The strategies listed below highlight the ordinarily available inclusive provision that should be in place to support children and young people with communication and interaction needs on a daily basis, across all areas of the curriculum. These ordinarily available whole class strategies should be embedded as part of everyday inclusive practice, and their impact on an individual evaluated, before considering a more targeted approach.
- Explicitly teach social knowledge as part of the curriculum (for example through PSHE lessons, circle times, tutor time) and plan structured activities and games that promote peer interaction and collaboration.
- Visual supports and tools enhance the learning environment and are used to:
- define areas and support understanding of sequences (for example drawers labelled with visuals, visual sequences, social stories).
- structure the day/ learning session (for example, visual timetable, child or young person planner, whole class task or tick list, word maps, vocab banks and differentiated knowledge organisers).
- seek whole class attention and are consistent across the school.
- set out expectations for activities and the timetable for the day. There should be a class visual timetable which is positioned at the front of the classroom, where all children can see it and is referred to regularly throughout the day.
- prepare children and young people for changes in routines and activities and/or indicate the start and end of an activity.
- augment spoken language and support understanding, for example, object of reference photo, symbols, written word.
- aid narrative development, for example story-boards, story maps, sequencing pictures. These are on display for children and young people to refer back to.
- help children and young people express and capture their ideas, for example encouraging them to use graphic organisers or mind-maps.
- support verbal instructions with visual cues.
- Develop language and communication skills. Opportunities are provided within the school timetable, for example talk partners, ‘show and tell’, group discussions.
- Audit the learning environment and adapt accordingly, for example background noise minimised, classroom is uncluttered, boundaried displays, consistent and carefully considered seating plans.
- Learning breaks are planned into the daily timetable to reduce the cognitive load and to avoid children and young people having to sustain attention and listening for extended periods of time.
- Adapted language to support attention and listening, for example reduce pace, give one instruction at a time, use strategies such isuals or gestures alongside language, avoid non-literal or abstract language.
- A clear structure to the day and learning environment, with clear routines and expectations and visual supports and/or timetables. For example for entering the room, group work, snack time, moving around the school, home learning.
- Whole-class sensory breaks are timetabled into the school day in a pro-active manner and are also used in response to class sensory needs, for example needing a calming activity following unstructured break times. Staff are aware of the purpose and desired outcome of sensory breaks and can distinguish between sensory, cognitive or processing and reward breaks.
- Adequate processing time is given (this may be as long as 10 seconds). During this time, staff should avoid adding any further information or asking questions.
- Multi-sensory approaches to teaching new vocabulary and concepts should be used at whole class level.
Useful links for OAIP advice and support
- Supporting social communication needs in the classroom
- Teacher toolkit for supporting learners with SEND
- Positive Relationships Between Home and School