SEND training for school staff

Every teacher is a teacher of SEND

The SEND Code of Practice puts it plainly: high-quality teaching for pupils with special educational needs is the job of every teacher, not just the SENCO. In most classrooms that means several children with different needs, and a teaching assistant who may never have had any training at all.

These courses start with awareness and get practical quickly. The Spot and Support series covers autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, speech, language and communication needs, and attachment. You’ll see what you might notice, what it feels like for the child and what to try in the classroom tomorrow.

The needs that get missed

Some children slip through. Autistic girls often mask in school and fall apart at home. For children with pathological demand avoidance, the usual behaviour system makes things worse. Some children’s sensory needs look like defiance. We have courses on each of these, because they’re where staff are most likely to feel stuck.

Complex needs and PMLD

Special schools and specialist provision get a large set of courses on profound and multiple learning disabilities. They cover sensory stories, communication, wellbeing, phonics for learners with complex needs, and postural care.

For SENCOs and leaders

If you set SEND courses for the whole staff, you can show the graduated approach is more than a policy. With a school membership you can set them for everyone, or just for one year group’s team, and see who’s done what.