What lesson does a pupil miss in order to attend Learning Support?
Pupils do not get taken out of any academic lesson. Some pupils do one less subject on the timetable and this frees up some slots that we can use. A pupil on full timetable will have a lesson at 8.15, missing an assembly or chapel, or at 1.40, in the leisure time following lunch.
What types of Learning Difficulties and Disabilities do you cater for?
Dyslexia is our main group, but we have a few pupils who are dyspraxic and a few with speech and language issues.
What are your aims?
We aim to...
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Support pupils whatever their need
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Improve literacy and numeracy
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Provide self help software solutions
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Improve the way pupils approach learning tasks
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Raise self esteem and build confidence
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Keep parents involved and informed
What are support lessons like?
Are there many dyslexic pupils in the school?
This pie chart shows the proportion of dyslexic pupils in the school. Many of them are ‘high functioning’ dyslexics who no longer require regular support.
How do teachers know about my child’s needs?
The Learning Support department has a major information session in the September training days prior to school starting. Here we inform the entire teaching staff about the learning needs of new pupils. We use the ‘Purple Book’ for this. This is a hard copy of all the detailed Learning Support information teachers need. The Purple Book is updated electronically throughout the school year and accessed on the staff resources drive.
Are the teaching staff trained to deal with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities?
How many GCSE subjects should my child take?
Most pupils take 9 GCSEs. Some more able pupils take 10 or even 11. Some supported pupils take 8. Our experience is that it is better to get higher grades in fewer subjects than to be overstretched and struggling to cope with too much work.
I’ve been told my child is going on a literacy programme. What does that entail?
This is available for pupils whose literacy levels on entry are insufficient for the demands of the GCSE curriculum. Literacy levels are very important on entry to secondary education. Pupils need to be able to read and write accurately (and at speed) in order to access the full curriculum. Even GCSE subjects you might think of as practical, such as PE or DT, have a significant written content that forms part of the examination. So, if a pupil joins with a literacy deficit, we aim to address that in the first year of entry when they have their best window of opportunity to improve as far and as fast as they can.
The literacy programme incorporates spelling, speed reading, all aspects of basic sentence structure, grammar and punctuation. It is delivered entirely through ICT. Pupils are tested before they start the course and again at the end of the first year. Their progress is reviewed at this stage and a decision is made regarding the level of support they require in the following year. There are no quick fixes in literacy and the programme is highly structured and sequential. Everyone starts on two sessions a week and most do sufficiently well to be cut back to one session. Completion of the course nearly always ensures a good enough level of literacy for GCSE purposes.
Pupils can expect the following outcomes from the programme:
- improved spelling
- improved reading through building up reading rate without loss of accuracy
- greater accuracy in all written work
- automatic use of basic punctuation
- faster word processing
- good IT skills
- knowledge of keyboard shortcuts
- better confidence and self-esteem