By Mrs Hooley, Assistant Head

This week, we have been celebrating Neurodiversity Week at BGS with a variety of events, including alumnae talks, VR experiences and lunchtime activities. It is therefore timely to consider some of the recent changes which have been announced by the Government relating to SEND and more specifically, how the focus on executive function skills can benefit all our students. 

The Government SEND Consultation Review was published in February 2026, as part of plans to update the current SEND Code of Practice ‘areas of need’ which will now become ‘areas of development’. Executive Function has been recognised as one of the five proposed key areas of development for children and young people. Executive function skills are recognised by the NHS as a set of neuropsychological tools which underpins the ability to complete daily tasks, it is something that people develop as they get older and gain experience in using these skills. The main elements of executive function are: 

1. Attention – the ability to focus and maintain concentration on an activity
2. Working memory – holding information for a short period of time to use in some way
3. Impulse control – managing self control, patience and ignoring distractions
4. Planning, sequencing and organisation – the ability to complete a project or activity from start to finish
5. Cognitive flexibility – being able to adapt thinking to changing circumstances or unexpected situations. 

Whilst ADHD students find the acquisition of these skills particularly challenging, all students need support in developing their ability to use their executive function effectively. Education, especially from secondary school or Year 7 upwards can bring complex schedules, multiple teachers, long term projects and more social challenges to the forefront of young people’s experiences. With additional changes to their adolescent brains, hormones and societal expectations, it can be a real challenge for even the best regulated students. At BGS we have actively sought ways to support students with the acquisition of executive function skills through educational strategies, technology as a support tool and practise of life skills. 

We ensure the explicit teaching of study skills to all students; we recently welcomed a learning coach from Elevate Education to provide support and guidance to Year 11 students. The team from Elevate also joined us earlier this year to run sessions with our Year 10 students to ensure an early preparation for GCSE success. In addition, tutor times are allocated to support revision and tasks are set for homework with guidance on planning and sequencing. As part of Neurodiversity week, our SEND department joined with parents at the curriculum conversation on Monday evening to discuss ‘Thriving, not Surviving in Education’.

The use of scaffolding in lessons at BGS supports students to to reach ambitious goals by using a range of processes that guide them to success, as recognised by Tom Sherrington et al in the ‘Walk Thrus’ teaching approach. The purpose of scaffolding is to remove it when the student is confident and ready to undertake the work without the support structure in place. This enables students to practice planning, prepare for examination questions and to use systems which can be adapted to a different context.

As a technology-focused school, we are able to use the 1:1 iPad approach to support students with their organisation, provide tools to enable improved attention and apps to help working memory. Mr Williams ran an online session last week to support revision techniques for students and especially those with neurodivergence. He provided some suggestions of apps which can be used as a focus timer, voice to text notes as well as task organisers and planners. 

From the Junior School up to when the students leave at the end of Sixth Form, we ensure they have as many opportunities as possible to build life skills through their experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. We ensure that the students in our care build self-reflection and awareness and gain real-world practice in project work and planning events. The Year 6 students will start their PYP project in the Summer term, requiring them to plan, research and undertake their own investigations as a group to prepare a finalised project outcome and presentation. Year 8 will be reaping the rewards of their entrepreneurial and creative activity on Tuesday this week as the Tenner Challenge market place opens for customers. Key to the acquisition of any core skills is the gradual increase in responsibility and building of independence with an age appropriate approach. Our Year 9s will once again be taking up the challenge of Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award with their expedition across Bedfordshire, whilst students in older year groups take on the Silver and Gold expeditions in more challenging (and hilly!) environments.

As a school community, we pride ourselves on preparing students for the world beyond the classroom and the recognition and focus on the core executive skills is essential to success for students in the future.