Academic Support

Cordwalles acknowledges that every boy is unique, with individual strengths, challenges, interests, abilities and learning needs. Our Academic Support Unit underpins the reality that learning difficulties are very real, but with understanding, accountability, empathy and the reinforcement of skills, boys can be equipped with ways of overcoming these obstacles, grow in confidence and flourish.

In support of the school’s mission, we are committed to providing a nurturing learning environment that will inspire and educate boys to become men of significance.

Academic Support Staff

The Academic Support Department is headed by Mrs Megan Dakers. The team is multidisciplinary, consisting of both full and part-time remedial therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists. These professional specialists are equipped to support boys who may present with learning difficulties at any stage of their schooling.

MEET OUR TEAM

Identifying Learning Difficulties

All teachers play a role in identifying potential learning difficulties. We follow a step-by-step process to diagnose and meet the specific needs of each boy. Recommendations from a full Educational Psychological Assessment and teachers, as well as parent referrals, are taken into account when considering admission into individual academic support lessons.

All boys are screened annually to track their spelling, reading and mathematics proficiency, and to identify areas that need further development. Mrs Dakers also goes into the classrooms during lessons to conduct observations. She, together with the various therapists, administer diagnostic tests throughout the year to track the progress of boys who are receiving intervention.

We also rely on parents to share information about their child’s learning needs, strengths and challenges, including previous assessments, psycho-educational reports, history of remedial intervention, etc. This helps us provide effective intervention.

Educational Psychological Assessments

When a boy presents with barriers that require further diagnosis, they may need a formal assessment by an educational psychologist. Based on the recommendations contained in the psychologist’s final report, we can then implement various interventions and accommodations to assist each boy based on their individual needs. The paper trail accumulated in primary school also helps to pave the way for applications for accommodations and concessions in high school.

In-Class Support

Academic Support Teachers go into the classroom to support boys through individualised or small group instruction.

Withdrawal Support

An Academic Support Teacher removes an individual boy or a small group of boys from the main classroom to work on targeted skills.

Individual Academic Support Lessons

Individual support is focused on remediating and consolidating the development of the core skills, rather than re-teaching the curriculum content.

Alternatively, if we believe that a student requires intensive academic support to help him cope better in the classroom, we will put an Individualised Education Programme (IEP) in place, taking into account the available resources. An Academic Support Specialist will work with the student individually at allocated times.

The set fee for individual academic support is charged to the boy’s parents.

Occupational Therapy

The Occupational Therapist will always form an important part of the child’s multidisciplinary team. Our on-site Occupational Therapist, Elizabeth Anne Lee, runs her practice from Cordwalles in a private capacity. Occupational Therapy (OT) focuses on the child as a holistic individual.

Therapeutic goals aim at assisting the child to thrive in all four areas of daily living: self-care, school, play and sleep. All therapy sessions are play-based and child-centred, which makes for lots of fun and laughter!

Reasons for referrals often include the following: sensory processing difficulties, global delays in pre-school foundations, delays in gross motor and fine motor development, or the inability of a boy to put his thoughts onto paper.

Parents are responsible for contacting Elizabeth for an OT assessment.

An assessment will usually be followed by some form of OT intervention, including at least one of the following treatment plans:

Individual weekly OT sessions
Home programmes
Classroom intervention

Elizabeth visits our Inky Grade RR and Grade R classes once a month, providing class teachers with various activity ideas to help with school readiness foundations and identify and assist boys who need additional help. Elizabeth visits each Junior Primary classroom once every six months, monitoring each boy’s progress and providing the class teachers with useful tools to incorporate in their daily lessons and/or to assist specific boys.

Elizabeth follows an open-door policy, and all families are welcome to contact her about relevant matters.

Speech and Language Therapy

Cordwalles has a private, part-time speech and language therapist: Shayn Loock.

Reasons for referral to speech therapy include:

Delayed or unclear articulation
Delayed language skills (both verbal and written language)
Difficulties processing auditory information such as poor listening skills, difficulties following instructions and difficulties retaining auditory information
Delayed phonological awareness (these skills form the auditory building blocks for literacy)
Difficulties with social communication

Once a parent has contacted the therapist, the child will be assessed. Depending on the results of the assessment, speech and language therapy is provided on an individual basis.

Academic Allowances

All boys write the same tests as their peers. Grading may differ where spelling concessions are in place, or when certain boys need to present oral work one-on-one rather than in front of the entire class.

Allowances are made based on Educational Psychological Assessment. These can include: extra time for tests and examinations, boys writing tests or examinations in a separate venue, the use of a reader or scribe, spelling concessions and the use of laptops for submission of written work.