(The words and opinions of this blog are that of the author and her experiences. This is not professional advice, and should not be used in lieu of that.)

Accessing learning by entering through a classroom door has both a physical and metaphorical side, both in which the doorframe’s structure makes it either easier or harder to walk through depending on what is there, and what is not. If we don’t build the frame sturdy and make sure its easily accessible, we cannot expect it to be used.

I’m no architect so I’m not here to talk about the structural qualities of an actual door, but I’d love to open the conversation of the metaphorical doorway to learning and being ‘ready to learn’.

Being ‘ready to learn’ is more than a set of expected generalised milestones kids need to hold to positively engage with school, it’s also a state of being summed by a range of contextual factors that allows us to be present in the way to grow and develop our knowledge. As there are requirements adults have from a child to be able to teach them, there are requirements the child has that build and shape the accessibility of the learning doorway.

I believe this doorway structure is built from the following components - Radical Self Love, having Relevant Ways to Communicate, Feeling and Being Connected, Interoceptive Awareness, Knowing and Feeling Safe, Accomodations and Supports, and Knowing Our Identity. What is present and absent shapes the doorway and shapes the ease in which a child can be ‘ready to learn’.

Image description: A visual showing the 7 components Nell believes that opens the doorway to learning and a child walking through smiling.

Radical Self Love

This is my whole goal, the bottom line in what I do. If my books contribute to kids growing up radically loving themselves for who they are, rather than what society externally deems their value to be… I would consider that to be my greatest career success.

We should all have radical self love and when we do we stop trying to shrink to fit in spaces and instead expand into all the corners of what makes us who we are.

Relevant Ways to Communicate

What forms of communication are available, is relevant, and communicated to be available for everyone? Available means readily accessible. Readily accessible is being rememberable, visible, and obtainable at any time.

ACC boards, flip-cards, visual cues, in and around the classroom are not extras, additionals, or specialist tools. They are variations in communication that need to and should be normalised. Normalising through presence alone begins a systemic shift on the privilege given to spoken language.

Feeling and Being Connected

Every child needs a champion. This is a common saying, I’m sure most of us have heard this, and if you haven’t - well now you have. There’s so much more in those 5 words, every child needs at least a champion, ideally more than one as one is a fragile number and if that champion is ever down and out themselves, or moves, then the child has lost a foundational pillar and this can be catastrophic. Connection is foundational to feeling like we’re belonging, that we are valued, that we are important, cared for, loved. We’re braver when we know and feel we have someone in our corner.

Interoceptive Awareness

This one is so important. I feel it is a keystone in the doorway to learning.

Interoception is the sense of recognising signals internally and from our environment. Interoceptive awareness on the other hand is the interpreting of those signs and symptoms and taking action or inaction to support ourselves staying regulated, in our state of balance. It is not something inherently within and completely formed, it’s like a muscle that needs to be exercised in order to be strengthened.

If a child cannot does not have tools to recognise they are overwhelmed, they cannot regulate. If they do not have the reminders and time to develop their interoceptive awareness to be able recognise how their individual signs and symptoms show up, such as that they are hungry or overstimulated or uncomfortable, they cannot learn. Supporting interoceptive awareness is supporting access to learning on the biological and emotional level.

Knowing and Feeling Safe

Knowing that we are safe and feeling that safety in our bodies are two different things. We can believe that people know somewhere is safe because policies and procedures exist, but it is our actions that let them truly feel it. The sense of safety comes through demonstration rather than declaration.

The true sense of safety is built through tone, predictability, consent, boundaries, respect, and follow through. A child who feels safe is a child who can explore, take risks, ask questions, and learn.

Accomodations and Supports

We all have needs. Some are core to every body (food, water, clothing, air). Others are specific to who we are, how we process the world, and what environments help us function to our ideal version of self. Accommodations and supports aren’t “special treatment” (and really needed to stop being treated as such), they are equity measures. They level the field so kids can engage without being forced to mask, push past discomfort, or perform beyond their capacity.

When we provide supports proactively rather than reactively, we show kids that their needs are expected, respected, and valid.

Knowing Our Identity

Identity shapes how we move through the world. When kids have language for who they are (culturally, socially, emotionally, neurologically, etc.) they can locate themselves within their environment rather than feeling lost in it. It gives kids a sense of continuity and pride.

Supporting identity means giving kids space to express themselves, see themselves, and explore who they are becoming without judgment or pressure to conform.

Introducing an Early Primary Collaboration with Social Stencil!

Supporting education spaces is a passion of mine, so when Connie over at Social Stencil and I got in touch regarding creating a program that supported connecting teachers and kids with each other as well as themselves - how could I say no!?

Social Stencil’s Early Primary Program is a collaboration with educators, authors, individuals with lived experience and informed by the latest insights in interoception research and neuroaffirming principles, the Social Stencil Junior Program is about to launch!

Designed for Reception/Prep to Grade 2, this program focuses on three core themes;

The 3 Core Themes of Social Stencil Junior - Belonging, Emotions & Me, Appreciating Difference.

This is a pilot program, meaning it’s brand new, we want to share it, and learn from you. We’ll spend next year conversations with you (our facilitators) about the program, and work with the University of Melbourne and Department of Education Victoria to formally evaluate its impact for students.

You do not need to attend a workshop to deliver this yourself! This program has been written with clear lesson plans so you can jump in and go! When you order the program, we’ll also send you a book box of the resources you need to deliver this program in your classroom.

Check out more info over on Social Stencil’s website here.

The Doorway to Learning.