Support Team for Education in Primary and Secondary School (STEPS)

Our Support Team for Education in Primary and Secondary School (STEPS) aims to support schools to give all children and young people access to high quality, inclusive education. 

Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCos) refer children to us if they think the child needs support with their learning in areas such as reading, spelling, handwriting or maths. 

What we do

We offer dyslexia assessments in schools and may provide personalised programmes once we understand the child’s needs. We support trained school staff to deliver these programmes. 

We have a team of advisory teachers and outreach workers who provide advice, guidance and training for staff working with children with complex needs. This includes resources and teaching strategies for individuals and small groups. 

Our team can: 

• attend and contribute to annual reviews and multi-disciplinary meetings
• provide training and workshops for staff in mainstream school on supporting children with SEND
• arrange parent coffee mornings to discuss topics such as how parents can support children with their homework
• give targeted and specialist advice, support and resources for children with a specific barrier to learning
• carry out dyslexia assessments and one-on-one teaching to dyslexic students with significant needs
• provide outreach support to staff working with children with complex needs including Down Syndrome
• support schools with assistive technology so students can access the curriculum using tools such as Clicker, Communicate in Print and more
• support students with the transition to secondary school 

We offer various levels of support depending on the child’s needs at any point in time. 

Find out how to get SEND support

Find learning resources and advice

Universal support services

We want to increase the confidence and capacity of school staff to include all children with a wide range of additional needs. 

SENCos can contact us for general advice and guidance. Every school has an allocated outreach worker who can work with other professionals if necessary. 

Apply for a training course or workshop

We run tailored training courses and workshops for school staff including how to: 

• support students with dyslexia
• support students with Down Syndrome
• support students with literacy, maths and handwriting skills
• adapt teaching strategies and resources for students with SEND
• support inclusion in class 

Most courses are free.