 How can we make a big difference to a child's engagement and enjoyment of class? Simply by thinking sensitively about where they sit. That's what we're going to explore in this week's episode of Pookie Ponders. So let's dive straight in. Where a child sits in class can have a big impact on their ability to engage with the lesson. For some kids, it doesn't matter too much at all, but for others is absolutely fundamental. And if a child is struggling, just thinking a little bit about where they sit can be a great fast fix with a long lasting impact. I'm going to walk you through a few different examples in the podcast today. They're not designed to be exhaustive, but rather to get you thinking seriously about seating and adding sensitive seating planning to your toolbox of interventions and adjustments that you might think about making in the future. So the first group of kids we're going to think about are those in need of sensory input. So in order to be able to focus, some children require more sensory input than others, especially those with ADHD. But regardless of the labels, any sensory seeking children, you know, the chatter boxes, the fidgeters can benefit. So to meet their needs, think about where in your classroom there is more input, more sensory input, maybe by the window where they can look out or the door or near to one of your busier displays or where the floor has a different texture or near to resources that they might be able to be responsible for handing out, for example, other kids might be in need of calm. So quite the opposite of our sensory seekers. So these are children who've got a heightened sensory profile. They're super sensitive to input. So everything seems kind of louder and brighter to them. This is going to be really common amongst your autistic children or children with any kind of sensory processing disorder. So these are kids who need a calmer, quieter part of the classroom if they are going to be able to focus on your lesson. This could mean that you think about seating them towards the front of the class where they can focus directly on you and not on everyone and everything else. If there's a part of the classroom where the walls are a bit less busy, this might work for them too. Or you can just think about moving them away from anything that makes a noise like clocks or fans or gurgling pipes or windows or the corridor or near the playground. Also think about removing them from other things that you might not even consider. So smells keep them away from chemicals in the lab or don't put them near to a sink that might be smelly or not too close to the door near the canteen. The next group of children that we're going to consider are those who require consistency. So you might be that kind of teacher who likes to switch things up a bit in your classroom and have people sit in different places at different times or move into groups and things like that. And for some kids, this is super exciting and provides great stimulation, but some children just need a bit more consistency. So any of your students who struggle with processing, that's going to include your autistic kids or any child who's got any underlying anxiety or trauma will often really benefit from consistency, boring in a good way. When things stay the same, it helps children like them, people like me, feel in control and it's just one less thing to get worried about. You might consider allowing these children to not switch seats when everyone else is moving around or allowing them to be part of a consistent pair or group when other people might change up and swap around. Next group of kids we're going to think about are those in need of privacy. So some children are going to do better when they're not being observed and watched by other children. This is going to be especially true of children who may get teased about or embarrassed about observable behaviors. So, for example, children with obsessive compulsive disorder or children who present with ticks or other behaviors that might make them kind of stand out, I guess, amongst their peer group. They're often going to draw negative attention from their peers. So that's a topic for a whole nother podcast about how do we manage that and peer education and support and preventing bullying and teasing and so on. But for now, we're thinking about the fact that some of the kids in your classroom may have staff that makes them seem weird to the other kids. The kids might bully or tease them and they'd rather have a bit of privacy to get on with their ticking or their obsessive compulsive type behaviors in private without the watching eyes of their mates who might then tease them at break time. So the thing is that if we don't think about this, then that kind of negative attention often is going to feed the underlying issues and exacerbate the behaviors. So the kid who's ticking, if they know that other people are watching them and they're teasing them, they're getting worried about it, the ticking tends to increase in behavior and ditto with kind of our obsessive compulsive behaviors. They're like control and safety behaviors. So if we feel less safe and less in control because people are teasing and pointing and laughing, we're going to do more of those things. And it's this really vicious cycle. So we want to try, if we can, to make sure that these kids can sit somewhere where they can just quietly get on with their work, ticking away if they need to and be away from prying eyes just so they can get on with their work better. So maybe towards the back of the class or shielded by furniture, just depending on the layout of your classroom. The next group we're thinking about are children in need of safety. So some children don't feel safe due to their past experiences. They might be perfectly safe in your classroom. In fact, I'm sure they are, I hope they are, but that doesn't mean they feel safe. And so they need to feel safe and where they sit in class can make a big difference to how safe they feel. This is one that you have to explore with the individual because different things make different people feel safe. But a few examples that I've come across are children who feel safer at the back so they can watch what's going on. Children who feel safer at the front so they can block out what's going on behind them. Children who feel safer near a door, so knowing that they could escape if they needed to. And children who feel safer near to a reassuring friend or trusted adult. You'll have other examples as well. But just recognising that some children don't feel safe and where they sit in your classroom might make a difference to how safe they feel. And feeling safe is like right at the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, having our basic physical needs met and feeling safe is right down there. If we don't meet those needs, they're not going to learn in your room. So let's think about where to sit them so perhaps they can feel a little bit safer. Next group of kids, those in need of a quiet exit. So some children will need to leave the class sometimes, perhaps if they become overwhelmed or if this has just been generally agreed as a reasonable adjustment for a child for any reason. So if that's the case, then you need to think about where in class it's best for that child to sit. Because some children, even if that adjustment has been agreed, might not feel actually able to exit the room if it means like really obviously walking out in front of everyone. They might feel most comfortable if they're seated near to the door so they can slip out quietly if need be. Equally, if there is a safe space within the room that they can make use of sometimes, then make sure they can access this like really unobtrusively from their seats as well. Next group, those children in need of a buddy. So some children will do infinitely better when they are sat with a friend. This is especially true for children who've been bullied or children who struggle with anxiety. The proximity of someone who they can trust and who they like and who they know likes them can often be the difference between them feeling able to actually enter the classroom at all or not. Conversely, we then think about children, and this is our last group for today, children who feel the need to work alone. So some children find it really hard to work with other children and might do best when they're working completely alone with slightly different expectations to the rest of the class. This might mean that while others might be sat in pairs or groups that this particular child is going to sit alone, or at least has the option to. It can be beneficial for some of our autistic kids who might find group and pair work a challenge and might engage better with the learning when they're allowed to work alone, perhaps with a member of support staff or perhaps as part of just one consistent pair. Okay, so we thought about loads of different groups of children there. I hope this got you thinking a little bit about seating. Where a child sits in your class is such a small thing, but it makes such a big difference. I'm sure you can think of loads more examples than I've shared today, but hopefully this has got you thinking about how you can make use of sensitive seating plans in future to support the children in your class and gives you a new go-to strategy if you've got a child who doesn't seem to be engaging with or enjoying the learning right now. This is a simple thing. You can talk to them about it, you can explore and you can make the change right away and see what a difference it might make. I hope there were some helpful ideas in here for you today. If you liked what you heard, please like, subscribe and share my work. You can support my work further if you wish to by joining me over on Patreon where you get early access to all of my resources and the chance to influence what I work on next, or you can invite me to come and speak at your next event or in your setting, either virtually or face to face. Thank you so much for listening and for everything you're doing for the children and young people in your care. This has been Pookie Ponders with me, Pookie Night Smith. Until next time, stay curious, stay compassionate and keep pondering over and out.