Private Dyslexia Tuition -Pointers for Private Dyslexia Tutors from British Dyslexia Association
The following information may be used for guidelines.
Specialist Teaching.
•Teachers should be able to produce qualifications with dates, including Department for Education and Skills number if held.
•Details of experience of teaching dyslexic children are essential.
•One of the following specialist dyslexia teacher training qualification is preferable: an SpLD (Specific Learning Difficulties) Certificate qualification for either primary, secondary or adult levels. The level accredited should be indicated. (Holders of this diploma may be eligible to apply for ATS (Approved Teacher Status from BDA). An SpLD Diploma which accredits all three levels. (Holders of this diploma may be eligible to apply for AMBDA (Associate Member of BDA).
•Teachers should be regularly updating their knowledge with courses, seminars and conferences etc. and they may like to be members of other specialist groups such as PATOSS.
•It should be possible for teachers to produce references on request which would be applicable to teaching the particular child.
Details to consider.
•Would a multi-sensory structured programme such as Hickey, Alpha to Omega, etc., be used for literacy?
•Would it be appropriate for the specialist teacher to be familiar with the National Curriculum, or with particular GCSE syllabuses?
•Would study skills need to be taught?
•Would ICT be available and/or beneficial?
•Are there recommendations from a Chartered Educational Psychologist's Assessment to work from?
•Would the teacher be suitably qualified to make an assessment either for their own teaching purposes or otherwise, e.g. for provisions for examinations such as GCSE (SpLD Diploma holders only)?
•Would the teacher be required to write reports or be prepared to attend meetings at school or liase with the school
•Clarification needs to be established as to when, where and how frequently the lessons will take place. It is possible for a school to approve absence for an education activity including: "franchised pupils receiving part of their tuition at another location while remaining under overall supervision of the home / school (i.e. a flexible arrangement short of formal dual registration). This can include special tuition for dyslexic children and sick children being taught at home but remaining on roll." DfES, formerly DfEE, Circular 10/99.
•Would the parent want to observe the lessons?
•Would homework be set with guidelines for parental assistance?
Fees and Conditions.
•It needs to be established as to whether the lessons will be on an individual or group basis.
•Duration of lessons and fees together with payment arrangements need to be agreed.
•Parents need to be informed as to whether there will be cancellation fees or additional charges for materials.
•Agreement is needed as to how frequently verbal or written reports might be produced and whether these would be chargeable. Progress should be reviewed regularly, e.g. termly or at six monthly intervals with reports.
•Insurance for the teacher would be advisable. PATOSS is able to arrange this.
•Certificates confirming police checks should be obtained. Those teachers employed by a DfES registered school should have this already in place.
•Both verbal and written references should be readily available.
Private Dyslexia Tuition -Pointers for Private Dyslexia Tutors from PATOSS.
When taking on a new pupil it is best to establish ground rules from the outset.
The following pointers could be useful.
Preliminary arrangements:
Discuss with the parents their expectations of a course of specialist lessons.
Establish whether or not there is an up to date Chartered Educational Psychologist's report from which you may take recommendations.
If this is not the case decide whether or not it will be necessary to carry out a teacher assessment and explain what this would involve.
Discuss where the lessons will take place.
Also, when they will take place.
Taking children out of school
Advice about taking children out of school for private tuition has changed.
It is possible for a school to approve absence for an educational activity including:
"franchised pupils receiving part of their tuition at another location while remaining under overall supervision of the home school (ie a flexible arrangement short of formal dual registration). This can include special tuition for dyslexic children and sick children being taught at home but remaining on roll." (page 40, Circ 10/99)
Advise the parent as to how frequent and long the lessons should be.
Discuss whether there should be parental involvement during the lesson.
Confirm whether homework will be issued and whether there should be parental involvement.
Discuss how you will inform parents about progress or any concerns and how and when they may communicate with you.
Establish whether you will be liaising with the child's school and if you will be required to visit it.
Set a review date after half a term's tuition in order to make sure that expectations are being met.
Advise your costs:
Not only should you let the parent know your fees for lessons but you should also advise:
Your fees for report writing if this is intended to be an additional activity.
Your fees for teacher assessments if, and when, required.
Your costs or arrangements in the case of cancellations.
Charges for out of pocket expenses, e.g.
Fees for attending meetings, if any, e.g. with the school or LEA.
Telephone expenses.
Additional resources etc.
Personal considerations and development:
Membership of a professional body such as PATOSS (The Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties)and / or AMBDA (Associated Member of BDA) or ATS (Approved Teacher Status) would be most beneficial.
You should also ensure that your skills are regularly updated. Many courses are listed on G05 BDA Events list and several supporting members regularly offer suitable courses too.
Make sure you are insured, both for public liability and for professional indemnity. PATOSS is able to arrange this for members.
It may also be advisable to arrange a police check for yourself
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Linking screening and diagnostic assessment to effective intervention through successful teaching and learning strategies.
TRAINING - ASSESSMENT AND TUTORING - CONSULTANCY AND ADVICE
MISSION STATEMENT
From screening and diagnostic assessment to successful intervention and effective teaching strategies combined with liaison with fellow professionsals, whatever is required to help each and every learner, infant to adult, early years to workplace - become more successful and independent learners, we will seek to provide.
