Helen Trethewey on working overseas, and how international schools can meet SEND needs.
Working in an international school is a rich and varied experience, and for many professionals it broadens their understanding of education and leads them to be more open minded in their approach. It has taught me much, particularly in the areas of early identification, parental support and understanding local culture. One of the positives of working in an international school is that while the school may be loosely tied to a national system, they do not have to follow all the guidelines and legislation from that country. This gives schools the freedom to formulate their own policies and procedures to suit the students and families who attend the school. As a result, learning support ethos and organisation can be decided by the school and that support can be provided on a needs basis without formal diagnosis. This makes early identification of learning differences and effective intervention easier to facilitate.
While working in Hong Kong, I was lucky enough to experience the benefits of providing play-based interventions in early years. I saw this in the nurseries I visited as part of the admission process, and at a number of schools, including the one I worked at. One of the keys to its success was the involvement of the inclusion team right from the admissions process, where the children visited the school for ‘stay and play’ sessions. Experienced specialist teachers and teaching assistants played with the students and observed who might need support. They would continue to get to know the children and make observations over the first term in Reception, so that those needing more practice in basic skills could be targeted. As the children were familiar with the adults in the inclusion team, any groups or activities seemed part of the normal classroom provision.
These intervention groups focused on pre reading skills such as visual memory, listening skills, fine motor skills and vocabulary development. Different groups of students were taken once or twice a week to play games that specifically targeted these skills. Baseline data and teacher observations were also used to determine who could benefit from this support. Regular reviews ensured that when a child had made sufficient progress, they would stop attending.
Creating positive support frameworks
Some students make slow progress and need further assessment and more individualised support. However, because of the low key support already in place, and the trust that had been built with the parents, this journey was much easier. Most parents readily followed our advice and so support plans could be drawn up quickly. More intensive support could be provided and other professionals such as Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists were often consulted. These students would be supported for many years but having started support early, often went on to do well in the future.
I learnt early on that understanding cultural differences is important in communicating with parents. I would be full of enthusiasm about the support we could offer a student and try to explain how this could make a big difference, only for the parents to be upset with me for suggesting there was something wrong with their child and refusing support of any kind. For some parents, the idea that their child is having difficulties at school is distressing and often unacceptable in their culture. Sensitive but clear communication with parents is vital for students to get the support they need. The language used is key in this instance: using terms like ‘learning support’ and ‘learning difficulties’ can cause unnecessary alarm. By re-phrasing this and saying that their child would really benefit from joining a small group to work on memory skills was more likely to lead to a different response. Providing support without using labels helps, alongside creating a culture where children working with a range of adults is considered normal in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Many international schools work hard to ensure their learning support staff are well integrated into the school and work closely alongside class teachers.
Building an inclusive community
International schools also have a key role in educating and supporting parents. When people are away from their home country, they often lack the usual support mechanisms. If a parent is concerned about their child’s development, they may not know where to turn. Regular health checks may differ from those in their home country. In addition, grandparents and extended family, who often provide a different perspective, are not at hand, leaving parents confused and isolated. Schools that have good inclusion departments can be a lifeline to parents. Many times, I have witnessed the relief when parents realise there were professionals who would listen to and understand their concerns. Many schools provide regular parent workshops on a wide range of topics from ‘How to read with your child at home.’ to ‘What are the signs of visual difficulties?’ These workshops are not only informative to parents, they also help bring the parent community together, supporting conversations between parents about some of the challenges they faced at home. This might not happen otherwise.
Imagine our shock
As well as the positives, there are a number of challenges that are common to many international schools. Being bilingual or multilingual is a great life skill, but unfortunately it can mask other difficulties in the school years. When a student is not a native English speaker, teachers are understandably cautious about low test scores. They will often explain the lack of progress as a result of having English as an additional language. While it is important to realise that acquiring a new language can be challenging and that it takes time, it is not the only reason for slow progress. A student started in our school in Year 2 with little English, whose home languages were Mandarin and Cantonese. At the end of the school year his progress in English had been limited, but many of the teachers felt that this was because of him being exposed to three languages. I felt it was more than that and worked alongside our Mandarin teachers to devise a simple assessment in three languages—English, Cantonese and Mandarin. The student had a novel picture to look at and over a number of sessions he was asked the same questions in each language. Imagine our shock when it turned out that his strongest language was actually English! Our perspective and support for this student had to be rethought completely. Many years later this student was eventually diagnosed with a language disorder and continues to need specialist support in school.
A certain satisfaction
One of the joys of working overseas in the field of SEND comes from revisiting all your professional knowledge and expertise and reframing them in an international context. When we can use our skills to pinpoint a child’s strengths and areas of concern, and devise effective interventions, our role takes on a deeper significance.
It’s challenging, rewarding and highly recommended.
Author: Helen Trethewey
Helen Trethewey
Helen Trethewey is currently Assistant Principal for Inclusion and Individual Needs at the British International School of Stockholm. She is an experienced Inclusion Leader with a passion for early identification of children with learning differences. She has worked in education for over 28 years in the UK, Belgium and Hong Kong.
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