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Free resources for fun and learning - Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

If you child receives support from any of the SEN Services (Physical and Medical Needs Advisory Service, Cognition and learning Service, Hearing Support Team, Vision Support Team, AAC Team) and you would like some advice, then you can contact them using the emails below:

Augmentative and Alternative Communication Team:  aacsupport@cornwall.gov.uk

Cognition and Learning Service: cognitionandlearning@cornwall.gov.uk

Hearing Support Team: hearing.support@cornwall.gov.uk

Physical and Medical Needs Advisory Service: physicalandmedicalneeds@cornwall.gov.uk

Vision Support Team:  vision.support@cornwall.gov.uk

NEW: Photo-book for children who have disabilities  Created by Royal Cornwall Hospital


Also see our other list of resources for Early Years to Secondary, many of the ideas listed can be adapted to suit your child's need level.

You can also see our list of supporting documents at this time, suitable for Autistic Spectrum Disorder and a range of similar conditions. 

All Subjects

BBC Bitesize
From 20 April, you’ll be able to access regular daily lessons in English and Maths, as well as other core subjects, in an expanded version of our website and also on special programmes broadcast on BBC iPlayer and BBC Red Button. Mums and dads can get advice on how to teach anyone who is home-schooling and the Bitesize website will also have guides for pupils with SEN (special educational needs).

Twinkl
We've not only created home learning and school closure packs, but have also introduced an offer for all of them to be completely free. 

Ways to use Lego for learning
Don't forget that many of these activities could use Duplo too!

The SEN Resources Blog Youtube
Ways to learn through play, simple instructional videos using items from around home.

SENDGateway
Lots of free resources for a variety of topics.

POINT
POINT have compiled a list of useful educational, creative and activity resources that will be helpful for families to access from home.

Online resources for learning EYFS - Secondary
Websites for home learning 

Recommended educational websites and apps for parents
Cornwall Educational Psychology Service's list of recommended apps for tablets and phones

Arts, including Music

English Touring Opera Free Online Workshops
English Touring Opera produce resources such as online workshops or singing lessons for children and adults (see below) plus teachers' packs to accompany their touring operas which are made available to schools. These packs include varied lesson plans, curriculum linked activities, song-learning videos, and much more.

Creatability
Creatability is a set of experiments made in collaboration with creators and allies in the accessibility community. They explore how creative tools – drawing, music, and more – can be made more accessible using web and AI technology. 

Make It Better
Visit the website for arts activities, or sign up for free as an emerald member to access lots of free resources for art based home learning!

Little Amber Website & Free Resources
Little Amber is Amber’s innovative music service that aims to enable blind or partially sighted babies and young children to engage with music by providing families and professionals with resources and ideas for music-making.

Soundabout
Little Soundabout and Soundabout Life are a collection of free online musical resources for children and young adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their families and carers.

Family Lives
Here are some tips and fun things to do with your child if they have a disability or additional needs. These tips are kindly provided by a parent for parents.

Pixilart
Free online pixel art drawing tool

Communication, Speech and Language Resources

AAC – Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Resources to support young people using AAC

PrAACtical AAC
A community of professionals and families who are determined to improve the communication and literacy abilities of people with significant communication difficulties.

Social stories and comic book conversations
From the autism.org website. Useful information about communication tools for people with autism. 

Makaton

Free Makaton resources
Sign up to access downloadable free resources stored in the Makaton website Library.

SingingHandsUK Youtube
Come and join us here on the Singing Hands YouTube channel to learn more about how to sign with Makaton for users of all ages! We have everything from nursery rhymes, stories and games through to pop songs for older learners!

Speech and Language 

Resources for Speech Development
Helpful resources and videos to aid speech development

Mommy speech therapy 

Free printable pictures, activity sheets and stories for each speech sound.

Speech and Language Communication Games
PDF document with ideas and games to support language, communication and vocabulary for Reception age through to primary age children 

Chatterpack
Free resources available to download for children with speech language and communication needs. 

