Adaptive Teaching
How We Teach and Support Children with SEND
At our school, every child is valued and supported to achieve their very best. We believe that high-quality teaching is the foundation of inclusive education, and we use a common approach across the school to make sure all children can access learning and make progress.
Our teaching is based on the Education Endowment Foundation’s 5-a-day principles for pupils with SEND. This means we focus on five key areas of support in every classroom: explicit teaching, flexible groupings, scaffolds, use of technology, and cognitive and metacognitive approaches. Teachers break learning down into clear, manageable steps and model new ideas carefully, so children understand what they are learning and why. We also use flexible groupings, which means children may work with different partners or in different groups depending on the task and their needs.
To help children succeed, we provide a range of scaffolds and resources. These may include visual prompts, word banks, practical materials, guided questions or worked examples. Technology is used where helpful to support access, independence and engagement. We also encourage children to think about how they learn best by using cognitive and metacognitive approaches, such as talking about strategies, checking understanding and reflecting on progress.
We know that every child is unique, so learning is adapted appropriately to ensure access for all and to meet specific needs. Some children may benefit from targeted interventions to support areas such as reading, writing, communication or social and emotional development. Others may need time in break-out spaces, where they can learn in a quieter, calmer environment. We also offer nurture opportunities for children who need additional help with confidence, emotional regulation or relationships.
Where needed, we make reasonable adaptations to both the curriculum and the learning environment. This may include adjusting tasks, using specialist resources, changing how instructions are presented, or making practical changes to the classroom space. Our aim is always to remove barriers to learning and help every child feel safe, included and ready to thrive.
We work closely with families and professionals to ensure support is thoughtful, responsive and centred on each child’s individual needs.
