Getting the right help at school

If you’re finding things difficult at school one of the best things you can do is talk to someone about it. 

• If you find a particular lesson or subject a challenge, you could try talking to the teacher at the end of the lesson. If there isn’t enough time try asking if you can talk to them at break, lunch time or at the end of the day. 
• If there’s a member of school staff you find easier to talk to than others try to arrange to see them. 
• If talking to school staff isn’t possible you may find it easier to talk to a parent/carer or other trusted adult. 
• Sometimes it helps to talk to someone who isn’t from school or who you know. That’s where we may be able to help. You can contact us here. 

Saying what you think isn’t always easy. If you’ve found someone you can talk to at school or at home here are some things that may help you prepare. 

• Think about what you want them to know before you talk to them. When we’re nervous or worried it’s easy to forget or find it hard to find the right words.
• Make some notes on a piece of paper or your phone. 
• You could draw a diagram or picture if this helps you explain what you think or feel better. 
• Take someone with you who can help you feel more confident, this could be your parent/carer or other trusted adult. 

If you’re finding it hard to learn or socialise at school because of your Special Educational Needs or disability the school has a duty to help and support you. Schools can do this in different ways.

• If you have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) this document will say what help and support you need and how the school will arrange this. If you’re not sure what your EHCP says you can ask someone at school or at home to help you look at the document. This may be online or a paper copy. 
• Schools have different ways of recording the help and support they give to their students, if you think you have your help and support recorded in school you can ask to see the document. 
• If you know you should be getting extra help and support but don’t think this is happening at school you could ask to talk to the Special Education Needs Co-ordinator, usually known as the SENCO or SENDCO. This is the person in charge of organising help and support for young people with EHC plans. They also organise support for young people who don’t have EHC plans but who have special educational needs and or a disability (SEND). 

Finding what helps you get the best out of school can take some time. You may need to try different things to find out what works best. The staff at school will have ideas and suggestions. They will have adapted how they teach to help other students and some of their suggestions may work really well for you. 

The SENCO has done extra training to help them understand and know how to help students with SEN. Their job is to help the other staff in school adapt how they work to make sure everyone in school can learn and do the best they can. 

Here are some examples of what schools do to make learning accessible to everyone. 

• Use words and phrases in the lessons that most students can understand. 
• Have different text books or written information, so everyone can follow the lesson.
• Have recordings or online information that students can listen to or watch after the lesson. 
• Use teaching assistants to help students in class or in small groups. 
• Have staff who work with students 1-1 in different ways. This could be a TA or a Mentor. 

These are just some examples, there will be many more and your school may have different ways to help all their students learn. 

This is why it’s important to talk to someone in school about getting the right help for you. There are many things that can be done but it needs to be right for you. 

Some young people have shared with us what they found helped them with their learning and socialising in school. These ideas may help you think about what might work for you. 

• Allow the use of fidget toys / objects of comfort​.
• Don’t call on me so I must speak in front of people​.
• Keep the PowerPoint layout predictable, and give me a print-out​.
• Don’t make me show an exit card, just let me leave without question and attention​.
• Don’t ask me to read out my mark​.
• Don’t rank me against my peers / compare me to others​.
• Let me use my phone at specific times as it can help me regulate​.
• Allow me to have flexible deadlines / deadline extensions.​
• Change assignments to suit my strengths – E.g., don’t make me do a presentation, or allow me to do it just to a very small group.
• I may not produce my best work as part of a team.​
• Give me brain breaks​.
• Give me movement breaks.​