Inclusion Blog
Focus on Inclusion 4
ExpiredSocial Stories
Social Stories™ were developed by Carol Gray in 1990, and are now a respected evidence-based practice used worldwide with autistic people of all ages.
A Social Story is a story that shares social information with an autistic child or adult in an accessible way, respectful of their different perspective and interpretation of the social world. It is written in a specific way according to ten defining characteristics (the Social Story criteria) which guide it to be meaningful, safe, patient, non-judgemental and reassuring. Social Stories describe anything and everything in life. It is individualised for each person.
A Social Story’s aim is to improve the child or adult’s understanding by simply sharing social information. With improved social understanding clarity and predictability is established and anxiety is diminished.
A social story can support a child who is having difficulty with an activity, routine, or event. It can help them to understand it, step by step. Social stories can be about specific situations at school, home, or in the community.
You can find more information here Social stories and comic strip conversations (autism.org.uk)
To share your ideas or to contact us regarding any aspect of inclusion that you may need advice or assistance with please email
Focus on Inclusion 3
ExpiredDon’t forget that your compass record needs to be kept up to date and should include details of any additional needs and/or disabilities that you have - click on the link above to go to Compass. It is really important that these are recorded so that we can provide the right support to you if needed. Sometimes leaders are worried that if they put down an additional need and/or disability they will be prevented from remaining in their Scouting role. This is not the case at all – we use this information to tailor support to you should you need it.
Have you thought about assessing how inclusive your section is (this is also available for groups and districts)? The Inclusivity RAG (Red, Amber, Green) Assessment is a tool to help you assess the types of young people joining and taking part in your section, and consider how the section operates. It can be found here sectionsinclusivityrag.pdf (scouts.org.uk)
To share your ideas or to contact us regarding any aspect of inclusion that you may need advice or assistance with please email
Focus on Inclusion 2
ExpiredStarting in the near future will be a series of virtual drop-ins which any volunteer can attend. These will focus on a specific topic e.g. autism and will provide an opportunity to learn more about the topic from practitioners, parent carers and young people and ask questions. If there are any topics you would like us to cover then please get in touch. Details of these will be on the inclusion page of the county website Suffolk Scouts - Inclusion
We have a range of resources on mental health available for groups as well as a lending library on topics such as sensory processing disorder, selective mutism, dyslexia.
A useful resource for finding out about mental health is MindEd Hub. MindEd is a free educational resource on children, young people, adults and older people's mental health.
Resources for young people include The Source for young people in Suffolk and YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People | YoungMind
To share your ideas or to contact us regarding any aspect of inclusion that you may need advice or assistance with please email
Focus on Inclusion 1
Expired