came in we've had increased sort of need over the last six years in my school but about three years 147 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:21,680 ago we had rapid increase and we were getting three or four high need children that would be 148 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:28,800 off curriculum or couldn't access the current curriculum entering at a time and in mainstream 149 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:34,800 that was not normal you would have maybe one high need and it wouldn't necessarily be every cohort 150 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:41,200 either and i found it really challenging to not know where to turn as a teacher you get two hours 151 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:46,080 of planning time a week if you're lucky and you haven't got enough time in those two hours to plan 152 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:52,320 for the rest of your curriculum and the whole neurotypical children and the adaptations that 153 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:58,320 you need in all of that that i found that i was losing at least one day of the weekend every 154 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:03,440 weekend to then plan for my neurodiverse children who were off curriculum not accessing the 155 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:08,960 curriculum not accessing the curriculum i personally find it really interesting and it's a lot of it's 156 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:13,440 an area that i research a lot about sort of how to support children with need and families with need 157 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:19,440 and what can we do because it's not going away even if i was able to get them all ehtps tomorrow 158 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:25,280 there's not enough room in settings like yours for children to go so they are going to stay in 159 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:32,320 mainstream so it was a what can we do about it and then speaking to colleagues that either work with 160 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:37,360 or speaking to other professionals online in forums like this it was becoming really apparent 161 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:42,800 that people were close to leaving the profession because they felt completely lost with what am i 162 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:49,440 supposed to do i haven't got the training to do this we might do a cpd on autism which is an 163 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:54,720 hour's long video that you have to watch in a staff meeting after a really busy day and you 164 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,520 actually haven't taken all of it in or you've not actually seen it in practice for me it was about 165 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:05,920 how can we help teachers with their workload how can we think that actually our profession has such 166 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:10,720 a high dropout rate and it's not because we we don't love our jobs we we love what we do 167 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:17,840 but you can't lose your weekends every weekend because you're fighting a battle of how am i doing 168 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:23,680 my planning for these children that don't fit in the mainstream curriculum and that's what blossom 169 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:32,960 is. Blossom is for staff to have a look at to be able to then say okay developmentally it's not a 170 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:38,400 curriculum it's not it's not going to give you your planning for next week but what it will do 171 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:44,960 is give you developmental steps for each area of the early years curriculum so for example at 172 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:50,400 nine to twelve months what sort of things would we expect a child to do in terms of communication 173 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:55,680 in terms of communication and language do they know their own name so do we know that do they 174 00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:00,240 stop and look they don't have to look at you but they stop and look around when their name is 175 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:05,840 verbalized from somewhere else in the classroom if that's what a child needs to be doing if the 176 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:10,320 child is not doing that every time you say their name then there's a target there that you could 177 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:16,640 look at in terms of planning for them to move forward. That's great it gives you a focus 178 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,000 doesn't it rather than thinking well they can't do this they can't do this they can't do this 179 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:27,040 so okay well what can they do let's look at that age range of see what else a child a developmental 180 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:32,880 lead know at that developmental stage what they would be also learning and let's see our children 181 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:38,800 can also focus on those things it gives it so much focus doesn't it and and and it helps you to see 182 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:45,920 what they are achieving rather than just what they're not. Yeah that was a huge thing was being 183 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:53,040 able to take the the blossom sheets so it's a color-coded sheet that myself and my team can 184 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:58,560 track against so every half term like I do with everybody else although we're you know assessing 185 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:04,080 as you go all the time when it comes to your half term data drops like I do with the rest of the 186 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:09,280 class I can go through their blossom sheets and I can see actually maybe the child is still within 187 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:13,200 nine to twelve months in their communication however they were entering at the beginning of 188 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:19,040 this and now I'd say they're developing so we can start looking at securing some of the the steps 189 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:25,520 that they haven't got and then moving on it just gives something to look at that isn't isn't out 190 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:29,920 of their reach and it helps the parents when I show them that look at where your child's moved 191 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:35,520 it might not look very clear that they've moved but look at what they've managed to do in the 192 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:43,360 last six weeks by actually targeting a step that's inclusive to them because it's not important for 193 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:49,040 me that if a child can't communicate their basic needs or doesn't respond to their name they don't 194 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:55,200 need to come and listen to me talking about the arctic explorers and emperor penguins of course 195 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:59,680 they can join in with the provision in their own play and learn time but they don't need to know 196 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:04,480 that and I don't need to assess whether they've taken anything on board this is actually what 197 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:10,640 do they need so to be inclusive in the classroom for them what do they need absolutely someone's 198 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:15,120 