Sue Rayment

We thought you might like to take a peek behind the curtain at the Foundation to see who is working to make Education for All children everywhere a reality at the moment.

Our team members have each written a short blog to introduce themselves and give you an insight into the experience they bring to the Foundation.

Sue Rayment

In “normal times” I work in a nurture classroom within a mainstream school. This class allows some of the most vulnerable children to access daily school life. Our class follows a highly structured day using a visual timetable. In this class we are “learning to learn”; this means developing the skills required to be a successful learner in a mainstream class. We focus on learning to understand and regulate our emotions, on how to deal with anxiety and the unknown and strategies to deal with frustration and anger and attachment disorders. One of our favourite books is The Colour Monster, by Anna LLenas, which is a great way to introduce how to recognise our emotions to very young children.

 Learning resilience is key; we learn to complete tasks and to feel successful. Our tasks are usually very sensory and involve creative and art activities. The children learn to listen to instructions and follow simple steps to achieve success. Our pupils are very young (aged between 4 and 6) so activities can last anywhere from five to ten minutes. 

They are not ready to fully access maths and English lessons but they are learning to stick with a task and eventually this will be translated into learning in class. Even learning to make a sandwich can prove frustrating as spreading butter is no mean feat when you are only five. We give them strategies to cope with frustration such as ways in which they can ask for help. Success is rewarded with praise and sharing their success with their families who visit the class on a regular basis to join us for toast and juice.

Suddenly, with very little notice, the security provided by this nurturing classroom environment has been withdrawn. Everyone is struggling to cope with life under COVID19, but for the children with special needs the challenges are immense.

 As a school we are already sending out regular work and activity ideas to support families. In addition to this, we are phoning the families of the most vulnerable pupils on a regular basis. This means I can support families on an individual basis with some parents happy with a weekly check in and some parents benefitting from a daily chat and advice and strategies to cope at home. Some of the pupils just need to hear their teacher’s voice to know that I am still here and that I have not just disappeared from their lives and to know that their classroom and teachers and friends are all waiting for them. 

Some of our non -verbal pupils have benefitted from specially designed social stories to help them to understand what is happening. For instance, one child is so angry and confused because he cannot see his grandmother whom he is used to seeing on a daily basis. He cannot express his feelings in words or writing but as a school we can help mum to support his emotional needs at home. I am sending a weekly letter to my pupils with an activity that they can all complete. If their parents can they are photographing their work and e mailing it to me. I can then share the photos with all of them to reinforce a sense of security and optimism. I also send separate daily activities to support the children’s individual needs. 

As any special needs child knows, we all need to adapt in difficult times but it can be done.
Steve Sinnott Foundation • July 31, 2020
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