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Specific learning difficulties education support

If you have any worries about your child with specific learning difficulties, you should talk to their teacher or keyworker. Or, talk to the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) to see if any extra learning support can be put in place.

Over time they will learn more about your child or young person, and will go through a 4 part process called the 'assess, plan, do, review cycle' (the Graduated Approach).

Depending on your child or young person's needs they may receive the following specific support.

Mathematics

The educational setting will offer additional support if your child or young person has difficulty with mathematics. It could be they do one or more of these things:

  • copy from a worksheet, screen, board or follows others
  • do not remember facts about numbers
  • have difficulty applying logical or critical thinking to a maths problem
  • use their fingers to count more than using a pen and paper.

The support they offer could include:

  • acknowledgment and encouragement of good verbal contributions whenever possible
  • encouraging the use of different coloured pens to highlight work and provide markers
  • supplying additional teaching resources including:
    • checklists
    • storyboards
    • taskboards
    • word maps
    • working walls.
  • using number games, or programmes such as Numicon to support counting
  • using visual programmes such as Number Shark to target gaps in their learning.

Memory

The educational setting will offer additional support if your child or young person has difficulty with their memory. It could be they do one or more of these things:

  • can follow the first step of instructions and then struggles afterwards
  • cannot complete their homework, even if it's explained
  • copy or follow others
  • do not often ask for help or are highly dependent on adult support
  • fail to complete tasks
  • have anxiety
  • have poor organisation skills
  • are easily distracted
  • struggle with the pace of learning and teaching.

The support they offer could include:

  • a detailed explanation of the 'bigger picture' when a new topic is introduced
  • aiming to provide a 'check-in' support rather than constant individual attention
  • allowing extra time for the pupil to write down written instructions or give assistance
  • asking them to take part in memory activities or games to help develop their memory
  • chunking instructions one step at a time and check understanding throughout task
  • encouraging the use of different coloured pens to highlight work and provide markers
  • homework tasks and important instructions are provided in pictoral or written form
  • providing opportunities for repetition and overlearning
  • supplying additional teaching resources including:
    • checklists
    • storyboards
    • taskboards
    • word maps
    • working walls.
  • support through extra time or providing a personal copy to have on their desk
  • visual support and reminders, including a multisensory approach.

Reading, writing and spelling

The educational setting will offer additional support if your child or young person has difficulty with their reading, writing and spelling. It could be they do one or more of these things:

  • avoid engagement and are disruptive in class
  • cannot process visual clues
  • copy often from a worksheet, screen or board
  • do not like to read out loud and have anxiety when asked
  • frequently spell words wrong
  • have difficulty with learning phonics beyond the simple alphabetic code
  • have poor organisation skills
  • have poor word recognition
  • read slowly or inaccurately
  • struggle writing, where it takes a lot of effort.

The support they offer could include:

  • allowing and encouraging alternative methods other than handwriting when recording work and giving them extra time to read and absorb information
  • checking the suitability of their chair or desk, posture and paper placement
  • encouraging and supporting word processing for written work where possible
  • highlighting or ticking the correct parts of the word rather than errors
  • marking written work on content rather than spelling
  • providing left or right-handed pens and pencils as appropriate
  • not asking them to read in front of others unless they want to
  • substituting an alternative task, including working on NESSY or Wordshark for spelling tests
  • teaching touch-typing
  • teaching strategies to help track words on the page
  • the reduction of written homework requirements
  • using of a scribe or voice recording for some tasks
  • using colour to highlight spelling patterns
  • using dyslexia friendly software, for example CLICKER
  • using inbuilt accessibility features of tablets, phones or laptops, for example speech to text functions.