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Teaching is based on small groups (four & maximum six) and on individual learning support. Research has shown that children learn well when they are with their peers and therefore a lot of effort goes into ensuring that the right mix of children are placed in the groups offered each term and that the programme is individualized. This is a large commitment to planning and staff resources and therefore the year is broken into three terms with a large emphasis on planning and meeting opportunities for staff. As there is a large demand for the most popular programmes places can not be reserved and children are entered on a first come first served basis. We have a waiting list policy in place should you wish to book a group.
Individual Teaching is based on the child’s main learning need and will focus on developing the child’s knowledge base, providing opportunities for the child to increase their specific skills and equipping them to use compensatory strategies where appropriate. As the Centre believes in the child having clearly defined support rather than be on a general programme a range of resources are used and each lesson is planned dependent on the child’s rate of progress. It is important early on to establish a baseline of ability and running records are taken. Individual teaching programmes include language intervention, literacy development for reading, reading comprehension and writing, mathematical foundations and curriculum mathematics (primary), curriculum Literacy (primary) and where appropriate I.T. skills. Some children are still working towards the curriculum and therefore need support in the area of early foundations for learning. An individualized social intelligence programme is run and is based on the presenting needs.
Our language Programmes are extensive and in terms of age, range from the early years 3-4 year olds right up to the 10-11 year olds where the language is based on inferential language and recording. However within the age ranges we also have different types of language programmes ranging from an EAL programme with some modifications, to children who are working on mainly spoken language with a small writing component to groups where writing is the main focus. It is important to establish the language needs of the child (bilingual with no other difficulties, bilingual with an accompanying language difficulty or children with a range of language disorders). Some children are working on social communication alongside building up their language skills. The early programmes work at the concrete stage of language development and follow developmental guidelines while the older learners use a variety of resources to increase their specific language targets.
A core focus is to ensure the children become fully literate, in speaking and writing skills and be able to read and write around a range of text. The child should be able to demonstrate good oral skills and understanding of language used in the texts explored. Reading comprehension and the ability to correct their reading and writing for sense, grammar and punctuation can be developed alongside the core content of the course. The bilingual and young child should have a confident knowledge of phonics and other word skills to be able to read with fluency and write independently however some children with language disorders do need to use their stronger visual system to move on at a pace.
Younger students should be able to:
Older students should be able to:
Our writing programmes are planned at the word, sentence and text level. The reading text and/or discussion to give the language, structure, topic and purpose to their writing. The children need to see good models and be involved in the composition, spelling and handwriting process. Some of our children also require Occupational Therapy in association with attendance on a writing programme to develop their underlying weak perceptuo-motor skills or visual motor integration abilities.
Math’s groups are run depending on the demand each term and the age of the children, generally however mathematical development is worked on an individual basis ensuring that the child has the basics before moving on to the next level.
Our writers groups have a varied syllabus dependent on the specific groups at the time and will include a writing fluency component which can be language based, clear writing models and a staged process for children with ‘writers block’ and a skill building component overseen by the Occupational Therapist to develop the mechanics of writing.
Keyboard skills and study skills are taught in conjunction or can be taught as a separate subject dependent on the demand. In IT the child would develop skills using a range of programmes however for individual learning support the computer may be used as a specific tool using the language programmes, spelling and reading programmes and early maths and word building foundation software purchased from our overseas suppliers. We have been very excited by a computer online programme that has been used at the centre over the past year and have found children have moved to a higher level due to its rigorous prescriptive components.
It is called FastForWord and it is available to accelerate language levels in a child with language, reading and language based learning difficulties however the programme is also used in the states in schools as a proactive way to improve language and reading skills for all children. It is a successful programme based on extensive research and has shown consistent results.
The Fast ForWord® family of products develops the critical thinking, listening, and reading skills that are necessary for success in the classroom, the workplace and in everyday life.
It works on the cognitive skills of memory, attention, processing and sequencing that are essential for academic learning and reading success.
Based on over 30 years of brain, reading, and language research, Scientific Learning's interactive, adaptive products use patented technology to target the language and reading skills widely recognized as the keys to all learning.
The Fast ForWord family of products use neuroscience principles to create an optimal learning environment that enables you to:
The Fast ForWord Progress tracker is an internet based data analysis and reporting tool. It provides data on student cognitive development within the context of reading performance.
More information is available at the centre on request or visit the Scientific Learning Website at www.scientificlearning.com.
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