KS2 SEND & SEMH Pastoral Support Starter Bundle

A practical KS2 SEND, SEMH and pastoral support bundle containing three low-pressure resources for communication, connection and change.

This Pastoral Practice Press starter bundle brings together three complementary resources designed for teachers, teaching assistants, SEND staff, pastoral teams and nurture practitioners working with children who may find direct questioning, emotional discussion or uncertainty difficult.

The bundle includes:

When They Say ‘I Don’t Know’ – Communication Toolkit
A practical low-demand toolkit for moments when a child repeatedly responds with “I don’t know”. It includes alternative ways to communicate, conversation starters, drawing and pointing options, adult phrase prompts and simple check-in tools.

30 Five-Minute Connection Activities
Thirty short, low-prep activities designed to build positive adult-child connection without making personal conversation or disclosure the purpose of the interaction. Activities include drawing, imagining, noticing, building, problem-solving and playful shared tasks.

Change & Transition Toolkit
A low-pressure toolkit for helping children understand change, uncertainty and new routines. It includes practical pages covering what is changing and staying the same, what is known and unknown, people and places, first/next/after sequencing, questions, changed plans, returning after time away and moving class, year group or school.

Together, the resources support three common pastoral situations:

Communication — when a child cannot or does not want to answer direct questions.
Connection — when relationship-building is more useful than immediately discussing difficulties.
Change — when clearer information and reduced uncertainty may be more helpful than repeated questions about feelings.

The approach throughout is deliberately low-pressure. Children can communicate through talking, pointing, choosing, drawing, writing or shared activity, and there is no expectation that a child must disclose personal information in order to receive support.

Suitable for KS2 / ages 7–11, SEND and SEMH provision, nurture, pastoral support, 1:1 work, teaching assistants, SEND staff and relationship-building work.

All three resources include guidance for adults and appropriate safeguarding boundaries.

Please note: These are educational and pastoral resources and are not replacements for safeguarding procedures, professional assessment or specialist support.