Supporting The Students
I love giving learning support to all children/students from Year 3 to University. With simple scaffolding techniques (sequential, cumulative and multi-sensory), their self-esteem and attitude to writing, reading, revision and exams can be greatly altered to the positive.
Supporting The Mainstream Teachers
While it is good to provide learning support to students in the half terms and holidays, it would not be necessary if all mainstream teachers were aware of and carried out these principles of learning.
Many schools have good learning support staff, to whom struggling students are sent for a short period a week (often being removed from their favourite subjects of art, music or sports). While there, they are usually well supported but all the good can ‘unravel’ when they are back in the classroom with a non-understanding teacher. My aim is to teach as many mainstream teachers as possible how, with a few accommodations, knowledge of the difficulties faced and the right attitude, the performance of all their students can be dramatically improved.
These INSETs can be adapted to Support The Parents too.
CPD/INSET from Cat Heale
- Half day course, (£400) 3 hours
- One day course (£600) 6 hours (incl lunch)
- Two day course (£900) 12 hours (incl lunches)
- For teachers, parents or students (or a combination)
- Each of the courses described below takes half a day but can be combined within one day.
- A popular combination is ‘Scaffolding Creative Writing’ with ‘Scaffolding Academic Writing’ or either one of those two with ’Revision Starts Now!’
- If the group does not have a strong foundation knowledge of Specific Learning Differences, I suggest that the first session, listed below, is taken before tackling any of the other topics.
- The Problems and Interventions for SpLD/ Dyslexia.
The course will aim to raise awareness of the problems and difficulties encountered by the children who have specific learning differences (dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia) and to look at successful strategies that can easily be incorporated into the mainstream classroom. The session will include practical and lively activities
- Scaffolding Literacy in the Mainstream Classroom at KS2.
This course aims to look at, in more depth, the problems encountered by those children with a diagnosis or not, who are not succeeding in the area of literacy. The course will look at the identification of difficulties experienced and how accommodation, scaffolding and understanding can be beneficial for all concerned.
- Scaffolding Creative Writing at KS2-KS3
The first part of this session will be spent raising awareness of the problems and difficulties encountered by many children (especially those with dyslexia and English as an Additional Language), teachers and the parents, in the area of writing stories. Successful strategies will be looked at that can easily be incorporated in to the mainstream classroom. The second part will show how a structured, sequential and cumulative model of creative writing can successfully support all children. The approach to scaffolding a piece of creative writing will be demonstrated in a practical way and illustrated with examples of work. Workshops on this topic have been given at several International Conferences.
- Scaffolding Academic Writing at KS3- University
Some students seem to work out how to write a coherent, well-structured essay by osmosis, or they have been taught explicitly. However, many students, right up to university, find the whole task overwhelming. They usually begin by getting out every book in the library, reading them and sticking post-it notes as markers all the way through….then they’re stuck! At university they get hung up on word count and appear from the library, red-eyed but proudly proclaiming they have written 7,000 words, which when analyzed should have only been a 500 word introduction! This course demonstrates how to scaffold every aspect of academic writing, from how to identify the meanings of academic words in questions, use of sources, collecting and using subject-specific vocabulary, using word count effectively in planning, and how to use academic vocabulary to make the process of writing an essay virtually stress free.
- Study Skills Support for KS2 or KS3 Students, Teachers or Parents.
This course is for teachers who can feel a little exasperated with the fact that some of their students are not working to their full potential, due to not having the necessary study skills to take full advantage of their subject. This course will highlight the ways in which simple skills can be incorporated in to every subject area. The skills discussed will include getting ready to learn, learning about learning, organisation, reading, note-taking, supportive vocabulary, mind mapping, computer software to aid learning, essay writing, memory and exam revision.
- Revision Starts Now!-Revision tactics following the Interval Learning model for GCSE/A Level students or their teachers.
To be effective this course should be taken a minimum of a year in advance of the exams or ideally, at the beginning of the course. Interval Learning as a revision method really works; it makes revision more interesting, effective, memorable and fun. The four stage model will be looked at and tried in a workshop- style session.
- Supporting ADHD in the Mainstream Classroom at KS2
The course will aim to raise awareness of some of the symptoms, problems and issues associated with ADHD (with or without hyperactivity) and to look at successful ways to support a child within the mainstream classroom. This will involve not only looking at how to alleviate some of the difficulties but also how to draw on their strengths rather than focusing on their weaknesses. A multimodal model of intervention will be looked at and discussed.
- Differentiation in the mainstream classroom at KS2 and KS3
Differentiation can take many forms, these will be looked at, in a practical and fun way, along with what is not differentiation!
- How to look after the gifted and talented in the mainstream classroom
Having gifted and talented children in the classroom is often a source of concern for teachers, as to how they should cater to their needs; it is less about providing extra work and experiences and more about giving open-ended activities that allow the children to ‘fly’. This topic will be discussed and explored from the point of view that many children will be gifted in different areas.
Tailor-made courses can also be arranged in discussion with Cat.
Further Help and Courses
- British Dyslexia Association
- Helen Arkell Centre
https://www.helenarkell.org.uk/courses
- Dyslexia Action
www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk/cpd-programme
- PATOSS
https://www.patoss-dyslexia.org/ProfessionalServices/EventsCPD/
- NASEN- SEND
www.sendgateway.org.uk/training-events.html
- ADDISS (ADHD)
- Dyspraxia Foundation (Developmental Coordination Disorder)
www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk
- LD Online
- ICT