Special Educational Needs

The AEN (Additional Educational Needs) Team at St George's is headed by the Director of Student Support. The team supports pupils with a wide array of special educational needs, in various forms, across both sites, at Junior and Senior levels.

Pupils may, for instance, receive in-class support in some of their lessons, one-to-one or small group tuition, or a combination of these, depending on their level and type of need. Pupils with behavioural and emotional difficulties may also receive support from the team in the form of mentoring and monitoring.

An important member of the team is the Student Counsellor. Pupils, and their parents, may contact the Counsellor in case of any worries or concerns, however great or small, for which additional support may potentially be required.

Parents of pupils at the school who have more complex problems may be recommended, where necessary, additional external help from specialists include Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists and Counsellors.

Assessment referral

It is also possible for teachers to refer children for assessment within the school, in order to identify difficulties in more detail and define strategies for teachers and parents to support them in their learning.

St George’s acknowledges that some pupils may have difficulties at a level which may not be possible to manage adequately within the school, and in these rare cases the Principal of the school will be consulted. In such cases the school may ask for additional funding to support the needs of these students.

Cognitive Abilities Tests (CATs)

All new students are CAT tested (Cognitive Abilities Tests) on admission and useful strategies are then generated to help the students' learning at school as well as at home. CATs help to identify pupils who are possibly experiencing learning and/or language difficulties.

All pupils sit these tests in Year 6, for transition into the Senior School in Year 7, as well as in Year 9. Results of the tests are published confidentially to teaching staff.