This week is Dyslexia Awareness Week and King’s College has been listed among the top ten schools in the provision of special assessment conditions (SAC) by NZQA/Ministry of Education.
Dyslexia has a significant impact on learning in literacy-related tasks across the curriculum. It can be accompanied by strengths in creativity and big-picture thinking. Teachers at King’s College are dedicated to providing a personalized pathway for every student that takes diverse learning styles into account.
David Ward, Head of Learning Support says King’s has students doing both NCEA and Cambridge who use exam support.
The average percentage of SAC’s for students doing NCEA external exam’s in decile 10 schools within NZ is 5.8%. In 2014, King’s College had 20.7% of NCEA students approved for exam support.
King’s College offers all its students reader-writers, use of a computer or extra time support for major assessments and exams where this need has been identified.
For those who struggle at school, the effectiveness of inclusive learning, accommodations and interventions will determine whether these young people break through to harness the creative strengths that dyslexia can bring. Just giving extra time for a student with low processing speed can have a huge impact on removing a barrier to success.
Mr Ward is excited about the potential for further development around learning support at King’s with several new initiatives being considered at present.
Dyslexia Week is part of the 'Plus 20 in 2015' initiative which aims for a lift in the numbers of students receiving NCEA special assessment conditions (SACs) nationally. The Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand is working closely with Ministry of Education and NZQA to raise awareness of SAC requirements, the benefits of this to all, and the obligations of school partners to make it happen. SACs are core to the role and responsibilities of boards of trustees and principals, and SAC support and activation is now part of RTLB contracts and funding criteria.
More information on Dyslexia Week is available here: http://www.dyslexiafoundation.org.nz/daw2015/
Excellent resources for parents and caregivers are available here: http://inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/dyslexia-and-learning
