In December 2006, Quintin Kynaston School was offered the opportunity to take part in a project which looked to increase the abilities of students within the school to access the curriculum. This project is funded by the Quintin Hogg Trust at the University of Westminster and is part of the AchieveAbility Network.
This project continues on from the work of the AchieveAbility National Network and looks to “ensure that there are appropriate learning opportunities to support and enhance the numbers of SpLD learners who continue across educational sectors” (Crabtree, 2006), by focusing on increasing abilities of students.
The purpose of the project was to develop a multi-sensory study skills pilot at Quintin Kynaston School, supported by AchieveAbility expertise, to; enable school students to be come active learners; provide resources for the institution; offer CPD training for teachers on enhanced teaching practice and advice parents on supporting their child’s progression to higher education.
Project activities included;
• Creation of a virtual and actual hub of resources, materials and advice for teachers and learners about learning styles, study skills and SpLD at the school.
• Learning Style Workshop sessions during and after school for learners (including those with SpLD, EBD or others not reaching their class targets) to help them identify their learning style, offer them information and strategies enabling them to drive their own learning and succeed in the classroom.
• Delivery of a staff development session for teachers in the school; to give them an insight into learning styles, the experiences of these learners, and offer practical strategies for delivering more multi-sensory teaching in the classroom.
• Access to the hub, information and advice for parents of these learners at the school.
• Promotion and roll-out these activities to other schools in London that have extended status.
The first year of the pilot project has proven successful with evaluations outcomes from students and staff suggesting that the learning styles workshops are beneficial to students. Workshop sessions at QK have proven to be a valuable resource and tool for other schools to employ in terms of increasing students abilities to access the curriculum. A full copy of the final report, including staff and student evaluations, from year one of the project can be downloaded below.
Due to the positive outcomes from the first year the project has funding to continue for a second year into 2007/08. The second year of the project will continue the established activities developed in the first year, but will also focus on developing methods on how to embed practice in a whole school approach and disseminate this to other schools.
Further activities proposed for the second year include; a whole school audit to identify good practice and leading to recommendations for improvement and a staff CPD sessions; contact with senior management teams at schools and roll out the project leading to a dissemination event and develop of an online resource for other schools. Information on progress of the second year activities and roll out of the project will be available shortly.
