Teach Secondary Issue 14.7

Havingworked in the British criminal justice systemwith young offenders, I can tell you that the school-to-prison pipeline is real. Almost every young offender I’veworked with left school early, and almost all had undiagnosed ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, autismor some combination of these. This isn’t a complexmystery needing endless research and funding, though. The solution is right in front of us, in that it all starts back in the classroom. Let’s start with the behaviours that often lead to exclusion: disrupting lessons; talking toomuch; interrupting the teacher; shouting out; restlessness; fiddling/doodling; struggles to sit still; prone to distraction; difficulties in staying focused – every one of those is a trait of ADHD. Now, consider the childwho struggles withwriting and spelling, orwho performs well in every subject exceptmaths. Or the childwho seems lost in daydreams, rather than causing disruption. These can all be signs of dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia or of ADHD Inattentive type – far less visible, but just as significant. IdentifyingADHDdoesn’t need to be complicated. Free ADHD screeners available online or in print formcan be used at the start of each school year, enablingADHD to be medicated ormanaged sooner, the identification of any coexisting learning difficulties, and support to be put in place for lessons and exams. This way, pupils feel included, not excluded. The change in self-esteem when a child realises they aren’t a failure, but simply learn differently is transformative. That confidence is what keeps them in school, engaged and ultimately out of the criminal justice system. Imagine a systemwhere school exclusion doesn’t exist, because every child’s needs are recognised and met. It’s possible, if we equip teachers with the right tools. SarahTempleton ismanaging director ofHeadstuff ADHD Therapy andCEOof ADHD Liberty; hermemoir, The PrisonCounsellor:Her Only CrimeWas Caring is available now (Gemini Publishing, £12.99) TRENDING Our pick of the recent resources and launches teachers might find useful... THE LAYOFTHE LAND Entries are nowopen for the inaugural Global Schools Prize. Organised by theVarkey Foundation in partnershipwith UNESCO, the contest will be looking to honour schools demonstrating ‘World-class impact’ across 10 categories, including ‘AI transformation’, ‘sustainability’,‘peacebuilding’ and‘teacher development’.The closing date for entries is 30th November 2025. globalschoolsprize.org PUPILPREMIUMUNPACKED The Education Endowment Foundation has updated its ‘Guide to the Pupil Premium’ resource, originallypublished in 2021, andmade it freely available via a dedicated page at the EEF website.The updated guide now includes a suggested 5-step Pupil Premiumstrategy, expanded advice on practical implementation and informative video presentations fromschool leaders across the country. tinyurl.com/ts147-LL6 Earlier ADHD interventions The case for... Got a great learning idea? Email editor@teachsecondary.com or tweet us at @teachsecondary TEACHER WALKTHROUGH ZEPH BENNETT IS A PE TEACHER AND SCHOOLACHIEVEMENT LEADERWITH 25 YEARS’ TEACHING EXPERIENCE; YOU CAN FINDMORE OF HIS EDUCATIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS BY FOLLOWING@ZEPHBENNETT.BSKY.SOCIAL 4 TIPS FOR CLEARER PRESENTATIONS ZEPH BENNETT OFFERS SOME PRACTICAL POINTERS FOR ADDING CLARITY TO YOUR NEXT CLASSROOM PRESENTATION 1 KEEP IT SIMPLE Present one core idea per slide – potentiallywith a breakdown of what the idea entails, or by revealing one element of the idea at a time. 2 CHUNK FOR CLARITY New ideas are often best conveyed by chunking them into smaller parts, using concrete examples where possible. 3 PAUSE After each new concept or chunk, pause to allowyour students to digest the information – then ask if they need anything repeating. 4 USE YOURWORDS If you can effectively combine use of graphics with careful wording, your audience will be engaged in both visual and audio processing, thus increasing their workingmemory capacity. 79 teachwire.net/secondary L E A R N I N G L A B