How They Work

My School Experience:
Strengths & Needs Deck

The My School Experience Strengths and Needs deck is designed for Educational Psychologists, SENCOs, pastoral staff, learning mentors and more to gather insights from children aged 5-12 years old about their experiences and perceptions of school.

The cards focus on the four areas of need outlined in the SEN Code of Practice (Communication and Interaction, Cognition and Learning, Social Emotional and Mental Health, and Physical and Sensory) and include categories for strengths and difficulties. Each card has an age-appropriate illustration to help children understand its meaning.

The activity provides a structured yet engaging way to gain insights into a child’s school experience. The responses will help adults identify key areas of need and inform actionable, child-centred recommendations for teachers and parents.

Deck Components

1. Card Categories:

Strengths Cards: Positive aspects the child feels they are good at or enjoys.
Difficulties Cards: Challenges the child experiences or dislikes at school.
‘Like me’, ‘Not Like me’ and 'Sometimes Like Me' cards
‘?’ Cards: To encourage the child to share other experiences not covered in the strengths and difficulties cards.

2. Areas of Focus:

Communication and Interaction (e.g., talking to teachers, making friends) - green cards
Cognition and Learning (e.g., reading, maths, problem-solving) - blue cards
Social Emotional and Mental Health (e.g., feeling calm, dealing with worries) - pink cards
Physical and Sensory (e.g., using tools, feeling comfortable in the school environment - orange cards

Instructions

1. Setup:

Explain to the child that each card represents something about school.
Lay out the ‘Like me’ and ‘Not like me’ cards.

2. Sorting:

Present each Strength and Difficulty card to the child and ask them to place the cards under the ‘Like me’ or ‘Not like me’ card.
Provide a ‘Sometimes’ option if appropriate. If the child is uncertain, put the card aside.
Use the ‘?’ card to encourage the child to share other experiences not covered in the strengths and difficulties cards.

3. Discussion:

Discuss the sorted cards, focusing on the child’s choices.
Ask follow-up questions like, ‘Can you tell me more about this card?’ or ‘What helps you with this difficulty?’

4. Recommendations:

Use the sorted cards and the child’s explanations to develop tailored recommendations for supporting their needs and building on their strengths at school.

My School Experience:
The Strategy Deck

The My School Experience Strategy Deck is designed for Educational Psychologists, SENCOs, pastoral staff, learning mentors and more to work collaboratively with children aged 5-12 years old to identify strategies or interventions that could support their needs.

Each card includes a specific strategy under one of the four areas of need outlined in the SEN Code of Practice (Communication and Interaction, Cognition and Learning, Social Emotional and Mental Health, and Physical and Sensory). Children can indicate if they would find a particular strategy ‘Helpful’ or ‘Not Helpful’ empowering them to shape the support they recieve. An additional column is made under the card ‘Top 5 Strategies’. Each card has an age-appropriate illustration to help children understand its meaning.

The activity provides a structured yet engaging way to gain insights into the strategies and interventions a child finds helpful which will help inform actionable, child-centred recommendations for staff and parents.

Deck Components

Card Categories:

Strategy Cards relating to the following areas of focus:

Communication and Interaction (e.g., having instructions repeated) - green cards
Cognition and Learning (e.g., giving examples, hands-on learning) - blue cards
Social Emotional and Mental Health (e.g., help to develop friendships) - pink cards
Physical and Sensory (e.g., help with using tools, movement breaks) - orange cards

‘Helpful and ‘Not Helpful’ Cards. Provide a ‘Sometimes’ option if appropriate. If the child is uncertain, put the card aside.

’Top 5 Strategies’ Card.

‘?’ Cards: To encourage the child to share other experiences not covered in the strengths and difficulties cards.

Instructions

1. Setup:

Choose the cards most relevant for that child in advance.
Explain to the child that each card represents a strategy or way that adults can help children in school.
Lay out the ‘Helpful’ and ‘Not Helpful’ cards.

2. Sorting:

Present each strategy card to the child and ask them to place the card beneath either the ‘Helpful’ or ‘Not Helpful’ card.
Provide a ‘Sometimes’ option if appropriate. If the child is uncertain, put the card aside.
Use the ‘?’ cards to encourage the child to share other strategies they may find helpful.

3. Discussion:

Discuss their preferences to understand what they feel would help them most.
Ask follow-up questions like ‘Can you tell me more about this card’ or ‘How does this help’.
Ask the child to choose their ‘Top 5 Strategies’.

4. Recommendations:

Use their choices to design a personalised support plan.

This activity encourages collaboration and empowerment, giving children a voice in their support strategies.

How They Work

My School Experience Teen+:
Strengths & Needs Deck

Supporting meaningful conversations with young people aged 13–25

This thoughtfully designed card deck supports teenagers and young adults to reflect on their strengths, challenges and experiences across education, relationships and everyday life.

Each pack contains 64 cards organised across two complementary frameworks.

