published on 09 April 2020
This area has been created to support schools during this time and also includes some helpful resources and ideas that have been shared by our school settings in our SENCO Challenge Workshops.
You will find the following information in this section:
- Support for Early Years and Primary Settings
- Support for Secondary Settings
- Differentiating Home Learning for Autistic Pupils from our Barnet Autism Advisory Team
- Autism Education Trust - Tools for Teachers (Covid-19 Edition)
- Oak National Academy
- Guidance from the DfE of online education resources to support home learning with information on SEND: apps and games and SEND: resources for teachers (7 April 2020)
Please do check back regularly as we will be continuing to update this information.
1. Support for Early Years and Primary Settings
Talking to young children about Coronavirus
It is inevitable that even very young children will pick up on the levels of anxiety around them concerning the virus, even if they do not fully understand the context of the current situation.
Therefore, it is important that Early Years practitioners respond to any concerns that children express in a sensitive and age-appropriate manner.
- Stuck Inside Book - A book about Coronavirus written for young children to help them understand what is going on and why it's important to stay indoors.
- Children's Guide to Coronavirus - This guide aims to answer children’s questions about coronavirus, tell children how to stay safe and protect other people and how to help them make the best of their time at home.
- The Early Years Alliance also has a blog post you can read called How to talk to children about coronavirus: https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/how-talk-children-about-coronavirus
- There are government guidelines on COVID-19: supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing
- Everybody Worries - a picture book for children who are worried about Coronavirus: Everybody Worries
- Hungry Little Minds - ideas to add to your home routines: https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/#3
Early Years Resources
- A collection of teaching videos on different strategies to support young children: Resources - Oakleigh School
- The Early Years Activity Booklet - 50 Non computer activities to support early years development: Early Years Activity Booklet
- NHS Videos available in a range of different home languages: https://www.elft.nhs.uk/News/Supporting-Neurodiverse-Children-in-Self-Isolation
School resources
- Gina Davis Attention Autism – Gina shares videos of activities on this page that maybe you could try at home: https://www.facebook.com/ginadaviesautism
- Email sign-up form for resources from Bamboozle Theatre Group: https://www.bamboozletheatre.co.uk/bamboozle-bites/
- Chester Zoo Virtual Tour: https://www.chesterzoo.org/virtual-zoo/
2. Support for Secondary Settings
Below you will find some helpful strategies and approaches that our secondary SENCOs have found effective in supporting their pupils with SEND during this time. There are also a range of useful resources and links.
It's important to remember that any home learning should be differentiated and personalised for the individual, and supports their wellbeing.
Helpful strategies and approaches
- Simplifying the home learning timetable and breaking this into achievable and manageable chunks of time
- Focusing on core skills on the timetable and reducing and/or having a flexible approach to the expected time spent on school work
- Differentiated resources/materials available on school learning platforms (e.g.: Google Classroom, Firefly, etc)
- Creating projects or tasks around an area of interest
- Resources such as Talking Mats to support communication
- SEN staff linked to a department to support with differentiation of home learning tasks
- Key members of SEN staff contacting pupils and families on a regular basis to check in and provide support
- Wellbeing days and activities involving a creative challenge or task such as 'Design your own cereal'
- Where possible, supporting access to technology (e.g.: kindles etc)
Shared Resources/Links
- Weekly Planner template (kindly shared by Finchley Catholic)
- Letter writing activity (kindly shared by Friern Barnet)
- ASDAN have created free resources to support home learning with resources ranging from pre-Entry to Level 2 which have been taken from a range of ASDAN courses.
- DfE New Skills Toolkit – this is made up of free online courses, tools and resources to help improve digital and numeracy skills. The introductory courses ‘Learn My Way’ and ‘Make it Click’ are great for learning basic workplace skills.
- CAMHS Podcast - Coronavirus, and helping children with autism – Episode 4 ‘Autism, a parents guide’ with Dr. Ann Ozsivadjian and Dr. Marianna Murin - ACAMH.
3. Differentiating Home Learning for Autistic Pupils
Our Barnet Autism Advisory Team have created a range of helpful resources to support school settings.
Autistic young people may be struggling with emotional regulation during this period of significant and unplanned change. The emotional wellbeing of pupils and their families should always be paramount at this very difficult time. Planning differentiated work around their interests and ensuring that tasks are enjoyable and achievable can have a significant impact on the wellbeing of autistic students and their families.
Below are some top tips to support staff in differentiating home learning for autistic children and young people:
1. Home Learning Differentiation Introduction
2. Home Learning Social Partners
3. Home Learning Language Partners
4. Home Learning Conversational Partners
5. Home Learning Differentiation for Secondary
6.Differentiation Tips for staff working with Autistic secondary aged pupils
Please contact your allocated Autism Advisory Teacher if you would like more support with this.
