KellyF

My specialist experience working with students with Autism: During my teaching career to date, I have developed extensive skills working with students with Autism. This has ranged from providing specialist support in a formal classroom environment to leading and running a complete home-school environment. I have worked with students to develop their social interaction using social stories programmes. My teaching experience has allowed me to develop clear communication techniques and this forms the basis of good relationships with my students. During a particular home school assignment, I enabled my student to access the curriculum using a range of kinaesthetic learning tools and we worked on building confidence with new ideas whilst reviewing regularly past work. I have used PECs with students to assist their understanding of the world around them and also ensure we use a range of regular established routines to help comprehension of social and academic skills. I ensure my lessons with students are paced correctly to reflect the needs of the learner and enjoy using a range of different tools such as ICT and practical hands on examples of abstract concepts to support my students with Autism.

My experience teaching English and maths GCSE: I have a range of experience teaching English and maths at GCSE level in a home-school environment and one-to-one tuition. My approach is to build a strong and resilient knowledge of the core curriculum and once this is established, we work upon exam technique with a range of sample questions and papers. Using a range of resources to supplement lessons, I engage my learners with interesting and engaging activities which all benefit the final examination. All my students are supported to set achievable targets that challenge them to achieve their best.

My experience working with students with challenges in emotional regulation: When working with students to support their self-regulation, I use a range of personalised techniques to allow my learners to develop their ability to regulate emotions. These include visual timetables to map out upcoming events and approaches to deal with possible emotions. We work together to have quick regulation check in’s and focus on different strategies throughout the day. I encourage my students to be patient with their feelings and spend time working through ways to express and explore the range of emotions they may experience. As a tutor, I am privileged to have the time and space to work intensively with students to provide personalised support and strategies to support the development of self-regulation skills.

My experience working with children with sensory needs: When working with students who have Auditory and Sensory Processing needs I have a toolbox of techniques that ensure lessons are fruitful and productive. From ensuring the appropriate location with no distractions, to using a range of visual stimuli for sessions, I create a calm learning environment. A patient approach to teaching is required and my sessions are clearly organised with regular repetition of concepts and check-up questions to ensure each task is understood. Using recognisable routines and having clear transitions supports my teaching and builds up confidence in my students’ learning journey. Using a mixture of resources during a session is crucial and this allows my learners to have the confidence to challenge themselves in the classroom. Personalising techniques for each and every student, I ensure my sessions cater for every learning style and building strong, trust filled relationships enables my learner to feel secure in their development.

My specialist experience teaching children with speech and language needs: During my teaching career I have gathered specialist experience working with students who have a range of speech and language needs. I am confident working alongside students to develop the necessary techniques and skills to work upon specific literacy difficulties and prepare them with strategies to access the complete curriculum. Examples include specific colouring of resources and teaching processing skills to deal with tricky vocabulary. Many of my home tuition students with additional speech and language needs,  have made great use of the tools we have studied together including taking time with reading and applying a multisensory approach to learning. I endeavour to provide my students with a range of opportunities to explore the spoken word in a safe environment. Lessons are immersive and allow exposure to a rich bank of language which support a student to access vocabulary in an interactive manner. Fostering a love of literature and the spoken word allows students to develop their confidence and support their development in these areas.

My experience working with students with students who have anxiety: Key to working with students who have anxiety in their academic or personal life is being a consistent presence in their learning. Building up relationships of trust, takes time and I have the patience to ensure I am ready to step up when support is requested but also not force it upon my learners. I realise that when suffering from anxiety students need time and I am always ready to provide a safe space to explore any issues that they might be facing. My experience has taught me that being reliable and trustworthy is key to developing that solid relationship that allows me the privilege of being a support and consistent presence for my student. In particular, when a student has autism, I have used PECs alongside social stories to explore elements of comprehension in dealing with emotionally challenging situations. I encourage my students to express themselves through music, the written word, drawing and any other hobby which serves as an outlet for their anxiety and thought process.

My experience working alongside a team of professionals with students with Autism has been most satisfying and I recently created a complete home-school programme for a student outside mainstream school to catch up on his academics. Using a mixture child-centred techniques we were able to work with the student to develop his study and social skills with the successful reintegration to mainstream school at the end of the school year.

My skills and experience working with students to develop their independence: My sessions are designed to promote independence in my learners. I make use of research based activities to ensure from the start students are investigating the topics we study and experience the process of learning from questioning to investigation. I model to my students how to plan out a schedule using visual tools such as a wall calendar and visual timetable. Giving a student ownership of their learning from a young age and developing their curiosity with interactive lessons ensures my pupils are keen to learn and know how to challenge themselves. I use a reward system to encourage independence in daily tasks for younger learners so they are in charge of their learning resources and know how to support the organisation of the classroom environment. Celebrating success in both academic and everyday achievement allows my students to become independent learners and individuals.