Each area includes a balanced set of strengths and needs, written in a teen-friendly, relatable style. The cards are designed to feel age-appropriate and respectful, helping young people engage more openly in discussion about what helps and what makes things harder.

Who it’s for: Educational Psychologists, SENCOs, pastoral teams, ELSAs, further education staff, mentors and other professionals working with young people.

How to use: Young people sort the cards in ways that feel meaningful to them, for example “Like me”, “Sometimes like me”, “Not like me” or using more reflective sorts such as “Want to change” or “Happy with this”. Their responses can then be used to inform person-centred planning, reviews and collaborative discussions.

Ideal for use in consultations, assessments, transition planning and supporting pathways into adulthood.

Deck Components

Each pack contains 64 cards organised across two complementary frameworks:

The four areas of need from the SEND Code of Practice:

Communication & Interaction - green cards
Cognition & Learning - blue cards
Social, Emotional & Mental Health - pink cards
Physical & Sensory - orange cards

Alongside the four areas of Preparation for Adulthood:

Independent Living (including having choice, control and opportunities around housing and daily life) - green border cards
Employment (including supported employment, further education, training and apprenticeships) - blue border cards
Community Inclusion (sometimes referred to as Friends, Relationships and Community, including participation in society) - pink border cards
Health (including physical and mental health, and access to appropriate services) - orange border cards

‘Like Me', 'Sometimes Like Me' and ‘Not Like Me’ Cards.

Reflective Cards 'Happy with this' and 'Want to change'.

‘?’ Cards: To encourage the child to share other experiences not covered in the strengths and difficulties cards.

Instructions

This deck helps young people reflect on their strengths and the areas they find more challenging across different aspects of their life.

First, choose which set of cards you would like to use with the young person: the SEND Code of Practice cards, the Preparation for Adulthood cards, or a combination of both.

Ask the young person to read each card and sort them into groups “Like me”, “Sometimes like me” and “Not like me”.

Once this is complete, take the “Like me” pile and sort it further into two groups: “Happy with this” and “Want to change”. This helps to identify priorities for support and areas the young person may want to develop.

Use their responses to explore what is going well, what feels difficult and what matters most to them.

There is also a ‘?’ card included. Use this to ask, “Is there anything else?” giving the young person space to share views or experiences that are not captured in the cards.

Use what they share to inform discussions, assessments and person-centred planning.

My School Experience Teen+:
The Strategy Deck

Supporting young people to identify what helps them succeed.

This follow-up card deck supports teenagers and young adults (13-25 years old) to explore strategies that work for them across learning, wellbeing and everyday life.

Designed to build independence and self-awareness, it enables young people to take an active role in shaping the support they receive.

Each pack contains 64 cards organised across two complementary frameworks.

Each card presents a practical, evidence-informed strategy written in a teen-friendly and respectful way. The focus is on realistic, usable support that young people can recognise, reflect on and apply within school, college and beyond.

Use it to:

Build authentic pupil voice into planning
Co-produce strategies with young people
Develop independence and self-advocacy skills
Review what is working and identify next steps

Who it’s for: Educational Psychologists, SENCOs, pastoral teams, ELSAs, further education staff, mentors and other professionals working with young people.

How to use: Young people sort the cards in ways that feel meaningful to them, for example “Helpful”, “Not helpful” or “Sometimes helpful”. They can also use more reflective sorts such as “Already works for me” or “Would like to try”. Their responses can then be used to inform person-centred planning, reviews and transition discussions.

Ideal for use alongside the Teen+ Strengths and Needs Deck, particularly within assessments, reviews and preparation for adulthood planning.

Deck Components

Each pack contains 64 cards organised across two complementary frameworks:

The four areas of need from the SEND Code of Practice:

Communication & Interaction - green cards
Cognition & Learning - blue cards
Social, Emotional & Mental Health - pink cards
Physical & Sensory - orange cards

Alongside the four areas of Preparation for Adulthood:

Independent Living (including having choice, control and opportunities around housing and daily life) - green border cards
Employment (including supported employment, further education, training and apprenticeships) - blue border cards
Community Inclusion (sometimes referred to as Friends, Relationships and Community, including participation in society) - pink border cards
Health (including physical and mental health, and access to appropriate services) - orange border cards

‘Helpful', and ‘Not Helpful’ Cards.

Reflective Cards 'Already works for me' and 'Would like to try'.

‘?’ Cards: To encourage the child to share other experiences not covered in the strengths and difficulties cards.

Instructions

This deck helps young people identify strategies and supports that work for them, building independence and self-awareness.

First, choose which set of cards you would like to use with the young person: the SEND Code of Practice cards, the Preparation for Adulthood cards, or a combination of both.

Ask the young person to sort the cards into groups “Helpful”, “Sometimes helpful” and “Not helpful”.

Once this is complete, take the “Helpful” pile and sort it further into two groups: “Already works for me” and “Would like to try”. This helps to identify strategies that are already effective, alongside new approaches to explore.