said it's a bit perfectly it's all about the small steps leading to the big steps I can imagine it 199 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:21,360 also helps parents as well because yes you get sometimes get parents you know wanting to know 200 00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:24,960 what's next and all of that kind of thing but you also get some parents as well that are completely 201 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:29,280 disillusioned about how disabled their children are and especially if they're only a child or 202 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:33,200 they're the oldest it's really hard because you have no one else to compare against they might 203 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:36,480 know they're struggling a little bit in reading but they wouldn't they don't know what that means 204 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:42,800 what that looks like or what to work on the other way they might perfectly know where their child's 205 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,960 at but again not know what to look for how to support them because it doesn't look like how 206 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,560 their other siblings did things you know they did phonics they did this what does it look like for 207 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:55,760 my child I want to get this right so on that sheet if they're part of it which I'm sure you do that 208 00:19:55,760 --> 00:20:00,880 holistic kind of team around the child approach like early years is so good at they can then also 209 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:06,240 look for those things and and feel good about where they're at and feel fully understanding 210 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:12,160 and also when you're doing the reports for the HCP it perfectly says the aid there the developmental 211 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:17,920 stage it shows yes what they're achieving but also what they can't achieve yet and that would 212 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:24,720 definitely support the report writing process massively I can only assume yeah and that's 213 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:31,440 that's something I thought about carefully when creating it there's that the my county will only 214 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:36,720 accept the developmental journal that the county have produced so blossom again thinking about 215 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:43,040 workload I don't want it to be challenging for this information to have to fit onto the 216 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:50,240 developmental journals this transfers very easily into the developmental journal so that it can just 217 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:56,560 be a quick tick box exercise because our developmental journal for the county probably needs looking at 218 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:03,440 it's rather outdated and still uses the age brackets of the 2014 early years curriculum so 219 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:08,320 it is outdated however that's the only one they they accept they wouldn't accept blossom as a 220 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:13,360 document on its own as a supporting evidence but it helps me to write it so that's where the benefit 221 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:19,440 comes in I can use that to track them daily to create their learning tasks it goes inside their 222 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:24,880 learning journeys so from blossom I will pull out the statements that I want us to focus on so 223 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:30,000 whether it's you know turning their head when their name is vocalised or indicating that they've 224 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:37,200 heard their name I then come up with at least five steps of progression for how this might look in 225 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,680 terms of an activity in the classroom to make it harder and harder as it goes through that gets 226 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:46,160 stuck into their learning journeys with the blossom targets for the half term so that the 227 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:50,800 staff because I don't have the same staff every day although my main staff member is with me a 228 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:56,160 lot of the time we have a lot of complex need and people are needed in different rooms for different 229 00:21:56,160 --> 00:22:01,280 reasons you can pick up the learning journey and see exactly what step they're working on and at 230 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:08,160 what level and I have something called a learning library set up which is a group of trays each 231 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:13,200 child is colour coded in my room for their independence so they go to their schedule so 232 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:17,680 if they're the red child they go to the red schedule they take off their red visual for 233 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:22,320 their tray they go and put it on their first train all their learning is inside that tray 234 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:26,320 so they don't have to then have that anxiety of oh no she's going to ask me to do maths in a minute 235 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:31,600 I really don't want to do maths but the the way I've used the schedules is to have a location 236 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:38,160 it might say red child number task number one it might have a picture of outside so we know when 237 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:42,080 you go and get your tray we're going to need to go outside to do this activity so it could still 238 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:46,800 be a reading activity but I've taken them to a location that's going to help calm them because 239 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:52,000 it might be a challenging activity for them so maybe they might become dysregulated so by removing 240 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:58,240 them to an environment where they feel calmer and a space where they can be loud and expressionate 241 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:03,760 if they need to be everyone else in the room can also continue with their learning because I have 242 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:08,880 to think about all the other learners in the room this isn't just about the high need in my room yes 243 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:15,600 supporting the high need is vital because if they can't get on no one can get on but I need to also 244 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:21,280 prioritize everyone else and remember that everyone in that room is my responsibility to get 100% of 245 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:27,440 my time and my attention so the blossom target sheets paired with the learning libraries makes 246 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:34,400 that smoother and much easier to manage this is all such music time is hearing that you're using 247 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:39,840 visuals and that it's about location that gives so much more independence and predictability to 248 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:45,840 these children doesn't it I'm just wondering though because I taught schedules in a similar 249 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:51,760 way in my room and it's so adult heavy to teach it initially they've become very independent with 250 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:56,640 it once they know it but before they know how to