Support for Learning | Lesmahagow High School

Aims

The aims of the Department encompass the following:

To help ease the transition from Primary School to Secondary, particularly for those children with additional support needs, be they long or short term;
To work with colleagues to try to ensure that each child has access to work which is at an appropriate level for him or her;
To try to ensure that departments are aware of appropriate resources for pupils with additional support needs;
To help co-ordinate the efforts of all agencies involved with the progress of pupils with additional support needs e.g. Hearing Impairment Service, Visual Impairment Service, Psychological Services;
To work with colleagues and external agencies to ensure appropriate assessment arrangements are in place for pupils with additional support needs.

In keeping with the principles of the Curriculum for Excellence the Department aims to help pupils become:

Successful learners, responsible citizens, effective contributors, confident individuals;
Skilled for future learning, life and work.

Gathering of information from Primary Schools and collating this in a Learner Profile booklet which is then distributed to all staff to ease pupils’ transition between Primary and Secondary;
Providing individual / small group tuition where necessary;
Development of differentiated coursework in conjunction with the subject specialist, as appropriate;
Liaising with parents to ensure a successful partnership for the support of the child;
Liaising with external agencies;
Being in class as a co-operative teacher;
Collaborative working with colleagues, both teaching and non-teaching;
Processing of Additional Support Plans for pupils who need additional help;
Organising Review Meetings for those pupils for whom it is necessary;
Preparing timetables for Support Assistants who work in class or with individual pupils, or sometimes two or three pupils, on strategies to help them cope with the curriculum.