Inclusive Practice for Supply Teachers: How to Make Your Lessons More Accessible

Many teachers will have a set of techniques for helping pupils with Special Educational Needs. Yet for supply teachers, adapting your teaching style to the potential requirements of every child in every class you are assigned might feel like a Sisyphean task.  

Yet inclusive practice is not so much a destination as a journey. It is a process of continual refinement, by which you lift obstacles to learning without compromising educational standards. It is no harder for a supply teacher than any other kind.

Teaching Personnel has been placing supply teachers into schools for many years, which has given us a great deal of insight into the most successful supply teachers’ methodologies. This is how daily supply teachers can adopt inclusive practice at every step of the teaching process.  

This is where we can rely on American educationalist Carol Ann Tomlinson’s concept of Differentiated Instruction (DI). DI responds to diversity of abilities by offering children different streams for learning.

DI calls on teachers to set delineated objectives for each lesson. These might involve understanding a new concept learning some new information or demonstrating a skill. First and foremost, these objectives must be achievable for all pupils in the class. While pupils should be given to exceed the baseline objective if they can, every pupil should be able to meet the primary objective.

A teacher should then work collaboratively with children to help them meet this goal. Space should be made here for individualised instruction and one-on-one time with the children who need it most.  

To overcome this barrier, it’s sensible to do a bit of research. You need to gather information on who (and where) you will be teaching.  

Firstly, put an enquiry in with the school about the pupils in the class, and any disabilities, medical conditions or special circumstances it would be helpful to be aware of.

Any child known to have Special Educational Needs will have an individual Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan from their local authority. Ask the school if this applies to any pupils in your class, and if you can take a look at any pertinent sections. Every piece of information on your pupils’ challenges will make it easier to modulate your teaching style accordingly.

Schools will often have their own disability policies that teachers must align themselves with. A school’s general behavioural policy might also have something to say about their approach to inclusivity. These documents will typically be available on a school’s website.

A set of expected rules for behaviour is also very important. These pupils won’t have met you before, so those who struggle with social relationships will need to know how to approach you. You must lay down the law of your classroom early in the lesson and enforce those rules consistently.

Providing regular praise and positive reinforcement to the pupils who need it the most can give them the confidence to succeed.

As a rule of thumb, the more visual the better. Some children will respond much better to image-based content with proper signposting than to a long page of pure text.

When you do use textual materials, they should be in sans serif font set at a large size and with line spacing above 1.5. Sentences should go on no further than around 15 words, with language ideally kept to an accessible standard. When using audio clips, make sure you have a transcript to hand round.

The accessibility of digital resources can be hampered by awkward interfaces, poor design and counter-intuitive functionality. Only use digital products that offer large font sizes, big buttons and workflows that can be understood instantly.

Training courses can help you develop your knowledge of diversity and inclusion in theory and in practice. Teaching Personnel provides all our registered educators with discounted access to a wide range of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training courses through our CPD academy. These include several courses on common conditions like ADHD, dyslexia and ASD.  

Supply teachers have an important role to play in making education truly accessible for all. Every year, Teaching Personnel places thousands of supply teachers into rewarding positions at mainstream and SEN schools alike. We are driven by our commitment to inclusion and diversity, which is why we give our candidates the right skills to unlock all their pupils’ potentials, whatever their circumstances.  

To start doing your bit to ensure an inclusive education for every pupil, register with Teaching Personnel.