If you were asked, how many different forms of communication could you think of?
5? 10? 15? 20 or more?
Communication has been a fundamental part of human life since the start of time, and we know that in the past people used methods from cuneiform and hieroglyphics, to smoke signals and quipu. Communication has evolved with time and many different civilisations have utilised their own forms of communication to form connections and to share important messages.
I’m sure that we are all familiar with the fact that today, many young people use phones as their preferred method of communication in the form of text messages and emojis.
Often when we are working with young people, we as educators use different forms of communication to impart information, but these often focus quite heavily on forms of verbal and written communication, with some elements of pictorial form thrown in. But when there are a multitude of ways to communicate, I believe this is something we can challenge ourselves to do better.
This RSE* Day (26th June 2025), the theme of ‘communication’ ties in well with our hopes to help young people with social, physical, and emotional communication difficulties to understand the subject better. Young people with SEND** have been an overlooked part of the field for so long, yet the number of learners with SEND has been rising rapidly for several years. We long to see these young people have access to high-quality RSHE*** materials and knowledge in the same way as their peers.
(*Relationships and Sex Education **Special Educational Needs and Disabilities ***Relationships, Sex and Health Education)
During June 2025, acet UK will be fundraising to allow us to pilot new materials on topics such as emotional wellbeing, body boundaries, consent, healthy relationships, puberty changes, and menstruation with young people who have additional needs. All young people deserve to have the best quality, fulfilling relationships.
This may just mean we need to change and adapt the way we communicate this to those with special educational needs and disabilities.
Currently, there are over 1.6 million children and young people in the education system with special educational needs, and around 1.2 million of these receive SEN support, while just under half a million have an education, health and care plan (EHC)1.
Young people who are autistic are the biggest group of learners with an EHC and many of our new SEND materials will aim to support them, as we know that they may need different communication styles to their non-autistic classmates. They may require higher levels of visual supports, such as social stories and scripts, clear and unambiguous language and the use of tactile, physical objects rather than abstract concepts.
They may also need support with recognising different emotions and many young autistic people especially need support with healthy boundary setting so that they can assert themselves confidently. Having these strategies in place can help them to form positive friendships and relationships, as well as having healthy self-esteem and positive mental health.
Similarly, we recognise that young people with ADHD* may need short, engaging and stimulating activities that will keep them focused on learning key concepts in RSHE and help them to regulate their emotions. (*Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)
The largest group of school learners without an EHC, but with SEN support required, is those who have speech, language, and communication needs, followed by those who have emotional and mental health needs.
Many schools do an amazing job of tailoring lessons to allow children with these types of needs to learn at their own pace and to develop the language they need to access many areas of the curriculum but, when it comes to RSHE, there are not always the materials available for supporting these children with accessible subject content.
Learners who have a range of profound or multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) also deserve an education that recognises them as young people who desire positive physical and emotional relationships as they grow up. For a long time, they have been left out of conversations around sex and relationships, without acknowledging they also experience many of the same feelings as their peers.
It is entirely possible to teach these young people about making informed choices and how to protect their bodies, whilst also helping them to develop confidence in expressing their physical needs, by using tangible resources such as anatomically correct models and period kits that provide concrete examples.
Research carried out by Barnardo’s highlights the fact that by leaving these young people in the dark about their bodies, we are actually doing more harm than good by leaving them exposed to the potential risk of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)2.
Not talking about their bodies can create a sense of fear and stigma around alerting someone to an issue if they don’t feel safe.
In fact, there is a greater risk of CSE and bullying for young people with special needs, so it is especially important they are informed and learn about speaking up3.
The Department for Education reports that the number of pupils with SEN support increases during the primary years, reaching a peak at the age of 9. This is the age at which many are approaching puberty but are sadly left unprepared for the changes due to a lack of specialist support on how to teach about how to teach the topic or what resources to use.
Just like in other lessons, RSHE should be differentiated and tailored to meet the different needs of individual children with a wide spectrum of cognitive needs and abilities.
Our SEND materials include ways of teaching pupils about the use of menstrual products, plus how and when to change them and dispose of them. We also have activities on what to expect physically and emotionally during puberty and the concept of private places, amongst other topics.
We would love to reach out to schools who would like us to work with us on delivering RSHE well to students across the key stages. This could be in the form of lessons for young people or providing teacher training sessions.
We would also very much welcome people to support this work during our Midsummer Give this June by donating to our fundraising campaign so that we can offer these lessons fully funded to schools that most need them. The first £5000 of donations will be doubled by our generous pledger.
This RSE Day, we look forward to young people with additional needs being able to communicate their thoughts and feelings using a multisensory approach to learning.
We don’t believe that communication stops at using a pen and paper, but that art, music, photos, books, games, and a range of other creative approaches can help to make learning more inclusive so that all children can access a subject that will be of use to them all lifelong.
If you would like to know more about our Midsummer Give please visit www.acet-uk.com/MidsummerGive. Please email us at info@acet-uk.com for more information about our SEND project.
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