Special Educational Needs and Language Training

“We have an excellent team of tutors who support the individual needs of children with learning difficulties and language barriers.”

SEN – Special Educational Needs

A close eye is kept on the boys’ acquisition and development of literacy and numeracy skills during their education at Willington. Form and Subject teachers monitor their progress and share any concerns with the Special Needs team. This continues throughout their schooling and is especially important in the junior classes where early intervention and support by our well qualified and experienced tutors is extremely effective. Once a problem has been identified tutors work with children on a one to one basis and rapid progress can be made.

Sometimes we will recommend that a child is referred to an Educational Psychologist which might lead to the diagnosis of a specific learning difficulty such as Dyslexia or Dyspraxia in which case we aim to ensure that all teachers are aware of strategies to reduce a pupil’s frustrations and aid his learning.

The discovery and support of children’s needs is a process shared by teachers and parents, and we are always keen to discuss your concerns.

EAL/EFL – English as an Additional or Foreign Language

Pupils who come to school with little or no knowledge of English need every encouragement to learn quickly in order not to miss out on their classroom learning. They may need additional pastoral support, and creating an environment in the school which encourages the appreciation of international diversity will help put pupils at ease.

International pupils are taught, supported by a specialist EAL tutor, on a one-to-one basis. They are given language related activities which can be used to build confidence within the class environment, the wider school community and their home life. Pupils follow the National Curriculum and are integrated into the class from the outset.

Many children acquire language very quickly but some may lack the confidence to use their knowledge in order to communicate with their peers or an adult. We find that pupils will begin to communicate once they have internalised their ideas effectively. At Willington there are many EAL/EFL pupils, with varying levels of knowledge of the English language. Assisting the pupils to settle and become familiar with their surroundings is the first and crucial step to developing language further or to acquire new language skills.

We are fortunate to have such a diversity of languages and cultures at Willington and find that assigning a pupil mentor, who speaks the language, is extremely beneficial to both the pupil and the school.