All children are unique, so why do we expect a ‘one size fits all’ education model to work for everyone? As AHS Headteacher Rory Vokes-Dudgeon explained in his last article, for neurodivergent students to thrive, we need to personalise their learning experience. An integrated approach to education, therapeutic support and pastoral care offers a framework to achieve this.
Integrated education bridges the gaps between different professional disciplines involved in supporting young people with SEN, ensuring that educational, therapeutic, and pastoral inputs are aligned. In an integrated model, each discipline plays a distinct yet interdependent role, strengthening the impact of the others and collectively enabling outcomes unlikely to be achieved through isolated interventions alone.
At AHS, we’ve seen firsthand how integration increases opportunities for flexibility, differentiation, and personalisation of provision, as resources and expertise are embedded and available universally.
Although all of our students follow the same overarching timetable during their school day, which aligns with the National Curriculum, integrated practice allows us to tailor this to individual preferences and profiles.
This case study focuses on a Year 5 student with a diagnosis of autism, ADHD and anxiety. This student has language skills within the expected range for their age, has been able to read fluently from a young age and has an excellent memory for facts about their areas of interest which are animals and animal care.
The student also experiences emotionally-based school non-attendance and considerable anxiety can lead to difficulties speaking at school or engaging in any lessons. Social communication differences, low self-esteem and resilience impact the student’s day-to-day relationship development with peers and adults. Managing communication breakdowns with peers can cause significant anxiety. This student often masks during the school day, which can have a knock-on impact on their ability to cope with learning demands as their cognitive load is already very high. When anxiety causes overwhelm this can lead to shut-down and significant challenges re-engaging with the school day.
‘Personalisation’ and ‘integration’ can sound like empty buzzwords if they aren’t paired with clear examples of how these concepts work in practice. But as you’ll see from a day in the life of this student, it is possible to adapt all elements of the school day to help support pupils to succeed, without removing them from the national curriculum or classroom environment. Here’s what this student’s timetable looks like, and the ways we tailor their support and learning throughout the day:
Mental health support in every class
Looking more closely at their timetable, this student is greeted at the start of the day by the Pastoral Lead, who is one of their key trusted adults in the school. This is a predictable part of the student’s routine and helps them to feel safe during the transition into school. The Pastoral Lead supports the student to transition into the sensory room. This time in the sensory room allows the student to talk and reflect on any worries that they have about the day ahead. The opportunity is also taken to review the timetable for the day and identify any points that might be particularly difficult.
Given this student’s primary difficulties in the areas of mental health and wellbeing, emotional, sensory and mental health support is woven throughout the day, although this may look different depending on the setting. Throughout each lesson, the student is supported with access to a calm space in the classroom, trusted adults to work with and the ability to take a break outside of the classroom when needed. Visual supports and technological supports are used alongside academic work to reduce the cognitive load when the student may already be feeling overwhelmed.
Classwork tailored to meet the needs of the day
During lessons, social and emotional support is carefully tailored to both the demands of the lesson and the student’s ability to cope at that point in time. This is particularly important as the student has strong academic foundational skills that can be overlooked or missed when anxiety acts as a barrier to the student engaging in work or showing their abilities.
At times this can mean that the priority within the lesson is not the work completed, but the quality of the student’s engagement and the student’s ability to access learning in a way that feels manageable and safe. For example, during English the student might be given an oracy based task but also provided with an alternative such as recording their ideas on their laptop, using sentence starters or working 1:1 with an adult in a quieter space. This ensures that the intent of the lesson is maintained, while the method of participation is adapted to reduce anxiety and support social communication preferences.
A similar pattern is followed in maths, where anxiety can impact initiation and task persistence. Tasks are broken down into small, achievable steps, with clear visual support provided via a checklist to track progress. Planned sensory breaks are built into the lesson to facilitate the student to regulate before they reach the point of overwhelm. These are often completed as whole-class sensory breaks to avoid the student feeling singled out. These breaks are proactive rather than reactive, supporting the student to remain able to participate throughout the lesson.
Supporting social skills in break times
Unstructured times of the day, such as break and lunch, can present significant challenges for students with SEMH needs, particularly when there are co-occurring social communication differences. For this student, breaktime is carefully scaffolded through a SaLT-supported walk with a small group of peers. This provides the opportunity for social interaction in a low-demand, predictable context where communication can be modelled and supported in real time. The presence of a familiar and trusted adult reduces anxiety and helps the student to navigate any emerging social misunderstandings before they escalate.
Explicit life skills learning through therapeutic input
Afternoon sessions place a stronger emphasis on therapy-led provision. The wellbeing session offers a chance to decompress, with calming music and access to sensory tools supporting regulation. Importantly, this session is not seen as time away from learning, but as a critical component of the student’s ability to access learning later in the day.
The SaLT-led communication lesson focuses explicitly on problem solving and navigating complex social dynamics such as jealousy and peer pressure, areas that the student finds particularly challenging. Through role play and guided discussions, the student is supported to develop practical strategies that can be used in real life situations. Open discussions with peers helps to normalise the student’s anxiety around these challenges.
Similarly, the OT-led independence lesson targets executive function skills such as time management and organisation. The student learns how to use tools such as to-do lists, visual schedules and timers to support independence. Reinforced across the curriculum, these strategies help to reduce the student’s cognitive load, allowing greater independence and capacity to regulate anxieties.
By the end of the day, the student has participated in a carefully balanced timetable of academic learning, therapeutic support and regulation opportunities.
For an autistic student with a history of EBSA, anxiety, OCD and selective mutism, the success of the day is measured not solely by academic output, but also by their ability to attend, engage, communicate and feel safe within the school environment. Integrated practice ensures that every aspect of the school day is intentionally adapted to reduce barriers, build resilience and gradually increase their capacity to participate in school life.
Over time, this personalised approach allows the student to develop trust in the environment and the adults supporting them. Small incremental successes such as communicating a learning need, attempting a task independently or managing a transition, are recognised as significant achievements. It is through these moments that long-lasting progress is built, supporting the student’s overall wellbeing and sense of self, and consequently supporting academic outcomes.
Rachel Cullen is the Assistant Headteacher and Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing at Abingdon House Prep School. Rachel is a Speech and Language Therapist who is passionate about a trauma-informed practice.
