SEMHL Teaching team - Print version

About the team

The Social Emotional Mental Health and Learning Team are part of the Local Authority offer to Coventry Schools.

We are a team of experienced and skilled teachers who work in schools across the city providing support for Learning and Social and Emotional needs.

SEMHL Specialist Teachers have training and postgraduate qualifications relating to education and child development. Our Specialist Teachers have a diverse range of experience working with children and young people across a number of settings. We specialise in supporting primary and secondary-age children and young people who are struggling with their learning, mental health or where they are presenting behaviours causing concern. 

SEMHL promotes the learning, achievement and emotional wellbeing of all children and young people in the city as well as investigating the reasons for such difficulties. SEMHL aims to empower parents and carers, and professionals in supporting children's special educational needs by providing supportive and enabling strategies for pupils, staff and parents. 

Our work with schools

All schools have to follow a broad and balanced curriculum. Children make progress at different rates and have different ways in which they learn best. 

Teachers are expected to use different materials and activities to suit the children they teach, this is known as 'differentiation'. If you have concerns about difficulties that your child maybe having, speak to their class teacher. 

Some children may have difficulties in particular subject areas or at particular times in their school life. Differentiation can help support them at these times.  

Decisions about what level of help a child should get are based on the progress they are making and what help they are getting already. 

Children who continue to face challenges in their learning, despite receiving high-quality teaching and use of differentiation, may need additional strategies, or different provision, in order to meet their needs. The SEMHL Team may be asked to help identify the particular barriers faced by the child at this point.    

Schools request work with individuals, groups, classes or in staff training at termly planning meetings. Parents must give their consent and their views are requested before work begins.  

What happens if a child has identified special educational needs?

If a child has identified SEN, the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCO) will work with the parent and class teacher to plan what to do. This could be a special programme of work, particular equipment, time with a teaching assistant or teacher individually or in a group. 

At times, school staff may need support to further understand and meet a child's needs. The SEMHL Team may be asked to provide such support. SEMHL Specialist teachers have a range of specialisms across both areas of learning and social, emotional and mental health (often referred to as behaviour needs or wellbeing). 

Our areas of specialism

Areas of specialism include

• General learning assessments
• Targeted support for learning needs such as spelling, writing and reading
• Dyslexia assessments and specialist teaching
• Solution-focussed approaches
• Growth mindset
• Identifying and managing emotions
• Anger management
• Friendship skills
• Bespoke packages of training can be delivered and tailored to the needs of the school
• Specific maths assessments
• Resiliency
• Mindfulness
• Guided visualisation
• Emotion coaching
• Anxiety
• ADHD
• Restorative practice
• Access arrangement testing

Special Educational Needs support

Children learn at different rates and so a child may experience learning difficulties at some point in their time at school. This is not unusual. For most children, the difficulties are temporary and are soon overcome with help and encouragement from home and school. 

The term 'Special Educational Needs' is used to describe learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for children to learn than most children of the same age. 

Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are likely to need extra or different help from that given to other children their age. 

There are considered to be four main types of SEN which are: 

• Thinking, understanding and learning – a child may find all learning difficult or have difficulties with specific activities such as reading or spelling. A child may have trouble understanding instructions and carrying out tasks. A child may have memory difficulties.   
• Emotional and behavioural – a child may struggle with confidence or be very anxious. A child may find it difficult to follow the rules and settle down. 
• Speech, language and communication – a child may have difficulty expressing themselves or understanding what others are saying to them. 
• Physical or sensory impairments – a child may have hearing or vision loss. A child may have difficulty with sensory processing, being under or over-sensitive. A child may have a medical condition which affects them physically.  â€¯â€¯ 

Some pupils will only receive SEN support for a short time, others may need it for the rest of their time in school. 

How do we support?

We are a traded service, commissioned by schools. We work closely with schools to provide support for individuals, groups, classes and staff training on a bespoke basis for the first two areas of special educational needs listed above. We may also work alongside other professionals who support children and young people in other areas. 

It may be that the school's Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) will suggest that SEMHL is contacted to help support your child's needs. School staff will always seek your agreement before contacting us and Parents/Carers must give their consent and their views are requested before work begins.  

SEMHL Specialist Teachers will try to gain a better understanding of your child's strengths and difficulties through a consultation model of working; meaning information from parents, pupil and school are used alongside specialist assessments to determine priorities and next steps. When we meet pupils, we talk to them about the things they are good at, the areas they find trickier and what they would like to improve in. Recommendations for supportive strategies and interventions which will have a positive impact on pupil progress are provided to the school. Progress can be reviewed by us or by the school. 

This may include: 

• meeting you and the staff 
• observing in the classroom or playground 
• talking to your child 
• looking at schoolwork 
• using activities or diagnostic tests 
• Creating a report or plan to summarise the findings of the assessment process and outline key strategies for support at home and in school 
• Working with your child as part of an intervention group or on a 1:1 basis 

Who do we work with?

Children and young people in school from Primary to Secondary 

SEMHL Specialist Teachers work in a number of settings including primary and secondary mainstream schools, specialist educational provision and within the home. 

Parents and carers 

SEMHL Specialist Teachers offer parents and carers suggestions about how they can help your child's development and learning. We then explore how your child responds to strategies that have been tried. 

Other professionals 

SEMHL Specialist Teachers may also work with other professionals from within the children's and youth services as well as from health and may recommend to schools that further investigation is required by other professionals within these services.