Sensory diet in secondary school. Teachers, please can you help?

[TowelTopia]

DD12 (Year 8) is waiting for an asd assessment. She has been prescribed a ‘sensory diet’ for school which has to be done in one ten minute and one twenty minute block, every day. She will need someone to help her with this at school.

I asked my teacher friend and she laughed telling me teachers barely have time for a tea break and DD has no chance of getting this support.

Can any teachers help whether I should ask the school to do this or is it too much?

It’s a normal bog standard secondary school.

TIA

What's a sensory diet?

It’s a list or circuit of sensory activities used for DD to help her regulate. She has problems with the way her senses process information.

You would need to discuss this with the SENDCO but unless it's in her EHCP it's going to be unlikely.

Does she have an ehcp?

A bog standard teacher wouldn’t be able to commit to doing that every day (even if they wanted to help) but the SEN/support department should have staff who can facilitate this if it’s a medical need. Does she have an EHCP? That will make a difference re availability of staff.

Again, it might be that someone like a form tutor would love to be able to help but logistically it would be very hard for any teaching member of staff to do so please bear that in mind. Non-teaching support staff however may be more flexible.

This can be organised without an EHCP. Speak to the SENCo and between you come up with a way of making this workable - lots of sensory circuits can be done independently by the child once it has been set up or supervised at a distance in a SEN hub type area.

She does not have an EHCP. I have not asked school yet but I was told that usually it is the teaching assistant who would help her. But the teaching assistant should have experience with sensory therapies.

Do all secondary schools have teaching assistants who have experience with sensory therapies?

You need to make contact with the SENCo and see what can be put in place.

You need to speak to the senco. Who has prescribed this? If it is not in an EHCP then you may find it difficult as there won't be a TA allocated to her for this time. It nay be possible but it would not be a teacher.

No s hooks do not all have TAs with this experience. You would be more likely to find this in primaries who may do sensory circuits with small groups of younger children.

I will speak to school at the end of the holidays . I just did not know whether to ask as my teacher friend said in theory it is manageable but in practice she might not get it regularly . The therapist was clear it needs to be done every day or it won’t be beneficial .

You will need to speak with the senco in that case. You dont need an ehcp to get support but it helps.

Did the person prescribing it say when they were meant to happen in the day?

2 short blocks/day won't make a huge impact and TAs 'should' have knowledge is untrue. Unless she has significant needs your DD is likely be able to do the activities herself but also to know when she needs them to be done, rather than on a prescribed timetable. Schools don't have specialist equipment so the activities are likely to be fairly bog standard, so school may be doing similar already. She won't get an EHCP on this basis.

Where I teach, there is a sensory room. Teaching staff are aware of who is allowed to use this during lesson time and they are given a pass. Sometimes if they ask to go I will get a member of the patrolling duty team to accompany them if they look as if they're struggling.
Some have automatic access last lesson of the day, and a time for release.

Could you do it with her before and after school? Is that an option? It's just that I'm pretty sure most schools would not be able to commit to something like this every day.

Does it have to be done in school time? That’s 2.5 hours TA time a week and out of lessons which is quite a lot. I’m assuming this is something which has just been ‘prescribed’.

I have a separate sheet of things to do with her before school but the occupational health therapist was clear DD needed it to be done through the school day too.

She said that she will need a teaching assistant to help her do the activities as it’s a ‘two person job’ to get the sensory feelings DD needs from being squashed and pulled.

Who prescribed that?

You’d need to liaise with the SENCO. Because of how restricted school funds are, most LSAs are now funded by pupils’ EHCPs. Without one, she’s unlikely to get any 1-2-1 time.

You can apply for an EHCP yourself (IPSEA website is helpful for that), but they’re generally more successful with school support.

In the schools I've been in this would not get done consistently and in a mainstream school there is often no staff with adequate sensory training or experience. The last two schools I was in, the SENCOs were not even particulary aware of sensory needs.
I've only seen sensory diets be actually provided in specialist schools, and even then it was not as consistent as it should have been.
If she needs support with it could you do it at home with her?

I think without an ECHP it's unlikely to happen sadly.

The sensory circuits that we did with my pupils in a special school required a fair amount of equipment setting up. That's was the time suck (and the booking of the space and equipment) and we only did it once a day (and first thing in the morning so it didn't interrupt anything that)

I don't know what your child's routine is supposed to be, but if it takes the kind of time and staffing that ours did, you'll be very lucky if the school can accommodate it twice a day.

I would email Senco through the holiday . You may well need a echp for this to happen . It won’t be a short process.

Could you or a grandparent perhaps go in and do it with her? Just trying to think of solutions....

Yes just today. The occupational health therapist is going to write a report.

The schools SENCO will be able to sort this for you, if you ring the schools reception they will arrange a call or meeting and they can talk you through it.