My experience with special educational needs
I am a qualified teacher specialising in English Language tutoring for students: Year 3 to Year 11 GCSE. I have extensive experience supporting pupils with SEND, including Autism, ADHD, and SEMH. I emphasise purpose, practice, patience and perseverance, with wellness practices for progress. I am a certified Breath Coach and begin lessons with a few minutes of breathwork and guided meditation, to help students transition from stressful experiences, distractions or prior activities, into learning and growth mode. My secret to success in helping SEND students is fun and focus. Neuroscience research found it takes 400 synaptic connections to learn something. However, if learning is enjoyable, enlivening and engaging it only takes 40 synaptic connections. I listen with interest, ask proactive questions and learn my students’ likes, dislikes, strengths and struggles. No one-size fits all. My teaching and coaching is tailored to their unique needs and is student-specific: they feel it.
A bit about me
I have chronic pain in my lower back since 22 years and left arm since 10 years, following a life-changing, mountain-carting accident in Switzerland at 19, just before my 2nd year of Dentistry. I am a SEND student myself, as I have an invisible disability, which I successfully self-manage. I am not weird; I am wired differently. I am not incapable; I am incredible because I dynamically adapt to move forwards without giving up. My coach says: “The only disability is attitude.” I progress within my capacity, with space for self-compassion, imperfection and vulnerability. I am an ardent mental health advocate: it’s ok to not be ok: Interests-wise, I am an avid reader, keen cook, soulful singer, mindful meditator: 90 mins a day since I met a monk at 22 and prolific poet writing is my yoga poetry is my heartbeat journaling is my joy I once wrote 600 poems in 6 months. I love to spend time with like-minded people I can grow with, laugh with and be curious about life’s adventure with!
My teaching philosophy
My English Language GCSE student jumped 2 grades in 2 months, with 2 lessons a week (results not guaranteed; information only). I don’t push or pressure. I remind students they drive the car of their learning and life in their own way, at their own pace, in their own time. As a passenger, I help them to feel seen, heard and understood and develop a lifelong love for learning to optimise results. I support self-awareness, help them set goals, take micro-actions without overwhelm and navigate lack of confidence, procrastination and perfectionism. I use my Life Coach & NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) training to build positive relationship, celebrate wins and feedback with non-judgement for improvement. Failure is an event, not a person. My 4S Student Success model to empower students to thrive in 4 Life Areas: 1 Self-Empowerment 2 Subject & Strategy 3 Sync Mind-Body* 4 Social Connection & Creativity *Growth Mindset & Emotional Regulation Body: Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep
Schedule
Time zone:
Tutoring specialisation
I’m providing tutoring sessions for students with these educational needs:
Subjects Provided
Primary
Secondary
GCSE Foundational level
GCSE Higher level
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE Foundational level
GCSE Higher level
A-Level
University
Coaching specialisation
Specialisation
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
A-Level
University
Teaching qualifications
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Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
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Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
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Trauma-Informed Practice Training
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Formal Coaching and Mentoring Qualifications (e.g., ILM Level 3 or 5)
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Holistic Life Coach (also Trauma-Trained) and NLP Practitioner (Neurolinguistic Programming)
Reviews
1 review
Ashmita B
August 30, 2026
Ashmita (Parent) My son was a Year 11 student studying English Language GCSE. Before starting with Sonal, he was predicted a lower grade. Sonal taught him for approximately 9 weeks, and in such a short period of time, he improved his results by 2 grades. Sonal understood my son as an individual student and was able to identify his strengths as well as areas he needed improvement. She helped him address the learning gaps and taught him how to answer questions to a high standard. She also provided him with extra resources to support his learning. Whatever Sonal taught my son not only helped him achieve better grades but also benefited his overall personal development. My son became more confident in his ability to approach English questions and was able to express and develop his ideas more effectively. Sonal encouraged him to set high standards for himself and helped him become a more confident and capable learner. Sonal is committed, patient, supportive and genuinely invests in her students’ progress. She sets high standards while making her lessons enjoyable and engaging. She also maintained excellent communication with me throughout the tutoring. After each lesson, she would email me to update me on my son’s progress and provide constructive feedback. This made me feel very much involved in the whole learning process. I would highly recommend Sonal as a tutor and coach because of her dedication, her individualised approach and her ability to support both the academic and personal development of her students. Ashmita's son (Student) Sonal in 3 words: Committed, patient and empowering I achieved a high-level grade, 2 grades above my predicted grade. I was overjoyed! One of the biggest improvements was in my creative writing. Sonal taught me how to use English Language techniques such as similes, metaphors, personification and onomatopoeia. She also taught me how to write with detailed description and imagery by using more sophisticated and wide-ranging vocabulary for verbs, adjectives and adverbs, as well as interesting sentence starters. For comprehension, she taught me that I could only sharpen my interpretation of a text after understanding the question first. She showed me how to skim and scan for information, retrieve relevant evidence and use quotations to support my own insightful and unique analysis. Sonal helped me become more confident in my own abilities and encouraged me to believe that I could achieve a higher level than I initially thought possible. She was committed and patient, but also set high standards for me and encouraged me to elevate my English. Her lessons were fun and engaging, which made learning much more enjoyable. Most importantly, she empowered me to improve through hard work and showed me that with the right guidance, commitment and effort, I could achieve my goals. Finally, a wish came true through hard work from both of us!
