FASD Informed Early Years and Reception Foundation
Updated: Oct 6
Bitesize, live online training shaped around the child your Reception team supports - not a generic, one-size-fits-all course.
Our four-session Early Years and Reception Foundation programme helps Reception teachers, teaching assistants, SENCOs, designated teachers, school leaders and the wider team understand and respond to children with prenatal alcohol exposure, FASD and overlapping developmental needs.
The programme supports a child’s transition into school, participation in classroom learning and access to the EYFS Reception curriculum. Delivery is online and can be arranged around your timetable, including inset days, staff meetings and out-of-hours sessions.
Bespoke training built around the child
Before delivery, our Director of FASD undertakes an in-depth exploration of the child’s available reports, developmental profile, presenting needs and experiences across home, previous early years provision and school. Where needs overlap with communication, sensory processing, learning, attention or other neurodevelopmental differences, these are considered together so that the training reflects the whole child and their readiness to access Reception, rather than focusing on a single diagnosis or presenting behaviour.
Where appropriate, we also invite parents or carers to contribute their perspective. This helps us scope the programme across home and school, understand the child’s transition into Reception, identify shared priorities and develop approaches that can be used consistently by everyone around the child.
Practical learning your team can use straight away
Brain-based, developmentally informed ways to understand what the child’s presentation in the classroom may be communicating.
Practical approaches for communication, co-regulation, sensory needs, processing time and working memory.
Strategies for arrival, transitions, whole-class teaching, group work, playtimes, lunchtimes and the end of the school day.
Reasonable adjustments to classroom demands, routines, instructions, the learning environment and access to the EYFS Reception curriculum.
Support for relationships, participation, emotional safety and successful inclusion within the class.
Safeguarding, vulnerability and risk awareness, including suggestibility, communication differences, memory difficulties and the need for careful, non-leading responses and accurate recording.
Case reflection focused on the real situations your Reception team is managing.
The aim is not simply to increase awareness. Staff leave with clear take-away strategies, shared language and realistic classroom adjustments that can be used immediately to strengthen inclusion, reduce overwhelm and help the child engage with learning and school life.
Safeguarding, SEND and statutory leadership
The programme helps schools recognise that safeguarding concerns may present differently for a child with FASD. Difficulties with memory, communication, emotional regulation, understanding consequences, recognising risk, suggestibility and accurately recounting events can increase vulnerability and may be mistaken for deliberate behaviour.
Training supports staff to notice changes, record concerns carefully, avoid leading questions and follow the school’s safeguarding procedures while responding through a developmentally informed lens.
The SENCO has an important role in coordinating assessment, reasonable adjustments, SEN Support or EHCP provision, staff guidance and communication with families and external professionals. For a looked-after or previously looked-after child, the Designated Teacher provides essential oversight of educational progress, wellbeing, transition and the effective use of Pupil Premium Plus. The programme supports these leads to work closely with the Designated Safeguarding Lead, class team and family so that safeguarding, SEND and care planning are joined up rather than considered in isolation.
The four-session learning pathway
Understanding FASD: establishing a shared foundation, without assumptions, and exploring how prenatal alcohol exposure can affect the developing brain, nervous system, learning and development.
Turning understanding into Reception practice: applying learning to classroom communication, processing speed, memory, confabulation, sensory needs, early literacy and numeracy, play and access to the EYFS Reception curriculum.
Responding to complex presentations: looking beneath distress, dysregulation, hyper-fixation and perseveration to identify needs, reduce triggers and strengthen co-regulation throughout the school day.
FASD Responsive™ school planning: bringing together quality standards, safeguarding, SEN Support or EHCP provision, reasonable adjustments, transition planning and forward planning for Key Stage 1, with clear consideration of the SENCO, Designated Safeguarding Lead and, where relevant, the Designated Teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children.
More than training: continued support for your team
Our support does not have to end with the final session. We can continue to help the school review classroom strategies, respond to emerging concerns and adapt the plan as curriculum, social and sensory demands increase. For stuck or complex cases, we also offer one-to-one consultation and attendance at school or multi-agency meetings to support joined-up planning, transition and longer-term provision.
Who is the programme for?
The programme is designed for the whole school team around the child, including Reception teachers, teaching assistants, SENCOs, Designated Safeguarding Leads, Designated Teachers for looked-after and previously looked-after children, school leaders, pastoral staff, lunchtime and playtime staff, office and reception staff, wraparound-care teams and relevant health or early years professionals supporting transition. Training together helps everyone understand their role and respond with a shared, consistent and FASD-informed approach across the full school day.
Certification and membership
The programme comprises four sessions with a minimum booking of five staff members. Each participant receives FASD Informed™ certification, practical resources to support implementation and ongoing membership of our wider network of FASD Responsive Professionals.
Move beyond generic awareness towards confident, consistent practice centred on one essential question: “What does this child need?”
To discuss a bespoke programme or reserve a provisional date, please email info@fasdinformed.co.uk
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