Strategies, approaches and interventions
for supporting the educational
achievement of CLA in school.
Joanna Grant – Specialist Educational Psychologist CLA
Clare Hawtin – LSA multi agency team
Clare Grant – Teacher multi agency team
It may seem obvious but…..
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Ensure receptionist staff know your name
Put DT status on photos as seen for SENCO role.
Ensure the young people know your role
Ensure you are given time to be available
Use email where possible for Social workers (avoid
missing each other)
 You are an essential part of the communication triangle
 Share information cautiously on a need to know basis
DT
Social Worker
Foster carer
The 9 points from the guidance.
1.
Doing the things they do for all children but more so
2.
Balancing high levels of support with real challenge
3.
*Skilfully linking each child to a key person they relate well to
4.
Making it a priority to know the children well and to build strong relationships
5.
Developing strong partnerships with carers, local authorities and specialist
agencies
6.
Making things happen and seeing things through
7.
Ensuring consistency as well as discrete flexibility
8.
Actively extending the horizons of each child
9.
*Planning for future transitions
Consider moving: Between lessons, from class to lunch/break time, House,
between Classes, to different Schools change of home placement.
Supporting CLA via……
Individual 1-1 support within the
classroom
School action support –
beyond the classroom
Involving external
support/agencies
Strategies
Approaches
Interventions
Strategies within the classroom
Overarching teacher responsibility strategies for all
children.
More specific strategies to help support the
development of our young people
Emotional
Social
Academic
Overarching class teacher responsibility strategies for
all children
 Acknowledging difficulties at key times e.g. mothers
day/ Christmas/ end of term.
 Get to know the young person
 Making the curriculum relevant
 Normalising the child’s school experience
 Ensure smooth transition
 SEAL
 IDP BESD Module
Emotional
• Recognise/celebrate strengths
• Awareness of comforters
• *Emotional register – teacher knows how CLA feels (feeling
thermometer)
• High expectations of themselves.
• Class teacher of CLA to have high expectations
• Give responsibility
• *PASS outcome
• *Scaling
• Obtaining child’s views
• Relaxation techniques (http://www.relaxkids.com/)
• *Miracle Q wake up all problems gone what difference would you
notice?
• Changes/occurrences out of the norm: provide guidance on what to
say to peers (e.g. use of script) – be supportive
Social
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Peer mentoring
Buddy system, thinking partners
*PASS outcome
*Scaling
Obtaining child’s views
*Problem postcards (Examples)
Circle of friends
Academic
 Quality first teaching Wave 1 responsibility e.g. differentiating work
 *Level of language used must be at the child’s level of understanding (trauma inhibits
understanding)
 Predictable routines/ structure
 Small group work
 *Visual resources (timetable, pictures, photos)
 *Scaling
 Obtaining child’s views
 Movement breaks (give out books – active jobs)
Case study activity
What approaches would you
use?
Approaches beyond the
classroom
 School systems for playtime e.g. peer mediation, buddy system,
Internal mentors
 All staff to have high expectations
 Consistency of boundaries between all teaching staff
 Communication between DT and school staff needs to be strong.
Inc. lunch time staff (friendship issues and break times)
 Someone to spend time with CLA (Nurturing time). Show a genuine
interest
 Commitment (someone within school to be committed)
 Active in school – jobs with kudos
 DT to be clear about contact arrangements/care plans/PEPs
 Have knowledge/understanding of attachment difficulties
 Support to be offered during unstructured times
Approaches beyond the
classroom - continued
 Consistency and continuity between home and school
(link book)
 Transition planning moving year groups, classes,
placement.
 Links with older/younger peers to help enhance selfesteem or resilience.
 Involvement in after school activities
 Restorative justice
 Groups: Social skills; Social use of language; Anger
management
 Quiet areas
Outside support and
interventions for CLA and
their network
 CLA Multi Agency Team (MAT) (advice for resources &
support)
 The Befriender Scheme (Richmond)
 SW – know who key person is to contact. Ensure they
know your contact details. (email)
 Foster Carers
 EPS- draw on school EP for support and advice
 Transitions between schools
 Kidscape (bullying)
 Bereavement= Cruse, Winston's wish
Outside support and Interventions for CLA and
their network - continued
 CAMHS; Family therapy, psychotherapy
 Health professionals: Health
visitors/paediatricians/SALT/OT/physiotherapy
 Support from: Adolescent Resource Team (ART); Youth
Offending Team (YOT); Drug & Alcohol Team
 Nurture group (Oldfield)
 Mentors – Peer, Reading
 Children’s centres (EY)
 Schools to liaise with others – share good practice
(liaise with MAT)
 Celebration of achievement
Outside support and interventions for CLA and their
network - continued
 Voluntary and paid groups
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Music/art therapy.
Me too & co.
Singing hands
Toy library (Croft centre)
Off the record – drop in for teenagers
Three wings trust – counselling service
Orleans gallery sessional groups (art club and arts award for
children excluded)
 Heatham house – youth group
 Welcare – support for families
Some useful www links
Social and emotional foundations
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/resources/strateg
ies.html
http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/no
de/251416
Feeling wheel, thermometer, certificates