take it off and how to match it or whatever you're 251 00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:06,400 doing with totally two adults in your room how are you teaching how to use it it's a bad question 252 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,200 and then they think no it was too chaotic they didn't understand it and give up on it so it's 253 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:16,320 really important I think that teachers hear you know what is the reality and how to make it work 254 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:23,840 it has been a labor of love over the last few years one of my biggest bug bears with visuals is 255 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:31,360 I love them I adore them I love my now and next board but it is so time consuming to have a visual 256 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:36,400 for absolutely everything and actually they don't need a visual for absolutely everything 257 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:43,360 so to to take it down to I just have again back to the barrier we have of space and staffing 258 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:52,880 I've got work table carpet library sensory tent outside woodland area that one's more likely to 259 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:57,040 be used if we're going out as a class anyway to do some woodlands and the hall so if it needs to 260 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,720 be something like with our gymnastics equipment then it will be in the hall or if they're coming 261 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:07,920 with us the PE it will be the hall symbol so I've taken it down to seven symbols of locations 262 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:13,920 so that it is easy the color coding was massively important everything that they have is color 263 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:19,600 coded in fact I've probably got one at my side yet so even their folders with their blossom targets 264 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:25,600 in are color coded so that staff can see which folder they need to grab just quickly and the 265 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,760 children learn very quickly that although the schedule has a picture of their face on it 266 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:36,560 they very quickly learn oh I'm orange so anything that's orange is mine their book is orange 267 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:43,760 everything that there's is there is orange it can be heavy to set up originally but it is so so vital 268 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:49,440 I also reduce the visuals that we have the rest of the time so if it's time to schedule then 269 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,640 on my I haven't actually got my visuals with me because we're not back at school yet that's 270 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:58,960 tomorrow but on my now and next board it would have this this schedule sign here and then it 271 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:04,880 would show just choosing so we do have a choosing board up on the wall however the children are at 272 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:10,560 a place right now where they're quite happy to go and choose from what is around in the environment 273 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:14,880 they know the room enough now that they just go and help themselves which is great isn't it 274 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:20,480 it is amazing that's the defendant isn't it yeah it's great I mean it took some doing obviously 275 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:25,040 to start with and some need a bit more guidance which is when you can then grab the choosing board 276 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:29,680 and just guide them back down to especially if you know the marble run is not out today and they're 277 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:34,000 desperate to have it out then we can take them back to the choosing board and show them what is 278 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:41,840 available but by by just narrowing it down to those key visuals of schedule choosing that's most of 279 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:46,800 your learning for the day done you'll have wash hands you'll have toilet you'll have snap those 280 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:52,800 sorts of visuals but around the room we've also got individual core boards or around my neck most 281 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:58,640 of the time because we have smaller ones as well what I found was our speech and language team are 282 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:04,960 amazing and trying really hard to help with reducing workload for us especially when there's 283 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:12,240 such a delay with seeing a practitioner but they're giving such um generic core boards and saying 284 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:21,280 try using a core board to help them with speaking it wasn't working because these symbols and signs 285 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:27,760 and words didn't match what vocabulary they already had in their minds yeah right if a child's really 286 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:32,640 into dinosaurs balls and and crisps and they weren't on there well it's not going to motivate 287 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:40,400 them to to use it is it yeah and like eating is one of the sort of things for a few of mine that 288 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:44,160 they're going to have the same food in their lunch box every day so we just started with 289 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:50,480 the food that's in their lunch box so it's now tailored to them they then learn to use the core 290 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:57,040 board independently to ask for things to be opened at lunchtime or to ask what they would like to eat 291 00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:03,680 next so now i can move it on to other symbols across the classroom food is highly motivating 292 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:08,960 isn't it it's a great place to start and then they'll learn oh when i touch that it actually 293 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:14,880 makes things happen and then when they see in another area it won't be as shocking because 294 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:18,720 they'll have already practiced it over and over again and snack is such a particular environment 295 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:22,480 like you say they probably have the same things every time they eat in the same order at the same 296 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:27,760 time it's safe to practice those new skills isn't it to then take it out into the wider world of 297 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:34,960 other places in the classroom i love that you said about you know it's it's a lot to teach children 298 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:41,200 to use the schedules yes it is but i also try and lead the room as though every child in that room 299 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:46,640 is on the spectrum now i know that we don't say that about ourselves you can't say that you're 300 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:52,640 on the spectrum but if i think of everyone as being there and i tailor my room to be as though i have 301 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:59,680 every individual including staff as spectrum based then a lot of our practices meet the needs of our 302 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:05,040 highest need and just support the needs