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Torbay SEND voice- cognition

Last Updated - August 20, 2023

SEND Support Strategies or Interventions for Cognition and Learning Needs

Here are some ways that teachers and other school staff can help students learn and succeed in the classroom:

  • Make learning fun through play: Playing with blocks, for example, can help children develop spatial reasoning and problem-solving skills.
  • Provide materials to support learning such as coloured overlays and pencil grips.
  • Use technology to enhance learning: Ensure students can access technology and apps to help them learn and provide a recommended list of resources.
  • Adjust the learning environment: Organise the classroom to minimise distractions and maximise engagement, use multimedia resources to enhance learning, and display pictures or posters to help students remember important information.
  • Provide alternative ways to record work: Students can use word processing programs, presentation software, or educational apps to create and submit work. They can also create visual representations of their learning, such as posters or diagrams.
  • Use manipulatives and a consistent approach across schools: The “Concrete – Pictorial – Abstract” approach can help students learn.
  • Use visuals: Visual aids like photographs, graphs, charts, and diagrams can help students understand complex information.
  • Make tasks manageable: Shortening tasks and providing additional time to complete them can reduce stress and improve performance.
  • Break down tasks: Chunking information into smaller, more manageable pieces can improve learning and memory.
  • Use repetition: Repeating information, such as reciting multiplication tables or spelling words, can help students memorise information and improve their recall and confidence.
  • Use experiential learning: Hands-on experiences like science experiments or field trips can make learning more engaging and memorable.
  • Play games: Interactive games can be used to reinforce skills and knowledge.
  • Use precision teaching: Breaking down complex skills or behaviours into smaller components and tracking progress through repeated measurements.
  • Use paired reading: Two people, usually a more skilled reader and a less skilled reader, read a text together and support each other to improve their reading skills.
  • Look at interventions already in school and adapt teaching strategies: Small group support within the classroom can be used with the adaptations above, and all teaching staff can use whole class strategies.
  • Pre-teach material: Introducing material before it is taught in the classroom can build confidence, reduce anxiety, and increase understanding.
  • See specific toolkits for Slower Paced Learners, Moderate Learning Difficulties, Specific Learning Difficulties, Complex Learning Difficulties, Early Years and Post 16 learners.
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