Helen

As a specialist dyslexia teacher I am qualified to work with all students, but particularly those who learn differently, or have specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia (and associated maths difficulties), dyspraxia or dyscalculia. My aim is to help students develop ways to acquire the functional literacy/mathematical skills they need in order to access the school curriculum. I am heavily involved with my local dyslexia association and work as a volunteer on their telephone helpline. I also maintain links with the British Dyslexia Association. During the summer months I also work as a panellist for the Schools Appeals Tribunal.

I have an enhanced DBS check which enables me to work with students at my own premises. This is reviewed annually, and includes all other adults who live there.

Tutoring Experience

I have over twenty years experience as a primary school teacher, having taught all year groups before working as a special needs teacher in a Special Needs Resource Base attached to a local mainstream school. I also worked as a teacher with my local authority's Literacy Centre.

I regularly maintain my professional development through the British Dyslexia Association and the Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties in order to stay abreast of current developments in the field of specific learning difficulties, as well as staying in touch with changes to school curricula and assessment processes.

My experience has shown that, although children may present with similar 'surface' difficulties, they rarely learn in the same way. Therefore intervention that works well for one child may not work well for another. For this reason tuition provided by me is genuinely tailored to the individual.

Tutoring Approach

Tuition is structured, cumulative and multisensory, and aims to keep the individual learner's needs at its heart.

I begin with a detailed telephone interview with the learner's parents to establish their main areas of concern. If your child has a diagnostic assessment, I can help you to interpret the report findings. I will then assess your child in depth in order to identify their strengths, learning style and areas of difficulty. This may include standardised tests as well as informal tests and my own detailed observations. Many learners who struggle are experiencing difficulties with their short term and working memory or auditory processing, and I can help students develop strategies to improve this.

Lessons include a variety of approaches with a wide range of resources, aiming to capitalise on your child's strengths whilst shoring up their weaknesses. This will include a variety of overlearning approaches, as well as simple homework tasks aimed at putting their new learning into their long term memory. These resources will include practical hands-on equipment, board and card games, technical applications, reinforced by carefully selected worksheets and/or games for homework.

Crucially, tuition aims to be enjoyable. Research has shown that the 'emotion' part of the brain is very close to the areas where cognitive learning takes place. If a student is not enjoying what they are doing, they are likely to shut down. In contrast, if they enjoy what they are learning, it becomes more meaningful and easier to recall. A child's self-esteem is also heavily connected to the same domain, meaning that if a child can come to feel better about their limitations, the greater improvement they are likely to make.

Face to face tuition is offered at my own premises, where I have a vast bank of resources that can be drawn on. I review my resources and invest in new ones periodically in order to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the students I am currently supporting.

I consider communication between parent/student/tutor to be essential at all stages, and feedback is provided to parents at the end of each lesson.