Learning Success
Guiding Ethos The guiding principles and objectives of the Learning Success Department are to ensure that the aims of the Mission Statement are secured for all pupils. We recognise that all pupils may have special educational needs at some time in their school career and we endeavour to provide the necessary support at those times. We regard the pupils’ self-esteem to be of vital importance to their learning and help them to build a positive self-image.
Additional information The Learning Success Department has over the years developed considerable expertise teaching pupils with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia & dyspraxia)), non-verbal language difficulties, pragmatic and semantic disorders, AD(H)D and general learning difficulties. We aim to use these labels to inform our practice, but recognise that each child is an individual and that labels have a limited use. All teaching staff within the department are qualified specialists in the area of Special Educational Needs. The School has a responsibility to ensure that each child has access to a broad and balanced curriculum. Where possible, in-class support is provided by a Learning Support Assistant. For those pupils who need extra support and specialist teaching, we provide one-to-one tuition, using multi-sensory teaching methods. It is our intention that each pupil referred to the department feels well supported. These pupils not only work on their literacy and numeracy skills, but are also encouraged to bring to their lessons any class work with which they require support. The Learning Success Room is a busy area with pupils either being taught or quietly studying, which results in a good working atmosphere.
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Learning Support- some useful guidance

A pupil with unacknowledged learning difficulties will find making progress at school difficult and will not be motivated to learn. The sooner any difficulties are identified and addressed the sooner progress will be made accompanied by a growth in self-esteem. Pupils often feel empowered when their difficulties are identified and parents and teachers are demystified.

The following pages contain brief information on the most common learning difficulties along with the characteristics to identify them and some ways that both parent and teacher can help the child once the difficulty is identified.

Autism and Asperger Syndrome

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD )

Dyslexia

Dyspraxia

Nonverbal Learning Disorders (NLD)

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that mainly affects reading and spelling. There is now a strong consensus among investigators in the field that the central difficulty in dyslexia reflects a deficit within the language processing areas of the brain found in the left hemisphere. It is characterised by difficulties in processing word-sounds and by weaknesses in short-term verbal memory; its effects may be seen in spoken language as well as written language. As children become older they may learn to read words accurately, but it is likely that they do not become fluent or automatic. When they become teenagers they have often mastered their reading difficulties, but may still have difficulties with organisation and expressing their thoughts in writing.

Dyslexia is not related to intelligence, race and social background. It is both familial and heritable and contrary to long-held belief there is some evidence to show that it affects boys and girls equally. Dyslexia may manifest itself in mild, average of severe forms. Some 4% of the population are estimated to have severe dyslexia, whilst 6% have mild to moderate difficulties. Those with dyslexia often display high verbal intelligence and may excel in using computers, 3D design, architecture and art.

Dyslexia may be present alongside other disabilities and disorders.

The types of problems experienced in reading might be:

• Hesitant and laboured reading, especially when reading aloud
• Omitting or adding extra words
• Reading at a reasonable rate, but with a low level of comprehension
• Failure to recognise familiar words
• Missing a line or reading the same line twice
• Losing the place - or using a finger or marker to keep the place
• Difficulty in pin-pointing the main idea in a passage
• Finding difficulty in the use of dictionaries, directories, encyclopaedias

The types of problems experienced in writing might be:

• Poor standard of written work compared with oral ability
• Poor handwriting with badly formed letters
• Good handwriting, but writes very slowly indeed
• Badly set out work, with spellings crossed out several times
• Spells the same word differently in one piece of work
• Has difficulty with punctuation and/or grammar
• Confuses upper and lower case letters
• Writes a great deal but 'loses the thread'
• Writes very little, but to the point
• Has difficulty taking notes in lessons
• Difficulty with organisation of homework
• Finds organisation of work and personal timetable difficult
• Clearly knows more than can be committed to paper

It has been estimated that up to 60 per cent of dyslexic children will also have difficulties in understanding mathematical concepts and learning computational skills. The types of problems experienced in mathematics might be:

• Difficulty remembering tables and/or basic number sets
• Finds sequencing problematic
• Confuses signs such as + for x
• Can think at a high level in mathematics, but needs a calculator for simple calculations
• Misreads questions that include words
• Finds mental arithmetic at speed very difficult
• Finds memorising formulae difficult

 Other areas of difficulty might be:

• Confuses direction - left/right
• Difficulty in learning foreign languages
• Has indeterminate hand preference
• Has difficulty in finding the name for an object
• Has clear processing problems at speed
• Misunderstands complicated questions
• Finds holding a list of instructions in memory difficult, although can perform all tasks when told individually
• Is disorganised or forgetful e.g. over sports equipment, lessons, homework, appointments