of the neurotypical so we always use our spot timers 303 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:10,320 so the whole class know the spot timers and you can have larger ones you can have smaller ones 304 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:14,240 if you need so these are tailored again for each individual sometimes you might think i only need 305 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:19,600 two spots um i've got to get through this quickly or children we're in play and learn now you have 306 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:24,000 five spots until play and learn will finish that could last an hour and a half but we're still 307 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:28,960 using that process like good good practice good orders of practice is just good practice isn't it 308 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:36,080 and a child might be particularly anxious that day or not have heard a certain um instruction that 309 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:41,280 day or feeling a bit distracted for whatever reason it might just be the day the time whatever 310 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:48,240 just having that visual reduces anxiety so much they won't feel patronized by it just supports 311 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:54,800 them my staff love the visuals and the particularity and the routine i tell you what they cannot wait to 312 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:58,000 get in tomorrow even though they're a bit nervous about getting up in the morning and getting the 313 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:04,800 kids ready but they can't wait to go back to routine because we all need that don't we we all 314 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:09,200 feel safe and secure with timetable's routine predictability structure 315 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:15,360 all of those things that a class provides i don't i don't think i've heard of any mainstream class 316 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:23,280 especially early years class that does it like you do and it is wonderful to me to know that it is 317 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:29,840 possible because i'm saying this stuff like visuals schedules and then but in the back of my mind i'm 318 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:37,520 thinking am i being completely unrealistic here is it just totally not possible is it is it 319 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:41,920 is it totally outlandish to think that a teacher could do this in a mainstream class and i cannot 320 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:50,560 tell you how wonderful it is to hear what you're saying that of course it's possible you just have 321 00:30:50,560 --> 00:31:00,960 to like you say go autism friendly first yeah and it's picking it's picking what you need to do 322 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:06,960 first and sticking with that so if you haven't got spot timers in your room you can go to the 323 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:13,200 room introduce them first and just introduce spot timers and it's about being consistent with them 324 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:18,320 it is about using them every single time and that's really hard sometimes when you've got 325 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:23,680 your neurotypicals that you just want to say to them our children play and learn finish we need 326 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:29,200 to tidy up we need to get to phonics because they can't but you need to use the spot timer 327 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:34,320 every single time for every single thing that you do every transition that you do because the one 328 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:39,440 time that you're going to need it when there's a dysregulation it won't work because if you're 329 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:44,400 not using it consistently a child's not going to respond to it it needs to be there every single 330 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:51,920 time so yes it is it is doable i mean two years ago when i had my three high need join me all of 331 00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:58,400 a sudden partly through the year i wouldn't have said it was possible i pretty much was swimming to 332 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:04,160 sort of just keep up and stop myself from drowning in doing so it's so rewarding working with these 333 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:09,280 children but the guilt you feel as the teacher about everybody else and have i given them 334 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:18,240 everything made you or made me think about how can i do this so that everyone gets the best of me 335 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:22,960 and the best education that they can and don't get me wrong i've had parents in even this year 336 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:28,240 concerned about the level of scn that we are receiving as a school and concerned their children 337 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:34,880 are going to be not pushed to where they need to go and i've been able to show blossom as a structured 338 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:39,200 curriculum for the children that are not accessing mainstream and then show my timetabling for the 339 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:44,720 children on mainstream curriculum and that has really helped parents to understand that i thought 340 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:49,600 this through so this is not me just going oh we're gonna just manage each day this has been thought 341 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:55,600 through and is therefore everyone's needs not just for the high need but i i do believe that if you 342 00:32:55,600 --> 00:33:03,040 can support the high need the neurotypicals will be able to access their learning better but include 343 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:08,080 them include the other children in in what you do so the other children know how to use the core 344 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:14,000 boards they know where they are in the room and they can take the children that cannot yet verbalize 345 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:18,480 in words over to them to try and get them to point to me i've had children come over and say 346 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:23,920 miss i don't know what so-and-so is trying to say to me so rather than just ignoring them in play 347 00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:27,520 they've they've become aware that this child is trying to communicate with me and i don't know 348 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:32,240 what to do about it so they come and sort help because they see us interact with the children 349 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:38,320 all the time a big thing i could listen isn't it it's true inclusion is starting so often it's well 350 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:43,920 how can we get these sensory learners to integrate and be included in mainstream well you're flipping 351 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:50,720 that on its head you're saying let's let's ease all of our anxiety let's build a structured and 352 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:56,000 predictable environment for all of us all of a sudden yeah we're inclusive like it doesn't 353 00:33:56,000 --> 00:34:01,600 nothing else has to be done because you're modeling all of the time that we all have these 354 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:05,680 needs we all want it doesn't matter what your diagnosis is we all benefit from the visual 355 