Cognition and learning strands

Tailored approaches for the cognition and learning strand

Aspect Presenting Barriers & Challenges
Reading Reading Fluency: Learner reads slowly and finds reading difficult and tiring.
Comprehension: Learner has difficulties with understanding and interpreting texts.
Memory: Learner finds it difficult to remember what they have read or frequently loses their place.
Dictionary Skills: Learner finds it hard to use a dictionary, glossary, or index.
Visual Processing: Learner finds black print on white paper difficult to see clearly.
Phonic Decoding: Learner is making limited progress in the school's chosen systematic synthetic phonics programme.
Accessing Whole Class Texts: Learner has difficulties accessing whole class texts.
Writing Writing Fluency: Learner finds writing tiring or effortful/organising ideas.
Spelling: Learner makes frequent and inconsistent spelling errors.
Handwriting: Learner has uneven/incorrect letter formation/illegible or difficult to decipher.
Verbal/Written Difference: Significant difference between the learner's verbal and written answers.
Maths Understanding Mathematical Vocabulary: Interpreting and using key terms and language specific to maths, which can hinder comprehension of instructions and problems.
Poorly Developed Number Sense: Difficulty understanding and working with numbers, including estimating, comparing quantities, and recognising numerical patterns.
Instant Recall of Facts: Ability to quickly retrieve basic maths facts (e.g. times tables, number bonds), affecting fluency and confidence in calculations.
Applying Skills to Solve Maths Problems: Challenges in applying reasoning and strategies to tackle unfamiliar or multi-step problems, often due to gaps in understanding or planning skills.
Maths Anxiety: Lacking confidence in their own mathematical ability.
Literacy Difficulties in Maths: Learner's literacy difficulties impacting upon access to maths lessons.
Executive Functioning Flexibility of Thinking/Shift: Adapting to change, transitioning between activities, and/or revising plans when faced with new information, obstacles, or setbacks.
Emotional Regulation: Recognising and/or communicating feelings and managing these when experiencing strong emotions.
Response Inhibition: Stopping and thinking before acting.
Sustained Attention: Remaining focused and on task in spite of distractions or lack of interest.
Task Initiation: Beginning or starting a task.
Working Memory: Holding information in mind whilst performing a complex task, e.g. following multi-step instructions.
Planning and Prioritisation: Creating a plan, making decisions, and prioritising for task completion.
Time Management: Estimating and using time effectively. Difficulty keeping track of time.
Goal-Directed Persistence: Persevering, adapting, and following a task through to completion.
Metacognition: Stepping back to monitor and evaluate thinking and learning, such as editing work.
Organisation of Materials: Maintaining systems for tracking information and having materials needed.
Stress Tolerance: Managing uncertainty, change, and competing demands.