Families

Cost of Living – Scottish Government (2022) launched a one-stop website which provides information on a range of cost-of-living topics. This includes information on benefits and income, debt, health and wellbeing, advice for businesses, and has dedicated sections for children and families, and older or disabled people. Cost of living crisis – Cost of Living Support Scotland Young Scot also have a webpage with information on new offers, tips on saving money, benefits and links to support.  Coping With the Cost Crisis | Young Scot

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

The main advise is to be confident in the schools assessment of teaching and learning with additional support needs; use the positive behaviour and relationship based practices of the school and consider specific targeted intervention based on assessment. This is a series of helpful guides from the National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome-UK.

Forth Valley Neurodevelopmental Difficulties (NDD) Assessment Pathway

Guidance for Local Authority Staff across Forth Valley (2023) Assessment Requests Guidance and information on Supporting referrals to the Forth Valley NDD pathway and Do’s and Don’ts to making an NDD referral (posters).

Forth Valley Practitioner Pages

The Practitioner Pages are an online resource bank for multi-agency staff who work with children, young people, adults and families across Falkirk, Clackmannanshire and Stirling. On the pages you will find information on Corporate Parenting, Community Planning, Child Protection, Adult Support and Protection, Gender Based Violence, Substance Use Support, MAPPA, GIRFEC and Learning & Development.

Young Carers

Education Scotland (2025). Supporting Young Carers in Education. This resource aims to help practitioners recognise young carers and provides ideas about how they can effectively support them. This resource is a useful reference for whole staff or individual professional learning

Carers Trust (2021). Supporting Young Carers in Schools. This toolkit provides essential support to enable young carers services in England to significantly increase the identification and support of young carers in schools, and to secure vital new or continuation funding for local school engagement work.

The Scottish Government (September 2025) created this information for young carers, explaining the legal definition, how to access help at school, and for leaving school.

Reading at home

Shared reading is a great way to develop children’s language and communication and to boost their reading skills. The Education Endowment Foundation have 7 top tips to support reading at home. This is also available in the following languages: Bengali, Lithuanian, Polish, Punjabi and Urdu. You can access the translations here.

Relationships and Behaviour

Behaviour in children is a product of their social and emotional development. Social development depends on the growth in our relationships with others. Emotional development happens in the context of positive social relationships with trusted and consistent adults. The evidence in school and early years education is that positive behaviour is best promoted through:

1. A whole school approach using relationship based practice
2. A partnership approach with parents
3. All staff being clear and consistent in the use of these positive approaches and what to do when behaviour is less positive

Falkirk EPS has developed some key resources for school leaders and staff. The following guide is a key document to allow school practitioners to share, discuss and collaborate on the agreed approaches. This has been newly developed in 2025 as part of a three year strategic plan for Falkirk.

 

Promoting Relationships and Behaviour in Falkirk Schools (Jan 2025)

 

 

 

 

Promoting Relationships and Behaviour in Falkirk Schools Video Guide.

 

 

Additional resources that have been developed are provided below. Please also consider what training and development work would be helpful and have a look at CPD manager, our online training offers and our practitioners blog within the A-Z.

Resources to accompany the Understanding Behaviour in Context training

Understanding behaviour PDF handout

Social and Emotional Development in Childhood

Guide to development through toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence covering the domains of: emotional awareness, recognition & regulation; social skills; relationships, self-identity and self-esteem.  Click on image to access and accompanying document.

Theory of Mind

Theory of mind is the ability to differentiate and attribute thoughts, desires, beliefs, emotions intents and knowledge to the self and others. When children develop Theory of Mind, they can understand that others may think differently to themselves. They are also able to begin to discriminate between what is real and what is not real as they begin to understand deception and lying. There is a widely agreed sequence of the development of Theory of Mind in which children develop skills towards understanding others as having different mental states and that they are their own agents, separate to others. Click on image to access.

Additional Resources

Resources for supporting the social, emotional and behavioural development of primary-aged children (click for access)

Relationships and Behaviour – Education Scotland

Education Scotland has produced a range of materials which are designed to provide research, guidance, support, professional learning, exemplification and advice to practitioners in education for improving relationships and behaviour within their context – Improving relationships and behaviour.

Resilience

The Journey: Adventures in Resilience a resource from Education Scotland written for 13-16year olds to be used by practitioners or parents/carers.

Resilience Alphabet (primary) (secondary resource pending)

Risk Assessment and Management

Falkirk Council and Forth Valley child protection policies, procedures & guidelines

The National Risk Framework to Support the Assessment of Children and Young People (Scottish Government, 2012) is a ‘toolkit’ for child protection to support practitioners in identifying and acting on child protection risks in children and young people.

Forth Valley Managing and Preventing Harmful Sexual Behaviour guidelines and resources

Falkirk Council Care and Risk Management (CARM) procedure recognises the link between young people’s offending/risk taking behaviour and unmet need. It applies to young people between 12-18 years within Falkirk Council who present a serious risk of harm to others as a result of sexual and/or violent behaviour.

