The first day in a SEND school is always exciting, it’s an opportunity to meet many new people; a large team of support staff, Senior Leaders, Teachers and specialists from different fields. You are likely to work with Speech and Language therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists, Drama Therapists, Art Therapists and many more. The facilities are often outstanding with sensory rooms, soft play rooms, chill out areas, sometimes a hydro pool, and search discovery outside play areas.
The most exciting part of the day is meeting the pupils. It’s great to take time to get to know each pupil individually, the class sizes are usually small so this gives teaching staff and support staff time to get to know everything about each pupil. Its very useful before school starts to have a brief on each pupil in your class, to understand their likes and dislikes and in some cases their medical needs. Making positive connections with the pupils can feel extremely rewarding and fulfilling. Sometimes it takes longer for some pupils to feel confident with a new person and some will instantly be happy to have a new person in the classroom. Take your time to get to know what each pupil’s “likes”, it can really help with connecting with them.
The day can offer many challenges and also many many special moments where you can help a pupil reach small milestones. Generally the teacher and the support staff will work together cohesively to help each pupil reach their educational goals. There is usually a book with the pupils educational goals written out.Its useful to look at this also.
The most important thing about your first day in a SEND school is to relax and enjoy the day, the pupils will benefit most from this!
