Q. Am I doing enough for my SLCN learners?
A.
This is a brave but important question to ask. It sometimes feels that, by adapting activities to support learners with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN), we are focussing on making things easier rather than challenging these learners to achieve their very best.
This is particularly true of the ‘worksheet’ task. Completion of a worksheet might meet the learning objective, but it has not necessarily provided the extension opportunities that these learners need to further their understanding, consolidate their knowledge, and ultimately reach their true potential. So, here are some top tips on how to go ‘beyond the worksheet’, and provide a challenging, enriching but supportive learning experience for students with SLCN:
First, optimise the environment
We all learn best when we feel safe, comfortable, confident, and supported. What does this child need to do their best?
- A quieter area of the classroom, perhaps away from a window?
- A sensitive talk partner sitting next to them?
- Regular check-ins and prompts by an adult?
Definitely a classroom in which asking questions or requesting help is encouraged, supported and celebrated.
Know your learners
Providing targeted and bespoke support to individuals means that each pupil has the best chance of excelling. Knowing the language strengths and needs of a learner and the most beneficial strategies to scaffold their difficulties, means you are ready to help them where they need it.
Use key strategies
Core strategies such as clearly explaining what a child is required to do before starting a task and adapting worksheets by simplifying the layout, adding more visuals and ensuring that the questions are worded clearly with accessible vocabulary, can mean that a pupil can carry out a task independently and better understand what is required of them. Pupils who feel confident about what they have been asked to do, are more likely to achieve the task and to push themselves further.
Be ready and equipped
SLCN is the largest area of need in the primary school SEN register (DfE, 2023). With so much to learn about these wide-ranging difficulties, and their impact on learning, it’s important to keep abreast of how to spot the signs and make a difference. Ask your SENCo to allow you time to keep up with CPD, through courses or by attending webinars, reading or joining the excellent forums available on social media.
If you are a Language Link subscribing school, familiarise yourself with your pupils’ language screening results, which outline specific areas of need and make use of the numerous visual resources available in ‘Classroom Resources’ including graphic organisers, Help Me cards, and sentence planners.
To find out more about how Infant and Junior Language Link can help you identify and support learners with SLCN, take a FREE trial.