Monday 27th November saw 23 Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) and teachers representing17 education provisions across the London Borough of Sutton (LBS) join a workshop to extend their learning related to Cognus Therapies’ Graduated Response. The workshop was facilitated in a hybrid manner to reach as many professionals as possible and 16 staff attended in person as well as 7 online via Microsoft Teams. These members of staff accessed the first round of SEND Champion training during the Summer Term 2023 and this workshop was an opportunity for them to meet other trained professionals and share experiences as part of the ongoing support offered.
Following feedback from the SEND Champion training, it was also identified that this group of staff had a training need in Autism. Dr Anneline Flood (Clinical Psychology Lead for Cognus) delivered a session on ‘Autism and Behaviour.’ This session covered identifying and understand autism, diagnosis and strategies for managing autism and behaviour.
Howard Hutchins (Occupational Therapist, OT), Jo Wells (Speech and Language Therapist, SaLT) and Amber Burnett (OT) then led a discussion with members of staff around things that have been going well and anything they have been struggling with. Staff reported that they have been sharing their knowledge with other members of staff in their education provision. They also identified a need to improve communication across professionals, home and school.
Staff found the workshop mostly excellent or good in terms of an overall rating. One member of staff gave feedback saying that it helped them to “Really consider the impact of external and home factors in the way that SEND students need their provisions personalised.” Several stated that their confidence had increased, “Since I became a SEND Champion, I noticed that my confidence, approach and knowledge has increased. Therefore I can deliver on daily basis purposeful activities for my pupils.”
The next round of SEND Champion training, which includes 7 x 1 hour sessions focusing on the Therapies’ Graduated Response is free to LBS education provisions and will be running during the Spring Term 2024. In partnership with Cognus Therapies, these sessions will cover:
- Listening and understanding language
- Using language, vocabulary and speech
- Building conversation skills and social interactions
- Enabling success in class-based activities
- Enabling participation in PE, on the playground, and accessing the school environment
- Supporting children to self-regulate and engage in learning
- Building independence skills
At the end of the series, a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certificate will be issued and trained staff will be offered a range of follow up support including further training and workshops. If you are interested in finding out more or registering your interest for the next round of training, please ask the SENDCo at your education provision to send your name and email address to the following mailbox cognus.therapies@cognus.org.uk by the end of December 2023.
Please see link here for more information regarding Cognus Therapies’ universal support: Advice and Resources – Cognus.
We look forward to hearing from you and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the SEND champions who play such an integral role in meeting the needs of children and young people in Sutton!
You can download the Therapies Graduated Response – Therapies Graduated Response September 2021.docx (sharepoint.com)