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:12,640 board we all benefit from having warnings and you know whatever it is and your children children 356 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:18,320 are so acute they're so clever they just pick her up because you're modeling inclusive practice all 357 00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:23,040 the time you don't have to say we need to include we need to include because you're just doing 358 00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:29,840 so then they're just doing these children are going to be very inclusive young people and 359 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:37,360 will grow up to be inclusive and carefully minded adults who have experienced this because 360 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:41,840 need isn't going away these children are especially we're under the diagnosis aren't going to 361 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:48,560 get better if that's the way to put it they they have to be in society with everybody else so it 362 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:53,360 is one of those where actually if children are exposed to it then that's great i speak to all 363 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:58,240 of my children very openly if i think about phonics if we do read write inc as a school 364 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:05,120 we are put in two different um groups based on what sounds you know i talk to the children all 365 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:11,200 the time we change their books together and i say to them remember you learn what you need to learn 366 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:15,120 when you need to learn it so don't worry if your friend has gone into a different group 367 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:19,440 they are learning something that you're not but you will learn it when you're ready to learn it 368 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:23,680 and that is how i approach everything in the classroom and it's a phrase i use with them a 369 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:28,800 lot you will learn what you need to learn when you need to learn it yeah i love it it just validates 370 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:33,280 everything doesn't it it validates your staff team as well i'm sure of that are maybe coming 371 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:39,280 to you and not feeling as confident as you are in all of this again it's you'll get there just 372 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:43,920 focus on this one job and we'll get like it's almost like you're you're embedding a whole 373 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:50,320 classroom of learners adults and and children i'm just wondering like this sounds so perfect 374 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:56,000 and wonderful what happens when they leave your room so the other teachers on board you know 375 00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:02,080 because it's it sounds to me so crucial that you've kind of cracked it and it sounds incredible 376 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:06,560 do those colors stay the same when they go to the next room like do they still have time to 377 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:12,000 do they still have spot times what happens in the rest of you one so myself in year one work very 378 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:19,040 closely we have a shared outside area as well so amazingly in my school we are just a team that 379 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:25,040 just adore working together it's as simple as that and we had offset actually in october of 24 so not 380 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:32,800 long ago and even in that offset the report has been published it's very very positive about what 381 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:39,440 our school does about inclusion and sen and how children will thrive in a mainstream setting at 382 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:45,760 our school which is just it makes you so proud because we work so hard with it so every member 383 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:50,080 of staff has a spot timer on their lanyard because the time you're going to need it the most is 384 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:53,600 normally through transition time so when you're collecting them from the playground you have your 385 00:36:53,600 --> 00:37:01,920 spot timer on you there are core boards up around the school so yes blossom is something that i am 386 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:07,280 pushing into year one so i've gone backwards first into sort of our nursery and looking at how do 387 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:12,720 transition from nursery into reception so that hopefully we can try and get some of the paperwork 388 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:17,440 earlier even though you know agencies do tend to push back at you and say oh there are only three 389 00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:23,360 it'll be developmental so there's other barriers there but no i support heavily our year one and 390 00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:30,800 our year two with ideas for how they can move on now i'm an early year specialist blossom will work 391 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:35,920 into year one because it's highly likely that they won't have met all of the developmental steps 392 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:41,280 up to the end of reception otherwise they would be on the reception curriculum so it's highly likely 393 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:47,040 that they will just take the folder up and you can continue with that the only difference once they 394 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:53,040 go into the key stage one classroom is the environment doesn't lend itself as easily so 395 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:59,120 it is something that we're now looking into so our children that currently are off curriculum are in 396 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:04,560 the classroom in their own work table and workspace by this time they tend to have that full-time adult 397 00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:08,880 or at least part-time adult that they need because we've done the paperwork in reception and done the 398 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:14,400 legwork so that means that that adult can look at that planning so rather than necessarily having a 399 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:18,560 learning library set up although i would argue a learning library would still work beautifully and 400 00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:22,320 it's something that as a senior leader within the school i am going to be looking to try and 401 00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:27,200 introduce it means that we can still use that location and sort of process where we can say 402 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:31,360 right this child's going to come and do this activity we're going to do it in the hall or 403 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:36,640 we're going to do it in the in the hub where we can do some cooking together it is really thinking 404 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:43,600 about that inclusive curriculum of we don't need them to be learning the same as everybody else in 405 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:47,600 their classroom but they do need to be accessing the learning that they need to learn they need to 406 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:53,520 access their peers for that social they need to access what they can at at their age-related level 407 00:38:53,520 --> 00:38:58,880 