Supporting Children with SEMH Needs Through Change

Change is difficult for everyone. Here are some easy ways to support children who struggle significantly with change.

Feb 09, 2025

Welcome to SEMH Education. Every week, I share strategies, stories, and expertise I’ve gained from working with children and professionals around social, emotional, and mental health in education.

This week I’ll be focusing on how we can support children and young people with Social, Emotional & Mental Health needs through different transitions. Everything from classroom changes, teacher changes and school changes.

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Change impacts everyone differently but I’ve never met anyone who thrives off consistent change. It’s the fear of the unknown. We can’t plan and prepare for something we’re unaware of.

In this blog, I got feedback from people saying they felt a level of anxiety just reading it! It’s no wonder children suffer from increased levels of anxiety around managed moves and off-site directions. For children with SEMH needs, it takes even less for them to feel this level of anxiety.

Whether it’s the daily shuffle between classes or significant milestones like moving to a new school, these changes can be particularly challenging for children with SEMH needs. These moments of change can trigger anxiety, uncertainty, and behavioural challenges. However, with thoughtful preparation and support, we can help children navigate these transitions more smoothly.

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🌪️Understanding the Impact

For children with SEMH needs, transitions can disrupt the sense of stability and predictability they rely on. The anticipation of change, unfamiliar environments, and new social dynamics can lead to heightened stress and emotional responses. Being aware of this and recognising these challenges is the first step in providing effective support.

In this blog, I’ll outline 5 different practical strategies we can use to support these children through most changes. I’m trialling a What Why How approach too, let me know if this is something you’d like to see in future posts!

🔨 Practical Strategies for Easing Transitions

Visual Timetables 🗓️

These are great and really easy to set up! I’m sure you’ll be able to get a template for one of these on the many teaching resource websites available. Visual Timetables provide an inclusive way to show what the running order of the day will be. They are great for days, weeks and half-terms.

I’ve found the best use of these is to highlight significant things happening during that half-term such as; parents evenings, sports days, and school trips. Whilst also using one to highlight the lessons for the day. I found that weekly timetables didn’t have the same impact.

What: Create visual representations of daily routines or upcoming changes.
Why: Visual aids provide clarity and predictability, helping children understand what to expect.
How: Use templates, calendars, or other variations from teaching resource websites to map out the day's activities or significant upcoming events.

Social Stories 📖

I find that social stories are often underused. I think this is because some professionals are not entirely sure when or how to use them. They are amazing! Again, there’ll be plenty of templates out there to use but I would recommend something such as Widgit for the symbols.

Typically I used social stories if I had an upcoming event which I knew some children may find tricky or I wanted to highlight how a child’s behaviour may have made others feel.

Similar to a comic book layout, I would describe a previous incident or upcoming event. I found it worked best when I anonymised the characters in the story and gave them silly names. I was then able to go through the story with the child and ask them how they think the characters would have felt and why. It takes about 15 minutes to create.

What: Develop personalised narratives that describe specific situations or transitions.
Why: Social stories can demystify new experiences, reducing anxiety by outlining expected behaviours and outcomes.
How: Write short stories that detail the who, what, where, and why of a situation, incorporating the children’s perspective.

Buddy Systems 🤝

I’ve briefly mentioned buddy systems before, here. They really do work, especially for transitions!

The best time to implement these is when you have a significant upcoming change or event that you know is going to significantly unsettle a particular child. Identify a supportive peer or key adult about 3-4 weeks before and create opportunities for them to build a trusting relationship, perhaps through therapeutic play?

This individual can then support the child through the change and/or event such as the first swimming lesson, first school trip, or transition to a different school or teacher.

What: Pair the child with a peer or mentor during transition periods.
Why: Having a trusted companion can provide emotional support and model appropriate behaviours.
How: Identify empathetic peers or staff members who can accompany the child during challenging times.

Gradual Exposure ⏱️

Although this sounds like a medical treatment, it’s really effective! I would say especially so for the transition from Primary school to Secondary school. However, the model can be used for a number of things!

Essentially you are slowly increasing the tolerance and resilience to a new environment, routine, or even people. In my last specialist setting, this worked wonders when a new child joined. They would initially join for a lesson such as PE or break/lunchtime. Then the following week, stay a bit longer and longer until they were able to join the class successfully.

The key to this method is to not continue with the plan if you can see the children are struggling. For example, if you have a 4-week transition plan and by week 2 the children are starting to wobble then stay at the week 2 exposure for longer.

As you can imagine this is tricky when there are time constraints so a top tip for this method is to start this as early as possible!

What: Introduce new environments or routines incrementally.
Why: Gradual exposure allows children to acclimate at their own pace, reducing overwhelm.
How: Schedule short visits to a new classroom or school before a full transition, gradually increasing exposure time.

Consistent Communication 🗣️

Communication is key! Throughout any change or transitional period, it’s critical to maintain communication. Check-ins with these children can alleviate their anxiety about what is coming.

The more you communicate about upcoming changes the more likely you’ll be able to implement the right support at the right time. Sometimes this can mean something as simple as making sure the parents are aware of the change too.

Something that’s worked for me in the past is to hold a short class discussion about an upcoming change. This worked really well to ease fears about the first swimming trip.

What: Maintain open lines of communication with the child and their support network.
Why: Regular check-ins can identify emerging concerns and reinforce a sense of security.
How: Establish routine meetings or informal chats to discuss feelings about upcoming changes.

🤔 Final Thoughts

Supporting children with SEMH needs through transitions requires empathy, patience, and proactive planning. By implementing these strategies, we can create a more predictable and supportive environment that empowers our children to face changes with confidence.

These methods take time and careful planning. However, they are absolutely worth it in the long-run and can have a positive impact on a child’s mental health.

Let me know which methods you've used before or which ones you’re going to try next!