Streatham & Clapham High School

S, now in Year 8, started SCHS in Year 7 without any mention of dyslexia type difficulties.  S had always had problems with organisation as well as punctuation, spelling, learning sequences but her enormous enthusiasm for life and learning masked her difficulties. S says she has only just learnt the alphabet, has still not mastered the months of the year and how many days in months etc.  S says this difficulty with sequencing causes problems for her in Spanish and Maths.

S found the organisational demands of secondary school very difficult.  The Yr 7 screening showed dyslexic features so an assessment was carried out.  The results showed S is a very able dyslexic who has exceptional working memory difficulties, 3rd centile, and a Reading Speed on the 5th centile.  S also had visual perception difficulties.  S now has glasses with coloured lenses, uses a laptop, has a reduced timetable, she has dropped French and has in-house Learning Support.

As S says, "Now I know I'm dyslexic I feel more confident.  I know I can have extra time in exams so I don't worry about missing out answers in class and exams.  I can now use a laptop so I'm not behind everyone else when they're writing.  Being diagnosed dyslexic has been very helpful.  Software like Read Write Gold and the laptop make writing easier.  I'm still the same; I just know why I am so disorganised and have spelling and sequencing difficulties."

What steps has the school taken to raise dyslexia awareness among the staff?

There are regular whole school Insets, plus relevant updates at Staff Meetings.  I attend department meetings and work closely with Heads of Year and Heads of Department.  New staff have induction meetings with me.  I am involved in NQT training. 

As a school we celebrate Dyslexia Awareness Week with displays, an assembly, and external speakers.  Staff have access to electronic and paper files with SEN details e.g. each Head of Year and Head of Department has an SEN file, there is also a central SEN file in the staff room.  Pupil details are regularly updated and distributed to staff.  All SEN pupils have a Learner Profile which outlines their learning difficulties, giving teaching suggestions, details regarding exam concessions and gives key information such as if the pupils is on the Gifted and Talented list.  All new EP reports are summarised and given to Head of Year, form tutor to be distributed to teaching staff. 

Results of Yr 7 and Yr 12 screening test (Word chains) has been particularly useful for identifying 6th Form pupils whose speed of visual processing has not been noted.  The pupils have had an assessment, been given appropriate exam concessions and felt more confident about tertiary education.  Pupils also have individual IEP's.

What teaching methods and resources does the school use to support dyslexic pupils?

Software - Text Help Read Write Gold throughout both junior and senior schools.  The Learning Support Department has 14 laptops available for pupil use.  These have Inspiration, Touch Typing and Maths programmes.  The Learning Support Department also has Wordshark and Numbershark.

Each pupil's Learner Profile recommends appropriate differentiation such as laptop use, additional time for completing work, pupil to use pictorial notes or scribed writing. 

Some dyslexic pupils have a reduced timetable and have dropped a Modern Foreign Language (MFL).  In the free periods the pupil may have Learning Support sessions in a small group, or use the Touch Typing and Maths software or work on consolidating other curriculum subjects.  Internal exam concessions; time, laptop etc are in place from Yr 7.  Appropriate handouts with attention to font size, layout and paper colour are used. 

The School Intranet has a Learning Support site with a range of dyslexia and dyspraxia details. The Learning Support Department also has a virtual learning site for pupils.  The Learning Support Department has two Teaching Assistants who work with small groups on reading and study skills.  Sixth Form pupils mentor dyslexic pupils.

There are revision and study skill sessions for year groups which are part of the PHSCE programme.

What else have you done to make your school inclusive?

We have pupils with a range of additional learning needs either medical or educational.  All dyslexic pupils successes are shared in the school's weekly bulletin which goes home to parents.  Some pupils have private lessons with specialists in Maths or dyslexia.  There is an after school Creative Writing class.