Learning Support – enabling every child to fulfil their own potential, through their own style of learning both in and out of the classroom setting.

Learning support for children with specific learning needs is an integral part of the ethos and teaching approach at The Downs Malvern.

The teaching staff are responsible for differentiation and implementation of SEND targets and learning resources, such as laptops, reader pens and speech-to-text. The staff are guided by the SENDCO, Mrs Caroline Ainsworth, who works alongside teachers and pupils in the classroom.

The Learning Support Department can offer one-to-one teaching by specialist teachers, who offer an individual curriculum to those children who require teaching that is additional to and different from existing classroom provision.

The Learning Support Department has a classroom with a variety of multi-sensory teaching resources and games as well as computer aids and voice recognition software.

Our learning support follows the SEND Code of Practice 2014 and implements the Graduated Approach of assessing the needs of the child, planning to support those needs, implementing appropriate strategies and interventions, and regularly reviewing the provision and the well-being of the child with their parents and carers.

The Downs Malvern offers diagnostic standardised assessments to assess a child’s strengths and challenges. A Pupil Passport is produced to guide our teaching staff in the teaching strategies required to best support individual children in the classroom.

Individual Provision Maps (IPMs) record personal targets to aid pupil progress resulting in increased confidence and self-esteem. A weekly whole staff Pupil Meeting allows teachers to talk through individual children’s learning and emotional needs and to review strategies that have been implemented from pupil Individual Provision Maps.

A visit is warmly encouraged to get a feel for our provision and to discuss the best fit support for your child.

Caroline Ainsworth, Head of Learning Support