Visual schedules

How to make and use a visual support system
How to make and use a visual support system for developing communicators. 

Picto-Selector
Picto-Selector is free, so everyone can start using visual schedules. 

Dyslexia

Defeat Dyslexia

Free printable dyslexia worksheets for children and teenagers that provide quick and fun ways to practise all-important maths and English skills.  

Kidsread2kids

Providing free video-books read by kids for kids. KidsRead2Kids was founded by Dyslexic and ADHD siblings to bring the joy and confidence back to the struggling reader.

Popular dyslexia games and websites

A variety of fun dyslexia games available to download onto your phone or accessed via websites to help children manage dyslexia.  

Twinkl

Useful resources for teaching children with dyslexia. Free membership signup required.

English

Learn English Kids 
Accessible resources which can be used for vocabulary/speaking and listening

Functional and Daily Living Skills

Building structure in the day with free weekly planning template
Visual structure – how can it help? Understanding what is happening and when can reduce anxiety and challenging behaviour. Children with autism typically respond well to routine and predictability and it helps them to make sense of everyday life. Visual structure is just as important…

Lifeskills Challenge
Designed for schools and groups - but you can still view the various challenges that make up the award. Login at the bottom to access.

Cutlery Skills and Specialist Cutlery
Information on holding and using cutlery.

Washing and Bathing - Sensory Processing
Information and advice with washing and bathing children with sensory processing difficulties.

Tips for Dressing - Sensory
Information and advice with dressing children with sensory processing difficulties.

Organisational Skills
Planning template for children with autism.

Hearing Support including BSL

National Deaf Children's Society
Documents and resources on the NDCS website

Speech and Language Therapy Kids
Excellent free resources specific for receptive/expressive vocabulary 

Twinkl
Twinkl have some BSL resources and some resources of deafness; deaf culture, equipment management, Deaf role models 

Speech and Language Communication Games
PDF document with ideas and games to support language, communication and vocabulary for Reception age through to primary age children 

Sign language - Sense
The basics of sign language.

Geography and History

Marine Traffic around the World
View all of the vessels currently travelling the worlds oceans.

Flight Radar - Flight Traffic around the World
Flightradar24 is a global flight tracking service that provides you with real-time information about thousands of aircraft around the world.

Google Earth
Explore the entire world!

Explore.org: Live Cameras from around the World
Explore.org is the world's leading philanthropic live nature cam network and documentary film channel.

Virtual tours: Buckingham Palace
An iconic building and official residence of The Queen, Buckingham Palace has been the focus of many moments of national celebration

Visit the Great Wall of China 3D Tour
As China's most famous attraction, the Great Wall of China is an essential stop on any trip to China.

Bodmin Keep - 3D Tour of Cornwalls Army Museum
Take an online tour of Cornwall’s Regimental Museum, 'The Keep', Bodmin.

See a Prehistoric Sea Dragon in 3D
Teleport to the Natural History Museum in London and encounter the prehistoric ‘sea dragon’ Rhomaleosaurus, as it comes back to life before your eyes

OCEAN3D Tours of Cornwall
Interactive online tours of our local attractions. They also have activities to go along side their videos including treasure hunts. 

Nature Space
Immerse yourself in the most vividly detailed natural spaces on the planet, captured in unbelieveably high-res 3D sound. Naturespace is a free app for iOS and Android.

Motor Skills and Physical Education

Occupational Therapy in the Home Sensory Activities
Identify calming and alerting activities.

Fine and Gross Motor Skills
Skills to support Handwriting

Typing Skills
Using a keyboard for typing, for children and young people with motor skills difficulties

A gross and fine motor skills resource by Lincolnshire Health Service
Resource with information regarding children with movement/skill development needs.

