Personalisation is essential for disadvantaged students who are less likely to participate in higher levels of education or training.
Personalised learning has been a topic of discussion over the last few years for schools in England.
Personalisation is essential for disadvantaged students who are less likely to participate in higher levels of education or training. In December 2006, the DfE produced a report establishing a clear vision of what personalised teaching and learning may look like in our schools in 2020. Some of their recommendations were:
High-quality teaching – Mentorship
The DfE recommends that all schools should reflect a commitment to personalised learning in their learning and teaching policies. At Nisai, we offer our Personalised Learning Support Programme which is tailored specifically for young people who require face-to-face, additional support in addition to their online learning programme. The support again is focused on the specific needs of the learner whether that be skills relating to independent living, socialisation or personal development. When one of our Nisai students was asked what the best thing about their mentorship was, they said:
“Having a mentor has given me confidence in learning because it’s one-on-one and Jake (mentor) can help me with assignments if I need it.”
“Since having Jake as my son’s mentor, C’s confidence has started to grow and he has come out of his shell a lot more.” Student and Parent testimonial – Jake Currie, Learning Mentor
Skills for personalised learning
The DfE suggest that schools should understand the skills that are particularly important through personalised learning. At Nisai, we understand that personalised learning requires attention to detail in the unique needs of our students, acknowledging that each student has different learning needs and abilities. Our Outreach Programme offers a flexible package for students who require 1:1 mentorship outside of the school setting. A recent testimonial highlights the learning needs of one of our students and how we contributed to their success through mentorship:
“J came to Nisai after previous providers had failed and home education wasn’t working. J struggles with all aspects of learning due to his autism and dyslexia. The mentor spends time building on their trust and supporting J, encouraging him to be a consistent, good listener as well as providing him with a relaxed atmosphere with 1:1 mentorship.” Kerry Ellis, Learning Mentor
Engaging parents and carers in their children’s education
The DfE advises that schools should develop their approach to engaging parents and/or carers in their children’s education. We have the flexibility to determine the most appropriate way to report students’ achievement and progress to parents, schools and local authorities. We provide robust reporting of students’ statistics as well as several mechanisms to share information in our Customer, Parent and Student Portals.
Flexible 1:1 support for each learner
Our priority is to ensure that all our students achieve their personal best. Our learning mentors follow a four-stage guide which serves them for identifying students’ learning strengths and needs. They carry out appropriate and effective strategies that promote student engagement and achievement.
Our programmes are often used to build confidence and provide additional 1:1 support during lessons to help learners transition back into a mainstream setting. One of our learning mentors recently shared one of his student’s stories with us:
“Callum was struggling at school and could not function or take part in normal school life – he felt he was being held back at school because he could not cope with other students.”
“Callum has been suffering from severe anxiety attacks, unable to go out of the house or even take part in family outings and shopping.”
“Since being with Nisai, Callum has benefitted from having a mentor who has supported him with life skills, helped him feel more confident in going out for walks and trips in the car. Callum reluctantly admitted his spelling has got better given his weekly spelling tests.”
“Callum has been so impressed with Nisai that he has recommended them as an alternative education provider to his friends. He is now focused on achieving a strong grade in English language so he can leave school and start his car valeting business.” Mohammed Yaseen, Learning Mentor
A day in the life of a mentor
“The day always starts by collecting the learner from home; the parents often greet you at the door and will inform you of any issues. I will then greet the student, ask how the week has gone for them and discuss what they would like to do that day.”
Hayley Searcy, one of our learning mentors at Nisai, describes various working practices focused on supporting and giving advice to the student and their family on a daily basis. Hayley’s main focus as a learning mentor is to address the students’ social and emotional targets first, as this is often what can stop them from progressing in the long term.
‘’My plan is to always provide holistic and individual learner plans to address all their needs and to promote good communication and relationships with all parties; students, parents and schools.”
All our mentors follow a strategic procedure based on the individual needs of each learner; it is very important to start the learning journey with one new practice and build from there. Hayley also shared how a day is spent with one of her students:
“On Tuesday, we go to a local sewing group and my learner develops their motor skills, learns how to managing money and how to live independently. The sewing class enables them to learn math by working out the measurements and English by reading the instructions.”
At Nisai, we believe that every child is different, with their own qualities, strengths, challenges and learning methods. The service provided by Nisai proves that our learning is always delivered in collaboration with the student, their families and the school community.