Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) in the classroom

Introduction to this CPD training and presenting the overarching aim of the content as well as the separate learning chunks we will look at in order to achieve this.

We examine why the change from ‘BESD’ to ‘SEMH’ in 2014 was so important and what this area of need requires us to focus on as educational practitioners.

What should you be looking for as a teacher for a child with SEMH difficulties? Focusing on what we may see and what we won't see when feelings and emotions are bubbling 'beneath the surface' for a child experiencing difficulties.

Executive functioning skills are still a new concept for many, meaning they aren’t always taught at school and home. Understanding what they are and why they are so important is crucial, especially as pupils with SEMH needs may have poor executive functioning skills will be struggling more than they need to at school and in everyday life.

Self-regulation can be really tricky for some pupils. There is this idea of 'coregulation', but what is this?

It takes a calm brain to calm another brain and co-regulation is something that some children may have missed out on. Their school can be an environment where they feel safe and connected even when they make poor choices.

We are coaching the pupils to be part of a school system and a group identity where they want to conform to the expectations and stay within those boundaries. This section looks at how we can use consequences to raise behaviour awareness rather as a form of punishment with no positive effect.

The best educational settings schools with a proactive approach to SEMH have staff who can embed aspects of social and emotional learning in most things they do and offer opportunities for the key associated skills. This final part presents some practical ideas for you to take away and try with your pupils.