What were the difficulties?

Velvette began her learning with Parkview Academy through an online learning platform as Velvette did not feel confident in attending the school setting, this was a great foundation to build Velvette’s self-esteem and confidence through learning and getting used to face to face contact before slowly introducing her to the school setting and more new faces.

When Velvette felt ready to come to school, she was very quiet, non-interactive and wanted to be on her own. Velvette came across as being very shy (sat on her own away from the class and did not join in with any group discussions) and barely spoke/communicated answering with a slight mumble to respond to questions. Although Velvette was very introverted to start with, she did produce some good pieces of work. Velvette also seemed to struggle with regulating her emotions/behaviour within the first few weeks and when explained that she could have interventions and time to reset in the sensory room, she self-regulated much easier and quicker.

After a few weeks of being with us, Velvette soon became eager on a Friday to come back on a Monday and be with her new class.

The work we undertook with Velvette and his network

The most important factor for Velvette was to build trust and create positive relationships with staff.

Having a clear structured timetable that was the same every week was another effective strategy as Velvette had previously lacked confidence in her ability to manage this and by having the same lessons every week, this became a good routine and helped Velvette feel calmer knowing what was coming and not worrying about the unknown.

Being able to learn to self-regulate has helped Velvette massively as she can now take ownership of her own emotions and behaviours. This is where our sensory room has been very effective with Velvette asking to use it to reset and help her to be grounded again.

What emerged?

After approximately 2 months, Velvette appeared to be regulating her behaviour more effectively and spending less time out of the classroom. Velvette’s confidence in her own abilities shone through and the amount and quality of work completed, and adult-led activities engaged in, started to increase.

Velvette’s successes

Educational

Velvette’s overall behaviour, attitude, and ability to self-regulate has improved considerably, with a corresponding reduction in the number of incidents she is involved in along with the number of times she is out of lesson.

Not only does Velvette now willingly engage in adult-led activities, but she also helps the teacher when explaining the tasks set by writing the lesson on the board and helping other peers when she has completed her own work.

Velvette’s confidence has improved massively since starting however she still has room to grow.

Velvette is becoming far more independent, requiring far less encouragement and adult input than when she started in school.

Velvette’s progress

Velvette has come a very long way. She has made many friends throughout the school and is one of our more bubbly and outgoing students. As well as this, Velvette attends her lessons willingly and enjoys getting involved in group activities. We are very proud of the way Velvette’s time with us is progressing and are looking forward to this continuing throughout the year.

Velvette’s ongoing support

Velvette continues to need familiar staff who maintain a consistent approach, ensure that boundaries are in place and promote structure and routine.