Fine Motor Skills
Construction Games, Building blocks (towers, trains, bridges, copying black designs), stickle bricks, popoids, reo-click, magnetic blocks, construction/art straws. Threading/LacingBricks,…

Guidelines for Handwriting
Consider the following: 1. Sitting position A secure and stable sitting position is essential if a child is…

Handwriting - Heavy Pressure
Heavy pressure through the writing instrument can slow writing without output significantly. We know that many children struggle…

Ideas for improving Pencil Grip
On a clean sheet of paper, practice a pattern using short breaks in between each series of shapes.…

Left Handed Handwriting
PENCIL GRIP The correct way to hold a pen for right and left handers is between the first…

Pre-Handwriting Exercises For Older Children With Dyspraxia
Useful exercises for children with dyspraxia.

Scissor Skills
MOTOR The ability to: Sit upright without fear of tipping over (good sense of balance is required) Open

Multi Sensory Impairment

Early Years Activity Ideas Guide 1
Activity Ideas from the Vision Support team

Early Years Activity Ideas Guide 2
Activity Ideas from the Vision Support team

Early Years Activity Ideas Guide 3
Activity Ideas from the Vision Support team

Early Years Activity Ideas Guide 4
Activity Ideas from the Vision Support team  ALL 2019 ANYTHING MORE UP TO DATE?

Resources for children with CVI
Videos including wheels on the bus and the very hungry caterpillar. 

Making play inclusive, Treasure Baskets
Video guidance 

TinyHappyPeople BBC
Explore our simple activities and play ideas

Nature, Outdoors, Gardening - Play

Woodland Trust
Get inspired with activities for the whole family- discover wildlife spotting, nature crafts, picnic ideas and lots more.

Inspiring Garden Themes for Children
Ways to involve your child with gardening

Chris Packham
Free to watch nature videos from across the UK

RSPB Family Wild Challenge
You can help wildlife, explore nature and enjoy lots of wild, fun family activities

Reading

Join Cornwall Library Online
Cornwall Library provides members free access to a wide range of online resources. These include electronic books, eAudiobooks, online newspapers and magazines, stream music to your internet device and research information using our online reference library. Fonts and print size can be changed to suit the reader.

Official Cornish Book Fairy
The Cornish Book Fairy is reading some of her favourite stories!

BookTrust
Free, Online, Interactive Stories - with signing!

WeAreTeachers
List of Children’s Authors Doing Online Read-Alouds & Activities

Audible
All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet. Just follow the link, no signup required.

Elevenses with David Walliams
Every day at 11am, you can listen one of David Walliams’ World’s Worst Children stories, so sit down, take a break, and enjoy 20ish minutes of pure fun! They stay on soundcloud, so you can always listen to them later on if you miss 11am.

Religious Education

Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths

Recommended educational websites and apps for parents
Cornwall Educational Psychology Service's list of recommended apps for tablets and phones

Accessibility and video games: All ages gaming for people with disabilities

CREST Awards 

STEM award to complete at home

OCEAN 3D
3D Tours of locations and attractions in Cornwall

Minecraft: Education Edition
Learn to code in a free Hour of Code lesson in Minecraft: Education Edition. Program the Agent to prevent forest fires. Explore basic coding concepts and learn about artificial intelligence with Minecraft and MakeCode.

Great Western Railway
Enter their competition by building your own cardboard train, take 3D tours and answer quizzes!

LEGO Lesson Plans
Explore up to 75 lessons with all of the information you need, from materials lists to building instructions. Everything that you need to give a great lesson

STEM Learning
Free resources for home learning. Home to thousands of free-to-access, quality-assured resources to support the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Cornwall Libraries Lego Club
Follow them on Facebook for LEGO Club - now online! Every Wednesday at 12:00 Midday 

Sensory

Sensory Engagement
At the Sensory Trust we believe that connecting with the world though our different senses leads to more meaningful and memorable experiences.

Occupational Therapy in the Home Sensory Activities
Identify calming and alerting activities. We all have internal levels of arousal (otherwise known as levels of alertness). 

Strategies for Children Who Need Sensory Input to Stay on Task
Some children are "sensory seekers", which means frequent movement helps them to organise their behaviour and attend better…

Sensory Activity Idea Videos
Getting through the day with sensory play, videos 1 to 3.

Early Years Sensory Processing Resource Pack
Aimed at Early Years settings, but has lots of useful things to put into practice at home.