We are all trained in specific learning difficulties, especially Dylsexia, although we specialise in all learning difficulties such as Apserger Syndrome, Adhd and have training and experience in Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia and Speech and Language Difficulties. We also appreciate that many learners have learning difficulties that are co-occurring with others.
Via a free initial consultation with the learner we will be able to screen and diagnose difficulties, suggest suitable teaching strategies or refer to other professionsals or simply offer advice. This is why this first consultation is free of charge - so that the next course of action is discussed without undue stress and free of any pressure on the learners, parents, family or loved ones.
We have a learner-centred approach and believe on basing our teaching and diagnosis of learning profiles on what has been learnt already, individual skills and strengths and by identifying different learning styles. All learners are unique! We believe in using strengths to overcome weaknesses and that learners are encouraged to reach their potential. We believe all learners can if they do what is required.
We have worked in primary, secondary and tertiary education and are available for consultation in workplace assessment and advice also. We have also been accredited to assess for Disabled Student Allowance as well as for JCQ extra examination time and other concessions.
The service we offer learners.
The service is split into initial and ongoing assessments of learning strengths, difficulties and styles and teaching programmes which are tailored towards this learning profile.
We will often use a positive multi-sensory teaching programme which has been advocated by many respected dyslexia specialists as being the best way to teach pupils with specific learning difficulties, particulary Dyslexia. We feel that Literacy and Numeracy, in particular, have to be taught in a different way in relation to pupils with learning difficulties to be effective.
We will often use a positive multi-sensory teaching programme which has been advocated by many respected dyslexia specialists as being the best way to teach pupils with specific learning difficulties, particulary Dyslexia. We feel that Literacy and Numeracy, in particular, have to be taught in a different way in relation to pupils with learning difficulties to be effective.
Screening and Diagnostic Assessment
During our initial meeting we will look at whatever types of assessment have been carried out by either teachers, informally through class observation or formally through screening assessments, or diagnostic assessments by an Educational Psychologists before deciding how to proceed. We can carry out a wide range of screening asessments, to look at various areas of cognitive abilities and skills before either using them with other previous assessments or as our foundation for further teaching intervention. By intervention, we simply mean taking particular interest to certain areas of learning difficulty and deciding how we are all going to improve these areas and educational performance generally. We means, parents as well as learners, and other learning assistants such as teaching assistants in school and teachers. Anyone with an input into the learner's learning. It is important that the learning plan is as integrated as possible with everyone involved following the same direction to ensure the greatest success.
TRAINING AND AWARENESS RAISING
We have developed a number of Powerpoint and interactive learning packages to raise awareness of various learning difficulties, particularly, Dyslexia, in order to illustrate what it is like to have a specific learning difficulty, literally what it is like, and, with this new awareness in mind, how best to design most effective classroom and teaching practice to allow for various learning differences. These courses and relevent Powerpoints can be easily customised to suit any learning environment, through pre-school, primary, secondary, post-compulsory and workplace scenarios, all tailored to your particular need. We have included a number of Powerpoints on this blog to help illustrate some areas that can be covered - some are incomplete as they are waiting to be accustomised for whatever learning environment or are rather extensive, waiting to be appropriately cropped to fit whatever training scenario they are required. For now, they give very important information about various learning difficulties and one of them was created by a Year 7 pupil himself, to show his classmates what it is like to have ADHD and raise his own self-esteem in the process.
Consultancy and Advice
We aim to provide consultancy in providing for learners and employees who experience learning difficulties and on appropriate adaptations to both learning and working environments. We also give advice on various areas of legislation relating to various learning dificulties to teacher/pupil and employer/employee alike.
About Us
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Multi-Sensory Teaching
We believe the best way to teach dyslexic learners, especially in relation to phonetic awareness is via a cumulative, structured, multi-sensory approach and using visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and auditory channels to retain information and help allow learning become more automatic and the learner more independent. It is also more fun! The teaching programmes we use are as follows:-
Speech and Language Difficulties
DYSCALCULIA
Raising self esteem - Check out this link www.olchfa.org.uk/whatsthedifference/?p=196
We firmly believe that a proper assessment and the right teaching strategies should be allied with and, in fact, aid the raising of self-esteem. We have found that improving self-concept is essential to enabling learners to improve and become more independent. We will encourage leaners to think and act on their own awareness about their learning strategies and also counsel those who have had negative experiences of school and the learning process.
While working in a secondary school setting, one of our tutors decided the best way to raise awareness of learning difficulties while simultaneously raising awareness of those with learning difficulties in the class was to collaboratively write, direct and produce a play with the class! This was then performed to over 250 pupils and teachers at Year assembly.
Whatever technique or approach works!
While working in a secondary school setting, one of our tutors decided the best way to raise awareness of learning difficulties while simultaneously raising awareness of those with learning difficulties in the class was to collaboratively write, direct and produce a play with the class! This was then performed to over 250 pupils and teachers at Year assembly.
Whatever technique or approach works!
You Can Do iT!
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