SEND: VISION AND AIMS
The Learning Support Department supports pupils with Special educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This support will be individual to pupils who, while able to access the school curriculum, may need help due to a specific learning difficulty or a lack of confidence in a particular aspect of their work in both Prep and Senior School. We work to make it possible for every pupil at St Catherine’s to secure strong academic and personal outcomes. Staff are easily accessible to pupils, providing for an environment in which the girls feel warmly supported and valued.
The direct and indirect support we provide focuses on enabling individual pupils to learn effectively with greater independence. We aim to offer a holistic approach within which academic progress and achievement can be sustained.
SEND: PREP
Upon entry to the Prep and Senior school, pupils are initially screened to ascertain their current level of attainment. Pupils requiring further assessment and intervention are referred to the Learning Support Department, usually after consultation with parents and teachers, and every effort is made to ensure that all pupils are sufficiently supported throughout their school career. Specialist support is available for pupils and usually takes the form of 1:1 or small group intervention. Most support lessons take place in the Prep Library.
SEND: SENIOR
In Years 7-9 we offer in-class TA support across English, Maths and Science. Pupils with specific learning difficulties can use Learning Support as a space to plan for the week ahead, tackling time management and organisational issues. Alongside small group targeted intervention sessions, girls encountering a difficulty with a particular subject might just come for a short series of drop-in sessions to ‘think out aloud’, to try out different study strategies and come up with a solution to something they are finding challenging. Study Skills support is offered as part of the PSHE programme, at GCSE as a subject option, and as part of the Sixth Form General Studies programme.
The Learning Support Department’s aim is to help students reflect on their experiences as learners and become more independent. We encourage students to develop study strategies for the classroom and at home; and we mediate with, and support subject teachers.
