Once Upon an Outreach Teacher

Stories, Tips and Insights into Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools

Ginny Brown

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9781003860952
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Inclusive Education

An outreach teacher's job is full of challenges, questions and surprises! Once Upon an Outreach Teacher is a collection of stories about young people with special educational needs and disabilities at the heart of mainstream schools, and about the people who support them and help them succeed.

The authentic, insightful and sometimes humorous stories explore themes ranging from the learning environment, pupil independence and the importance of self?esteem, to working with parents and other professionals. Each chapter is accompanied by checklists or helpful tips drawn from real?life situations to increase understanding, offer solutions and provoke further thought. The stories and anecdotes, which follow the author's life as an outreach teacher, span from nursery to secondary settings and share both the struggles and the triumphs of children and young people. The author goes on to consider inclusion more broadly and what the future may hold.

This unique and informative collection will appeal to anyone who works in mainstream or special schools who is looking for an entertaining read which will also enable them to better support their pupils. It will be of particular interest to working and aspiring outreach teachers, special educational needs coordinators, teachers and teaching assistants and anyone who is interested in what is happening in our schools today.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Making a Difference: How outreach teachers can help
• 2 Safety First: Practical tips for the job, working in the community
• 3 Lobby: The busy job of the office manager, and other school teams
• 4 Mud and Twigs: The importance of play for primary and secondary pupils
• 5 Shiny Things: Passing on good advice, start and finish trays
• 6 Dogs: How animals can help, parent’s point of view
• 7 Wrong Again: Talking to children, trigger words
• 8 What’s the Difference: Inclusion, gender dysphoria and history of special education
• 9 System: Dyslexia and self-esteem
• 10 Tweaks: Ways to help engagement in primary school
• 11 Yes, but …: Teacher’s point of view, and quick and dirty tips
• 12 A Word about Phonics: Phonics and whole word methods of learning to read
• 13 Upon Reflection: Masking in autism, not making assumptions
• 14 Just like Mum and Dad: How children copy, and how we can use that
• 15 And the Award Goes to …: Motivators used in schools
• 16 It’s Not Fair!: Perfectionism, sense of right and wrong
• 17 Feeling Cross: Feelings in school, pupils and staff
• 18 Leaving Mum: Emotion based school avoidance
• 19 Away with the Fairies!: Attention and focus
• 20 Chat with Liam: Young person’s point of view
• 21 Ups and Downs: Supporting child with Down syndrome
• 22 Don’t Forget to Remember: Working memory and retention
• 23 Top of Every Field: Dyslexia
• 24 Best Half Hour of the Week: Complex needs
• 25 Outreach Confidential: Ethical dilemma, involving young people
• 26 Ouch: Self-injurious behaviour
• 27 Independence: Growth mindset, learned helplessness
• 28 Environment: Classroom and sensory issues
• 29 TA Very Much!: Teaching assistants’ points of view
• 30 End: Leaving the job
• 31 Dysartia: Imagined disorder, if creativity were valued more than literacy and maths
• Appendix 1 List of Resources Top tips, checklists and strategies
• Index