📅 Your 12-Month SEMH Journey: What to Expect

Transform your practice, support every child, and build a more inclusive school community, one week at a time ✨

👋 Welcome to SEMH Education

Weekly strategies and insights for professionals supporting children with social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs.

I’m Kieran, a former teacher and current Youth Justice Education Officer. Each week, I share evidence-informed tools, practical advice, and real-world reflections to help you create safer, more inclusive learning environments.

📌 In this post: I’m sharing the rough schedule for my posts this year!

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📖 How It Works

🆓 Free Sundays - Weekly insights and practical tips delivered to your inbox with occasional resources.
💎 Paid Wednesdays - Premium resources, downloadable tools, and in-depth guides for subscribers.

🗓️ Month-by-Month Breakdown

I may change some of these topics, or the order, but I’ve spent a while mapping things out, and this is the plan at the moment!

🌱 Month 1: Understanding SEMH & Trauma

Building the foundation for trauma-informed practice

Free Sundays:

• 🧠 5 Misconceptions About Trauma-Informed Practice

• 🤝 Co-Regulation Beyond the Classroom

• 💭 What I'd Tell My NQT Self About SEMH

• 🔍 The Hidden Impact of Interoception on Behaviour

Paid Wednesdays:

• 🔧 Restorative Practice That Isn't Just Lip Service (scripts & visuals)

• 📝 Building Reflective Practice Into Everyday Routines (downloadable tools)

🛠️ Month 2: Practical Regulation Tools

Ready-to-use strategies for your classroom

Free Sundays:

• ⏰ 4 Regulating Routines You Can Try This Week

• 🎯 3 Quick Wins for Teachers Supporting a Dysregulated Class

• 🏠 How to Introduce a Regulation Station in Any Classroom

• ⭐ Regulation Activity That Worked Wonders (and Why)

Paid Wednesdays:

• 👥 Coaching Staff in Real-Time During Behaviour Incidents (staff cheat sheet)

• 💡 What the Polyvagal Theory Looks Like in Practice (simplified explainer + activities)

🔍 Month 3: Inclusion and Identification

Spotting and supporting the children who need it most

Free Sundays:

• 📊 The Difference Between SEND and SEMH

• 👀 Invisible Needs: Identifying the "Missed" Kids

• 📋 A Beginner's Guide to Spotting Additional Needs Holistically

• 📖 Inclusion Is Not a Policy Document

Paid Wednesdays:

• 📈 Making the Graduated Response Less Bureaucratic (downloadable tool)

• 🎒 Preparing Pupils With Additional Needs for Transition (transition pack)

💕 Month 4: Relationships & School Belonging

Creating connections that matter

Free Sundays:

• 💬 Behaviour Is Communication: Yes, But What If We're Misreading It?

• 🏫 When Children Say "School's Not for Me"

• 🎭 Supporting Children Who Mask: Compassionate Adjustments

• ✅ Classroom Belonging Checklists

Paid Wednesdays:

• 🌟 Supporting Self-Regulation in Children With PDA (research & adaptations)

• 👁️ "They Don't See Me": Microaggressions in School Settings (audit tool)

⚖️ Month 5: Discipline & Accountability

Moving beyond punishment to meaningful change

Free Sundays:

• 🤔 Consequences vs Accountability: What's the Difference?

• 🚫 When Consequences Don't Work: What Next?

• 🗣️ 5 Things I'd Never Say to a Child in Crisis

• 🚨 Spotting When Staff Are in Survival Mode

Paid Wednesdays:

• 📚 Rethinking the 'Zero Tolerance' Culture in MATs (case study + policy comparison)

• 🧭 Behavioural Biases: Training Staff to Notice Their Own (CPD pack)

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Month 6: Family & Community Engagement

Building bridges between home and school

Free Sundays:

• 💬 Talking to Parents About Their Child's Additional Needs

• 💔 Understanding Trauma in the Parent-Carer Role

• 🧩 Supporting Neurodivergent Parents Navigating School Systems

• 🎤 Including Pupil Voice in Behaviour Planning

Paid Wednesdays:

• 🛡️ DSLs and Behaviourally Vulnerable Pupils (safeguarding crossover guide)

• 🤝 Peer Supervision Models for Inclusion Leads (guide + meeting template)

🏫 Month 7: Off-Site Direction, AP & Reintegration

Making transitions work for everyone

Free Sundays:

• 🔄 Reintegration Pitfalls: What Most Schools Get Wrong

• 📚 A Day in the Life of a PRU Student

• 🎨 Using Therapeutic Curriculum Approaches in APs

• 📋 What Makes a Great Dual Registration Agreement?

