5 Skills, support and strategies

Section overview

Most learners will be sufficiently supported by implementing strategies for creating an inclusive classroom (see Sections 3 and 4). However, other learners may require additional support to progress within the curriculum, feel included and participate in school life. This section provides strategies that you can try with these learners.

You will explore the following areas:

• 5.1 Skills
• 5.2 Support and strategies.

5.1 Skills

Having completed a CIRCLE Participation Scale you will have identified the learner’s strengths and support needs. This section will enable you to explore strategies to help address the following five skill areas:

• attention and concentration
• organisation and planning
• motor
• social, emotional and relationship
• verbal and non-verbal communication.

These five areas represent the skills used by learners to make progress within the curriculum and participate in their school and wider society.

5.2 Support and strategies

Section 5.1 highlights the skills used by learners as they progress within the school community. However, as learners engage in school, recreation and self-care, other factors also maintain, reinforce, shape and change actions, dispositions, behaviours and capabilities. A learner’s progress and participation can either be supported or inhibited by:

• the physical and social environment
• structures and routines
• motivation.

For this reason, the supports and strategies suggested for each of the 5 skill areas are divided into 3 columns; modifications to the learning environment; establishing structures and routines, and approaches to enhance motivation.

Please note:

• These strategies are not exhaustive but aim to help identify what you might consider doing to support learners’ individual needs. Further useful resources can be found in pages 118 – 128 of the original ‘CIRCLE Framework: Secondary – Inclusive Learning and Collaborative Working- Ideas in Practice’ which is available as a PDF download in Section 9 of this module.
• Working within an inclusive classroom (Section 3) contains strategies that are central to good teaching practice. It is assumed that these are in place before any of the specific strategies within this section are added.
• A learner-centred approach to using strategies is essential: discuss with the learner what works best for them.
• A reflective approach, which includes regular evaluation of the strategies used, is recommended as their relevance is likely to change over time depending on the needs and responses of the learner.
• It may be useful to draw on any experience you and/or your colleagues have of working with learners with similar needs. Consider which supports and strategies were effective and could be shared with others.
• Strategies marked with an * are likely to be considered by the pastoral care staff, support for learning staff and/or senior management, but it is important for all staff to be aware of them as they may play a role in their implementation.

Now go to section 6 Collaborative partnership working