A DERBY junior school is providing all its teachers with additional training to help them support the increasing numbers of children with anxiety and special educational needs.
Chellaston Junior School is working with the Derby-based organisation Sunshine Support to help ensure every child at the Maple Drive school reaches their full potential.
Teachers and staff at the school will be able to access a range of training including webinars from professionals on reducing anxiety, school refusal and sensory processing.
READ MORE: Sunshine Support fears that the return to school following lockdown could spell a mental health emergency.
Chellaston Junior School Head teacher Alex Smythe.
Head teacher Alex Smythe took the helm at Chellaston Junior School in January 2020 and says lockdown has caused increased anxiety in many pupils, particularly those who are transferring to secondary education in September.
He said: “There is always room for teacher training and having a better understanding of the issues that may affect our pupils can only ever be a good thing.
“Proportionately, we don’t have more children with identified additional needs than any other school, but lockdown and anxiety has definitely increased in every age group, especially year six.
“I want every member of staff to have the understanding that if a child has ADHD that isn’t just an attention deficit issue – there are a host of other symptoms that need supporting too.
“I consider my role a massive privilege and if I can have an impact on the lives of staff and children by creating a better and more understanding atmosphere in our lovely school, then that can only be a good thing.”
The school, which caters for 510 children aged seven to 11, has always had an emphasis on enabling pupils to develop the skills, knowledge, understanding and confidence to seek help for themselves or fellow pupils.
The collaboration with Sunshine Support means staff at the school will be able to access professionals and courses on all manner of topics such as low arousal support, understanding PDA and Tourette’s Syndrome.
Sunshine Support offers independent help and advice to parents of children with special educational needs across England and Wales and has recently launched a school SEN support service to help train teachers.
The not-for-profit organisation expanded its team from two people to 10 during 2020, to help deal with the increasing number of requests for help.
Sunshine Support has also employed former head teacher and leading specialist in complex needs Kelly Jarvis to deliver bespoke SEN training and consultancy services for schools.
During 2020 the organisation helped 2,000 families and carried out over 11,000 hours of voluntary support work. Its webinars were watched by between 100 and 300 people at a time.
Founder Chrissa Wadlow said: “We have never been busier and although that’s a sign that children are more desperate than ever for support, at least we are able to provide expert help to both parents and educators.
“Many parents have to wait years for their child to be seen by the right professional, such as an educational psychologist, and schools only have small budgets to fund those children most in need.
“I hope that by working more closely with schools, such as Chellaston Juniors, children will receive early help from the adults they spend most time with, so that they can avoid long-term problems in future.”
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