Free Video: Trisha Lee on How Helicopter Stories can Support Children with SEND

Trisha Lee shares how Helicopter Stories, Poetry Basket and Story Steps support children with SEND through inclusive, agency-led storytelling practice.
· October 16, 2026

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Trisha Lee is an advocate for the role of storytelling and story acting within Early Years education. She also advocates for the inclusion of a diverse range of stories and poetry in early childhood, and champions the value this adds to the stories that children dictate.

In addition to her in-class work with children aged 2 to 7, Trisha has developed online training programmes for teachers in how to deliver Helicopter Stories, alongside initiatives like The Poetry Basket and The Story Basket designed to support teachers in cultivating a language rich environment in their settings.

Trisha has written numerous articles and publications about her work, including the best-selling Princesses, Dragons and Helicopter Stories, and The Growth of a Storyteller.

In this session, Trisha Lee explores how Helicopter Stories, Poetry Basket and Story Steps can support children with SEND, sharing research-backed examples of how practitioners have adapted these approaches for pre-verbal and non-verbal children.

In this episode you’ll:

  • Discover how Helicopter Stories can be adapted for pre-verbal and non-verbal children using communication mats, objects of reference and AAC devices
  • Explore how Poetry Basket has been used with children with profound and multiple needs, enabling them to make choices and show preferences
  • Find out how Story Steps is being taken in sensory and tactile directions by SEND practitioners
  • Understand why agency, the right to say yes or no, is fundamental to inclusive storytelling practice
  • Learn practical, low-pressure strategies for bringing stories to life with open questions and child-led acting

Watch this session to discover how Helicopter Stories, Poetry Basket and Story Steps can open up storytelling for every child in your setting, including those with the most complex needs.

Episode Links:

https://helicopterstories.co.uk/
https://helicopterstories.co.uk/send/ – link to SEND work we have been doing
https://helicopterstories.co.uk/online-learning/ – link to all our programmes
https://makebelievearts.co.uk/ – charity website
https://www.routledge.com/Princesses-Dragons-and-Helicopter-Stories-Storytelling-and-Story-Acting-in-the-Early-Years/Lee/p/book/9781032897080 – link to second edition

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Episode Includes

  • 1 Video