Supporting social skills at school - How?

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ds has some issues with social skills (assessment going on atm) and I was wondering if there was any teacher/parent on here who could tell me how school can support children who struggle to 'fit in'.
My son will not mix with other children. He stays on the side, quite often looks likes he is playing with other kids. However, he is 'in the group' but 'with' the group iyswim. So he is there but not interacting. It is getting worse and worse and now mainly plays with his db (and his friends) rather than children from his own year. Same at lunch time. He will sit with his db rather than with his own class.

I have started to see with the school what we can do to support him but was wondering what techniques are available/have been put in place before. Any ideas welcome!

My daughter has AS and we use role play to help her learn about starting conversations, carrying on a conversation; social stories to understand why other children might react in certain ways, and we encourage her to take part in drama clubs. Sometimes, though, she actually does prefer to be on her own in the playground (which, I as a very sociable personality, find impossible to understand!). She often says she feels happier and more comfortable away from the bustle of a playground. Having one special friend has also really helped her in busier social situations. She is also at a school where there are quite a few quirky personalities, so she is not so 'unusual' as she used to be!

So does she do all the role play etc... at school or is it something you do at home?
I would love ds to have a 'special friend'.

In Reception, our school had a nurture group for the least socially mature children. They focused on practicing social skills like how to approach people.

My other son had problems speaking in class/group situations. In Y2 his school organised social speech therapy so he could learn to speak up, not worry if he has the wrong answer etc.

Do you have people round after school? Can your son vocalise how he feels about social situations? I'd ask his teacher to suggest someone with a similar personality.

bump for this evening

They are doing a PALS course in my dc's class

www.palsprogram.co.uk/