Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
Over the coming week, our Learning Enhancement team will be working collaboratively with classroom teachers, Learning Assistants and students to review and update Individual Education Plans (IEPs). A key part of this process is ensuring that each student’s voice is heard. Students with an IEP complete a survey that allows them to share their interests, strengths, challenges, goals and the ways they feel best supported at school. This valuable feedback helps us develop plans that are meaningful, personalised and reflective of each student’s unique learning journey.

Once IEPs have been updated, they will be emailed to parents and carers for consultation. We encourage families to carefully review the document and respond to the email to arrange a time to meet with their child’s classroom teacher. These conversations provide an important opportunity to discuss goals, share insights and work together to ensure the plan effectively supports your child’s learning and wellbeing. Where appropriate, students are also welcome to attend these meetings, enabling them to contribute to discussions about their goals and learning supports.

Fidgets in the Classroom: Tools for Learning, Not Toys
You may have heard students talk about fidgets, or perhaps you have seen children using them at school, therapy appointments, or at home. As their popularity has increased, so too has the conversation around when and how they should be used in educational settings.

Fidgets are small handheld tools that provide sensory input through touch and movement. Examples include stress balls, therapy putty, textured bands, tangles, or other quiet sensory tools. For some students, these tools can support attention, self-regulation, and engagement in learning when used appropriately. Research and practice in occupational therapy suggest that some children benefit from sensory strategies that help them achieve an optimal state of alertness for learning and participation.

Importantly, fidgets are not intended to be toys or sources of entertainment. Their purpose is to support a student’s ability to focus, remain engaged, manage sensory needs, or regulate their emotions and energy levels during learning tasks. When used well, the fidget should remain secondary to the learning activity, with the student’s attention still directed towards the teacher, task, or discussion.

Current Australian educational and occupational therapy guidance highlights that sensory supports, including fidgets, should be considered thoughtfully and on an individual basis. They are most often recommended following assessment by a health professional such as a paediatrician or occupational therapist, who can determine whether a particular tool may support a child’s sensory, attention, or regulation needs.

Just as importantly, students need to be explicitly taught when, where, and how to use a fidget. A tool that assists one student to focus may become a distraction if it is used during the wrong activity, shared with peers, manipulated visually, or used as a toy rather than a support for learning. Establishing clear expectations helps ensure the tool remains purposeful and effective.

At Lutheran School Wagga Wagga, we value the strong partnership between families, educators, and health professionals. If your child has been recommended a fidget by their paediatrician, occupational therapist, or another allied health professional, we encourage you to share this information with your child’s teacher. Working together allows us to develop a consistent understanding of the purpose of the tool, when it should be used, and the strategies that will best support your child’s success in the classroom.

This collaborative approach helps ensure that:
• the fidget is used for its intended purpose;
• the student understands appropriate use;
• classroom expectations are clear and consistent; and
• the tool supports learning without becoming a distraction to the student or others.

While fidgets can be helpful for some students, it is important to recognise that they are just one of many possible strategies that support learning and regulation. Movement breaks, predictable routines, visual supports, seating adjustments, and other classroom accommodations may also play an important role in helping students engage successfully in school.

Supporting students with sensory processing challenges
Promoting self-regulation in the classroom: Supporting the sensory needs of all students
Quiet Fidget Toys for School

Lauren Forsyth

Learning Enhancement Coordinator