Adaptive Teaching Through 5 Phases of the Lesson with Sara Alston

Nov 27, 2025

Sara Alston, a seasoned SEND and Safeguarding consultant with decades of teaching experience, dives into adaptive teaching strategies. She emphasizes the importance of involving all students while avoiding teacher burnout. Sara discusses the five phases of lesson planning, from setting a welcoming tone at the start to flexible assessment methods that accommodate diverse learner needs. They critique traditional worksheet models and advocate for recognizing varied strengths across subjects, allowing children to demonstrate learning in unique ways.

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INSIGHT

Differentiation Is Adaptive, Not Static

Differentiation is best seen as ongoing adaptation rather than fixed tiered worksheets.
Adaptive teaching tweaks tasks and supports during the lesson to include everyone without exhausting teachers.

ANECDOTE

The Human Calculator Who Struggled With Words

Sara recalls a pupil who was a 'human calculator' but struggled with worded problems.
That student's strengths and weaknesses showed how ability can vary by task, not overall ability.

ADVICE

Use Door Routines To Start Learning

Meet and greet pupils at the door to assess readiness and set a welcoming tone.
Use consistent 'morning slides' or routines so pupils know what to do immediately on entry.

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In our latest episode of the SENDcast, we tackle an important topic that often gets lost in the debate over terminology: the practical aspects of differentiation and adaptive teaching. Too much discussion focuses on what to call these strategies, and not enough on how to effectively implement them.

Today, Sara Alston, an experienced SEND and Safeguarding consultant, joins Dale in the studio to look at the 5 phases of the lesson and how to implement adaptive teaching strategies across them:

"There are two key elements; 1. Involving, engaging and supporting all the children in the class and 2. it's about not working teachers into the grave." Sara Alston

In this insightful episode, Sara breaks down the five phases of a lesson and discusses how to apply adaptive teaching strategies at each stage to better engage all students:

Preparation – Getting pupils into the room and ready to learn by setting a welcoming tone at the start of the lesson.
Instruction – Engaging the class with clear instructions and adapting your communication style to meet diverse needs.
Learning – Considering how each child can demonstrate their understanding in a way that works for them.
Assessment - Highlighting the importance of formative assessments and adapting your approach based on real-time feedback.
Closure – Using the last five minutes for evaluation, summarising what has been learned, and preparing students for a smooth transition to the next lesson.

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About Sara Alston

Sara Alston has over 38 years teaching experience as a classroom teacher, school leader, SENCO and DSL and is now an independent SEND and Safeguarding Consultant and Trainer. She provides support and training to schools for special needs and safeguarding.

She is the co-author of The Inclusive Classroom: A New Approach to Differentiation (Bloomsbury, 2021) and author of Working Effectively with Your TA (Bloomsbury, 2023). She writes regular articles for SecEd and Headteacher Update.

Contact Sara

www.seainclusion.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/seainclusion.co.uk/

Seainclusion@btinternet.com

Useful Links

The Inclusive Classroom book

Working Effectively with your TA book

B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk
Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast
Email Dale – dale@bsquared.co.uk
Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe

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