Combined Support Services
The Multinational School Combined Support Services is instrumental in facilitating an Inclusive environment at the school. In an effort to ensure that the vision of Inclusion at our school is achieved the school is proud to offer a combination of unique services namely, Learning Support, Special Education Needs and English Additional Language.
Below is a brief description of each of the above mentioned services:
Learning Support (LS)
Learning Support provides small groups/individualized teaching to mainstream students who are withdrawn from their mainstream classes to learning support classrooms during specific lessons. Learning Support also provides in-class support to assist those students having difficulty with reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, organisation, handwriting, attention and fine motor skills.
A mainstream student is placed in the Learning Support department if he/she has significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age or has a disability which prevents or hinders him/her from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools.
The two types of support provided are:
- Provision of a full time learning support assistant with the student in the mainstream classroom. The assistant provides support to the student to help him/her access the curriculum and carry out all requirements in the classroom. The teacher conducts curriculum delivery and manages student progress. The assistant collaborates with the teacher to provide effective support for the student.
- Withdrawal from the mainstream classroom in order to assist the student progress with Maths or English in the event that the students level of performance in regards to Maths or English is significantly below the grade expectation.
Special Needs Class
The objective of the Multinational School’s Special Needs Class is to enable students to function as meaningfully and as independently as possible in the community.
The Multinational School has a Special Needs Program that caters to a wide range of disabilities: Autism (mild to moderate), Down’s Syndrome, Global Developmental Delay, Cognitive Delay, Cerebral Palsy, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. The primary aim of this program is to focus on the development of both academic and physical aspects of their students.
Upon assessment, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for each pupil is created by the Department’s staff in consultation with parents. Individual Education Plans contain goals and strategies designed to meet the requirements set out in the key learning areas of the student’s schedule. Plans are reviewed twice yearly and parents are invited to attend meetings with staff when reviews are underway.
The department believes in a collaborative approach in which parents and associated health professionals are encouraged to discuss and share information regarding the child’s progress throughout the academic year.
The Special Needs program offered is based on the Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children framework (TEACCH) that presents a very structured curriculum. This curriculum is modulated and differentiated to meet the individual needs of each student.
In addition, the Special Needs Class considers close liaison with members of staff throughout the school a necessity. Special Needs students are integrated into age equivalent mainstream classes for a variety of subjects such as Swimming, PE, Art, and Integrated Studies.
EAL (English as an Additional Language)
The EAL department recognises and meets the needs of students who are learning English as an Additional Language. That is students who have a home language other than English and who are in the process of learning English as an additional language through immersion in the curriculum and the broader life of the school. Teachers are qualified and specifically trained to use specific techniques to teach students English as an additional language.
