Storycises for Special Schools
As specialist paediatric physiotherapists, we know that children who attend special schools have often followed an alternative path in development, leaving them especially vulnerable to having gaps, immaturities and missing foundation motor skills.
The children who go to special school are beautifully diverse. They may present with physical difficulties, or speech and communication difficulties through to learning difficulties and everything in between. For example, children and young people who have a diagnosis of ASD or who are neurodiverse in other ways will often have co-existing conditions – they rarely stand alone. These young people when you break down their motor skills have gaps, immaturities or missing foundation motor skills which can make them look clumsy and uncoordinated.
It is important therefore to give these children more practice of foundation motor skills, especially ones that they have found difficult or simply haven’t practiced. If left to it, they will often only use movements they already know. If we ‘scaffold’ we can expand their range of motor skills and in providing repeated practice, ensure that they gain competence in these skills.
Targeted, ongoing input can help model and can teach movement so that students with SEN can improve not only in motor skills for the classroom but also in their functional skills for life
Through our combined 50 years of working with children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, we understand how flexible you need to be to find the best approaches to support pupils with SEN.
Educators can often feel ill-equipped to meet the physical needs of all of their learners within the classroom but with Storycises we provide you with a ready-made programme, with ideas on how to adapt and use it in your setting.
Which Storycises products are suitable for Special Schools?
Below are the Storycises products we suggest for physical activities for children with special educational needs. Suggestions on how you can easily adapt the stories and other tips are available to download using the button below.
With every purchase you will receive a personalised free gift!
"We think the programme is really good. We work with children with Down Syndrome... The movements are great and the children are keen to join in and copy the adults."
— Education Centre for Children with Down Syndrome, Hexham
"We really love it. We have been using it with Reception every day and using it with some children with SEN in Key Stage One. The children love it and the teachers love it."
Watlington Primary School
Sylvia, Winchelsea School