Sophie H

About me, my expertise, qualifications and SEND experience

I have been a teacher for 15 years in a range of primary school settings. I have worked across all year groups in this phase. I have also worked in alternative provision settings supporting children with a range of diverse conditions, including ASD, Dyslexia, ADHD, SEMH, SPD, and PDA.

How I teach Maths and English

Maths is a life-long skill which can be successfully taught using visual aids such as charts, diagrams, and graphs. These can provide visual representations of abstract math concepts, making them more concrete and accessible. Moreover, manipulatives, such as counting blocks, number lines, or geometric shapes, can help students engage in hands-on learning experiences.

English is my passion and I enjoy working with children who find this area challenging. Over the years, I have built a bank of resources that engage children and support their creativity. Having a range of images, word banks and scaffolding tools helps me support their ideas. Ensuring I know the children’s individual interests helps me to tailor lessons to an area they will be motivated to work on.

How I help students engage with learning

Breaking down tasks into manageable steps, using visual aids and social stories, and planning for well-structured tasks helps to engage my students. Ensuring lessons are fun and engaging are a must and ensure sustained motivation. My positivity and love for learning supports the subjects I teach and help my students to engage in the sessions.

How I make lessons fun

Through ensuring all my lesson are individualised, empowers the children to be motivated by their own education. Getting to know the children well helps me to ensure lessons suit their style of learning and interests.  I am invested in ensuring all children feel enthusiastic about our lessons and work hard to tailor them appropriately. I am always passionate and endeavour to help all learners love their learning.

How I help students with focus, attention and emotional regulation

Ensuring children understand what tasks will be covered in the session allows understanding around the routine and when there is planned movement breaks available helps to keep focus. Activities can be shortened or extended to best suit the child’s focus and attention.

Depending on the learner, I may allow the child to control their learning environment, or those who overwhelm with instructions. In every activity I clearly explain my expectations of behaviour and tasks. Instructions are simple and concise to avoid information overload and tasks are broken down into manageable chunks.

My lessons use clear routines and transitions between activities. Students are given visual timetables so that they can anticipate which activities will follow. I plan varied, interactive activities which ensure pupils have opportunities to move around the room and also allow for movement breaks to help with grounding and regaining focus.