Sensory Play Toolkit
This toolkit has been designed as a guide for parents of children with multiple needs. It contains useful information on play, as well as simple ideas, suggestions and practical tips on play activities.

Sensational Creations
A simple arts and crafts project every day. Each project will have neurodevelopmental, sensory and fine motor benefit. Suitable for the whole family to join in with.

Sensory Activities for Kids
20 sensory activities you can do at home. 

What is sensory play?
BBC - Tiny Happy People, what is sensory play? 

Sensory differences
Information form the National Autisitc Society about Sensory Differences 

Sound reactions
Sound activites, what can you hear? 

100 Sensory Ideas
Learning Intentions of Activities for Autistic Children.

Social, Emotional, Mental Health

Going to Hospital: Photo-book for children who have disabilities
Created by Royal Cornwall Hospital

Emotional Resillence Activity Pack
A resource for you to dip in and out of as you wish to build resilience help you feel happy

The Hugs Foundation Daily Hugs
We do a live episode of 'A Daily Hug' everyday at 9am with our animals.

Free Yoga Cards to promote Sleep
Click the image on the page to download the PDF.

Free Mindfulness Challenge Cards
Click the image on the page to download the PDF.

SPELL; National Autistic Society (NAS)
Structure; Structure makes the world a more predictable, accessible and safer place. We can support people on the autism spectrum in creating structured environments using visual information. Positive; Expectations should be high but realistic.…

The NSPCC 
Guidance on supporting children who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties

Identifying the Purpose of the Challenging Behaviour
Behaviour has a purpose. It can be a way of communicating needs and feelings Rule out any medical…

Behaviour Diary
ABC Behaviour chart This ABC chart can be used to record behavioural concerns. A stands for antecedents, that…

Physical challenging behaviour
Physical challenging behaviour includes biting, pinching, slapping, spitting and hair pulling. Possible Causes There may be medical, sensory,…

Self-injurious behaviour
Self-injurious behaviour is where a person physically harms themselves. It's sometimes called self-harm. This might be head banging…

The Incredible 5-Point scale
It is not uncommon for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to have problems with social competence and…

Incredible 5 Point Scale Fact Sheet
The Incredible 5 Point Scale is used to assist students in becoming aware of their emotions, such as…

Example 5 Point Scale - Anger
I might throw things I might run into…

Visually Impaired

Early Years
Visually stimulating activities for early years children

Complex Needs
Visually stimulating activities for children who have complex needs

Crack the Code
Teach yourself to sight read basic braille

Activity ideas for Braille
Activities to recreate using braille. Family members can join in!

Prodigi Guideance
The Prodigi can be used in a number of different ways to access resources and to complete activities while your young person is studying at home.

Online Resources
Useful apps and online websites from the vision support team.

Sensory Play
Ideas to support stimulating sensory play

Little Amber Website & Free Resources
Little Amber is Amber’s innovative music service that aims to enable blind or partially sighted babies and young children to engage with music by providing families and professionals with resources and ideas for music-making.

Information on changing your settings to make screens easier to view:

Early Years Activity Ideas Guide 1
Activity Ideas from the Vision Support team

Early Years Activity Ideas Guide 2
Activity Ideas from the Vision Support team

Early Years Activity Ideas Guide 3
Activity Ideas from the Vision Support team

Early Years Activity Ideas Guide 4
Activity Ideas from the Vision Support team

Join Cornwall Library Online
Cornwall Library provides members free access to a wide range of online resources. These include electronic books, eAudiobooks, online newspapers and magazines, stream music to your internet device and research information using our online reference library. Fonts and print size can be changed to suit the reader.

Post-16

CSW Offer:

Employment:

Holding Virtual Meetings:

Returning to school

Self-Determination:

Supporting Emotional Wellbeing 

Templates for staff to share information with new students

Transition Planning Tools

Person Centred Planning:

Projects/support for young people:

Pupil Voice:

Useful Measures:

Useful Transition Booklets/Guides:

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