Specialist Teaching
We have a highly specialised approach to teaching at Fairley House, refined throughout our multiple decades of experience. From visual and auditory to tactile learning, we know there is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Our explanations are clearer and the pace is slower, whilst homework load is adjusted for learning reinforcement rather than an additional compulsory chore.
There are many opportunities for re-learning with repetition integrated into the learning experience to ensure that knowledge and understanding is consolidated before we move forward. We recognise that many children with SpLD experience processing and memory challenges, so our teaching takes that into consideration.
Children are taught various strategies to compensate for any difficulties. For example, children learn the memory strategies of visualisation, rehearsal and repetition to deploy in lessons so the strategies eventually become internalised and intuitive.
Metacognitive strategies are incorporated across the school like asking children to reflect on their favoured learning style or to think about what learning style best suits a particular activity or task so they are invested in their own successful learning.
We follow a flexible approach which gives us the freedom to change our methods to enable progress. We do not give up, but instead, pursue various teaching strategies and techniques that will work for each and every child.
Pupils respond well to the school’s specialist teaching and therapy, overcoming barriers presented by their SpLD and consequently achieve above previous expectations
‘Excellent’ ISI Inspection Report 2021
Small Groups
Students receive more attention than at a mainstream school due to small class sizes of no more than twelve children, and some smaller groups of even fewer students. Our smaller classes allow us to get to know every child and an overall adult/child ratio of 1: 3.5 ensures that teaching and therapy are truly personalised and effective.
Transdisciplinary Teaching
Teachers and therapists work collaboratively towards common objectives. Therapies are incorporated into lessons whilst curriculum goals are reflected in your child’s therapy sessions. This collaborative approach means that teachers and therapists learn from each other, sharing skills and developing professionally at the same time as benefiting the children enormously.
Multisensory Learning
We appeal to all the senses to engage children’s brains and enable new neural pathways to learning. From colour-coded columns for teaching arithmetic to writing vowel sounds with shaving foam we use pioneering methods and resources to overcome learning challenges.
Learning Strategies for Life
Our aim is to provide all children with techniques that they can apply throughout their lives. We have developed our own set of transformative strategies over the last forty years to support everything from memory to emotional regulation. From telling the time to times-tables. These strategies are taught early and reinforced daily in classroom practice.
Gaps are Plugged
We identify and plug gaps in learning before progressing further. For literacy these could include decoding strategies for reading, sound awareness skills, sight words, comprehension, and extended writing skills. In Maths it could be new ways of laying out numerical problems, devising games for recalling numbers or tackling maths word problems.
Tracking Success
There are regular Individual Education Plans (IEP) reviews and meetings across disciplines to monitor, discuss and support the children on an individual basis. We dedicate significant time to the Assess-Plan-Do-Review format as our teachers and therapists work hand-in-hand to boost your child’s progress.
Max’s Story
Fairley House and the staff changed our son Max’s life course and we are eternally grateful. I remember you all so fondly, and Mr. Taylor’s gentle understanding, humour and your firm structured intervention was just what he needed.
We will always recall our first visit when the school bubbled with enthusiastic students and we wept with Jackie who finally seemed to understand our son. During this visit we knew he would be okay and that there was a place in the world for people like him to be nurtured.
We often laugh about Ms. Doekes and her magical work engaging the students with plastic Go Go’s to learn math concepts. Or another teacher who spent hours cutting out toast to teach ‘oa’ combinations or throwing balls back and forth to teach spelling.
Our digital photo frame in the living room reminds us of the many drama productions Max was able to be part of at Fairley House.
Max is now studying Marine Biology at Dalhousie University on Canada’s East Coast and just this morning he and I went for a walk in a nearby bog where he talked to me about all sorts of wildlife.
From the bottom of my heart thank you for making his dreams within reach.
Our School
London’s leading day school for children with specific learning differences
