Special Groups

Special Programmes in 2023

There are a large number of Special Group and Support Programmes which run across the school to ensure that the huge and varied needs are our tamariki and catered for. 

Junior Programmes 

Reception Class  and Child Support Workers

Early Intervention/ Words Can POP  - 9 students

Sunshine Decodeables Reading - Yr 2 & 4   12 students 

Quick 60 Yr 3 & 4  - (Reported on separately)    51 students

Reading Recovery Yr 2 - (Reported on separately)  6 students 

Early Literacy Support (ELS)  8 students

Senior Programmes 

Senior Reading Groups - 3 groups of Year 7 and 8's taken by Jenni Clarke 

Reading Support Years 5/6   (Reported on separately) 

Agility with Sounds - Support Workers   31 students 

Online Programmes/Applications 

Reading Eggs  

STEPS Programme (online)  30 students 

Literacy Planet - Yr 7 & 8s

Other

Child Support in the classroom

In 2023  we  have continued  to try and be very deliberate in terms of ensuring that we have the right level and appropriate intervention or support throughout the school. In 2024 I am keen to have a better data collation system for these students to track their learning and the impact of these programmes.

Reception Class

It was wonderful to have the the Reception Space set up in Rooms 24 - 27  from the beginning of this year. This has meant a lovely arrival space for our newest learners and we have been able to resource this space so that it can grow as a play based transition to school Programme. We have continued to have this space heavily supported with 2 Support Workers on most days.

There have been a significant number of high needs children in this space in 2023 and this has meant a lot of time and effort has gone in to the transition of these children and developing the self regulation and  self management skills needed to be successful in a more structured classroom environment. We have worked with MOE - SLT to integrate the Words Can POP Programme  (Words - Vocabulary Development  Can - Conversations  P - Phonological Awareness  O - Oral Narrative   P - Print Awareness).  And Elaine Forbes has been working on this Programme with some of the learners to support them to become ready to begin the BSLA Literacy Programme. 

The BSLA Programme has continued to be the basis of the Literacy Programme in this class.

2023 Year 7 & 8  Reading Groups (Mrs Clarke)

Over the course of 2023, 20 students participated in this programme.

I started midway through Term 1 with 3 groups of students who were reading at 8 - 8.5 years. 

From past experience, these groups work best gendered. The girls group met with me 4 times weekly, while the 2 boys groups met with me 3 times weekly for 30 minutes each time. The technology timetable meant that groups in the middle block needed to be split by year level.

As this was an intervention, these students also participated in literacy lessons with their literacy teacher, and sometimes they came to my lessons during their maths rotation. The mid-year reading testing revealed that two students had made significant progress so they moved on from my programme and were replaced by 2 students who were reading at 8 - 8.5 years. One of these students was only on the programme for a few weeks due to their disruptive behaviour. 

My focus this year has been to use mainly non-fiction texts to develop vocabulary knowledge and comprehension strategies, as weaknesses in these areas were previously identified as barriers to progress. 

As can be seen from the graph below, the end of year testing revealed that while 2 students made no measurable progress during the year, all other students did make gains, including one who made 4 years progress since being tested at the end of 2022. One student was was not tested at the end of the year, as he didn’t attend school for most of Term 4. Poor school attendance has continued to be an issue, as have

missed sessions due to sporting or other commitments; and the all-to-common “I forgot”.

A variety of Interventions and small group programmes are  in place to support these children depending on their background and their various needs.  Some of the funded ESOL students are included in both our  'Quick 60'  and 'Agility with Sounds groups'. Other interventions such as  the Senior Literacy Group, Reading Support, and one on one support from our Child Support Workers are used to support these students. The 'STEPs Web' online Programme has also been used as a resource to support these children.  

As there is a new version of the ELLP Form we are still considering the best way to store this data. With this, it is hoped that we will be able to keep a more visible record and tracking of these students and ensure that we have the most appropriate interventions in place to support them in their journey as emerging bilinguals.

It is great to note that Ms Va'afusuaga has recently been awarded a TESSOL Scholarship which will contribute to our understaning around the best way to support these learners.

Toni Nua

December 2023