Our students come to us from many different backgrounds, and with many different needs too. As a school of choice, we strive to assist all students and equip them with the tools necessary to make the most of their learning opportunities.
The Learning Centre (TLC) is our very own dedicated student support hub on campus. The centre is staffed by specialist teachers with extensive experience in delivering to specific education needs, and provides our teachers the necessary teaching aides and technology to make a difference for their students.
These are some of the ways in which we can offer additional support to students:
Additional English Support (EAL)
If your child is not fluent in English, he or she may be required to take additional English language lessons to ensure they are able to maintain a year group standard and make the most of the learning opportunities offered in school.
The Learning Centre (TLC) provides English as an Additional Language (EAL) classes, catering to a comprehensive range of support levels according to the student’s base language level. In general, we are able to provide support to the following students according to age group:
Year 1 – 4
Students with very little English
Year 5 – 8
Students with basic oral language skills, but who need assistance with reading and writing
Years 9 – 11
Students who need minimal language support targeting content vocabulary and refinement of written fluency and grammar
EAL Teachers may choose to pull out students from certain classes to work in small groups to improve their English skills. Many students also receive a personalised timetable to suit their needs, and may even receive in-class support from an EAL teacher where it is deemed necessary to be successful in the classroom environment.
Special Education Needs (SEN)
Our Special Education Needs, or SEN, department is also based in The Learning Centre and assists students who have special learning needs, helping them transition into school life academically and socially.
The standard procedure in identifying and assisting students with special education needs is as follows:
- Once you have made an official application for your child to join Tenby International School Setia EcoHill, your child will be required to take the GL Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4), which is a standard requirement for admission. Find out more here.
- If your child is deemed to have performed below the required standard in the test, the next step is to determine whether this is purely due to a language issue or because of other factors as well.
- If this is the case, further informal assessments will be administered to determine:
- What the learning/education issue is
- Whether the school is able to provide the support necessary to enable effective learning to take place
If your child has a special education need, please specify this to our admissions team when submitting your official application.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)
The Learning Centre also provides support in Social, Emotional and Mental Health, or SEMH. This involves specialist staff who are able to deliver counselling to students – aged 8 to 16 years old – who may have experienced issues that are bothering them at a personal level.
Our counselling approach is collaborative and encourages the involvement of parents, teachers and other caregivers with a knowledge of the student in question. By helping to identity the root causes of problems and providing the necessary solutions, the aim is to remove negative factors from the student’s life while boosting his or her internal coping abilities. This helps encourage a more positive experience of family, friends, school, success and challenges.