Cognition and Learning

• Education Endowment Foundation guidance (EEF) on SEN EEF blog: 'Five-a-day' to improve SEND outcomes (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) (opens new window) and The 'five-a-day' principle (youtube.com) (opens new window)
• pre-teaching
• whole School SEND resources
• metacognition - See Education Endowment Foundation guidance Metacognition and Self-regulated Learning (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) (opens new window)
• use of TAs/ scaffolding - EEF guidance Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) (opens new window)
• reasonable adjustments to support working memory - Centre for Applied Education and Research (CAER): Downloads (opens new window)
• reasonable adjustments to support slow speed of processing e.g. providing, thinking time, reducing the task
• support for homework e.g. support for accurate recording of homework, differentiated tasks as standard for all children, lunchtime drop in sessions using school online homework portals
• close monitoring of attendance
• follow graduated response to Assess / Plan / Do / Review - using the Graduated Response to SEND Support (GRSS)
• refer to School Early Assessment Materials (SEAM) and Wiltshire Early Support for Dyslexia (WESforD) on the Right Choice: SSENS resource page (opens new window) to find out more about individual strengths and needs
• multi-sensory teaching strategies across the curriculum e.g. use of practical activities or examples, and concrete resources to anchor meaning for pupils - visit the Right Choice: SSENS resource page (opens new window)
• access arrangements for test, exams and formative assessment should reflect usual ways of working; usual ways of working should include reasonable adjustments' see JCQ and National Curriculum tools documents
• standard hearing and vision checks should be carried out.

• investigate hearing and vision if not checked recently
• evaluate effectiveness of quality-first multi-sensory teaching; differentiation
• develop an interest in reading using books based on pupil strengths, hobbies and interests - visit Children and young people’s reading engagement in 2022 (literacytrust.org.uk) (opens new window)
• target reading/recording of useful high-frequency sight vocabulary using multi-sensory methods e.g. precision teaching, simultaneous oral spelling, Right Choice: SSENS resource page (opens new window)
• use a paired reading approach using able readers well-trained in the methodology (see Approaches section)
• activities to develop comprehension skills e.g. questioning, summarising, inferring, predicting. Also see Education Endowment Foundation Reading comprehension strategies (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) (opens new window)
• Upper KS2: Less emphasis on phonics and more on language/comprehension-based approaches to reading support as referenced above
• Upper KS2: Develop sight vocabulary using e.g. Precision Teaching to facilitate access to text
• Upper KS2: Explicit teaching of application of reading skills e.g. scanning text for key information
• use of assistive technology to support reading in lessons, e.g. text to speech facilities in iPad/ tablets/MS Word, Clicker, Office 365 Immersive Reader, reader pens
• Immersive Reader (learn.microsoft.com) (opens new window) is a free tool, built into Word, OneNote, Outlook, Office Lens, Microsoft Teams, Reading Progress, Forms, Flip, Minecraft Education and the Edge browser, that implements proven techniques to improve reading and writing for people regardless of their age or ability
• digital dictation - dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Office with a microphone and reliable internet connection. Use your voice to quickly create documents, emails, notes, presentations, or even slide notes. Dictate in Microsoft 365 (support.microsoft.com) (opens new window)
• inclusion of pictures to support text, for example: using Widget
• use of well-founded intervention e.g. visit What works for literacy difficulties? (theschoolpsychologyservice.com) (opens new window).

For older learners:

• word banks and technical glossaries across the curriculum
• techniques taught to facilitate access to text, for example: scanning, highlighting
• techniques explicitly taught to address limited comprehension
• specific teaching of specialised vocabulary, and pre-teaching
• time-limited interventions to encourage and target literacy with careful consideration given to use of phonic schemes over real reading, whole language and comprehension-based approaches.

• for children who are finding early literacy difficult, develop phonological skills with syllables, rhyme, alliteration, letter names/sounds, blending and segmenting; use of multi-sensory Wiltshire Early Screener for Dyslexia (WESforD) materials and games
• evaluate effectiveness of quality-first multi-sensory teaching; differentiation
• use of well-founded intervention e.g. visit What works for literacy difficulties? (theschoolpsychologyservice.com) (opens new window)
• consider phonological programmes such as WESforD, PAT, Sound Linkage.

Spelling

• develop recording and spelling alongside and in partnership with reading
• support handwriting difficulties in the first instances e.g. writing slope, pen/pencil grips, penmanship, paper with high-lighted lower section, correct posture and pen grip etc
• use Precision Teaching for spelling keywords
• repeatedly modelling/opportunities to practice handwriting, development of a fully cursive script, Rainbow Writing, use of aids to spacing between words, opportunities to develop patience and stamina
• support recording of ideas using e.g. drafts, writing frames, mind-maps, assistive technology, well-directed teaching assistants, able scribes etc...
• support learning of spellings using multi-sensory resources and methods, use of root words, and "word-building" developed; pre-teaching of important vocabulary
• Upper KS2: Less emphasis on the development of handwriting and more on "alternative forms of recording", use of assistive technology, development of recording skills to facilitate transition to secondary school (these methods beginning to be established as "normal ways of working")
• support for organisation and production of written work e.g. specialised writing frames, cloze activities, writing on to worksheets
• access to alternative recording to show understanding e.g. recording language, making a model, OCT programmes
• development of keyboard and touch-typing skills, to increase recording rate above that of handwriting
• morphological approaches
• use of appropriate word mats e.g. topic specific word mats.

Handwriting

• support handwriting difficulties in the first instances e.g. writing slope, pen/pencil grips, penmanship, paper with high-lighted lower section, correct posture and pen grip etc
• repeatedly modelling/opportunities to practice handwriting, development of a cursive script if possible, Rainbow Writing, use of aids to spacing between words, opportunities to develop patience and stamina - see SPARK document/ Print like a Pro for handwriting difficulties
• alphabet strip on the desk to refer to as a reminder of letter formations
• Upper KS2: Less emphasis on the development of handwriting and more on "alternative forms of recording", use of assistive technology, development of recording skills to facilitate transition to secondary school (these methods beginning to be established as "normal ways of working")
• access to alternative recording to show understanding e.g. recording language, making a model, OT programmes - see SPARK pack, Clever Hands, Call Scotland
• development of keyboard and touch-typing skills, to increase recording rate above that of handwriting - e.g. NESSY, TypingClub, BBC Dance Mat.

Writing Composition

• support for organisation and production of written work e.g. specialised writing frames, cloze activities, writing on to worksheets
• support recording of ideas using e.g. drafts, writing frames, mind-maps, assistive technology, well-directed teaching assistants, able scribes etc...
• consider Colourful Semantics to support sentence construction
• see Education Endowment Foundations Metacognitive approaches and Literacy Recommendations to support writing composition.

• explicit teaching of strategy use e.g. to sort, organise, solve simple problems
• explicit teaching of strategies to support working memory, sequencing and processing - see Gathercole and Alloway guide available online (be aware that intervention to improve core skills e.g. working memory have not been shown to have a generalised impact)
• use of visual timetables, personalised if necessary; 'now and next' prompts, learning mats etc. to support organisation and independent learning
• consider ELSA and interventions to build self-esteem where needed.