Staff Professional Learning - Sandhya Menon
On Monday, 1st December, our school came together for a valuable closure day focused on professional development. The morning session with Sandhya Menon offered a meaningful opportunity for us to reflect on our practices and deepen our understanding of inclusive education.
Who is Sandhya Menon
Sandhya is an Educational & Developmental Psychologist and the founder of Onwards and Upwards Psychology. She draws on both her professional training and lived experience as a neurodivergent individual to inform her approach, combining clinical understanding with personal insight.
Her work emphasises a neuro-affirming, trauma-informed, strength-based perspective: recognising neurodivergent ways of being and learning as valid rather than “deficits” to be fixed. Sandhya also writes children’s books designed to help young neurodivergent people understand their brains and feel empowered. Her titles include The Brain Forest, The Rainbow Brain, books that use accessible language and visuals to normalise neurodiversity and help children make sense of their experiences. Through her public speaking, workshops, and writing, she brings neuro-affirming frameworks into homes, schools, clinics, and communities.
What Her Session Brought to Us
In Monday’s session, Sandhya guided us through the principles of neurodiversity-affirming practice, encouraging us to view neurodivergent students not through a deficit-based lens, but as individuals whose brains simply work differently. This reframing helps us move away from compliance-based or deficit-focused approaches, toward ones that appreciate and accommodate differences.
By sharing personal and professional stories, some of which required courage from staff to share, Sandhya helped us see the real impact of traditional educational narratives on neurodivergent students. We were reminded that our role as educators goes beyond “fixing” behaviours: it’s about creating environments where all students feel seen, respected, and supported.
For many of us, the session provided “light-bulb moments”, new perspectives or deeper empathy that challenge old assumptions and open the door to more inclusive practices in our classrooms and support services.
Aligning with Our School Vision
This work ties directly into our 2025 Learning Diversity goals and our School Improvement Plan. By embracing a neuro-affirming mindset, we are committing, as a community, to building a more inclusive school culture: one where diversity of thinking, learning, sensory processing, social interaction and identity are honoured.
It’s not just about adapting our teaching strategies, but about rethinking fundamental assumptions: whose brains “fit” the schooling model, and how we might reshape that model to better suit everyone.
Moving Forward Together
Following Sandhya’s session, our staff will continue embedding neuro-affirming practices in our school through the following steps:
Explore Neuro-Affirming Resources: Staff and families are encouraged to access a curated list of neuro-affirming resources [here is a link] to deepen understanding and support inclusive approaches at school and home.
Engage with Key Texts: School copies of The Rainbow Brain, The Brain Forest, and My Body’s Power Pack have been ordered and will be available for staff to borrow. These texts offer practical insights and strategies to reflect on in classrooms and support meaningful learning for all students.
Apply Insights in Classrooms: Staff will identify opportunities to incorporate neuro-affirming practices into teaching and learning, creating environments that recognise and celebrate diverse ways of thinking and learning.
Reflect and Share: Staff are encouraged to document their reflections, light-bulb moments, or strategies tried in the classroom, fostering a culture of shared learning and ongoing professional growth.
- Sustain and Embed Practice: Through continued discussion, collaboration, and reflection, staff will work together to ensure that neuro-affirming approaches are embedded across all areas of school life, aligning with our 2025 Learning Diversity goals and School Improvement Plan.
Ferial Davis
Deputy Principal
Learning Diversity Leader