The Challenge: Analysing Qualitative SEMH Data

For SENCOs, inclusion leaders, and senior leaders across the UK, collating and analysing qualitative data for pupils with SEMH needs can be a monumental task. Data often lives across multiple documents: a pupil’s timeline, a collection of dozens of behaviour incident reports, and a handful of exclusion reports.

Manually piecing together this information to identify triggers, trauma roots, and effective support strategies is incredibly time-consuming, even for a relatively small dataset. The result? Support for a vulnerable pupil can be delayed or inconsistent as staff struggle to access the key information they need.

But what if you could process hundreds of pages of documents instantly and get actionable, evidence-based advice in seconds?

This is where Google’s NotebookLM steps in as a powerful, free tool for streamlining SEMH data analysis and support planning.

Introducing NotebookLM for SEND Support

NotebookLM acts as a research assistant, allowing you to upload multiple files (your ‘sources’) and interrogate them using natural language prompts.

Step 1: Gathering Your Sources (Effortlessly)

The first step is to bring all your pupil’s qualitative data into one place. The video demonstrates seamlessly uploading files straight from Google Drive, which is ideal for schools already using the Google Workspace [01:01:04].

For a fictional pupil named Bruce Banner, the sources included:

• A Google Doc detailing his timeline and background.
• 20 behaviour incident reports.
• Four exclusion reports.

Step 2: Instant Insights for Support Staff

When a new member of staff, such as a Teaching Assistant (TA), begins supporting a pupil, they need immediate, high-quality, and reliable information. Using NotebookLM, you can provide that instantly.

For example, asking the notebook for key support information for a new TA can quickly generate:

• Top Three Triggers: Identified directly from the incident and exclusion reports [01:31:00].
• Best Support Strategies: Providing staff with immediate, actionable steps to give the “best possible support to pupils” [01:41:00].

This process transforms onboarding and ensures staff are effective from day one, with all generated advice referenced back to the original source documents for accountability [01:57:00].

Integrating Your School’s Trauma-Informed Frameworks

Many UK schools operate under specific frameworks, such as Trauma Perspective Practice (TPP), to support pupils with complex needs. The real power of NotebookLM is its ability to integrate and apply these specialised models.

Speaking the Same Language

In the video, the I upload the Trauma Perspective Practice manual as an additional source [02:15:00]. When the advice is revisited, NotebookLM is able to:

• Give information and strategies specifically in relation to TPP [02:23:00].
• Use common language that staff are already trained in, such as “window of tolerance” [02:30:00].
• Suggest very specific activities directly from the manual [02:37:00].

By adding your school’s key policy documents and frameworks, the advice NotebookLM provides becomes consistent, targeted, and aligned with your provision’s ethos.

From Strategy to Practice: Prioritising Staff Training and Adaptions

NotebookLM (which can be thought as a LLM) is not just a tool for front-line support; it’s a powerful resource for strategic senior leadership, too.

Generating Reasonable Adaptions

As a class teacher or SENCO, you can prompt the tool to generate advice for practical, real-world scenarios. For instance, asking for reasonable adaptions for a pupil to participate in a sports day [02:49:00]. This instantly provides practical, context-specific solutions.

Prioritising Professional Development

Senior leaders need to ensure their staff training budgets are spent where they are most needed. By asking NotebookLM to prioritise the different elements of TPP training required to support a specific pupil, the tool can:

1. Generate a ranked list of training priorities for staff [03:04:00].
2. Identify the most important element (e.g., Element Seven) based on the pupil’s needs [03:10:00].

This allows for training to be specifically tailored to the current cohort, maximising its impact and ensuring needs are met [03:15:00].

A Game-Changer for SENCOs: Real-Time, Secure Sharing

Perhaps the most significant benefit for inclusion teams is the ability to share these living, dynamic notebooks. The video suggests a model where a SENCO could:

• Create a dedicated NotebookLM file for every pupil [03:29:00].
• Share that notebook with all support staff assigned to that pupil [03:34:00].

This means support staff can, in real-time and at any time of the day, “interrogate the notebook and ask for advice and support” [03:37:00]. It ensures consistent, high-quality support is always just a click away, making it a “really, really powerful option” for educational settings using the Google Workspace [03:40:00].

Author Bio

Enzo Vullo is a qualified teacher and currently the Head of a specialist Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) provision in Harlow, Essex, United Kingdom. His provision supports vulnerable primary-aged children who find it a challenge to access learning in mainstream settings. Enzo Vullo is passionate about exploring the use of AI in education to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), having previously served as a SENCo and class teacher.