Overview

Beyond Behaviour: Relational, Regulation, and Strategic Approaches for Dysregulated Learners

Are you ready to look beyond traditional 'carrot-and-stick' approaches and transform how your school supports dysregulated pupils? Join Nerys Hughes, CEO and Founder of Whole Child Therapy, for an empowering, immersive, and highly practical 3−hour INSET session designed specifically for the Gateway Alliance SENCo Conference.

Rather than overloading you with complex theoretical models, this session focuses on the core bio-psycho-social elements of regulation. Together, we will examine how physiological states, sensory processing, and relational dynamics interact, shedding light on sensitive challenges such as Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria and sensory overload. With warmth, clinical depth, and an engaging presentation style, Nerys delivers lightbulb moments alongside gentle, realistic solutions.

SENCos will take away practical de-escalation approaches and environmental shifts that foster emotional safety, helping both pupils and staff feel grounded, supported, and understood. 

Making Behaviour More Predictable: The Power of Visuals in the Classroom

For children with complex behavioural, emotional and communication needs, making the school environment more predictable can be a powerful way to reduce uncertainty, support engagement and build independence. In the afternoon, Lisa will explore how visual supports can help create the structure, clarity and consistency that children need to feel secure, communicate successfully and participate in learning in this practical session.

We will explore how visuals can make routines, expectations and transitions easier to understand, while also helping children navigate change and develop greater flexibility. Delegates will consider how visual communication can strengthen relationships by giving children meaningful ways to express emotions, make choices, ask for help and communicate their needs.

Through practical classroom examples, we will look at how consistent visual approaches can support positive communication, motivation, resilience and successful transitions, while creating shared approaches between staff, children and families.

The session will offer practical, achievable strategies that can be used immediately in everyday practice. 

Facilitator Profiles

Nerys Hughes is an Advanced Paediatric Occupational Therapist, Clinical Director, writer, trainer, and professional mentor, as well as the CEO and Founder of Whole Child Therapy Ltd (WCT). Drawing on over 25 years of experience across NHS community and mental health services, education, social care, and the charity sector, Nerys brings a uniquely holistic and insightful perspective to children's development and well-being. Her practice is deeply enriched by both her extensive clinical expertise and her lived experience as a neurodivergent person and parent to a neurodivergent child. 

Lisa Pinkerton is Head of Education at Widgit Software, bringing 26 years of experience in education across mainstream and specialist settings. Her career has included many years as a Deputy Head and Inclusion Lead, alongside working as a specialist teacher and assessor of literacy difficulties. Lisa is passionate about inclusive practice and supporting schools to remove barriers to learning, communication and participation.

She is a Lead Facilitator on both the NPQ SENCO and ECT programmes, sharing her expertise with teachers and school leaders as they develop their professional practice. Her particular interest lies in the practical application of inclusive strategies that can make a meaningful difference to children and young people in everyday classrooms.

Alongside her work at Widgit, Lisa is currently completing the final research project for her Masters in SEND and Inclusion, continuing to explore evidence-informed approaches to supporting children with diverse learning and communication needs.

Network Partner

Scanning Pens are passionate about helping every child become a confident, independent learner. Their mission is

simple: to make reading and learning more accessible for all pupils, particularly those with dyslexia, reading difficulties, EAL needs, and other additional learning requirements.

Trusted by thousands of schools across the UK, their award-winning assistive technology is designed to support learners both in the classroom and during assessments. Their portable, easy-to-use reading pens help pupils access printed text independently, reducing barriers to learning and boosting confidence.

The C-Pen Reader 2 is widely used in primary schools and features an Exam Lock mode, allowing the device to be used in line with access arrangements during KS2 SATs. This gives eligible pupils the support they need to access written materials while maintaining exam compliance.

The C-Pen Reader 3 is their next generation of powerful support tools. Alongside industry-leading text-to-speech scanning, it now includes speech-to-text functionality, enabling pupils to dictate their ideas and see them converted into text. The Reader 3 also provides comprehensive multilingual support, helping EAL learners access curriculum in over 40 different languages more confidently and independently.

Whether supporting early literacy development, enabling access to curriculum content, or helping pupils build greater independence, their technology empowers children to participate more fully in their learning journey.

SENCo Network Conference Sponsor

With a symbol library of over 100,000 symbols, Widgit supports schools in creating accessible, inclusive learning environments where all learners can understand, participate and thrive.

Widgit Symbols help educators reduce barriers to learning by providing clear visual support for communication, understanding and independence. As schools continue to develop neuro-inclusive and adaptive approaches to teaching, symbol-supported resources can reduce cognitive load, reinforce key vocabulary through dual coding and improve access to information for a wide range of learners.

Used by teachers, SENCOs, teaching assistants and school leaders, Widgit supports everyday classroom practice through visual timetables, vocabulary resources, communication boards, choice-making tools, emotional regulation supports, social stories and personalised learning materials.

Widgit's Dual Language functionality enables resources to be created in English alongside a learner's first language, helping pupils develop understanding, confidence and engagement across the curriculum.

With Widgit Online, educators can quickly create, adapt and share symbol-supported resources that promote communication, independence and meaningful inclusion throughout the school day.

https://www.widgit.com/