Extra care for learners with unique needs
FROM January next year, Curro Monaghan will offer an assisted learning stream for learners with unique needs, alongside their current mainstream offering.
Judy Wearne, executive head at Curro Monaghan, said the school’s approach is aimed at learners with an average to above average IQ, who require additional support in order to achieve expected competencies in the fundamental academic skills, literacy and numeracy.
“Our aim is to equip learners with the required capabilities to ultimately return to a mainstream school within two to three years,” she said.
The new stream will initially only be offered to grade 2-4 learners. Wearne said those grades are windows of opportunity in learning.
“The earlier a child is exposed to and understands academic concepts, the better chance they have to successfully learn and retain those concepts. If a child does not grasp the fundamentals of language and mathematics at the correct age, it may be difficult, less successful, or even impossible, to develop these functions later in life. The quality of teaching and learning in grades 2-4 is especially of vital importance.”
The decision to launch this additional stream, alongside the school’s current mainstream offering, stems from the institution’s mission to offer a broader range of education options to children and parents.
“We recognise learners do not all learn in the same way and we want to tailor our offerings to give every child access to a quality education. This means providing different types of learning strategies, all within a nurturing environment,” she said.
Wearne said assisted learning is different to remedial education. Whereas remedial education is largely a tailored study path aimed at working on the specific difficulties experienced by an individual learner, assisted learning allows a learner to still follow a traditional curriculum while assistance is offered within a smaller classroom environment. In other words, all children in the classroom will be studying the same content, as happens in mainstream schools, but extra attention is offered to each learner as a result of the smaller class numbers.
“Assisted learning is ideal for learners of average to above average ability who have specific barriers to learning, such as those with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, anxiety disorders, and so on,” says Wearne. “Assisted learning helps children who benefit from a smaller, more individualised learning environment. These learners can still progress to Grade 12 and write the national matric exams with the necessary support and concessions provided by the Education Department and the school,” she said.