When a Young Person Struggles to Speak at School
Understanding Selective Mutism, Anxiety and Communication in Secondary Schools
A practical, specialist training for secondary school staff who want to understand what is happening underneath the silence — and know what to do next.
Learn how to reduce communication pressure, recognise progress beyond speech and create a consistent approach that supports participation, independence and communication across school.
1.5 hours recorded training | 4 months’ access | Practical resources | Certificate available on request
Individual access: £49
Training your whole school?
Whole-School Training Package available below.
“They have so much to say at home. Why can’t they speak at school?”
What happens when a young person has the knowledge, ideas and words but finds themselves unable to use their voice at school?
Selective mutism can look very different in secondary school. A young person may speak to friends but not teachers. They may manage with one familiar adult but freeze when approached by someone they don’t know. They may find it difficult to answer during registration, ask for help, contribute to group work, order food or participate in presentations and assessments.
Older children and teenagers can also become very skilled at navigating around situations that feel difficult, which means their anxiety may not always be immediately visible.
As adults, we naturally want to help. We may encourage them to “have a go”, ask questions to draw them into conversation or reassure them that there is nothing to worry about. But when anxiety is sitting underneath the difficulty, even well-intentioned encouragement can create more pressure.
That is why I always say:
“Whenever I’m stuck, I look underneath first.”
This training will help you do exactly that.
Understanding is important. Knowing what to do next matters too.
Knowing what selective mutism is doesn’t necessarily tell you what to do when a young person freezes during registration, cannot ask for help, avoids a presentation or speaks to one teacher but not another.
This training brings understanding and practical application together.
We will look at anxiety, communication, the brain and nervous system, and then translate that understanding into practical steps you can use within school.
Understand → Observe → Reduce Pressure → Create Safety → Identify the Next Step → Review
Progress The aim is for you to finish the training not simply knowing more about selective mutism, but feeling clearer about what you can do next.
What’s included?
• 1.5 hours of specialist recorded training with Anna Biavati, Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
• 4 months’ access from the date of enrolment
• Practical downloadable resources to support implementation
• Step-by-step strategies for secondary school
• Certificate of completion available on request
What will you learn?
By the end of the training, you will have a clearer understanding of:
• What selective mutism is and how it may present differently in older children and teenagers
• Why a young person may speak confidently in one situation but become unable to speak in another
• The role of anxiety, the brain and nervous system
• Freeze, avoidance and behaviours that can easily be misunderstood
• Why increased pressure to speak can make communication more difficult
• How adult language can reduce or increase communication pressure
• How to recognise communication and progress beyond spoken words
• Practical strategies that can be used across different lessons and environments
• How to support participation without putting the young person in the spotlight
• How to approach presentations, answering questions, asking for help and other challenging situations
• How to build independence while providing appropriate support
• How to involve the young person in identifying manageable next steps
• How to work collaboratively with families and other professionals
• How to support transitions and changes within secondary school
Most importantly, the training will help you think about the individual young person in front of you and identify an appropriate next step rather than making speech the only measure of progress.
Who is this training for?
This course is suitable for:
• Secondary school teachers
• Teaching and learning support staff
• SENCO/ASN staff
• Pastoral and wellbeing teams
• Guidance staff
• School leaders
• Other professionals supporting secondary-aged young people
No previous specialist knowledge of selective mutism is required.
You can access the training as an individual professional or purchase a Whole-School Training Package.
Why does a whole-school approach matter?
A secondary school can be a complicated environment for a young person with selective mutism. During a single day, they may move between numerous classrooms and interact with subject teachers, support staff, pastoral teams, office staff and other adults.
One teacher may comfortably accept non-verbal communication, while another may encourage the young person to “just have a go”. Both are trying to help, but from the young person’s perspective, the expectations keep changing.
This is why support cannot sit with just one knowledgeable SENCO, teacher or member of the pastoral team.
When adults understand what may be happening underneath the difficulty and respond consistently, school becomes more predictable and predictability can help create safety.
We need to speak the same language.
The young person needs to be part of the plan
Supporting selective mutism in secondary school also means involving the young person themselves.
Where appropriate, we want to understand which situations feel most difficult, which adults feel safest, what forms of communication feel accessible, what they would prefer adults not to do and which next step feels manageable.
The aim is not to create a plan around a young person or simply to get them talking. It is to work with them, helping them develop greater safety, confidence, autonomy, participation and communication.
Safety comes before speech at every age.
Meet Anna
Anna Biavati
Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
I have worked as a Speech and Language Therapist for over 20 years, including 13 years within the NHS, and have spent many years supporting children, young people and families affected by selective mutism, anxiety and communication difficulties.
My clinical work begins with a question I return to again and again: “Whenever I’m stuck, I look underneath first.”
Rather than beginning with speech, I look at what may be happening underneath the difficulty including anxiety, regulation, relationships, environment and the young person’s current level of safety.
This training brings that same way of thinking into your school, helping you move from simply understanding selective mutism to knowing how to observe, respond and decide what to do next.
Choose the option that works for you
Individual Professional Access — £49
For teachers, support professionals, SENCO/ASN practitioners, therapists and other professionals who want to develop their own knowledge and practical skills.
Includes:
• Complete 1.5-hour recorded training
• 4 months’ access from enrolment
• Practical supporting resources
• Certificate of completion available on request
£49
Whole-School Training Package — £549
Get your whole school speaking the same language.
One knowledgeable member of staff can make a difference. But when the wider school team understands selective mutism and responds consistently, we can create a much safer and more predictable environment for the young person.
The Whole-School Training Package gives staff employed within one secondary school access to the training for four months.
Staff can complete the training individually at a convenient time, or the school can use it collectively as part of an INSET day, staff development session or professional learning programme.
The Whole-School Training Package includes:
• Complete 1.5-hour recorded professional training
• 4 months’ whole-school access
• Practical supporting resources
• Certificates of completion available on request
• Flexible individual or whole-team learning
£549 per secondary school
This is a single-school licence. Course access and recordings may not be shared with another school, setting, organisation or external professional.
For academy groups, trusts, local authorities or organisations wishing to provide the training across multiple schools, please contact me to discuss a multi-school licence.
You don’t need to become a selective mutism specialist overnight.
But when you understand what may be happening underneath the silence, you can begin to change the environment around the young person, reduce unnecessary pressure and identify the next manageable step.
Start with understanding. Then know what to do next.