Positive aspects of Dyslexia

Much of the literature on dyslexia focuses on the difficulties associated with reading, writing and memory tasks. However dyslexic people often demonstrate strengths in the following areas:

• Strong long term memory
• Creative/lateral thinking
• An ability to generate fresh insights into a subject
• Exceptional practical problem solving skills
• Strong visual-spatial skills – find it easy to think in three dimensions and visualise mechanical systems
• Artistic talents have a good oversight of the ‘big picture’
• The experience of having to work longer and harder than others to obtain the same goals can also make dyslexic people very determined, motivated and resourceful

Further information:

www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk

www.bdadyslexia.org.uk

www.dyslexia-parent.com

 TIPS FOR PARENTS : TIPS FOR TEACHERS

Tips for parents

 Reassure your child of his/her self-worth.

• Emphasize your child’s abilities
• Give praise when it is deserved
• Avoid negative remarks

Help your child discover and develop other talents.

• Sports, Art, Music, hobbies

Structure your child’s life at home.

• Establish regular routines: meals, playtime, homework, TV, chores, bedtime
• Keep belongings in the same place

-Help your child remember where to put things

-Remind him/her as often as necessary

-Use visual reminders

-Be patient when your child forgets

Keep instructions simple and one at a time

• Be sure he/she understands
• Ask him/her to repeat instructions
• Give your child time to think

Help improve your child’s self-image and confidence

• Assign tasks your child can master
• Build on what he/she knows
• Do not assume anything: if your child doesn’t understand show him/her

Help with school work

• Provide a place to study with minimal distractions
• Help schedule your child’s homework; include breaks
• Read assignments to him/her
• Keep instructions simple
• Ask questions; discuss his/her work

 Tips for Teachers

 Many of the changes you make for those pupils with dyslexia will benefit other pupils, particularly those whose first language is not English.

Differentiation of curriculum

• Provide a list of key vocabulary for your subject, introduce the Simultaneous Oral Spelling* technique and insist that those words are practised
• Give instructions one at a time
• Give information both verbally and in writing
• Give information in a visual format when possible
• Encourage to make notes in a more visual form – spider diagram, concept maps, use of colour highlighters etc
• Important text read by teacher or fluent reader
• Encourage students to tape notes – especially for revision
• Encourage reading for main point or summarising
• Use of role play and simulation
• Pupils in pairs explain text to each other
• Give time to reflect and then encourage to put thoughts into words
• Give lots of opportunities to discuss ideas before writing
• Give extra time in tests
• Be aware of the pupil’s reading age + text they are required to read
• Give enlarged copy of material – especially if text is complex
• Seat at front of class
• Seat pupil square-on to the teacher and board
• Keep copying from the board to a minimum, but when necessary write clearly and use different colours for different sections
• Make sure the pupil is wearing glasses
• Allowance should be made for fatigue
• Seat pupil away from a window or other distracting stimuli
• Seat pupil near a good role model
• Supervise recording of homework assignments
• Provide reassurance and encouragement – reinforce frequently when signs of frustration are noticed

*Simultaneous Oral Spelling Method (SOS)

• Write the target word out.
• Say the word, or ask someone else to say the word.
• Copy the target word and say the name of each letter as it is being written.
• Look at what you have written and say the whole word.
• Check that what you have written is the same as the target word. This checking is done letter by letter from the target to the copy.
• You should then try to write and say the target word from memory. If you make any mistakes, cross the word out and start again.
• Repeat step 6 until the word has been written correctly 3 times.
• Practise each word following this routine for 3 consecutive daily sessions.

Readability

Readability is a term that refers to all the factors that affect success in reading and understanding. The quickest way to assess the reading age required for successful reading of a test is the Smog formula. Select three passages ten sentences long, and count the number of words which have three or more syllables. If we call this number p, the reading level of the passage is simply the square root of p plus eight.

 Tips for improving readability

• Most pupils need a font of at least 12, left justified text is preferable
• Minimise the use of italics
• Make the sentence length an average of 14 to 20 words and the maximum number of words per side 350
• Us concise, active verbs and sentences – test your hypothesis by… rather than – you will then test your hypothesis by… Change some text to a picture or a diagram where you can
• AVOID UPPER CASE WRITING
• Avoid handwritten text
• Bold print can sometimes make for easier reading
• Double spacing between paragraphs is preferable
• If there are multiple sheets, number each page and paragraph for easy reference
• Use a font size 30 when using overhead projector and have a maximum of six points per slide
• Make handouts available in pastel backgrounds as well as in white. Many with dyslexia and similar difficulties suffer from ‘paper glare’. They find it more difficult to focus and sequence words in black print against white background
• Avoid double-sided photocopying, this can produce shadows and cause difficulty in locating parts of the text
• Encourage the use of a word processor