Principle 8: Targeted support

An adult helping an individual child.

Principle 8: Targeted support

How targeted support can complement inclusive approaches across the school.

Relational practice approaches follow the guidance in the SEND Code of Practice (2014) for people who work with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). You can find more support, advice and information in the West Sussex Local Offer.

All school staff should use relational practices. This includes senior leaders, teachers and support staff. Senior leaders should create supportive environments, identify training needs and make sure staff use relational approaches consistently.

A key part of good practice involves using a graduated approach to support children's needs. Schools should provide different levels of support, from universal support for all children to targeted and individual support for children who need more help.

The children that will need targeted relational approaches

Any child or young person may need targeted relational support at some point during their education. This support can help schools meet behaviour, social, emotional and mental health needs.

Children and young people may need targeted relational approaches because of:

  • one or more recognised adverse childhood experiences, including:
    • physical, sexual or emotional abuse
    • emotional or physical neglect
    • mental illness
    • substance misuse
    • having a family member in prison
    • domestic abuse
    • parental separation
  • vulnerabilities linked to particular stages of development, such as adolescence
  • periods of stress, transition, instability or change

People who support children and young people in education should pay particular attention to neurodivergent children and care experienced children.

Neurodivergent children and young people

Autistic children and young people, those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and those with other neurodivergent conditions often experience social situations differently.

Behaviour strategies that neurodivergent children and young people view as punitive can increase stress and anxiety. Relational practices build trust and empathy. They also help adults respond more flexibly to distress and dysregulated behaviour that stress and anxiety can cause.

Relational practices help adults:

  • affirm neurodivergent identities
  • support individual goals
  • recognise personal triggers and needs

(Fulds, 2024)

The Child Mind Institute report (2023) also highlights how supportive relationships in education can help neurodivergent learners develop recognised strengths, including hyperfocus, memory, creativity and divergent problem-solving skills.

Care-experienced children

Zagaria et al. (2024) define attachment-related and trauma-related needs as the biological, psychological and relational effects that can develop when overwhelming experiences disrupt attachment relationships.

Care-experienced children and young people often respond better to relational approaches than behavioural approaches. Empathetic and attuned relationships can help children and young people challenge beliefs that:

  • they are unlovable or incapable
  • other people cannot be trusted
  • the world is unsafe

Evidence informed strategies

Building strong adult-child relationships which develop trust

Consistent, reliable and empathetic adult support improves outcomes for neurodivergent young people (Murray and Greenberg, 2022).

Staff can use PACE communication strategies as one example of effective practice (Hughes et al., 2015).

Using personalised communication methods

Staff can reduce misunderstandings and encourage engagement by using visual aids, social stories, scripts and simple language (Gray, 2020).

Staff can also:

  • focus on strengths by recognising and developing children's and young people's interests, abilities and achievements, which can build confidence and encourage positive behaviour (Child Mind Institute, 2023)
  • use co-regulation techniques, such as modelling calm responses, providing sensory tools and teaching metacognitive skills, to help children and young people regulate their behaviour over time (Siegal & Bryson, 2020)
  • provide predictable routines, including visual schedules and consistent timetables, to reduce anxiety for vulnerable learners (Fuld, 2024)
  • offer choices and promote autonomy, as children and young people often show greater motivation and engagement when they contribute to decisions that affect them (Deci and Ryan, 2017)

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) provides guidance and practical strategies for metacognition and self-regulation.

Using restorative justice practices

Restorative approaches help children and young people resolve conflict together. These approaches strengthen relationships and develop social problem-solving skills (Thorsborne & Blood, 2019).

You can find information and resources about restorative justice approaches in the Louise Michelle Bombèr book, Know me to teach me.

Schools should:

  • work closely with families, carers and professionals to provide joined-up and consistent support, which the SEND Code of Practice (2014) identifies as best practice for improving behaviour and outcomes for children and young people with SEND
  • provide staff training and professional development so staff can use relational practices with confidence and consistency, which can help create safe learning environments and secure relationships (Perry & Szalavitz, 2017)

You can also see the review of best practice in parental engagement on GOV.UK.

Other reading

Morgan, N (2017) Engaging Families in Schools: Practical strategies to improve parental involvement. Abingdon, Routledge.

Kell, E and Stewart, C (2022) A Little Guide for Teachers: Engaging Parents and Carers with School. Sage.

Peer mentoring training and support

Peer mentoring usually involves a non-judgemental one-to-one relationship between people of a similar age or with similar experiences.

Research shows that peer mentoring can change behaviour more effectively than adult-led interventions.

A Relational Intervention Support Plan (RISP) helps staff understand and respond to a pupil's social, emotional and behavioural needs through positive relationships. Staff use this proactive, strengths-based tool to identify personalised strategies, provide consistent support and promote emotional safety.

As part of a graduated approach, the Relational Intervention Support Plan (RISP) supports early intervention. Staff can use the plan to:

  • assess needs
  • plan support
  • deliver support
  • review progress

Staff should adapt the plan as a pupil's needs change.
The plan should include co-production by involving children, young people and their parents or carers. The plan should also promote a consistent strengths-based approach.

You can find the the RISP document on the Tools for Schools SEND toolkit page about individual support plans.

Conclusion

This section identifies groups of pupils who may benefit from a stronger relational approach. However, schools can use relational practices with all pupils to create a culture of acceptance and inclusion that benefits everyone.

Before deciding how widely to implement relational approaches, each school should review its resources and consider evidence from case studies, such as those on the Relational Schools website.

Schools do not need highly specialised skills or extensive training to use relational practices effectively. Schools should not limit relational practice to therapeutic or counselling professionals. Instead, all adults can build positive relationships through consistent, empathetic and attuned support and communication.

Schools can use the audit tools in this guidance to support implementation. Schools can also use questionnaires and pupil focus groups to better understand their pupils and make sure children and young people help shape the support they receive.