that you wouldn't put someone you wouldn't put a neurotypical child who can't read 408 00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:03,520 into a year with reading comprehension you wouldn't do it so why would you do it to a 409 00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:09,520 child that's got sen you just you don't need to yeah it feels unfair and and for the sake of 410 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:14,480 oh we always say um lots of people have heard me say this but it's not inclusion it's just 411 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:19,040 including them it's actually excluding them because you're what's going to happen they're 412 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:24,560 what's going to happen they're going to either dysregulate or zone out or learn that think that 413 00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:29,760 learning is boring or the classroom isn't for them and then you're on to a lose lose there aren't you 414 00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:35,360 and someone has asked do your children ever always follow their year group or might they repeat 415 00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:41,200 reception sometimes have you ever had that yep so um no they follow their year group um you'd have 416 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:47,760 to apply to county to get them to stay in a year group that isn't their biological year group if i 417 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:53,600 can get in there soon enough in nursery and i genuinely feel that there is a significant 418 00:39:53,600 --> 00:40:00,000 detriment to their progress to come up and you have enough evidence we can put to county and 419 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:05,040 nursery to get them to start a year later however you've got to be really sure that 420 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:10,640 that what they're going to gain by doing an extra year in nursery would be beneficial to them 421 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:14,640 catching up now we've had a few children do that we've also had a few children that maybe you would 422 00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:19,760 advise would say back have come up and actually it's been beneficial for them so it's really about 423 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:25,520 those key individuals um but as far as i'm aware and i might be wrong with this but as far as i'm 424 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:30,480 aware if you're going to have a child resit a year group you have to apply to have that done 425 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:34,800 because at some point they would have to go back to their biological age right um because we've 426 00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:40,480 talked about this with some of our our students before who might have to they could maybe do 427 00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:45,680 primary with with the wrong age group with biological age but the secondary school doesn't 428 00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:50,160 have to adhere to that decision that we made and could make them go back into their correct year 429 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:55,600 groups you've got to be really careful it's just oh let's just keep them back they can go ahead 430 00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:01,200 i think sometimes it's too easy to think well let's just keep them in reception because that's 431 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:05,120 where they play no if you look at what they actually need to learn and what they need to 432 00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:10,400 progress which is what blossom is is doing then actually you can target learning provision for 433 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:14,240 them because you can take them to the location that they need to be that doesn't mean they can't 434 00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:19,040 come into my classroom i have a year two child that comes in for his phonics lessons with me 435 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:24,480 because we do a special um communication group which is looking more at that attention and 436 00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:29,040 listening because they are all non-speaking children so yes we're teaching them reading 437 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:34,400 and lots of them can identify words and sounds but they don't use speech as their communication 438 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:41,120 tool so we're doing an act a phonics based activity group just for them which is led in my in my 439 00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:47,360 classroom whilst the rest of the school is in its individual grouped areas for phonics so it means 440 00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:52,800 that the right children are going to the right spaces sometimes to hold them back is that just 441 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:58,800 because it's easier space wise for adults yeah or easier planning wise easier adult organizing 442 00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:04,800 wise yeah it's definitely the easier option but i totally agree with you that it seems short-sighted 443 00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:11,600 that you've done all this work for their peers as well you've done all this work about inclusion and 444 00:42:11,600 --> 00:42:15,840 that we all have these needs and we're meeting and then all of a sudden oh no you split now 445 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:21,360 because that doesn't mean you know they're all local kids and i'd love to think that they were 446 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:28,720 going to be teenagers and adults that live in the same community right and that support each other 447 00:42:28,720 --> 00:42:34,720 beyond way beyond yeah way beyond you will ever know yeah they will see each other in the town 448 00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:40,240 or in the shop and they'll know each other they'll have a really solid relationship there and and what 449 00:42:40,240 --> 00:42:46,720 an equal relationship and i think that will only happen if we try to keep them together and also 450 00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:50,800 that's how government are going now you know all the reports that are coming out from the government 451 00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:56,000 talks about inclusion and what they mean by that is keeping the children in the classroom as much 452 00:42:56,000 --> 00:43:03,280 as they can access within their actual age year group and so we're going to have to find a way 453 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:09,360 of making that work yeah early years and way beyond you know yeah up to year six with you know 454 00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:13,200 we've got some of these loans that don't all get any htp and leave like you were saying right at 455 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:19,840 the beginning we have great need in our mainstream classroom children that could way be in my class 456 00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:24,960 i mean we've got children in mainstream that are working at a lower level than children in my class 457 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:29,520 like let's just you know let's not assume that you know if you're a lawyer stability you definitely 458 00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:35,120 get this provision it absolutely doesn't work like that at all and i'm seeing that firsthand in my 459 00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:40,800 room so the only other option is to make our classrooms make our mainstream classrooms 460 00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:46,800 