My experience planning and delivering fun enjoyable sessions: Having worked as a one to one tutor for over 15 years, I have developed a range of interactive and stimulating activities that build a passion for learning for my students. I am creative and enjoy linking a mixture of resources to plan both short and longer topic based sessions. The relationship between tutor and student is crucial to ensure sessions are engaging and I really work with my learners to use their own personal interests to develop and plan my sessions. For example, a student with a passion for Lego, created a workshop to look at area and perimeter calculations based on the size of their models. Taking part in physical activities such as scavenger hunts and creating board games really involves my students and they often comment on how much fun they have had during our session. Communication skills can be studied by creating radio shows and working towards audio visual presentations that can be celebrated by the student and their family. In the current shift to online learning, my creative skills have been challenged to find new ways to ensure my sessions are engaging when learning virtually. Particular success stories have included allowing the student to produce learning fact sheets using images and codes, building online quizzes together and creating interviews based upon web based learning programmes. My experience has taught me the key to engage and stimulate a student is to be passionate and positive about my own learning journey and share the learning challenges alongside the learner.

My skills and experience developing motivation and engagement in learning: My experience to date creating home-school environments has allowed me to gain an insight into the needs and challenges of the home-school student. I have the skills to create a personally tailored curriculum that ensures the best academic programme to engage a student in learning tasks whilst motivating them to reach their goals. Mixing longer and shorter activities allow my student to have the satisfaction of a goal met whilst inspiring them to become engaged in the learning process.

My skills and experience boosting students’ self-esteem and confidence: In my teaching experience, positive reinforcement has proven key to unlock a student's confidence and ensure they are best placed to be happy and succeed at school. I celebrate every achievement with encouraging words and rewards. I feel my approachable nature means my student are happy to ask me questions when they face difficulties. My approach is to ensure children reflect upon their process as a crucial part of the learning process and set their own goals in addition to their teachers. My experience has taught me that having high yet achievable expectations for my students raises their confidence in their abilities.

My skills and experience helping students to develop memory and organisation skills: During the current global pandemic, my teaching skills have evolved to enable children to access their learning online. I plan interesting and engaging lessons using a range of resources that spark their interests and foster a love of learning. Using methods such as screen movement breaks and active learning tasks, I am experienced in helping students of all age groups work towards longer periods of concentration and focus. In terms of developing memory, I use a range of stimuli including graphical organisers, note taking and different mind maps that have been proven useful for extending working memory. Regular repetition and planning a cyclical curriculum that is bespoke for the student have all reaped rewards when developing working memory skills.

I have extensive experience working with students who need at-home support to develop areas of confidence and general academic skills. I am skilled in introducing study routines for students who have trouble organising themselves and need general study support in order to organise their academic life.

My experience teaching English: I have been teaching English as a class teacher up to KS4 level and have a strong grasp of the current National Curriculum requirements. I enjoy working on a range of basic skills such as phonics, print making and developing a love of reading within my students. I have a range of resources to develop free writing skills, considering grammar and spelling and am particularly skilled working with reluctant writers to enhance their written work skills. Reading is a core skill and I enjoy planning interactive sessions that develop my students’ confidence to tackle new texts and be able to engage with the subject matter at hand. Of particular interest to me is working with students to support their written work when faced with additional learning needs. Practical examples of writing and how they can be used in everyday life really stimulate my students and enhance their enjoyment of English learning. For example, writing instructions which they can then follow in a practical activity is a really interactive and fun way to engage a reluctant writer.

My experience teaching Maths: Teaching maths in the classroom and as a one to one tutor I have developed the skills to break down topics and present them in a clear and concise manner. Focusing on the fundamentals such as times tables and basic operational methods for addition and subtraction, I believe it is vital to ensure the basic skills are in place to build upon when advancing through the key subjects. Patience is vital at this early stage and regular repetition and interactive activities bringing numbers alive are part of my tools when teaching. As with most subjects, understanding the practical side of maths is key to understanding and as well as traditional text book methods, I enjoy setting up practical situations for students to explore maths concepts. These could include measuring items, working out the weight of items using scales and as further concepts develop, finding areas of different shapes through using squared paper to draw out shapes. Maths is a subject that often scares students and being a positive support during my students’ journey in this topic is vital to ensure they have the confidence and support to work through the necessary concepts.

My skills and experience teaching the EYFS and KS1 curriculum: I have worked in the EYFS and KS1classrooms preparing fun and engaging lessons for young learners. I am confident delivering the curriculum including the current requirements and learning goals. I use a range of interactive and written methods to ensure learning is fun and each student is able to access new topics. My role as subject coordinator in maths and English has allowed me to plan and follow plans, to deliver each subject effectively for this age range. I believe it is important to immerse young students in the world around them and allow them to learn through experience. My planning and teaching utilises the outdoor world to ensure lessons are engaging and captivate my young learners. Examples include treasure hunts and creating a flower garden.

My skills and experience working in outdoor education and forest schools: During my teaching career I have been part of a number of outdoor educational programmes planning engaging sessions in line with the EYFS and KS1 learning goals. Working alongside colleagues we have prepared lessons including work in a mud kitchen, building shelters using a range of materials and counting items in natural settings. Building confidence and independence has been a key aim of these sessions which engaged and captivated my learners. Utilising the natural world is a wonderful way of immersing young learners and allowing them to access materials they require. My experience includes mentoring students in forest school environments and working alongside a team to deliver fun and educational sessions.