Paid Wednesdays:

• 📊 The Overlap Between Off-Rolling and Off-Site Direction (DfE reference + visual guide)

• 🔄 How to Support a Pupil Through Multiple Managed Moves (case framework)

💪 Month 8: Emotionally Safe Leadership

Supporting the adults who support the children

Free Sundays:

• 😰 Supporting Staff Who Are Triggered by Student Behaviour

• 🌊 Emotional Contagion: What It Is and Why It Matters

• 🔧 The Problem With Pastoral Roles Being 'Bolted-On'

• 🧘 Inclusion Leads: Staying Emotionally Regulated in Crisis

Paid Wednesdays:

• 📊 Whole-School INSET Day Ideas on SEMH (slides & agenda pack)

• 🎯 A Headteacher's Guide to Responding to Rising Need (for SLTs & CEOs)

📋 Month 9: SEND Reform & Policy

Navigating the changing landscape

Free Sundays:

• 🔍 Unconscious Exclusion: When Staff Don't See It, But Pupils Feel It

• 📈 The Graduated Response in a Post-SEND Review World

• 💚 Children's Mental Health Week: Activities That Go Beyond Posters

• 🛡️ Anti-Bullying Work Through the Lens of SEMH

Paid Wednesdays:

• 📖 What the Latest SEND Review Means for Inclusion (explainer + school impact map)

• ✍️ Behaviour Policy Rewrites: Where to Start (examples + drafting tips)

🧠 Month 10: Neurodiversity & School Systems

Creating truly inclusive environments

Free Sundays:

• 🌈 What Is Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice?

• 🚫 Supporting Demand Avoidance Without Labeling It

• 👩 Autistic Girls and Missed Support in Schools

• 💨 ADHD, Burnout and Behaviour in the Classroom

Paid Wednesdays:

• 📊 Long-Term Outcomes of Exclusion (research + commentary)

• 🔍 Flawed Behaviour Research: How to Spot It (example breakdowns)

🎨 Month 11: Creativity, Identity & Expression

Celebrating uniqueness and building belonging

Free Sundays:

• 🎭 How to Use Creative Expression to Explore Identity

• 📣 From Pupil Panel to Policy Change

• 🏠 Creating Safe Spaces for Marginalised Pupils

• 💃 Bringing Art and Movement into Behaviour Support

Paid Wednesdays:

• ⭕ Using Circle Time to Build Belonging (structure + prompts)

• 🌍 Understanding Behaviour Through the Lens of Cultural Identity (theory + case examples)

🎉 Month 12: Reflection, Transition & Celebration

Ending the year with purpose and planning ahead

Free Sundays:

• 🔄 Back to School: Emotionally Safe Transitions

• 📝 Preparing for Exam Season With Emotional Safety

• 🎯 End-of-Year Reflection Tools for Pupils With Additional Needs

• 🏆 5 Wins to Celebrate From This Year's Inclusion Work

Paid Wednesdays:

• 📚 End-of-Year CPD Bundle (reflection tool, quiz, and optional survey)

• 🗺️ Planning Your Next Year of SEMH Support (roadmap for schools)

🚀 Ready to Transform Your SEMH Practice?

Join educators across the UK who are already benefiting from this comprehensive approach to supporting children with SEMH needs. Whether you're just starting your SEMH journey or looking to deepen your existing practice, this newsletter will meet you where you are and help you grow.

Because every child deserves to feel seen, heard, and supported in school. 💙

Questions? Comments? Ideas for future topics? I’d love to hear from you! 📧

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