Reading Inclusion Support in Education (RISE)
This page explains how the RISE service works with schools and other education settings to help teachers support children and young people. Our aim is to make sure every child has what they need to learn well and reach their full potential.
If you work in education or as a practitioner working with families, please view our RISE page for professionals.
What is the RISE service?
Reading Inclusion Support in Education (RISE) is a free service for all schools in Reading provided by Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC), Reading Borough Council’s children’s services.
The RISE team helps Reading education settings give every child the right support to learn, take part in school life, and feel included – especially children with special educational needs or disabilities.
RISE works with schools to make education in Reading more fair and inclusive for everyone. The team gives expert advice, training, and resources to help teachers feel confident supporting children with different needs.
RISE helps schools give every child the best chance to learn, grow, and reach their full potential.
Click the headings below to expand for information
The aim of the service is to help education providers give every child the best chance to succeed and make the most of the opportunities available at their local school – including sixth forms and Reading College – by strengthening the everyday support teachers provide.
The RISE team brings together specialists and consultants from a range of backgrounds, including:
- Head of service and strategic lead for SEND
- Senior educational psychologist/service lead
- Speech and language therapy (SaLT)
- Occupational therapy (OT)
- Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)
- Inclusion and post-16 SEND support
The key areas of RISE support focus on:
- Mental health
- Neurodiversity
- Behaviour
- Speech, language, and communication needs
- Sensory needs
RISE supports schools through:
-
Free training and coaching: Offers training sessions and one-to-one coaching at no cost
-
Supervision and professional networks: Provides guidance and connects schools with other professionals for support and advice
-
School system audits: Review school systems and processes to identify areas for improvement
-
Embedding evidence-based strategies: Helping schools use strategies proven to work to support teaching and learning
-
Supporting stronger early intervention: Helping schools identify and support children’s needs as early as possible.
Rise supports schools in implementing evidence-based practices already in use across Reading, including:
- Direct work with children in schools, using coaching and therapeutic strategies
- Deliver training and professional development to improve behaviour support
- Working together within multidisciplinary teams which include educational psychologists, SEND consultants, and mental health professionals
- Therapeutic Thinking Schools (TTS) – helping schools understand children’s feelings and behaviour
- SCERTS (Social communication, emotion regulation and transactional support)
- Autism Education Trust (AET) – support for autistic children
- Speech and language therapy (SaLT) and occupational therapy (OT)
| Function 1 | Function 2 | Function 3 | Function 4 | Function 5 | Function 6 |
| Providing/organising a training offer that aligns with Reading schools’ approaches (e.g., Therapeutic Thinking) | Supporting schools to use evidence-based strategies in the classroom |
Supporting school systems to develop their early intervention approach to aid a strong GR and OAP offer |
Facilitating networks and shared knowledge within Reading schools |
Enabling professional reflection for working with SEND children | Supporting maintained primary schools with children demonstrating dysregulated or functional behaviour |
RISE will seek to support schools using a ‘plan, do, review’ process.
Stage 1: Plan
SEND consultants will support the school by assessing and identifying the child’s needs through observations, assessments, consultation with school staff.
Stage 2: Do
SEND consultants agree on an action plan to put the right support in place, with help from RISE and other specialists. Support from RISE can include:
- INSET/training
- Coaching for teaching assistants (TAs)
- Consultation forums
- SEN drop-in
- Mentoring
- Support with organisational change
Stage 3: Review
The above approaches will be reviewed with the SEND consultant before any other actions are agreed. This can be discussed with the RISE team’s performance and data analyst.
When promoting all these approaches, we are committed to promoting racial equity and being an anti-racist service in everything we do. We are committed to fairness and making sure all children and families are treated equally and have equal access to support.
Requests to receive input from RISE can be made by the school, with the consent of the child’s parents/carers.
Schools will typically refer following planning meetings around special educational needs (SEN), educational psychology service (EPS) and RISE. However, there may be times where a school requires support outside of this meeting and may request support at any point throughout the year.
Other teams may also request RISE involvement, or recommend a school does this.
If parents want RISE to support their child’s setting, they are encouraged to consult with their school’s SENCo and if necessary, seek support from Reading Information Advice Support Service (IASS).
- Visit our RISE page for professionals
- Visit the Reading SEND Local Offer website for more details
If you feel that your child’s school could benefit from support from the RISE team, please discuss this with your school’s SEND department. If you need guidance or support to help you with this, please contact Reading Information, Advice and Support for SEND (IASS).
Schools can also contact the RISE team directly.
“The RISE service is a fantastic asset available to all Reading settings at no cost. The aim is to up-skill Reading town and Reading schools so more children can be supported by the skills and knowledge that will be shared with teachers.”
— Brian Grady, Director of Education, Reading Borough Council.