4A:How to achieve success in guidance and support

Successful support in literacy, numeracy and language for learners who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities requires careful management. It is essential that a senior postholder has responsibility for having an overview of all the different aspects of support for literacy, numeracy and language including staff, equipment and links with external agencies to secure any specialist support that may be necessary for individual learners. It is also important that each learner has a personal tutor who is responsible for coordinating all aspects of a learner’s literacy, numeracy and language support to ensure coherence and prevent overlap.

Of crucial importance within successful provision is clarity about roles and responsibilities of staff. Successful providers ensure that teachers are responsible for using support staff effectively in their lessons to help learners develop and practise their literacy, numeracy and language skills. They expect teachers to plan their lessons to make the most effective use of the support staff available to them and to include these details in their lesson plans. The teacher makes sure that the support staff know what is expected of them in the lesson and at the end of the lesson asks them for their comments as part of the evaluation of the lesson.

Within successful provision, details of the support required by learners are attached to their ILPs or written into a support agreement so that all staff who come into contact with the learner can easily identify the support they need. This facilitates a consistent approach to the provision of support, which is crucial in helping the learner to develop his or her literacy, numeracy and language skills.