The Framework for Risk Assessment, Management and Evaluation (FRAME) (2014) is for local authorities and partners working with children and young people who offend (managing high risk and transitions).

Falkirk Council risk assessment pro-formas

Scottish Government (2020). Harmful sexual behaviour by children and young people: Expert Group Report.

Parenting

Barndos have created their Family Space, a place for parents and carers like you to get advice and guidance from their specialists. It includes practical information.

Parents Plus

This flipbook provides information regarding the Parents Plus ASN programme. Please download a copy of the PDF to access the embedded website links.

Early Level ASN Parent Plus information poster.

Early Level Parent Plus information poster.

Paired Learning Approach

Paired approaches to learning involve setting up pairs of peers. usually an older child and a younger child.

There is very positive evidence that this works effectively. Follow the university of Dundee links to see the effect sizes.

Peer Tutoring – Peer tutoring includes a range of approaches in which learners work in pairs or small groups to provide each other with explicit teaching support. The Educational Endowment Fund have assessed what help to makes this approach effective.

Phone use

There are no exact rules about the right age to give your child access to technology. Every child’s different and will mature in their own time. Parents are making choices about whether and when to grant greater independence and freedom. NSPCC have created guidance for supporting children at different ages with their use of technology.

Positive, Sustained Post-School Transitions

Skills Development Scotland website

Scottish Transitions Forum: Principles of Good Transitions for young people with Additional Support Needs

Autism Toolbox transitions section

Promoting positive post-school transitions for deaf young people in Scotland

My World of Work including School Leavers Toolkit

ThisMayHelp is a collection of very short videos and clear advice for parents/carers who have are looking for help for a wide range of concerns about young people, including understanding teenagers, teenagers safety, school avoidance, gaming and online activity, building resilience, self-care tips and much more.

Preterm Babies

Supporting children born preterm in school – link to a project partnership by University of Leicester, University of Nottingham, Loughborough University, University College London, and Ulster University.  The website contains five online modules for education staff and can be completed in approximately one hour.  The modules are:

1. What is preterm birth?
2. Educational outcomes following preterm birth
3. Cognitive and motor development following preterm birth
4. Behavioural, social and emotional outcomes following preterm birth
5. How can educational professionals support preterm children

Numeracy

Guidance for assessment and intervention for identifying and supporting specific learning differences in numeracy (dyscalculia) is available from East Dunbartonshire Council. It is based on the specific learning differences (literacy) pathway designed by Falkirk Council available above. East Dunbartonshire Dyscalculia Guidance (2018)

CALL Scotland (Communication, Access, Literacy & Learning) based at the University of Edinburgh have a range of materials to help children and young people across Scotland to overcome disability and barriers to learning including iPad Apps for children/young people with numeracy difficulties (including dyscalculia).

Nurture

Applying Nurture as a Whole School Approach

• A framework to support self-evaluation
• Nurturing Schools Pack FINAL
• Nurture Training Materials
• Education Scotland Applying Nurture As a Whole School Approach – A framework to support self-evaluation

Nurture and transitions

• 6 principles of nurture for phased education return (South Ayrshire Educational Psychology Service)
• 6 principles of nurture for return to education (Ed Psych Insight)
• Self-evaluation tool for considering inclusive transitions to ensure effective support for children and young people during the covid-19 pandemic (from Inverclyde Educational Psychology Service).

 

Nurture, Trauma and Adversity

Trauma-informed practice toolkit (Scottish Government, March 2021)

National trauma training programme for the Scottish workforce

Improvement Service. Adopting a trauma-informed approach.

DOs and DONTs TICC

Trauma Sensitive Schools Checklist

Emotionally regulate before we educate (British Psychological Society)

Education Scotland have developed a range of curricular materials targeted at upper primary to support pupils learning: The Compassionate and Connected Classroom: A health and wellbeing curricular resource for upper primary

Psychological Services are piloting an Education Scotland training resource to support practitioners in this area and more details are available here: CCC-training-launch-leaflet

Mental Wellbeing and Health

A Whole School Approach Framework for Schools to Support Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing (published by Scottish Government August 2021). Included in this framework are considerations for local authorites and guidance for schools to develop and embed policy and practice within schools and the wider community; underpinned by robust processes using universal, targeted and specialist interventions to ensure equity for all.

Mental health and wellbeing strategy: (published by Scottish Government June 2023). This Strategy lays out the Scottish Government’s long-term vision and approach to improving the mental health and wellbeing of everyone in Scotland.

Falkirk Educational Psychology Service Anxiety Toolkit Resources This toolkit can be used to support children and young people with a range of mental health and wellbeing concerns, including anxiety, stress, low resilience, low self-esteem. The anxiety toolkit is appropriate for all practitioners working across early years, primary and secondary establishments, to support children and young people presenting with anxiety.

