One
to one tuition in a quiet environment is ideal
for improving
reading.
The School Skills Club offers
tuition (normally on a one to one basis) in reading, writing
and other literacy skills to children aged 3 -11 years. Each
child attends at a regular time once a week for an hour’s
lesson.
Pre-school children (from 3
years). Sessions are
organised from Tuesday to Friday 9.15 – 3.30 during term
time. Jacky Gurney plans each session to improve the skills
of the individual child. Please see the Pre – school page
for examples of activities.
School children 4 -11
years. Lessons are
taught after school from Tuesday to Friday and all day
Saturday during the school term and by arrangement in the
school holidays.
Jacky Gurney has an early years
teaching degree which included units of training about
teaching children with special educational needs. She has
been tutoring school children since 1999 and in 2005
completed a year long course with two teaching practices and
gained the OCR Level 4 Certificate in ‘Teaching Learners
with Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia).’ Since 2005,
Jacky has continued her professional development by
attending workshops and presentations. She is a member of
the Dyslexia Action Guild and Hampshire Dyslexia Association
Committee where her role is editor of the newsletter.
The
children enjoy using the computer as a
resource for their learning.
Jacky organises and teaches each
lesson, which she plans to suit the needs and abilities of the
individual child. She teaches in a quiet environment free from
distractions which gives each child the maximum opportunity to
concentrate.
The School Skills Club is registered
by Ofsted on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register.
Aims and
objectives of the School Skills Club.
To promote two way communication with
parents about their child’s learning.
Playing a game is an
enjoyable way of
consolidating learning.
To provide a multi sensory, structured
and cumulative learning programme that the children will enjoy
and that will allow them to fulfil their
potential.
To provide a safe, quiet environment
in which the children can learn. Jacky Gurney has a CRB
Enhanced Disclosure Certificate, and has carried out a risk
assessment. Policies relating to equal opportunities, health
and safety, child protection, behaviour and complaints (none
to date) are all in place.
To increase each child’s
self-confidence. The lessons are carefully planned to promote
success. Positive reinforcement for effort and achievement is
also given in order to build self esteem. Back to top
How children are
taught at School Skills Club.
The children are taught in individual
ways depending on their needs.
Information about each child’s
strengths and weaknesses and learning styles is gathered by:
discussion
with children and parents
reading
Individual Education Plans
reading
diagnostic assessment reports
informally
assessing the child.
Jacky can help in the following
areas:
Phonological awareness.
Listening
activities to increase auditory discrimination.
Identifying
and discriminating phonemes (the sounds that letters
make).
Blending
phonemes aloud to say words and segmenting words into
their phonemes.
Visual
disturbance or discomfort when reading print.
Using
coloured overlays can mitigate visual discomfort.
Assessment kit and overlays available.
Consideration
given to print size, font and spacing.
Eye
exercises.
A
game to practise blending.
Reading.
1. Synthetic
Phonics.
Identifying graphemes (written
letters) and learning their sounds.
Using blending to read phonically
regular words.
Introducing graphemes in a
structured and cumulative way.
Using Alpha to Omega, Ruth Miskin or
Jolly Phonics materials as appropriate for the
child.
Playing games (including computer
games) for practise and consolidation.
The
children use magnetic letters to help them
understand how letter sounds can be blended
together.
2.
Learning high frequency phonetically irregular words.
Football
game, matching a game to a child's interest
increases
motivation.
Using
multisensory materials and games.
Increasing reading vocabulary in a
structured way using carefully selected
texts.Back to
top.
Practising
spelling in the porridge oats tray is visual and
kinaesthetic.
Spelling.
Using
segmenting to spell phonically regular words.
Learning
spelling patterns.
Partaking
in multi-sensory activities.
Creating
mnemonics to aid memory.
Learning
graphemes and phonemes for spelling e.g. the vowel
digraph ‘ai’. The children listen to a spoken
word, select the letters for the sounds, and then
push the magnetic letters together, or type the
letters into the computer game, sounding and
blending them to pronounce the
word.
Handwriting.
Kinaesthetic
exercises and activities to help speed and flow of
writing.
Experimenting
with a variety of pencils, pens and grips.
Learning
individual formation of letters, size and proportion of
letters and letter joins for cursive (joined) writing
in a structured
way.
Back to top.
Comprehension
exercise.
Comprehension.
Discussing
the books read and answering questions
verbally.
Answering
specific questions on set texts to improve literal and
inferential comprehension.
Finding
the capital letters and explaining when they
are
needed.
Reading,
planning and writing in different genres.
Structuring
a
story.
Investigating and creating stories,
plays, poems, reports, instructions, arguments
etc.
Choosing interesting
vocabulary.
Using complex sentences.
Fees.
Pre-school children.
The cost of a private lesson is
£18.00. (£3.00 per lesson is payable half termly in
advance and the remaining £15.00 is paid at each
lesson).
School children.
The cost of each private
lesson is £22.00. (£7.00 per lesson is payable half
termly in advance and the remaining £15.00 is paid at each
lesson attended).
What
to do if you want your child to attend the School Skills
Club.
Please contact Jacky Gurney and she will arrange a
day and time for lessons if there is a vacancy or place your
child’s name on the waiting list. Back to
top
