Joanna

I am an experienced, qualified teacher and currently work as Deputy SENDo at a local secondary school. I have teaching experience in primary, secondary and post 16 education. I have over 20 year’s experience teaching students with SEND. My background is varied which I believe gives me the ability to both motivate and engage every student that I teach. I graduated with a BA (hons) in Media and Film Studies, after which I completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Education at Oxford Brookes University. I have three children, one of which has Dyslexia - which is an area I'm very interested in and led me to continue with my teacher training and specialise in Teaching Learners with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). I have an abundance of energy and passion for teaching and strongly believe in a student centered approach. Learning should be stimulating as well as enjoyable and it is vital that every learner should be given the opportunity to achieve their full potential. I feel that I have the skills and energy to facilitate this process.

Tutoring Experience

After completing my teacher training, I taught A-Level Media and Film Studies in the post 16 sector. Whilst teaching A-Levels, I was offered the opportunity to teach on the 14-16 Curriculum, which focussed on alternative education programmes for SEN students from mainstream education. This programme was challenging but rewarding and enabled me to approach teaching from a completely different perspective. To enhance my teaching skills, I decided to train as a Specialist and Teacher (SpLD), where I gained my Dip RSA (Dyslexia) and Level 7 Certificate in Assessing Learners with SpLD. As well as being able to offer comprehensive teaching programmes for SpLD, I can also carry out standardised diagnostic assessments and comprehensive reports for Dyslexia. I am also an accredited member of PATOSS (Professional Association of Teachers of Specific Learning Difficulties). For the past thirteen years I have been employed as Deputy SENDCo and Specialist Teacher at a large secondary school. I coordinate and assess for all access arrangements, teach specialist literacy interventions and oversee all SEND in the sixth form. Previous to this position I was Lead Teacher and Curriculum Manager at an alternative education provider for 14-16 year olds. These students all have EHCPs (Education and Health Care Plans) for SEMH(Social Emotional and Mental Health) as well as Specific Learning Difficulties, ASD, ADHD and Aspergers. I had responsibility for planning and delivering individual teaching programmes in Literacy, Numeracy and GCSEs. I’m very passionate with every subject that I teach and offer a supportive and caring approach which I feel helps to break down the education barriers that many of these students have.

I have been a private tutor for eighteen years. I bring a diverse set of skills and experience tutoring students with a disparate set of needs, at all curriculum levels. My passion is working with students with SpLDs (Dyslexia), ASD and ADHD.

Tutoring Approach

I strongly believe that every student has the ability to achieve their full potential, which is why I adopt a very student centered approach to my teaching. During the first session, I will carry out assessments to ascertain attainment and ability. If requested I can carry our formal standardized assessments to obtain up to date results of underlying ability and attainment. I believe every person is unique and I will therefore design an individual, structured teaching plan, which will take into account individual learning styles as well as strengths and areas that may need developing.