This article shares a range of effective and inclusive teaching strategies that not only support SEN learners but enrich the learning environment for every student.
I have focused on practical tips that you can easily integrate into your day-to-day teaching practices.
Direct instruction and visual supports
Direct instruction paired with visual supports helps clarify concepts, especially for SEN students. Using visuals (diagrams, symbols, charts) can make abstract ideas more tangible and easier to understand.
- Create laminated cards with key instructions and visuals for common classroom activities.
- Use symbols and colour-coding on whiteboards to highlight important points in lessons.
- For new concepts or tasks, perform step-by-step demonstrations. Break-down the process into clear, manageable parts with visual aids for each step.
- Incorporate graphic organisers to help students understand and organise information.
- Design classroom posters to summarise key concepts in a simple but visual way.
Adaptive lessons
Differentiated or adaptive lesson-planning ensures that all students can access learning at their level. This involves varying content, process, and product based on students’ needs.
- Design tiered assignments that offer varying levels of challenge.
- Use flexible grouping to cater to different learning styles, abilities, and interests.
- Incorporate a range of sensory experiences into lessons (e.g. tactile activities).
- Plan alternative ways to access information, like audio recordings or interactive apps.
- Provide extension explorations for students keen to go deeper.
Vulnerable Learners Supplement 2024: This article first appeared in SecEd's annual vulnerable learners supplement, which published in March and offers 20 pages of expert advice, insights, and case studies aimed at helping secondary schools to support their most vulnerable young people. Themes this year include persistent absence, poverty, SEND, behaviour, and exclusion. Find a free download via www.sec-ed.co.uk/content/downloads/supplement-ideas-to-support-your-vulnerable-learners
Clear explanations and direct teaching
Clear explanations and direct teaching help students grasp concepts more effectively. Think about breaking down information into smaller, understandable parts.
- Use analogies and real-life examples to explain concepts.
- After introducing a new topic, conduct guided practice sessions to work through a few examples as a class.
- Check for understanding with quick, informal assessments.
- Use simple, concise language and avoid jargon.
- Provide written summaries of key points after each lesson.
Chunking lesson content
Break-down lesson content into smaller, more manageable parts. This is particularly helpful for students with attention or processing difficulties.
- Use short, focused mini-lessons instead of longer lectures.
- Provide step-by-step break-downs for assignments.
- Use visual aids to segment information.
- Implement frequent, short breaks during lessons.
- Summarise key points at the end of each chunk.
Assessment for learning
Assessment for learning involves continuous evaluation of students’ understanding, allowing for adjustments in teaching. It is crucial to deliver feedback in ways that don’t overwhelm students.
- Use low-stakes anonymous polling or digital quizzes.
- Provide one-to-one feedback sessions privately for anxious students.
- Utilise self-assessment tools where students can reflect on their own learning.
- Offer written feedback that students can process in their own time.
- Use peer assessment techniques for collaborative evaluation and support.
Constructive feedback
Positive yet constructive feedback boosts confidence and motivation.
- Highlight specific positive aspects of a student’s work before offering areas for improvement.
- Use a feedback sandwich – positive-constructive-positive.
- Set up a class recognition system where students’ strengths are celebrated.
- Provide written feedback notes that students can refer back to.
- Use peer praise where students highlight positives in each other’s work.
Building resilience
Fostering resilience and teaching self-management skills is crucial.
- Teach goal-setting and planning techniques.
- Implement daily checklists or planners for students to manage their tasks.
- Encourage reflective journaling to build self-awareness and coping strategies.
- Use role-playing scenarios to practise problem-solving and decision-making.
Accessible environment
An accessible classroom caters to diverse sensory and learning needs. This includes physical and sensory considerations.
- Create quiet zones/sensory areas in the class for students who need a calm space.
- Use flexible seating to accommodate different learning or sensory preferences.
- Clear pathways for easy movement around the room.
- Consider sensory-friendly lighting and decor. Use scent-free materials.
Growth mindset
Encourage students to see challenges as opportunities for growth, focusing on effort and learning rather than innate ability.
- Model growth mindset.
- Celebrate effort and progress, not just completion.
- Use reflective exercises where students identify their own learning improvements.
- Encourage a classroom culture of trying new things and learning from mistakes.
- Implement regular goal-setting and review sessions.
Communication methods
Recognise diverse communication needs. This includes alternatives for students who struggle with verbal communication.
- Allow students to use drawing or mind-mapping to express ideas. Enable written responses or presentations as well as verbal ones.
- Introduce communication technology for students who find verbal communication challenging.
- Offer varied presentation formats, like videos, posters, or digital presentations.
Final thoughts
Each small step you take towards incorporating these strategies into your practice can lead to significant positive changes in your students’ educational journeys.
Start today by picking one or two ideas – observe the changes, reflect on the outcomes, and continue to adapt.
- Dr Pooky Knightsmith is a passionate ambassador for mental health, wellbeing and PSHE. Her work is backed up both by a PhD in child and adolescent mental health and her own lived experience of PTSD, anorexia, self-harm, anxiety and depression. Follow her on X @PookyH and visit www.pookyknightsmith.com. Find her previous articles and podcast/webinar appearances for SecEd via www.sec-ed.co.uk/authors/dr-pooky-knightsmith