Pupils arrive at Calder House with a wide range of different difficulties. These include:

• poor auditory memory – pupils forget what they have just heard
• poor visual memory – pupils forget what they have just seen
• poor memory for sequence – pupils muddle the order of what they have heard or seen
• poor gross motor skills – pupils have difficulty reading or writing from left to right
• poor hand/eye coordination – pupils cannot catch a ball
• poor fine motor skills – pupils cannot manage their pencil/ ruler/ rubber
• poor word finding skills – pupils cannot summon up the word they need to express an idea
• poor skills in processing words – pupils do not take meaning from what they hear or read

At Calder House we address these difficulties through programmes of remedial teaching designed around each child’s individual needs. Teaching our pupils the strategies they need to overcome these difficulties is the key to unlocking their academic potential.

We have our own full-time Speech and Language therapist at Calder House who assesses pupils to identify the root of any language based-problems. Having done so, pupils are then given one-to-one targeted remedial support. In addition she advises and supports class teachers working collaboratively to improve classroom performance as part of the teaching team both inside and outside the classroom.

Our visiting paediatric occupational therapist identifies any fine motor or perceptual issue, which are underminin a child's academic progress, devising a program for our staff to administer within the child's IEP. She is also able to advise the head teacher as to gross motor exercises, which may assist the child's development if carried out by staff in school.

Calder House also has specialist teachers trained to use a multisensory approach in teaching pupils. The full assessment we carry out on pupils prior to admission, together with regular reviews of progress, enables these specialists to target their teaching to pupils’ strengths and work to remediate areas of weakness. Specialist teachers operate at every level in Calder House – they teach class lessons, take small groups and work one-to-one with individual pupils.

At Calder House we draw upon the skill and expertise of a wide range of remedial specialists who, with the support their teaching colleagues, are able to address the underlying reasons why otherwise bright and able pupils were under-performing at school. We have more than 16 “non pupil contact” preparation days each at which staff to get together and plan collaboratively the measures required to meet the needs of pupils.

The targeted remedial support that pupils receive at Calder House enables them to overcome or find ways round their developmental issues. It underpins our entire approach. And the success of our former pupils testifies to its effectiveness.