'FASD Informed' Specialist School (Stage 4 Programme)

Give your team the confidence, language and practical tools to respond to children, young people and adults affected by prenatal alcohol exposure, likely and confirmed Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). This specialist programme is designed for settings supporting complex presentations, emerging need or where there are existing safeguarding concerns, educational barriers and overlapping challenges, especially where progress feels stuck and traditional approaches are not working.

Delivered through live online bitesize sessions, this bespoke training fits around your timetable and your team. Sessions can be scheduled during or outside school hours, including inset days, and are adapted to the children, young people and families you support, so the learning feels immediately relevant, practical and actionable.

Why book this training

When teams understand FASD, they make better decisions, reduce avoidable misunderstandings, strengthen safeguarding and create more effective support plans. This training helps professionals move from uncertainty to clarity, from frustration to understanding, and from reactive responses to consistent, FASD responsive practice that can improve outcomes across education, care and wellbeing.

Who this programme is for

This programme is designed for professionals working in specialist indoor and/or outdoor settings, including headteachers, teachers, teaching assistants, SENCOs, therapists, forest school leaders, specialist support staff, mentors, care assistants, safeguarding leads, medical professionals, educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, teachers of the deaf or vision specialists, dedicated specialist teachers, administration and reception teams, dinner staff, care staff, volunteers, technical support, and direct student support staff.

Why specialist settings matter

We believe that specialist schools are uniquely placed to make a life-changing difference for children and young people affected by prenatal alcohol exposure and FASD. With the right environment, tailored curriculum, predictable routines, visual supports and carefully scaffolded learning, pupils can feel safer, more regulated and better able to participate, develop and succeed.

Prenatal alcohol exposure can affect multiple brain domains and the nervous system, shaping how a child learns, communicates, copes with change, manages emotions and functions day to day. Because functioning age may sit well below chronological age, and because needs can present unevenly across different areas, staff can easily overestimate what a child can manage without the right training. This is why understanding the spiky neurodevelopmental profile is so important.

Programme overview:

Stage 1: What is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?

Stage 1 ensures that all professionals begin from the same foundation without assumptions. We explore how prenatal alcohol exposure affects the brain and nervous system, and how this can influence communication, processing, learning, development and essential care needs. The session introduces evidence-informed, person-centred thinking so staff can avoid overestimating capacity and instead adapt support to the individual.

Stage 2: Interpreting theory into practice

Stage 2 focuses on practical application. We consider processing speed, transitions, hyper-fixation, perseveration, confabulation, fluctuating capacity, sexualised symptoms and curriculum differentiation. Using case reflection, we translate theory into realistic strategies that can support learning, participation, regulation and safety across the school day.

Stage 3: Forward planning and transitions

Stage 3 supports teams to plan ahead for anticipated divergence in needs and key life transitions. We look at switching techniques, creative problem-solving, and developmentally appropriate planning for future pathways, including strengths-based transition planning, supported internships, job coaching and supported living.

Stage 4: FASD responsive practice

Stage 4 brings everything together into confident, FASD responsive practice. We explore personalised care, fluctuating capacity, risk assessment, safeguarding, reflection and case management, helping your team embed a more joined-up and consistent approach. Aligned with the NICE quality standard on FASD, this stage supports settings to strengthen good practice, multidisciplinary working and forward planning for more sustainable outcomes.

What teams will learn

·        Understand how prenatal alcohol exposure is neurodevelopmental trauma.

·        Recognise how alcohol affects the brain, nervous system and developmental milestones in the womb.

·        Identify the safeguarding risks created when processing speed, understanding or functioning are misjudged.

·        Explore co-occurring conditions commonly associated with prenatal alcohol exposure, including autism, ADHD, learning disability and Tourette syndrome.

·        Recognise how developmental divergence can present across communication, learning, participation and daily living.

·        Apply practical strategies to support transitions, regulation, curriculum access and personalised care.

Our approach

FASD informed practice means seeing symptoms and looking beyond behaviour; recognising the neurodevelopmental differences that may be driving it.

Instead of asking “What is wrong with this child or young person?” we help teams ask “What does this child or young person need?” This simple but powerful shift can transform relationships, reduce blame and open the door to more effective, compassionate support.

FASD is still widely misunderstood, and without specialist knowledge, professionals can unintentionally misread needs, overestimate capacity and miss important safeguarding cues. Our programme gives teams the insight and confidence to recognise hidden vulnerabilities, interpret presentation more accurately and respond with strategies that are practical, respectful and effective.

Certification and additional support

All participants receive FASD Informed certification, practical resources and membership of our growing network of FASD responsive specialist schools. For settings needing more tailored support, we also offer bespoke online 1:1 consultation and attendance at meetings for complex or stuck cases, helping teams unlock new thinking and identify realistic ways forward.

What participants say:

“It was a complete lightbulb moment for me. I attended thinking it would tick a box, but this training changes lives. We now look at every child we support through a new lens. The sessions helped us reflect deeply as a team and shaped our offer for the future. The insight was rich, practical and inspiring.”

Headteacher / DSL, Specialist School, Cornwall

Booking

Ready to strengthen your team’s understanding and build more effective FASD responsive practice?

To book a placeholder diary date or discuss a bespoke programme for your setting, please contact us at info@fasdinformed.co.uk

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Drawing by our FASD Friend and daily inspiration @Charlie Mackesy