Queen Margaret Academy is first in Scotland to get ADHD award
QUEEN Margaret Academy in Ayr has become the first secondary school in Scotland to be awarded the prestigious ADHD Friendly School award.
The school was awarded the ADHD Foundation title for their work with young people with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder in the last academic year.
The award distributors considered that the school recognised all of the main barriers to learning for young people with ADHD and has sought to address them in their everyday practice.
This includes giving pupils ample opportunity for movement and exercise, as well as the use of a variety of tactile resources as a tool to support young people in regulating their attention.
Queen Margaret Academy teacher Anna Roche said: “It has been a wonderful experience making the school a more accepting and understanding place for our young people to learn in.
“The pupils that take part in my ADHD support group have gained confidence in themselves and an insight into their condition that they may never have had.
“Seeing pupils thrive and having positive conversations with parents due to the work we have done is an honour and a privilege, and the ADHD Foundation have helped with every step of the way.
“Queen Margaret Academy is so excited to be the first secondary school in Scotland to achieve the award and we encourage anyone thinking about it to do it too.”
Colin Foley, the training director of the ADHD Foundation said: “Working with
Queen Margaret Academy has been a pleasure.
“The team are absolutely dedicated to achieving success for young people with ADHD and they fully deserve this recognition for their achievements.
“It is my pleasure to say that they are the first secondary in Scotland to achieve this.”
Resources can be found in the school’s ‘Nurture Room’
“The team are dedicated to achieving success for young people with ADHD’ which is also used to support pupils to regulate their emotions, and young people at Queen Margaret have also been taught self-soothing strategies such as deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation as a form of emotional regulation.
In addition, Queen Margaret Academy has provided support and information for parents of neurodiverse pupils.