How schools can support all pupils to reach their full potential

SENCO Jenny Byford, from Sauncey Wood PrimarySchoolin Hertfordshire, shares tips to increase pupil confidence and independence.

Creating theright environment for all pupils to engage, learnand thrive is the aimofevery school. But, with reduced resources andincreasing numbers of children with additional needs, it’snot without itschallenges Sauncey Wood is asmall school with 192 children on roll.There are 13 differentlanguagesspoken and an above national average intake of disadvantaged pupils andpupils with additional educational needs, so targeted supportisessential.

As the inclusionlead,all areas of vulnerabilityand need fall under my umbrella.Creatinga sense of belonging andinclusion underpins all we do and makingsureeverychild canactively participate in lessons is apriority

However,activeparticipation of alllearners can be trickytoachieve duetothe diverse range of needs andabilities in theclassroom. We’ve foundthatthe techniquesweuse for ourpupils with English as an additional language (EAL) to improve vocabulary and help navigate theschool day can support allpupils, including those with and without additional learning needs.

Navigating Thebusy School Environment

Imaginehow bewildering it mustbeto startschool withoutknowing the local language,not havingthe wordstoask for help,orbeingabletoread what to do by yourself. For17per cent ofpupils at Sauncey Wood this is theirreality Afurther 20.5 per cent of ourpupils areon theSENDregisterand busy environments canbehardfor them to navigatedue to difficulties rememberinginstructions, sequencing steps or processinginformation.

To overcome these barriers, we’ve found that using visual timetables incorporating

20.5% 17% symbols, such as adinner plate at lunch time and abook at story-time, supports children to better navigate their school day.We typically use symbols from Widgit and, for our pupils with SEND, it gives the extra processing time they need to make sense of the timetable and reinforces the comfortofroutine.

Emerging readers and pupils with EAL can see by the imagerywhat’scoming next, and it helps everyone feel more ready to learn.

Using visual prompts in classrooms and corridorscan support transitiontimesand remindpupilsabout key information to reduce the need foradult intervention. It’sa strategythat has alsoworkedwell in St Andrews PrimarySchoolinSomerset, as Year 6teacherMaria Sadlerexplains:

“I’m abig labeller. Everything is labelled in my classroom, andIuse symbols to support the meaning of text. Iuse this approach to support my pupils with EALand SEND and teach the wholeclass French, our modern foreignlanguage. For me it’s all aboutimmersion, so pupilssee words, hear them,and say them.All my cupboards and doorshavevisual cues using symbolsto supportpupils to understand what to do Forexample,I usesymbols to represent the phrase ‘pull the door closed’I’vefound using symbol signage hasempoweredchildren to feel more confident aboutwhatthey’re being askedtodo. As symbols areuniversally understoodthey encourage independence andresponsibility.”

Getting Children Ready To Learn

Pre-teaching pupils wordsand phrases to introduceunfamiliar vocabulary is not a new strategy but we’ve foundincorporating avisual approach haspositively impacted on their acquisitionoflanguage andmemory.

We useittointroduce new topics to children with verbal or language processingdifficultiesand with limited English to give them theconfidenceto participate in lessons. For example, in language-heavysubjects suchashistory or science,I canuse houses as asymbol to explain thewordsettlement, or symbols of bones whenlearningabout theskeleton. Whatevera pupil’s language ability, they canstillcontribute during lessons by sharing relevantsymbols,increasing their confidenceand engagement. As the numbers of pupils withadditional needs grows,moreschools arefinding this ausefultechnique to help build vocabulary and comprehension. Agnieszka Kwiatowska, EAL teaching partner from St Gregory the GreatschoolinGloucestershire, used symbols to makeiteasier to explain to a child from Hungary withlimited English and slow information processingskills, the story of theBad-Tempered Ladybird: “I used different symbolstoshowthem what is meant by ‘too small’and ‘bad tempered’, which really helped them to ‘get’ thestory and enjoy it, making themmore engaged in learning.”

Creating Independentlearners

The extra visual supportisalsoa valuable aidtouse within mainstream teaching. We’ve foundincorporating symbols across our schoolhas benefitted allpupils, notjustthose with special needs or EAL

It’sa useful toolfor emerging readers as they canuse the imagesto decodethe meaning of the words.Ithelpsthem to decipher instructions and reduces relianceonadult supportsothatthey canbecomemore independent.Wealsouse symbol-basedresources to create word maps, vocabulary sheetsand displaystointroduce the subject-specificvocabulary that pupilsneedtolearn as they move through their schooling

Visualrepresentationscan help allpupils to learn,recalland remember themeaning of new informationmoreeasily,and reducethe demand on theirworking memoryduring lessons. Creating aricher curriculum for everyone is easierifall pupils areimmersed and involved in the learning process. The simple icons andimagesusedinsymbols to represent vocabulary has helped driveliteracyacross the whole school by levelling up the playingfieldand keeping everyoneengaged