Learning Differences booklet

Dyslexia, Special Educational Needs
& other Learning Differences

Why Mayville?
We take a holistic view that not all pupils learn at the same rate
or in the same way and, through our expertise, we are able
to provide individual learning programmes for pupils. Pupil’s self
esteem and how they feel about themselves is also central
to our support; equipping them with them life-skills, coping
strategies and confidence as well as curriculum achievement.
At Mayville, we are a dedicated and remarkably successful department,
staffed by specialist teachers who support pupils in need of individual,
additional or personalised support.
We have been renowned for our expertise in the specialist tuition of dyslexic
pupils for over 20 years, running the well-established Dyslexia Unit, catering
for a variety of academic needs that can be associated with a dyslexic profile,
including dyscalculia, mild dyspraxic-type difficulties and mild speech and
language disorders.

Our staff
In the Dyslexia Unit there is a team of highly-qualified, specialist
multi-sensory tutors in dyslexia and dyscalculia, who have many
years of experience, not only in the academic needs of pupils
but in their crucially important emotional needs too.
Often, a pupil will not learn until they believe they can learn, so teaching
on an individual basis provides us with the unique opportunity to build trust
over time. We also support pupils with other aspects of their learning, such
as organisation, revision, memory and study skills.
The unit is an integral part of the school. We work closely with the pastoral
care team, academic tutors, and class teachers to ensure that our pupils
receive the best possible whole-school support within a happy and positive
learning environment. We ensure that skills learned in the unit are easily
transferred to the classroom, and any difficulties encountered in the classroom
can be addressed in the unit.

Individual support for pupils
The pupils have a very positive attitude about coming to the unit
because they recognise that everyone has a range of strengths
and needs and while they might struggle in one area, they may
equally excel in another.
Mayville offers pupils many different opportunities where they can develop their
talents and strengths, while providing a nurturing and supportive environment,
both in the classroom and through bespoke additional support.
Children aged 8 - 16 can receive an individual programme of support to help
overcome their particular difficulties, as each pupil will have their own unique
profile of strengths as well as weaknesses. Children younger than 8 may have
their needs assessed by the Dyslexia Unit and recommendations provided
for in-class support, which is more appropriate for their age.
Some of our specialist teachers have professional qualifications in the
assessment of dyslexia. If a pupil is underachieving or showing certain
characteristics in their learning behaviour, they will be referred for screening.
This may result in additional support and/or a full diagnostic assessment.
The Dyslexia Unit is regularly inspected by CReSTeD, which is an independent
body established to monitor and evaluate the standards of teaching and
provision for dyslexic pupils within the private sector. After another successful
inspection in January 2020, Mayville was again approved for registration under
Category ‘LSC’ as a ‘Learning Support Centre’.

Our aims
Our overall aim is to encourage confident and independent
learners, who have an awareness of how their individual
difficulties affect them directly, and therefore have a better
ability to overcome those difficulties.
The teaching methods we use are centred on a structured, cumulative,
multi-sensory approach to learning – a systematic teaching of written language
using visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic sensory channels. These methods have
spoken for themselves, as many of our pupils enjoy success in their GCSEs,
consistently achieving grades above predicted expectations.
Pupil View
“Teachers are really supportive if you’re struggling – I never worry about asking
for help- no question is stupid.”
Parent View
“Sending him there was the best thing ever. They actually are wonderful. It has
made such a difference to his ability to learn; he has come on in leaps and
bounds. His social and emotional development has been tremendous. He has
been stretched and challenged so that now he will try anything. Everything is
individualised. A massive thank you to them; they have changed his world.”

Access arrangements
Access arrangements allow learners with special educational
needs, disabilities, or temporary injuries to access an assessment
enabling them to demonstrate their depth of understanding
what they know and can do without changing the integrity
of the assessment.
Access arrangements must be agreed before an assessment and may take
the form of extra time, the provision of a reader or scribe, the use of speech
recognition technology, a prompter, the use of a word processor, the allowance
of rest breaks, and other such aids. Mayville applies for access arrangements
as appropriate for each pupil for their external and GCSE examinations via the
Joint Council for Qualifications' (JCQ's) website.
All pupils are screened by staff for extra time, regardless of whether or not they
have ever received support. Any pupil whose results indicate that they may
have difficulty completing their examinations on time owing to either reading
or writing speeds, or both, is screened further using standardised tests,
to measure aspects of their cognitive processing. If the criteria outlined by
the JCQ are met then an application is made in accordance with the current
regulations in consultation with both pupils and parents.

Completely inclusive
Our aim is to help each and every one of our pupils realise their
full potential and we are proud of our many success stories.
4
12%
3-1
12%
7+ 41%
5+ 76%
4+ 88%
9
12%
8
13%
79%
Pupils with SEN
GCSE pass rate
at grade 4 or above.
(24% awarded at grades 7-9)
5
20%
6
15%
7
16%
+8
Value added
On average, each pupil with SEN
gained 8 higher grades
(as measured against expected)
87.4% pass rate at grade 4 and above
(2023 England average is 67.8%)
Former Mayville pupil, Tom Farres, graduated with a 2:1 in Sports Rehabiliation
from St Mary’s University, London. Tom, who has dyslexia, joined Mayville
in Year 5. His parents Paul and Margaret say,
“From the day Tom started at Mayville he was a different person. He was taught
coping methods to overcome his dyslexia. We would like to thank Mayville
for allowing Tom become the adult he is now.”
For further information regarding our Learning Support Unit
and the support available for a range of learning differences
at Mayville, please get in touch.
023 9273 4847
enquiries@mayvillehighschool.net