All students have individual needs that influence how they learn. We want to meet these needs as best as possible. For this reason, the school has a Learning Support Centre, which offers a range of services for students with learning challenges. These can be of a diagnostic character, but can also be general cognitive challenges, dyslexia, etc.
The programmes are mostly based on supportive initiatives that, like the rest of the school, focus on high levels of academic achievement, a sense of community and the formation of social relationships.
At the school, there is room for diversity, and we strive to represent the society we are a part of. However, the school is not certified to have a profile as a special needs school and we do not receive special grants. Hence, we are not a school for children with special needs, nor do we have special needs classes. It is important for us to offer a good education for everyone. For students with special needs or challenges, admission is always based on an individual assessment.
At the school, approx. 10-15% of students use the various services offered through the Learning Support Centre, which is equivalent to figures of the public school.
The team
The Learning Support Centre provides professional and pedagogical sparring to teachers and educators and is, in collaboration with the class teachers and subject teachers, responsible for the teaching that goes beyond the school’s primary educational programme.
This is achieved by:
- Providing the individual student with tools that can create a stronger and more inclusive community for the student in the class as a whole. This is done by supporting the individual student in a dynamic context with selected students in class and/or during recess.
- Advise teachers and other resource persons in the classroom to work inclusively and to take a nuanced, systematic and goal-orientated approach to their own practice when there are children with special needs in the classroom.
- Assist with the development of action plans for the individual student in order to monitor their progress both academically and socially.
- Inspire and initiate special educational and didactic tools that, based on experience, point to inclusion.
- Counselling parents for a fruitful collaboration with everyone involved in the individual student’s challenges and schooling.
- Assist students and parents in relation to well-being, supplementary education and inclusion.
Interdisciplinary collaboration
The Learning Support Centre collaborates with PPR (Pedagogical, Psychological Counselling) and the school’s counselling psychologist, speech-hearing consultant, reading counsellor, maths counsellor, dyslexia consultant and health visitor on preventive initiatives as well as support and tools for students who face challenges at school.
The Learning Support Centre organises the various offers based on the pedagogical approach that characterises the school as a whole and the school’s vision of high academic development for the individual student. The work is based on Steiner’s pedagogical ideas, which means that the team at The Learning Support Centre, in addition to working with the individual, works particularly on the age-specific, and thus the themes for the different grade levels. Through a respectful and safe community, we work to ensure that:
- All students are integrated into the school’s academic and social culture
- prevent rather than cure
- coordinate and support early intervention in relation to students who encounter academic or social challenges
Areas of focus
The Learning Support Centre’s overall goal is to ensure the academic and social development of all students through coordinated and targeted efforts. The competence centre works within the following areas:
Preventative interventions
The Learning Support Centre intervenes early to ensure that all students are at the academic level expected for their grade level. This means that targeted efforts are made, especially in subjects such as English literacy, ESL (English as a Second Language) and mathematics, where the Learning Support Centre, in collaboration with the class teacher, plans and implements various courses and specific focus areas. Instruction takes place in the classroom.
Support teaching
The Learning Support Centre works with remedial teaching for students who have academic or social challenges at school. Remedial teaching is provided following a recommendation to PPR. The support granted can be of both an academic and pedagogical nature, and referrals for support classes via PPR are made once a year at the end of August. Parental consent is required, and before the recommendation is made, there is a lot of preparatory work that often extends over many months. Based on the student’s academic and social development in daily lessons, the class teacher and the class team assess whether the student should be recommended for remedial teaching. The individual recommendation is then assessed by the team at the Learning Support Center. When a student needs support, it is important to have good parental cooperation where we work together to strengthen the student’s well-being and academic self-esteem.
As far as possible, remedial teaching will take place in the classroom with the other pupils. The school timetable for all classes is based on a skeleton of subjects related to the mental, emotional and volitional. The musical, artistic and craft subjects are just as important as the academic subjects such as Danish, maths, history, etc. Each day begins with a main subject based on these core subjects. After that, the subject lessons alternate between crafts, music and artistic subjects.
Support in core subjects is coordinated differently depending on grade level and needs. As a starting point, support is provided in class in the main subjects, while in special cases, support in subject lessons is provided in intensive group lessons specifically as professional training in reading, spelling and maths skills or as support for homework.
Behavioural Teacher
In special cases, the Learning Support Centre, in collaboration with the class teacher and class team, offers support for students with social and behavioural challenges. Support can be provided individually or in the classroom if necessary. Referrals are made through the class teacher and each referral is assessed by the Learning Support Centre team.
Dyslexia programme
Students can be tested for dyslexia in March, April, May and June with the Ministry of Education’s Dyslexia Test. The earliest testing for dyslexia is in 3rd grade. Students for whom there is reasonable suspicion will be tested. This is only done with parental consent. If students are tested dyslexic, the school will apply for the assistive technology that dyslexic students need to compensate for their difficulties using assistive technology. This is typically a computer with various assistive technology programs, speech-to-text/text-to-speech apps and access to Nota Library.
Students who are tested dyslexic will be offered extra tuition. In the beginning, the teaching will mainly be aimed at familiarising students with their assistive technology. For students in upper secondary school, the goal is for them to be able to participate in regular classes using their assistive technology.