Dr Sarah Moseley
Inclusion - Neurodiversity - Literacy and Oracy
How do you help that child who just seems unable to access the curriculum? How do you get that disinterested child engaged in his or her learning? How do you ensure that all children have the opportunity to not only learn but learn well and enjoy it too?
This is where Dr Sarah Moseley comes in.
Drawing on her experience in mainstream and special schools as well as her own PhD-level research into helping all children access the curriculum, Sarah helps schools look at what goes on the classroom with fresh eyes.
And when the grown-ups in the classroom start to reflect on their role in children learning - or not learning - then this is when real transformations can happen.
Sarah's journey to the national and international stage took her through many different roles in education, from teaching assistant to mainstream class teacher, senior leader within several special needs schools and headteacher of an all-age special needs school.
Her fundamental belief is that anyone and everyone can thrive in the right environment, with the right support and with equal access to opportunities on offer.
And that is their basic human right.
It is this belief that has driven her entire career and that drives her now as she works with schools around the UK, sharing ideas and strategies that are authentic, practical and down to earth as well as backed up by her research and her unshakeable core values.
"The commitment to inclusivity lays the groundwork for a future society where diversity is not merely acknowledged but celebrated."
Dr Sarah Moseley
Recent titles include:
- Reducing Barriers to Learning in Neurodiverse Classrooms
- Inclusion, Belonging and Wellbeing- The Power of Stories to Support Mental Health
- Creating A Multi-Sensory Toolkit to Support Learning, Behaviour and Wellbeing in all Classrooms
Sarah is passionate about the shift she is seeing away from diagnostic models of behaviours and special needs to one that is more about acknowledging, adapting for and celebrating the rich diversity of human beings in the classroom.
Rather than trying to 'fix' the children who are struggling to learn we need to be fixing the learning. And that means taking a fresh look at the classroom and wider school environments, at the relationships, at the nature of the teaching and learning and also at the content of the curriculum we offer our children.
For this last point, Sarah is adamant that we need to make what is on offer as meaningful and relevant as we can. That way, children want to learn, regardless of the challenges they face as they set out about that learning.
Helping all children to access the curriculum means understanding the motivations and drives of each child - and responding accordingly. What are their needs? What are their strengths? What are their motivators? and what are the gaps they have currently that will prevent them from getting from A to B?
If we start with questions such as these, then we have a chance to help all our children enjoy a more challenging and fulfilling experience.
And that starts in the early years, continuing right through primary education and beyond.
What's more, Sarah's research and experience have proven to her that the route to accessing the curriculum is through language - writing, reading and speaking - and she is in demand from schools across the UK to help them as they support children in all three of these important areas of development - especially those with identified learning needs and differences.
Whether it's helping schools make their approaches to phonics more effective and accessible or developing oracy skills in children regardless of background and prior academic achievements or helping teachers embrace neurodiversity, Sarah's work is helping transform the classroom experience of so many children in schools today.
Dr Sarah Moseley In Her Own Words
"HOW CAN WE CREATE ACCESSIBLE, ENGAGING AND MOTIVATING OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE RELEVANT FOR THE NEEDS OF ALL LEARNERS?"
- To enquire about booking Sarah, call us on +44 (0)1267 211432 email us at learn@independentthinking.co.uk
- Sarah has been with Independent Thinking since April 2024
- You'll find her work in our Teaching and Learning and Well-Being topic areas
- You might also want to consider Lisa Ashes or Nina Jackson
- Sarah is one of our New Voices
Enjoy a free consultation. Make a booking.
Haggle a bit. All acceptable.
Give us a call on +44 (0)1267 211432 or drop us a line at learn@independentthinking.co.uk.
We promise to get back to you reassuringly quickly.