Calm
Keep your voice and expression neutral. Continue teaching or the activity where it is safe. Avoid staring, sighing, joking or drawing attention to the pupil.
Usually no public comment is needed.For schools and educators
Keep the child in the class.
A practical starting point for schools supporting a pupil who may be experiencing tics: calm, private, non-punitive support that responds to the barrier a child is facing — not simply the movement or sound adults can see.
For: teaching staff, support staff, pastoral teams, SENCOs/ALNCos and school leaders. Scope: educational guidance, not individual medical or legal advice.
What staff need to understand
Notice with care. Respond without blame.
Tics are recurrent movements and/or sounds that a person does not choose to make. They can change over time and may look different in different places or at different points in the day. A pupil may sometimes hold a tic back briefly, but that is not evidence that it is deliberate, easy to control or something they should be expected to do all day. 1, 2
Not every repeated movement or sound is a tic, and schools do not need to diagnose. The useful task is to notice what is happening, avoid blame and respond to the impact on comfort, learning, relationships, participation and safety.
A pupil who is working hard not to make a sound, worrying about others looking, or anticipating a correction may have less attention available for the lesson. The aim is not to lower expectations. It is to make the route into learning more accessible. 2
The 60-second response
CARE: a response every adult can remember.
Use this in lessons, corridors, lunch spaces, on transport, during sport or on a trip. It is ordinary educational support — not a therapy programme.
Allow
Do not tell the pupil to stop, sit still, be quiet or “try harder”. Do not make temporary suppression a condition of participation.
“You are not in trouble.”Respond
Use the agreed support for pain, fatigue, writing, concentration, peer response or access.
“Would our usual option help, or are you okay to carry on?”Escalate
Record significant pain, injury, marked distress, repeated peer targeting, a major change, safety concern or uncertainty. Involve the named lead and family as appropriate.
“What would help from me next time?”If there is an immediate risk of injury or harm, take proportionate safety action first. The pause is not permission to ignore risk; it is a way to avoid turning a quick safety response into a public judgement that the pupil is being defiant, rude or disruptive.
Make learning accessible
Protect the learning goal, not a single way of reaching it.
Start with one proportionate change, make sure a named adult can deliver it, and agree when you will review it.
| Barrier or worry | A possible adjustment to try | Review question |
|---|---|---|
| Pain or fatigue during extended writing | Keyboard or another recording method for a defined task; shorter copying demand; a planned reset break. | Can the pupil show their understanding with less pain and less missed learning? |
| Losing the thread after a tic or after trying not to tic | Written first step, worked example, short task chunks, a quiet check-in or extra processing time. | Can the pupil re-enter the task without having to explain themselves publicly? |
| Worry about reading aloud or presenting | “Read or pass”; choice of contribution; partner reading; recorded contribution; a smaller audience where preferred. | Does the pupil have a genuine choice about how to participate? |
| Difficult transitions, queues or unstructured time | Named adult, agreed brief exit/re-entry route, seating choice, water, extra space or a quieter check-in. | Is the support available in the place and at the time it is actually needed? |
| Peer comments, copying or filming | Immediate adult response, factual recording, accessible reporting route and follow-up with the pupil. | Does the pupil feel safer without being made responsible for disclosure or education? |
These are options, not a fixed package. Some pupils will want adults to carry on normally unless asked; others may prefer a discreet signal or a brief check-in. Ask privately and revisit the arrangement when circumstances change. 2
Peer safety and belonging
A pupil does not cause bullying by having tics.
Imitation, laughter, nicknames, hostile “banter”, filming, exclusion and online targeting are choices made by others. The response should focus on safety, accountability and repair — not on making the targeted pupil change, disclose a diagnosis or educate peers before they feel ready.
“We do not copy or comment on someone’s body or sounds. Stop now. We will follow this up.”
Follow the school’s behaviour, anti-bullying, safeguarding and online-safety procedures. State schools must have a behaviour policy including measures to prevent bullying, and schools must act to prevent discrimination, harassment and victimisation. 6
Do
- Check privately with the pupil about what happened and what they want adults to know.
- Identify spaces that feel less safe and the adult the pupil would choose to tell.
- Use child-led, consent-based peer information only where it is wanted.
Avoid
- Requiring a pupil to disclose a diagnosis or educate peers.
- Calling exclusion or repeated “jokes” a problem the pupil needs to solve.
- Expecting restorative work before the pupil feels safe.
A short meeting that leads to action
Make the plan usable on a difficult day.
Different accounts from home, school and the pupil do not mean anyone is wrong. They often show that each person has seen a different part of the day.
Start with the pupil
What do you want adults to understand better?
- Where do you feel most comfortable — and most watched?
- What would you like adults to do quietly when tics are noticeable?
- What do you want kept private?
- Who is the adult you would choose to tell if something went wrong?
Then agree actions
Barrier → action → adult → outcome → review
For example: staff will not comment on apparent throat-clearing in silent work; the pupil may use an agreed desk signal for water or a brief reset; relevant staff are briefed; everyone reviews whether the pupil remains in the lesson with less pressure to suppress.
England and Wales
Use the right route for the right question.
A diagnosis does not by itself decide what school support a pupil receives. Start with the educational barriers, the support tried and the difference it makes.
England
SEND, SEN Support and SENCO
Schools may use SEN Support and the graduated Assess–Plan–Do–Review approach. The SENCO coordinates SEN provision, while class and subject teachers remain responsible for day-to-day learning. Reasonable-adjustment duties for disabled pupils are separate from SEND routes. 3, 4
“Could we use Assess–Plan–Do–Review to agree a short written plan around the priority barriers? Please include what will happen, which staff and settings are involved, how my child’s views will be included and a review date.”
Wales
ALN, ALP, ALNCo and IDP
Use ALN (additional learning needs), ALP (additional learning provision), ALNCo and, where applicable, an IDP (Individual Development Plan). The decision about ALN/ALP is distinct from the Equality Act duty to consider reasonable adjustments. 5
“My child’s diagnosis is relevant, but I am asking for a decision about their learning barriers, the support already tried, its impact and whether their needs call for additional learning provision.”
Local processes change. Check the school’s current behaviour, anti-bullying, SEND or ALN policy and its published local-authority information before relying on a particular route.
When to seek further help
Bring in the right people when the barrier is bigger than a classroom adjustment.
Speak with the appropriate school lead and the family when there is significant pain or injury, marked distress, repeated peer targeting, a major change in presentation, a safety concern, uncertainty about what is happening, or a barrier that ordinary classroom adjustments are not resolving.
Seek relevant clinical advice as appropriate. Schools should not try to diagnose or deliver tic-focused therapy themselves.
Sources and review boundary
Sources used in this guide.
Reviewed 15 October 2026. Official systems and local school policies can change; this page is a practical starting point, not individual clinical or legal advice.
- NHS: Tourette syndrome — public clinical information.
- Tourettes Action: Information for Education Professionals — charity education resource.
- Department for Education: SEND Code of Practice (0 to 25 years) — England framework.
- GOV.UK: Disability rights — Education — official rights information.
- Welsh Government: Additional learning needs decision making and communication — Wales framework.
- GOV.UK: Bullying at school — official school and anti-discrimination information.