yeah more autistic friendly ultimately and also as you were saying i have you know i've got to 461 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:51,600 think about my most able students as well let's not forget that some of those will be autistic too 462 00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:56,080 you know they're they're there they're so good at language they're so good at reading and they're 463 00:43:56,080 --> 00:44:03,280 so good at communication and maths maybe because they're also on the spectrum and yes they're great 464 00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:08,240 academic subjects maybe but also they probably are really anxious they probably have unmet sensory 465 00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:14,400 needs as well so the fact that you are meeting it for everybody also supports those high achievers 466 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:20,800 that yeah are autistic too doesn't it um someone has asked where can i find a spot timer do i need 467 00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:26,640 to make my eyes if you show yours again it looks like cut up card laminated with a bit of velcro 468 00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:32,160 so i'm sure you can make your own but do you know of anywhere that you can get them i can post the 469 00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:38,400 template onto onto my social media or people can message me and i can post the template but it is 470 00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:44,160 as simple as just some spots with velcro on either side so that when you take the spots off you've 471 00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:50,080 got somewhere to keep them little hack for people because we do a lot of laminating somewhere like 472 00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:54,960 hobby craft or something like that they do have circular cutters so you can just place it in the 473 00:44:54,960 --> 00:44:59,840 middle and it cuts it out in a perfect circle for you saves a lot of time amazing yeah we make house 474 00:44:59,840 --> 00:45:04,000 person as we're actually in a strip so that saves that circle thing but it's a bit it's a similar 475 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:08,560 thing and we just have the pictures of their favorite items on there again just anything that 476 00:45:08,560 --> 00:45:13,440 tries to let them motivate them so once we engage really but yeah similar thing countdown nearly 477 00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:19,360 finished really nearly finished yeah finished um i did i did see someone say that they didn't hadn't 478 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:26,080 seen spot timers before so a spot timer very basically is your timing system they can last 479 00:45:26,080 --> 00:45:31,280 seconds or they can last minutes it's completely down to you i think there was one occasion where 480 00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:35,920 i took my small spot timer with me which was silly on my behalf i should have taken a larger one 481 00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:40,080 into a collective worship because we're a church of england school and the child who normally 482 00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:45,360 manages absolutely fine decided today and really wasn't having this and kept looking at me going 483 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:51,040 home home and i had to make two spots last about 20 minutes that was rather challenging 484 00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:57,600 um but i use it alongside my now and next as well so i might say two spots of uh so we call it 485 00:45:57,600 --> 00:46:01,360 singing for them for our collective worship then home time because it's always at the end of the 486 00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:07,760 day so they can then see that the time they've got left and they can see what it is they're doing and 487 00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:13,920 what's coming up so that's why i have a smaller one attached to the now and next yeah great it 488 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:18,240 works both ways doesn't it it works if they don't like the thing like you were just saying and they 489 00:46:18,240 --> 00:46:22,240 want the thing next but it also works if they're loving the thing but don't want to give it up 490 00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:28,480 like this thing is coming to an end soon so you can kind of use it in both ways they're they're 491 00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:34,320 fantastic aren't they i get lots of questions and concerns from adults saying oh i couldn't cope with 492 00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:40,480 it not being an exact time but actually i find the benefit is you can work alongside that child or 493 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:46,080 the info or the things i say for example singing well that's not necessarily an exact time it 494 00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:50,720 doesn't always end at exactly the same time it would be at the end of a song yeah um so then 495 00:46:50,720 --> 00:46:56,080 you can time it perfectly to end at the end of the last song and we're out of here whereas if you use 496 00:46:56,080 --> 00:47:02,560 something like a timer or a watch or a stopwatch it might be too short it might be too long it's 497 00:47:02,560 --> 00:47:07,680 really hard to know the exact time and as soon as it becomes unpredictable and not consistent 498 00:47:07,680 --> 00:47:14,400 you've lost them just about we build keeping that promise isn't it yeah and everyone everyone has 499 00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:18,960 to be consistent with using them otherwise they just don't work on the rare occasion where i've 500 00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:25,440 not got my lanyard on or a situation's come up where i need my spot timer because we use them so 501 00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:32,560 consistently i was able to easily transfer it into three fingers and then finish so if you've used 502 00:47:32,560 --> 00:47:37,120 that process again and again all of a sudden it doesn't take long so i advise parents i always 503 00:47:37,120 --> 00:47:41,280 give parents a spot timer if we're using them in school and say show them how to use it and say i 504 00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:45,360 would use it when you have to go shopping if you've got to take them with you use the spot timer so 505 00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:49,200 that they know it's coming to an end but if you forget your spot timer you've got fingers you've 506 00:47:49,200 --> 00:47:54,000 got five fingers so just say five spots and then shopping is finished i think so that they can see 507 00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:59,600 being five and it being a circle because actually it can very easily transition to your hand can't 508 00:47:59,600 --> 00:48:07,600 it it's it's quite it's quite a similar enough visual isn't it yeah to do that somebody has said 509 00:48:09,040 --> 00:48:12,960 if you had a neurodivergent child who didn't get on with the ta what would you do 510 00:48:14,080 --> 00:48:18,960 and i think that's an interesting one isn't it because ultimately you've got one ta you haven't 511 00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:25,040 got a choice i'd like to hope that all the staff team are using the same uh systems the same 512 00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:29,440 language the same voice but it's probably if they don't like them it's probably an inconsistency in 513 00:48:29,440 --> 00:48:33,920 that so maybe i would look at more staff i think i think you'd need to stand back and you'd need 514 00:48:33,920 --> 00:48:40,720 to see what is it i mean most of our neurodivergent children wouldn't be able to explain why they're 515 00:48:40,720 --> 00:48:45,280 feeling like