Teach-Primary-18.3

Countless posters turned up around the school advertising events, children organised presentations to other classes, entire assemblies were created, and all without a hitch. We should never underestimate what our pupils can do when they are passionate about a cause. Move it, move it To make the theme more accessible, the champions introduced British Sign Language (BSL) classes and interpreted assemblies. ‘Makaton Monday’ became a hit, offering students a chance to drop in and learn accessible communication strategies. The success of BSL classes led to its continuation as a regular club in the summer term for UKS2. Our champions took their advocacy to the airwaves, hosting a special podcast featuring Lizzie Acker from Great British Bake Off. The insightful conversation prompted a proposal for an audiobook library, currently in progress as part of our library service. However, the biggest hit of the week was the dyspraxia discos, a brilliant idea from “Celebrating differences has become second nature” Emily Rushton is SENCO and neurodiversity champion lead at Bromley High Junior School in Bromley one of our Year 5 pupils. We opened up our hall space in the morning for warm-ups and dancing, not only offering students an opportunity to understand more about how to support peers with dyspraxia but also, unexpectedly, having a positive impact on student wellbeing. The overwhelming feedback led us to initiate discos every morning in the summer term, ensuring every child had the chance to start the day with a smile. At the end of the week, a few pupils requested that we made a video of what people can do to help neurodiverse people in class. It was always going to be a bold move to film children unscripted, talking about their education. However, it turned out to be one of the most meaningful pieces of staff training I’ve been able to share. With students crab-walking across the screen talking about their processing difficulties, and one student oscillating between gymnastics moves and then talking in depth about the ‘red mist’ that comes over when she thinks she’s done something wrong, it was the most powerful student voice we had ever captured. When I asked the children if I could share the video, they seemed confused as to why I wouldn’t. There were not many dry eyes in the house when we shared the video on our INSET day. We are the champions A few weeks ago, as I walked back into class, a child proclaimed loudly “I’m officially dyslexic!”, while being cheered by her classmates. I reflected on the true impact of our neurodiversity champions. Throughout this project, the compassion and kindness radiating from their work, coupled with the sense of joy and positivity, have spread across the school, shaping an inclusive culture. Neurodiversity has become a central language for our pupils, who have come to understand its importance as a key pillar supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion. Celebrating differences has become second nature, and in these times, witnessing students champion intersectional inclusion without hesitation is particularly poignant. Let’s hope that, with enough neurodiversity champions, the world will catch up to them. TP www.teachwire.net | 61 Tips across the curriculum In English: Create shape poems to illustrate how brilliance can come in all shapes and sizes. Use neurodiversity infinity symbols to encourage children to write upside down, inviting the audience to view the world differently. In maths: Set up flexible learning stations that allow pupils to choose activities based on their preferences. One station could involve hands-on manipulatives, another logic-based challenges and a third visual representations In art: Create woven ‘brains’ out of cardboard and scrap material. Have the children weave different colours and patterns onto cardboard scaffolds of brains to demonstrate how beautiful differences can be. In PE: Use sensory circuits to improve coordination and working memory. Build up the difficulty by asking pupils to remember increasingly complex patterns while also working on proprioception of their own bodies. In topic work: Have pupils create maps that highlight inclusion-friendly spaces in their local community. Expand this to look at where the most inclusion-friendly spaces are across the school. The children could design rooms or spaces that are inclusive and increase accessibility to all. In PSHE: Ask pupils to draw a picture of themselves where they highlight parts that might be their hidden differences in exciting and bold colours. Create a ‘gallery’ for pupils to look at each other’s work, adding positive comments about them, to help the children love all parts of themselves. S END S P E C I A L