This resource pack contains symbolised books and activities to support children’s understanding of wellbeing and self-care –  Wellbeing Pack: symbol-supported books and activities to support children’s wellbeing. The symbolised books explain what wellbeing ‘looks like’ and provides guidance on how children can improve their own wellbeing. The themes of resilience and mindfulness are also explored. This pack aims to help build emotional understanding.

Self Harm Leaflet Guidance for school based practitioners created by Falkirk Council Educational Psychology Service (First Published July 2007)

Penumbra have created an online portal about self-harm for professionals and the public. The portal was created to provide recovery-focussed support, tools, and information that anyone can access to enable people to support themselves and others. This includes sections for those who self-harm, people supporting someone who self-harms, and professionals working with someone who self-harms.

Information on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in Forth Valley. The page provides information for children and young people, their parents/carers and health and care staff working with children and young people.

Stress and mindfulness – a post from Falkirk Council Educational Psychology Service including our top 5 tips for spotting stress.

An e-learning module called ‘We All Have Mental Health: an introduction for teachers’ is available from the Scottish Association for Mental Health website

Animated Learning Resources – Promoting Children and Young People’s Mental Health and preventing self harm and suicide. These resources aim to help professioanls to understand the factors that influence mental health and resilience in children and young people; engage proactively with children and young people about mental health, self-harm and suicide; and recognise when to seek help to support those in their care.

Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing: A professional learning resource for all school staff (2021). This resource takes a whole school approach centred around prevention and early intervention to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for everyone in the school community. It aims to provide school staff with knowledge and understanding of mental health and wellbeing in schools and a range of opportunities to learn about experiences and advice from practitioners and young people.

Learning

Hattie and His High-Impact Teaching Strategies: A Summary (2019) based on the John Hattie meta-studies captured in “Visible Learning”. Collective Teacher Efficacy is #1.

Literacy

Specific Learning Differences and Literacy Pathway Falkirk Council April 2018

Further information on the literacy pathway and materials is available on the Specific Learning Differences | Falkirk Council Additional Support Needs blog.

The Addressing Dyslexia Toolkit is a free resource managed by dyslexia Scotland and funded by Scottish Government. Free online modules are available as part of the resource which support GTC Scotland Professional Standards, Professional Update and Professional Recognition .

Paired Reading and Thinking resources.

CALL Scotland (Communication, Access, Literacy & Learning) based at the University of Edinburgh have a range of materials to help children and young people across Scotland to overcome disability and barriers to learning including assisting with reading difficulties, Android Apps for reading and writing difficulties (including dyslexia), iPad Apps for reading and writing difficulties (including dyslexia).

Inclusion

Education Scotland 2025. Inclusion, wellbeing and equalities framework. (Essential, Informed and Skilled levels).

Scottish Government (2019). Presumption to provide education in a mainstream setting: guidance.

Education Scotland National Improvement Hub (2022). Rights, Reviews, Promises and Inclusion for All evaluation tool

CIRCLE resource to support Inclusive Learning and Collaborative Working (Primary and Secondary). The CIRCLE resources were developed through a collaboration between Queen Margaret University, NHS Lothian and City of Edinburgh Council.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (gtc Scotland) (2022). National Framework for Inclusion (3rd edition).

Children in Scotland Inclusion Ambassadors

Interpretation and translation support

Falkirk Council Interpretation and Translation Support (updated 2022)

Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC)

GIRFEC In Falkirk Practitioner Pages

GIRFEC – an overview (June 2022). This is a 30 minute introduction to GIRFEC provided by Louise McClatchey, Educational Psychologist.  This consists of 1) audio PowerPoint, 2) a draft copy of  Falkirk’s Child and Young Person’s Integrated Assessment and Plan and 3) useful links. This can be viewed by anyone working as part of a team around the child/young person or as a whole team CPD activity.

Grief & Loss

Supporting Children in Grief

Growth Mindset

Mindset – 8 tips to promote a growth mindset

Digital Inclusion & Online Learning

A range of resources can be found on the Education Scotland digital and digital skills site.  The aim of this site is to provide support to educators to enhance their digital skills (to use technology) and ideas to apply those skills as part of their learning, teaching and assessment. There is also guidance, resources and ideas for planning learning in digital literacy, computing science and cyber resilience within Curriculum for Excellence.

Dyslexia and Dyscalculia

Specific Learning Differences and Literacy Pathway Falkirk Council April 2018

Further information on the literacy pathway and materials is available on the Specific Learning Differences blog.

Call Scotland (2023). A Technology Checklist to creating a dyslexia-friendly classroom (poster).

Scottish Government/Education Scotland (2022) working definition of dyscalculia has been collaboratively developed to provide education staff, partners, families and learners with a nationally agreed description of the range of indicators and associated difficulties of dyscalculia.

Dyscalculia | Learning resources | National Improvement Hub (education.gov.scot)