'FASD Informed' Mainstream School: Stage 4 Programme
- somersetmiracles
- Sep 9, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 28, 2025
For those supporting children with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Complex Needs; early intervention strategies in identifying and providing effective support to children and young people who are vulnerable and at risk of poor outcomes.
This course is designed for:
Teachers, Teaching Assistants, SENCO's, Headteacher, DSL, Therapists, School Nurse, School Counsellor, Administration & Reception, Dinner Staff, Playtime Staff, Volunteers, Headteachers, Technical Support, and Direct Student Support
'FASD-informed practice' acknowledges the need to see beyond an individual’s presenting behaviours, to consider symptoms and to ask.....
‘What does this child or young person need?’
rather than
‘What is wrong with this child or young person?’
We dig deep to tune into the child/ren that you support where we tailor our programme around the child's individual needs. We offer practical application of educational & therapeutic strategies to support the indoor and outdoor classroom where we tune into the central nervous system damage of children who has been exposed to alcohol in the womb.
'FASD is the most severe of the neurodevelopmental disorders in terms of its far-reaching impact on functioning across the lifespan, and requires a unique approach to support and understanding.
Those who are not appropriately trained or knowledgeable can often make assumptions due to the fact that many individuals with FASD can superficially present as more able than they actually are or where their ‘symptoms’ are misinterpreted as ‘behaviour’ due to spiky cognitive and neurodevelopmental profile.
There is also often the assumption that symptoms of FASD will improve over time, or a child will outgrow their emotion regulation challenges or poor adaptive functioning for example, when unfortunately, the opposite is true; the developmental gap continues to widen and diverge away from the norm over the course of childhood.
This necessitates increased, rather than decreased, need for support and services. FASD must be understood as an enduring brain injury, similar to any other acquired brain injury.'
Dr Cassie Jackson Consultant Clinical Psychologist
With up to 428 co-occurring neurodevelopmental conditions common to FASD, spanning across 18 of 22 chapters of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) -10. The most prevalent disease conditions include congenital malformations, deformities, and chromosomal abnormalities, mental and 'behavioural' disorders..... we consider the 'symptoms' and look for responsive ways to interpret and scaffold needs.
Our 'FASD Informed' School Stage 4 programme offer's online live bitesize sessions tailored to your timetable, where we can adjust the delivery time to suit your team in or out of School hours or on inset, where you can dip in and out at your pace:
FASD Informed™ School Stage 1: What is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?….. with no assumptions, all professionals starting at the same place at a gentle pace; we consider the damage of the brain and nervous system and how this impacts learning and development.
FASD Informed™ School Stage 2: Interpreting theory into practice, processing speed and the impact to learning, differentiating the curriculum, providing strategies to consider to support the spectrum; digging deeper into the practical considerations with case study reflection.
FASD Informed™ School Stage 3: Supporting forward planning to support anticipated emerging needs, digging deep into 'switching' techniques, planning well ahead for transitions. Understanding the needs of carers & parents, vicarious trauma, adapting practice to plan to meet short and long term needs.
FASD Informed™ School Stage 4: FASD NICE Quality Standards, OFSTED good practice informing 'FASD Responsive' Practice; personalised care, risk assessment, safeguarding, reflection and case management; good practice in getting support from a wider multi-agency team.
All participants will receive 'FASD Informed' certification, resources and once all four stages are completed membership of our network of 'FASD Responsive' Schools.
When delivered as part of a bespoke package we tailor our FASD-Informed sessions around the needs of the child or young adult you support; every session is unique because we consider carefully alongside your team the needs presenting.
'This course has given us confidence in moving forwards in supporting needs that had become overlapping and stuck. My team really work together now to consider tuning into strengths instead of pushing more demand, where the child was shutting down or showed us lots of symptoms of their unmet needs; this previously placed him at risk of exclusion.
I am proud to see that my team used the opportunity well to consider how they can really make a difference to the whole child, where their learning really has helped in every aspect of the child's day with us. More so the outcomes that we could not have predicted, in reducing the child to parent violence, as he was not coming out of school like a grenade about to go off. He found an interest, a passion, a strength; we have nurtured and encouraged this which has made him feel special, this was everything.'
Headteacher, Swindon.
'FASD Informed' (TM) Education delivered by a strong experienced qualified team, tailoring a bespoke service to support your team in becoming FASD Responsive(TM)
We also offer an online 1:1 consultation service and attendance of meetings for stuck or complex cases to consider the spectrum of needs and to look at planning a way forwards.
To support a School to become 'FASD Responsive' we recommend considering a whole School approach where we have developed a successful programme for Governing bodies, Headteachers, DSL's, Designated Teachers, SENCO's; this considers policy change needed to support birth, children looked after and in care who have been exposed to prenatal alcohol.
For more details click the link here: 'FASD Informed' Professional
If you are a Post 16 provider we offer a tailored transition programme.
For more details email us: info@fasdinformed.co.uk
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