Cognition and learning

General Learning Difficulties (GLD)

Children and young people with general learning difficulties are often identified early due to noticeable challenges in:

Accessing the curriculum
Making expected developmental progress

These difficulties may be classified as:

Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)
Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD)
Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD)

Moderate learning difficulties are among the most commonly identified needs in schools. Learners may:

Perform below age-related expectations across multiple subjects
Show delays in communication, social interaction, attention, behaviour, and self-care
Make uneven progress—some skills may develop in line with peers, while others remain significantly delayed

Certain genetic conditions (e.g. Down’s Syndrome, Williams Syndrome) may contribute to these learning profiles.

Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)

Specific learning difficulties affect particular areas of academic learning, most commonly:

Literacy (e.g. dyslexia)
Numeracy (e.g. dyscalculia)

These difficulties persist despite high-quality teaching and targeted interventions.

Students with SpLD may:

Read slowly or inaccurately
Struggle with receptive language
Have difficulty with spelling and written expression
Show challenges with number sense, calculation, or applying mathematical reasoning

Dyslexia is characterised by persistent difficulties with word reading and spelling, often alongside challenges in memory, processing speed, or comprehension.

Dyscalculia involves difficulties with understanding numbers, learning arithmetic facts, and performing calculations.

Questions: What helps you learn best? What helps you feel better and more successful at school? What helps you?

Answers (Camden CYP, 2025):

Visual supports/prompts like diagrams/videos

Having a good relationship with teachers to be able to talk about the work when stuck

Being able to take a time out to refocus

Making learning fun

When teachers talk about the work in different ways

General Approaches and Strategies

Use differentiation to ensure the development of literacy, numeracy, expressive language, communication skills, minimize behaviour and emotional dysregulation, and promote appropriate interpersonal skills with other CYP.
Implement Reciprocal Reading group interventions.
Conduct small group or standalone interventions using multi-sensory phonics programs (e.g., Sounds-Write, Read, Write, Inc), revision sessions to consolidate learning and support preparation for assessment, and sessions to develop memory skills.
Arrange support for the use and delivery of approaches/materials for students with specific learning difficulties, which may include multi-sensory teaching strategies and a focus on phonological awareness.
Use overlearning through games to support retention.
Effectively use technology equipment to support learning.
Ensure staff are trained and skilled in supporting CYP with general and specific learning difficulties.
Review student files, discuss developmental milestones with parents, and refer to external agencies if appropriate. Scaffold tasks into smaller, manageable steps and provide visual aids (e.g. diagrams, flowcharts, mind maps) to support understanding and memory.
Use pre-teaching and retrieval practice to reinforce key vocabulary and concepts before and after lessons.
Provide alternative ways for CYP to demonstrate their learning (e.g. oral responses, visual projects, assistive technology).
Embed structured language support within lessons, particularly for CYP with overlapping communication needs.
Use chunking and spaced repetition to support working memory and reduce cognitive load.
Incorporate hands-on, practical learning experiences and manipulatives to support abstract thinking.
Use storytelling and narrative-based approaches to build engagement and contextual understanding.
Promote collaborative planning between class teachers, SENCOs, and support staff to ensure consistency and shared understanding.
Use regular formative assessment to monitor progress and adapt support accordingly.
Create a positive learning environment that celebrates effort and progress, using strength-based approaches to build confidence and motivation.
Be mindful of the emotional impact of learning difficulties and provide access to pastoral or wellbeing support where needed.

Learning Difficulties and Barriers

Identified barriers and/or need:	Provision and/or strategies: approaches, adjustments and specific interventions expected to be made by settings according to the ages and stages of the CYPs.	How well implemented?			When and how?
Identified barriers and/or need:		Always	Sometimes	Not yet	When and how?
Inadequate progress despite appropriate differentiation, working below age related expectations.	Make explicit links to prior learning Trial precision teaching for one subject initially Use information from cognitive assessments to inform differentiation strategies Consider exam access arrangements for all assessments to enable CYP to demonstrate potential Use meaningful strategies to boost self-esteem and confidence Reduce language to support comprehension
Uneven profile/difficulties across the curriculum but with some areas of strength.	Consider exam access arrangements for all assessments to enable CYP to demonstrate potential Metacognition approaches to identify effective strategies already used and support generalisation of these Use information from cognitive assessments to inform differentiation strategies Support the development of their self-esteem through positive feedback and prompt them to generalise their skills Use precision teaching for areas of the curriculum that pose a difficulty
Specific learning difficulties affecting one or more aspect of learning e.g., literacy, numeracy or specific language impairment	Provide alternative ways to demonstrate understanding e.g. diagrams, mind maps, use of voice records Use of IT as appropriate/available Writing frames with instruction on how to use them Visuals to support understanding Physical aids to support understanding e.g., Cuisenaire rods for maths Staff have been informed of what strategies or approaches to use in line with advice from assessments or consultation Consider appropriate tasks for students given their needs e.g., reading aloud may not be appropriate for certain learners
Difficulties with imagination	Story telling Photos to talk through what might be happening Use of puppets
CYP is able to give strong verbal answers, but written answers do not reflect their verbal ability	To support short-term memory, have small whiteboard and pens available for notes to help capture ideas Writing frames with instruction on how to use them Consider exam access arrangements for all assessments to enable CYP to demonstrate potential Metacognition approaches to identify effective strategies already used and support generalisation of these Additional time to plan and complete written Cloze procedure exercises to vary writing tasks and demonstrate understanding

Cognition and learning

Questions: What helps you learn best? What helps you feel better and more successful at school? What helps you?

Provision and/or strategies:

How well implemented?

When and how?

Provision and/or strategies:

How well implemented?

When and how?

Provision and/or strategies:

How well implemented?

When and how?

Provision and/or strategies:

How well implemented?

When and how?

Provision and/or strategies:

How well implemented?

When and how?

Resources