4. Autism Education Trust - Tools for Teachers (Covid-19 Edition)
The AET have made some of their tools for teachers freely available. It contains six essential tools for teachers supporting autistic children and young people through home schooling as well as the return to school and includes some social stories regarding coronavirus.
Click here to download the resource: Tools for Teachers
5. Oak National Academy
An online classroom and resource hub created by teachers, for teachers. This provides high-quality, sequenced video lessons and resources. It also has a section on specialist subjects such as communication & language, creative arts, independent living, numeracy and therapies.
Click here to visit the website: https://www.thenational.academy
5. Guidance from Department for Education (7 April 2020)
The Department for Education recently published guidance to support home learning: ‘Coronavirus (Covid-19): list of online education resources for home education’ (7 April 2020).
This includes a helpful section for Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND):
- SEND: apps and games
- SEND: resources for teachers
‘These websites have been identified by some of the country’s leading educational experts and offer a wide range of support and resources for pupils of all ages.’ (DfE, 7 April 2020)
You can find this information on the following link and below: DfE Guidance (April 2020)
Taken from DfE Guidance: Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Published 7th April 2020
This initial list of SEND resources has been developed with a focus on accessibility and inclusivity and is based on the recommendations of:
- trusted organisations
- charities
- multi-academy trusts
- special education headteachers
We encourage parents, teachers and schools to explore beyond this list to identify what support is best for their children and pupils with SEND.
SEND: apps and games (Apps must be downloaded onto a compatible device)
Brain Parade
Website: http://www.brainparade.com/products/see-touch-learn-free/
Description: a visual instruction app, including flash cards and picture-choosing games, for children with autism and special needs.
HelpKidzLearn
Website: https://www.helpkidzlearn.com/
Description: a collection of games and resources designed for a range of educational needs and stages. It includes provision for school closure.
Sensory App House Ltd
Website: https://www.sensoryapphouse.com/
Description: a range of apps are available for pupils with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) or Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD). All are interactive and many do not require significant coordination abilities.
Visuals2Go
Website: https://www.visuals2go.com/
Description: an all-in-one app created to support people with communication and learning difficulties. For verbal and non-verbal learners.
SEND: resources for teachers
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Website: https://www.annafreud.org/resources/schools-and-colleges/
Description: guides to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of pupils and students.
Registration: not required
Do2Learn (USA)
Website: https://do2learn.com/
Description: a range of downloadable resources grouped by theme. Themes include: social skills, songs and games, and picture cards.
Registration: not required
Inclusive Teach
Website: https://inclusiveteach.com/free-printable-sen-teaching-resources/
Description: downloadable teaching resources to support pupils with SEND.
Registration: not required
PMLD thematic units – from the Northern Ireland Curriculum
Website:https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/pmld-sensory-thematic-units
Description: comprehensive guidance on themed activities for learners with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD). A full sensory curriculum is offered.
Registration: not required
Priory Woods School
Website: http://www.priorywoods.middlesbrough.sch.uk/page/?title=Resources&pid=3
Description: resources from an award-winning, innovative school, rated by Ofsted as outstanding and put together by SEND teachers. The resources include apps and programmes.
Registration: not required
SEND Gateway
Website: http://https://www.sendgateway.org.uk/whole-school-send/find-wss-resources/nqt-videos.html
Description: A range of SEND guidance videos created in collaboration with the Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY) in addition to many other experts within the sector. Aimed at Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs).
Registration: not required
SENict Activities
Website: https://www.ianbean.co.uk/senict-members-resource-portal
Description: downloadable activities aimed particularly at Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) and Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) learners.
Registration: not required
SEN Teacher
Website: https://www.senteacher.org/
Description: downloadable resources that can be adapted to suit the needs of pupils. Resources are aimed at a range of abilities.
Registration: not required
Speech and Language Kids
Website: https://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/free-speech-language-resources/
Description: a range of education and therapy resources for speech and language problems. A podcast is also available on iTunes for verbal and non-verbal children.
Registration: not required
Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
Website: https://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com/
Description: a range of downloadable resources to support blind and visually impaired pupils.
Registration: is required
UCL Centre for Inclusive Education
Description: a guide to help parents adjust to remote learning by providing advice and links to resources.
Registration: not required
Other resources
There are other resources available. BESA’s LendEd website and the EdTech Impact website, for example, include varied resources that teachers already use and rate within the websites.
These have not been verified by DfE’s educational experts but we have included them on the list because they also cover other areas of the curriculum that are not covered above.
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