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Special educational needs articles

Listening skills for kids
Improving your child’s listening skills
Listening is a vital skill for your primary-school child, but how can you help to develop it?
Mother and daughter hug
How to help your child with anxiety
Anxiety is on the rise amongst primary school children, but, with the right support, they can overcome it.
Child colouring
Concentration exercises for primary school children
Getting your child to concentrate can be a tricky task, so try these fun tasks to help improve their attention and focus.
Gingerbread family
Surviving the festive season: parents' tips for SEN kids
Christmas crowds, lights, smells and lack of routine can make the holidays a challenging time for autistic children. Help keep the whole family happy during the festivities with practical tips from parents from the disability charity Scope’s online community.
Child handwriting with a pen
What is a pen licence?
Earning a pen licence is a proud moment for many primary-school children, but what does your child need to do to achieve this milestone?
Mum and child talking
Speaking and listening skills for SEN kids: parents' tips
Communicating effectively is hard for all of us, but children with special educational needs can find it particularly challenging. Help them practise their skills and boost their confidence with practical communication tips from parents from the disability charity Scope’s online community.
SEN friendship tips
Making friends and play for SEN kids: parents' tips
Making friends and learning how to play are an important part of growing up, but it can be hard for children with special educational needs to learn crucial social skills such as how to share and interact, how to take turns and how to negotiate with others. Help your child find kindred spirits with practical friendship tips from parents from the disability charity Scope’s online community.
Positive mental health tips for children with SEN
Positive mental health tips for parents of SEN children
If your child has special educational needs it can be particularly hard to identify mental health difficulties. Help them express their feelings and cope with life's ups and downs more effectively with these practical tips from parents from the disability charity Scope’s online community.
ADHD and autism in girls
Autism and ADHD in girls
Spotting the signs of autism and ADHD in girls can be difficult, and getting a diagnosis even harder. So how can you tell if your daughter has one of these supposedly male-dominated conditions?
Handwriting pencil grip aids for children
Handwriting aids: pencil grips
Does your child struggle to hold their pencil correctly? Handwriting tutor Michelle van Rooyen explains how a pencil grip could help with their handwriting.
Dad and child writing together
Handwriting aids: pens and pencils
With a return to greater emphasis on handwriting in primary schools, could a special pen or pencil help your child master the art of neat writing? Handwriting tutor Michelle van Rooyen explains what handwriting pencils and pens are available.
Correct letter formation in handwriting video
Video: Correct letter formation
Your child will be taught how to form the different letters of the alphabet differently, according to the ‘movement groups’ they fit into. Our explanatory video shows you how to form all letters (Long ladder, Curly caterpillar, One-armed robot and Z for Zig-zag monster) correctly, stroke by stroke.
Letter formation video, Zig-zag monster letter family
Video: Letter formation, Zig-zag monster letter family
Help your child form each letter of the alphabet correctly with our step-by-step and stroke-by-stroke videos, with experts from the National Handwriting Association. In this video we look at the Zig-zag monster letter family: z, x, v, w, y and k.
Letter formation video, One-armed robot letter family
Video: Letter formation, One-armed robot letter family
Help your child form each letter of the alphabet correctly with our step-by-step and stroke-by-stroke videos, with experts from the National Handwriting Association. In this video we look at the One-armed robot letter family: r, n, m, h, b, k and p.
Letter formation video, Curly caterpillar letter family
Video: Letter formation, Curly caterpillar letter family
Help your child form each letter of the alphabet correctly with our step-by-step and stroke-by-stroke videos, with experts from the National Handwriting Association. Here we look at the Curly caterpillar family: c, a, d, g, q, o, e, s and f.
Letter formation video, Long ladder letter family
Video: Letter formation, Long ladder letter family
Help your child form each letter of the alphabet correctly with our stroke-by-stroke videos, with experts from the National Handwriting Association. In this video we look at the Long ladder letter family: l, i, u, t and y.
Handwriting letter families video
Video: Handwriting letter families
The letters of the alphabet can be divided into ‘movement groups’, based on the movement made to start writing the letter. Each group has a lead letter (L for Long ladder letters, C for Curly caterpillar letters, R for One-armed robot letters and Z for Zig-zag monster letters) and our handwriting advice video outlines the different letter families and how to practise writing them.
Handwriting aids for children video
Video: Handwriting aids for children
Could a writing slope or an adaptive grip help improve your child's handwriting? Occupational Paediatric Therapist Catherine Elsey explains how to use commercially available handwriting aids in our handwriting advice video.
Tripod grasp quick trick video
Video: Tripod grasp quick trick
Make sure your child holds their pencil correctly every time they pick it up with this quick trick, as outlined in our video by National Handwriting Association Occupational Paediatric Therapist Catherine Elsey.
Handwriting posture and seating advice video
Video: Handwriting posture and seating advice
A step-by-step video guide to establishing a good seating position for comfortable handwriting, with expert advice from the National Handwriting Association and an explanation of why postural stability is vital for children.
