Building a Pupil Profile

Speaking to pupils about their strengths and difficulties is a good way to start building up an understanding of a pupil's profile. At Yes @ Areté Learning Trust we can offer advice and training on effective ways to elicit appropriate pupil feedback.

If a pupil is finding learning difficult we recommend that an analysis and assessment of learning environments and teaching strategies should run alongside any child focused assessments.

'If a child does not learn in the way in which we teach, then we must teach him in the way in which he learns.' (Dr. Harry Chasty International Consultant in Learning Difficulties)

The Driver Trist Drive For Literacy Toolkit is a useful resource for developing inclusive classrooms.

Dyslexia Friendly School Practice Guidel

Council for the Curricuum, Examinations and Assessment

Whole School SEND Resources

Specialist teachers working within NYCC's Cognition and Learning team have launched a 'Progression Pyramid' aimed at supporting school staff in developing pupil profiles and, if required, a route to requesting specialist involement. The 'Progression Pyramid' provides schools with links to key resources for assessment and intervemtion and is based on the SEN Code of Practice ' Assess, Plan, Do, Review' approach.

The 'Progression Pyramid' can also be accessed via the CYPS website http://cyps.northyorks.gov.uk/cognition-and-learning

Effective SEND provision across the whole school: Short podcast with Gary Aubin

Funded by the DfE the ‘Neurodiversity Training’ provides tools to help identify and build pupil profiles and an overview of a pupil’s strengths and difficulties.

Follow the link below to download PowerPoint Presentations and resources to support cascading the Neurodiversity Training throughout your setting. There are a range of resources targeted at those working with Primary, Secondary, and Post-16 learners.

http://www.thedyslexia-spldtrust.org.uk

https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/educator/additional-resources-for-educators

Teaching for Neurodiversity - A Guide for Specific Learning Difficulties

LEANS - Learning about Neurodiversity at School

Three big things to know about neurodiversity content in LEANS

1. LEANS is a neurodiversity introduction. We hope it will be only the start of your class exploring this topic. It’s also not possible for one resource to cover every possible situation, or experience!  
2. It is about neurodiversity within primary schools, rather than all of society. Starting close to home helps keep this topic accessible and relevant for everyone. 
3. The materials focus on lived experiences over diagnostic labels. It doesn’t give facts about a list of diagnoses. It stresses that neurodiversity includes everyone in the classroom, and that neurodivergent people may not have diagnoses.  

Read more about what LEANS is—and isn’t—on our resource overview page, and our FAQs page. 

LEANS resource pack overview

LEANS FAQ

LEANS neurodiversity content for teachers 

You do not need to be a neurodiversity expert to adopt LEANS in your class. Teachers delivering LEANS may have varying levels of neurodiversity experience when they get started with the programme, from beginner to expert! 

The Teacher Handbook gives a neurodiversity topic introduction—not a full account of current thinking on neurodiversity. LEANS’ content… 

• Is meant to help you feel prepared to teach this topic at primary level. 

• Explains how neurodiversity terms and concepts fit together with terms you may already know, like ASN, SEND, or ALN. 

• Provides ready-to-use, child-friendly explanations of tricky ideas. 

• Signposts possible ethics and safety issues around teaching neurodiversity. 

• Suggests further neurodiversity reading, for those who want more detail. 

Looking for more in-depth neurodiversity content right now? We suggest the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre’s neurodiversity pages. These cover a much wider set of topics than does LEANS, including neurodiversity as a social movement, healthcare, ableism, and workplaces. 

Read about neurodiversity on the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre's website. 

Areté Learning Trust use the Do-IT Profiler to provide a holisitc overview of pupils' stenghts and difficulties. 

Neurodiversity 101: 

• Inclusive Classroom: Music
• Inclusive Classroom: Geography
• Inclusive Classroom: History
• Inclusive Classroom: Science
• Inclusive Classroom: Maths
• Inclusive Classroom: English
• Inclusive Classroom: ICT / Computing

Access Arrangements are adjustments for students based on evidence of need and normal way of working.

We recommend that schools staff use the following to compile evidence of normal way of working.

Yes @ Areté Learning Trust can provide schools with specialist assessors who will complete assessments to provide the evidence of need.

• JCQ Guidelines
• Checklist - Normal Way of Working

Executive Function is broadly understood as an individual's mental capacity for planning, organisation, efficient decision making and action. Most definitions of Executive Function include planning, working memory, attention and inhibition within them.

1. Attention

Children with attention difficulties are easily distracted by other stimuli. Carroll et al (2017) explain that there are two key elements; selective attention which is the ability to focus on relevant information , and suistained attention, which is the ability to concentrate over time.

2. Short Term Memory

The ability to hold information for short periods of time.

3. Working Memory

The ability to process or manage information.

4. Planning

The ability to sequence activities in order to complete a task.

Yes @ Areté Learning Trust offers advice on strategies to support these areas of learning.

Memory & Cognition Workshop

Understanding Working Memory - A Classroom Guide

Supporting Students with Working Memory Difficulties

Getting Started with Metacognition

Working Memory Advice and Activities

Coming to Our Senses - Teach to remember

Metacognition and Self-Regulation

Cognitive Load Theory in Practice

Thinking Skills Levels

Good mental health is characterised by a person’s ability to fulfil a number of key functions and activities, including:

• the ability to learn
• the ability to feel, express and manage a range of positive and negative emotions
• the ability to form and maintain good relationships with others
• the ability to cope with and manage change and uncertainty.

www.mentalhealth.org.uk highlight the importance of:

• Talking about your feelings
• Regular exercise
• A good diet
• Keeping in touch with friends
• Asking for help
• Taking a break
• Do something you are good at
• Accept who you are
• Care for others

Child Friendly Sensory Checklist