As an Early Years Teacher in a special needs school my main priority for the beginning of the new school year is building positive relationships with the children that come into my class. Often the children in my new class may have had negative experiences in their nurseries or may not even have been in a full-time formal education setting. Consequently ensuring that I develop a positive, trusting relationship with my class usually results in a much more productive learning environment! Here are my 3 Top Tips for developing those early relationships:
1. Step into the child’s world – understanding how the child sees the world and trying to interpret the environment to understand the challenges they are facing can really help to start to build communication between the adult and child. ‘Intensive Interaction’, developed by Dr Dave Hewett, is a great strategy for developing the ‘fundamentals of communication’ at the beginning the year. Check out the website at http://www.intensiveinteraction.org and celebrate Intensive Interaction week from 9th-15th October.
2. Develop awareness of self and others – for many children with SEN awareness of their bodies in space or awareness of other people maybe limited. Using a programme such as Sherborne Developmental Movement (http://www.sherbornemovementuk.org) supports children and adults to work together to develop body awareness and build positive relationships.
3. Play! – set up your classroom environment with activities that will be irresistible to the children and get involved with their play! If possible find out their interests before they join your school, set up activities around these and then join the children in their play, smiling and laughing together is a great way to develop trust and positive relationships.
Showing the child that you value their interests and the way their interpret the world is a great start to developing a trusting, positive relationship that will help create a safe learning environment for the rest of the year.
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