Pre-handwriting activities using scissors video
Video: Pre-writing activities using scissors
Invest in a pair of child-safe scissors and try some of our pre-handwriting activities, as recommended by the National Handwriting Association experts in our video for parents. Who knew cutting and sticking fun could be so educational?
Pre-handwriting activities video
Video: Pre-writing activities to support handwriting
Support your child's pre-handwriting development in nursery and Reception with fun activities and play, all designed to help build essential motor skills and hand muscles. Our video features experts from the National Handwriting Association, sharing practical ideas you can try at home.
Handwriting stages of development explained for parents video
Video: Handwriting development stages explained for parents
From anti-clockwise circles to letter formation, find out about your child's handwriting journey and how you can support them at home in TheSchoolRun's video, featuring experts from the National handwriting Association.
Handwriting advice: grip and positioning for new writers
Video: correct handwriting grip and positioning for new writers
Help your child establish great handwriting habits from Reception and KS1 with our expert advice video for the parents of new writers. From the correct pencil grip to paper positioning and posture, the National Handwriting Association's Catherine Elsey explains what to look out for and how to make immediate improvements to help your child.
Pencil grasp development video
Video: Pencil grasp development
From eighteen months to five years, TheSchoolRun's handwriting video explains how children's pencil grasp changes over time, how to establish good handwriting habits early on and what to expect in every stage.
Dynamic tripod grasp explanation video
Video: The dynamic tripod grasp explained
Video advice and tips to help establish a good handwriting position, including details of the dynamic tripod grasp (the ideal hand position for writing) and why it's best for children to hold their pencil in this way when they're writing.
Dynamic tripod grip handwriting advice video
Video: The dynamic tripod grasp for better handwriting
Children who hold their pencil or pen in the ideal handwriting position, the dynamic tripod grip, can write comfortably for longer. The National Handwriting Association's Catherine Elsey explains how to help your child establish a confident tripod grip and how it helps avoid hand pain.
Correcting pencil grip handwriting advice video
Video: Correcting pencil grip
Does your child struggle to hold their pencil correctly? Our handwriting tips video offers expert advice on correcting pencil grip and establishing the ideal dynamic tripod grasp, with tips from the National Handwriting Association.
Right-handed handwriting tips and advice video
Video: Right-handed handwriting tips and expert advice
Right-handed handwriting tips and advice from the experts, with practical examples of the best way to position paper correctly and hold the pencil with a tripod grasp. Experts from the National Handwriting Association feature in TheSchoolRun's new handwriting video series.
Correct wrist position for handwriting video
Video: Correct wrist position for handwriting
TheSchoolRun's new handwriting videos feature experts from the National Handwriting Association offering tips to help parents improve their children's handwriting. This video offers advice to help position the wrist correctly for fluid, comfortable handwriting.
Left-handed handwriting tips and advice video
Video: Left-handed handwriting tips and expert advice
Left-handed handwriting tips and advice from the experts, with practical examples of the best way to position paper correctly and how to hold your wrist in the optimal position for writing. TheSchoolRun's new handwriting videos feature experts from the National Handwriting Association.
The SEN code of practice 2014 explained for parents
The SEN code of practice 2014: what it means for your child
The special educational needs system underwent its biggest reform in 30 years from 2014. We explain the main changes and how they could affect your child.
PE provision for children with disabilities
Active and inclusive: PE provision for children with disabilities
Andrew Shields examines PE provision for children with disabilities and highlights the opportunities that now exist to play sport both in school and outside the classroom.
Cécile and Jean-Pierre: experience of dysgraphia
'He struggled to form his letters correctly and his handwriting was illegible'
Cécile Watson, from Bromley in Kent, describes her experience of the SEN and school system with her son Jean-Pierre, 11, who has dysgraphia, and shares her tips for other parents.
Lillian and Robbie - dyscalculia experience
"He had problems counting up in twos, fives and even tens"
Lillian Blundell, from Bath, describes her experience of the SEN and school system with her son Robbie, 16, who has dyscalculia, and shares her tips for other parents.
Child writing in school
Coping with school life: practical strategies to help autistic children
Schools can be complicated places for children, teachers and parents. Autism practitioner Gina Davies explains that there will invariably be challenges when autistic children start and attend school, but strategies that enable parents and teachers to work in partnership can be very successful.
Aurora and Helen - dyslexia
"She has had to work two or three times harder than her peers"
Helen Barylo from Coventry describes her experience of the SEN and school system with her son Aurora, 16, who is dyslexic, and shares her tips for other parents.
Teresa and Leanne - ADHD
"She would never rest or stop talking"
Teresa Catto-Smith from Perth, Scotland, describes her experience of the SEN and school system with her daughter Leanne, 19, who has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), and shares her tips for other parents.
Susie and David: dyspraxia
"We'll work together to develop his organising and planning skills"
Susie McCrae from Edinburgh describes her experience of the SEN and school system with her son David, 9, who has Developmental Coordination Disorder / dyspraxia, and shares her tips for other parents.
Andrew and Jane - ASD
'The school worked with him to strengthen his motor and social skills'
Jane Burbridge from Folkestone describes her experience of the SEN and school system with her son Andrew, 7, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and shares her tips for other parents.