Curriculum Support
At Warwick, we recognise that boys are able to access an academic curriculum but may need extra help because of a specific learning difficulty - most commonly dyslexia, but we also have boys with dyspraxia and boys who have Asperger’s Syndrome. The purpose of the Curriculum Support department is to offer support to such boys. We sometimes support boys who do not have a recognised learning difficulty but are struggling with English or Maths.
Before boys with a specific learning difficulty take the entrance examination, we ask that parents submit the educational psychologist’s report and we use this as a basis for their access arrangements in the Entrance exam; if the recommendations are in line with the Joint Council on Qualifications (JCQ) recommendations for additional time in an examination, this will be given to the candidate.
Once at the school, boys in the Lower Fourth and Upper Fourth (Y7 and Y8) attend Curriculum Support lessons instead of going to Latin; an additional charge is made for these lessons – details of current costs available from the School. If the support continues into the Lower Fifth (Y9) this is usually instead of one of the Lower Fifth options. Occasionally, boys have CS lessons instead of studying a modern foreign language at GCSE (Y10 & Y11).
There is a Curriculum Support record that is circulated to all staff. The record includes the names of all boys known to have a specific learning difficulty, and includes brief notes on each one. If a boy has a Provision Map a copy is made available to staff via the school’s Intranet.
Dyslexia
The department has two dyslexia specialists. If a boy’s performance in the entrance exam suggests that he will need support (usually to develop literacy skills) then his offer of a place will specify that he will have Curriculum Support lessons. A Provision Map will be developed and appropriate support will be given.
Dysgraphia
Boys with dysgraphia are able to type up their work, provided their typing speed is such that they can keep up, and they print off work at home and stick it in their books. We have a number of such boys whose parents have equipped them with a simple word processing tool which can be used with ease in the classroom.
Asperger’s Syndrome
We have a number of boys who have Asperger's Syndrome. We try to cater for them by making reasonable adjustments, for example advising teachers about what to expect, providing a safe haven at more socially stressful times of day, giving priority lunch passes to avoid the need to queue, etc.