that i certainly know what this person means in terms of you can certainly see 516 00:48:45,280 --> 00:48:51,200 sometimes sometimes it can be something as silly as your perfume is too strong so i can't be near 517 00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:55,200 them because their perfume is too strong sometimes it's that the like you say the person isn't 518 00:48:55,200 --> 00:49:00,640 necessarily being as consistent it's your body language as well it is really hard and i find it 519 00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:06,880 especially in early years is for all children whether they're diverse or typical you are helping 520 00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:11,520 them to learn what their emotions are and it's never okay for a member of staff to be hurt in 521 00:49:11,520 --> 00:49:20,080 their in their workplace but we we do expect the temper tantrums and the lashing out that you need 522 00:49:20,080 --> 00:49:25,280 to stand back from and you need to register that oops i caused that right let's just calm this down 523 00:49:25,280 --> 00:49:31,280 let's not do that one again and reflect on your own practice but you need to be there and open 524 00:49:31,280 --> 00:49:35,120 you need to it doesn't matter that you just caught me on the arm when you were crossed with me 525 00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:40,800 we're going to go past that and you're going to see that i'm here and i'm not left you because 526 00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:45,120 the children that need you the most will push you away the hardest and they need to know that you 527 00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:50,640 are still there and that you are waiting and i'm sure that your commitment to how you've on your 528 00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:55,200 classroom right you can see it all the way through this hour that i've been speaking to you can see 529 00:49:55,200 --> 00:50:00,560 how passionate you are and committed you are to it that is infectious so if you're speaking to your 530 00:50:00,560 --> 00:50:07,200 team that this is how we do things it works there's so much trust and belief there that that's going 531 00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:11,600 to help consistency whereas if you're a bit fluffy if you're saying oh should we try this what do you 532 00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:15,920 think the nose we try it or what didn't work really did it what else can we try you know if you're 533 00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:20,720 just bumbling through like that that's going to give absolutely no trust to your team at all and 534 00:50:20,720 --> 00:50:26,960 they're going to do it their own way and that was a real issue i think you've got to also be aware 535 00:50:26,960 --> 00:50:30,800 that sometimes there's only so long you can be screamed at for especially like if i think of a 536 00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:35,760 child that i've had that's had odd there's only so long you want to be shouted at or have chairs 537 00:50:35,760 --> 00:50:42,400 tipped over in your direction actually you need to tag out with that ta i check in with my staff 538 00:50:42,400 --> 00:50:47,440 every day how was your night the night before are you feeling okay because sometimes you're just in 539 00:50:47,440 --> 00:50:51,120 a good mood yourself and you can't help regulate a child if you're not in a good place so sometimes 540 00:50:51,120 --> 00:50:56,000 you can just say you take my lessons today i'm tagging in and i'm doing this because i'm not 541 00:50:56,000 --> 00:51:02,800 allowing that child to upset you to a point where they have control over the situation so we're a 542 00:51:02,800 --> 00:51:07,280 team i tag in you go and do something else that child will then very clearly see that they've lost 543 00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:12,320 that adult and they will be very concerned about oh hang on what's happened here but guess what the 544 00:51:12,320 --> 00:51:17,760 the barrier is still the same the question or the activity that you've been asked to do by that adult 545 00:51:17,760 --> 00:51:22,480 is still the same i'm still going to make you do it so i think you also need to be aware that it is 546 00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:27,840 normally rts that have to put up with the brunt of our temper tantrums and children that really 547 00:51:27,840 --> 00:51:32,320 struggle you've got to jump in and tag in just as as regularly as they do otherwise they're going to 548 00:51:32,320 --> 00:51:39,200 think that they just get all of the lashings out you don't if you're not that person you might be 549 00:51:39,200 --> 00:51:44,080 asking something very unrealistic of your your team because as soon as you're in their shoes in 550 00:51:44,080 --> 00:51:50,080 that situation if you're not doing what you say you should do then that's a real issue isn't it 551 00:51:50,080 --> 00:51:57,280 you need to be standing there in their shoes in that exact scenario and showing them this is how 552 00:51:57,280 --> 00:52:03,440 it's done this is what i mean when i say use this use this voice use this body language guide them 553 00:52:03,440 --> 00:52:08,320 over this is what i mean this is what it looks like the worst thing to do as a team leader and 554 00:52:08,320 --> 00:52:14,480 we do do it because again we're human but the worst thing we do is don't follow our own plan 555 00:52:14,480 --> 00:52:20,400 yeah it comes down to the heat of it because all of a sudden you've lost all trust and all faith 556 00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:26,560 from the children but also from your team yeah yeah absolutely and you know what sometimes you 557 00:52:26,560 --> 00:52:31,920 just have to own the bad days and go do you know what today did not work as planned and check in 558 00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:37,360 with your team if you think someone went home a bit quieter than normal either give them a ring if 559 00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:40,480 they're someone that will pick up the phone if you think actually i just need to give them a gentle 560 00:52:40,480 --> 00:52:44,160 message and i'll give them a text just to make sure that they're okay and that i noticed that you 561 00:52:44,160 --> 00:52:51,280 seemed a bit down you know take that pressure off them and say it's my room it's my responsibility 562 00:52:51,280 --> 00:52:55,120 please don't worry that today went wrong we are going to reflect and we are going to change this 563 00:52:55,120 --> 00:53:00,320 up to it and we'll find out and we'll come up with a solution absolutely everything you're saying is 564 00:53:00,320 --> 00:53:04,560 so fabulous somebody's just said it's such a great life and i completely agree i feel really 565 00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:11,200 energized by this i think it's a really important conversation to have i need more people to know 566 00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:16,080 about you and know about your practice where are you based don't say the school but where what 567 00:53:16,080 --> 00:53:22,720 county are you in? In Cornwall. So i'm gonna come and visit that's okay. You come on in? Yeah i want 568 00:53:22,720 --> 00:53:28,480 to come and visit i want to see it for myself just for my me sharing on here even more than my own 569 00:53:28,480 --> 00:53:34,480 practice actually because it will really help me to explain when i'm getting the questions from 570 00:53:34,480 --> 00:53:40,880 mainstream teachers that i'm getting i want to be able to confidently say this is this is what you 571 00:53:40,880 --> 00:53:47,200 can do i've seen it work i know it works it just sounds it sounds fabulous um i know this is gonna 572 00:53:48,160 --> 00:53:52,400 help a lot of people this this conversation so thank you so much for being here i'm so pleased 573 00:53:52,400 --> 00:53:59,120 that your teaching assistant forced you on here because it's yeah you've shared some 574 00:53:59,120 --> 00:54:23,680 um such great knowledge so thank you Anna.