Girls with special educational needs make excellent progress at St George’s.
GCSE and A Level examination results for these girls are closely in line with, and in some years exceed, the year group as a whole. This is a reflection of the value placed on neurodiversity, where every girl is appreciated for the particular strengths she brings to the school community, and nurtured to become confident in her own unique set of abilities.
Teachers are provided with regular training on how best to support pupils with specific learning difficulties. Those pupils who have been identified with special educational needs have a Learning Support Pupil Profile, a document outlining their strengths and areas of difficulty. The profile document helps teachers to implement strategies for classroom support and provision. In addition, our teachers are mindful of the fact that those with these types of difficulty can also be educationally gifted – an area considered carefully in lesson planning. A number of girls also attend one-to-one support lessons with specialist teachers from the Helen Arkell Centre, an organisation with whom we have a strong partnership. These lessons are delivered in welcoming, modern, purpose-built rooms located in the Luker building.
We use modern technology to enhance the learning experience of pupils with special educational needs. Chromebooks are particularly useful in providing this type of learning, offering specific software, such as voice-to-text and text-to-voice software. Dragonfly, the school’s VLE, also benefits these girls by helping them to keep their schoolwork well organised.
A study skills programme, beginning in the first year and recommencing in the GCSE years, teaches memorisation and revision techniques which are useful to all pupils, but of particular benefit to those with special educational needs.
If you have any further questions or would like to discuss whether St George’s would be a ‘good fit’ for your daughter, please contact Emma Shingles, Head of Learning Support, at eshingles@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk.