Navigating Transitions in Special Education
How to manage transitions effectively in various contexts to improve successful learning, behaviour and well-being.
8 February 2024: 9am – 12 noon
Transition is a crucial feature of everyone’s daily life. Most of us hardly notice these daily transitions in place, time, or activity. We explore why these transitions can be challenging for our learners and the immense barriers to learning, engagement and behaviour transitions can create.
We consider the knowledge and tools teachers and teaching assistants need to manage transitions effectively in various contexts to improve successful learning, behaviour and well-being.
Covering transitions from person to person, activity to activity, place to place, and home to school, we offer practical, real-life strategies and ideas to use immediately.
9 am Admission and virtual tea/coffee to start!
9.10 am Warm Up Session!
9.15 am Session 1: Introduction to Transitions
In this session, we will cover:
What do we mean by transition?
Why can transitions be challenging for our learners?
How does this impact learning and behaviour?
How can we minimise flash points in our working day?
9:30 am Session 2: Person-to-Person Transitions
In this session, we will cover:
Why it’s essential to introduce a change of people with learners with complex needs
Matching staff skills to learners’ needs
Managing sensory sensitivities in the classroom to enable learners, their peers and staff to work together more easily
Strategies for consistency and communication
10:00 am Session 3: Activity-to-Activity Transitions
In this session, we will cover:
The importance of sensory cueing
The need for clear start/end of activities.
Strategies to manage transitions in continuous provision
Using visual aids, timers, and other supportive tools
10:30 am Coffee
10.45 am: Break out Room Task
11.00 am Session 4: Place-to-Place Transitions
In this session, we will cover:
Strategies for home-to-school transitions
Movement around school: assemblies, community events, corridors and the dining hall
Break-time and outside areas
Environmental adjustments and predictability
Strategies for school-to-home transitions
11:30 am Session 5: Preparing for Future Transitions
Our final session will briefly consider how many of the strategies and ideas shared can also support long-term planning and life skills development.
11.45 am Q&A
12 noon Plenary, thank you and goodbye!
This course will be appropriate for classroom practitioners from special schools and colleges, mainstream settings with specialist SEN provision and early years settings, and working with pupils with severe/complex learning needs and autism, or both.
Richard Hirstwood is passionate about enabling educators/practitioners to maximise the impact of delivering sensory learning opportunities, in a sensory room or other learning environments, with the available resources. His extensive experience is based on practical knowledge, giving him insight into what works and what doesn’t in multi sensory practice. Regular sessions with children and adults with autism and all additional needs in a variety of multi sensory and classroom settings enable him to maintain this excellent practice.
Carol Allen is an education advisor for ICT and Inclusion, currently offering specialised support to Local Authorities, schools, parents and carers and a wide range of educators worldwide. She has taught since 1980 in both mainstream schools – primary and high, and schools for students with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties. As an English specialist, she recognises that communication lies at the heart of all effective teaching. Accordingly, most of her work has centred on technology’s creative and engaging use to support communication in its broadest sense.
All the resources from this event will be in your account at online.hirstwood.com. You will access these using the email address on the booking form and your password (instructions in the joining information for creating your password.)
Here you will find:
a digital recording of the event
resources shared or signposted during the session
a transcript of the Zoom chat
your certificate of attendance
These will be available for 10 days after the event.
Join our Facebook Group Sensory Support Spaghetti to connect with us and other like minded practitioners – for everything sensory!
Each place costs £95 plus VAT.
You can pay by credit card for this booking or request an invoice on the booking form.
NEW FOR 2024!
