Belinda

My experience with special educational needs

Throughout my career, I have worked with children with a wide range of SEND and additional learning needs in mainstream and independent schools, as well as through one-to-one tuition. My experience includes ASD, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia (DCD), dyscalculia, apraxia, DiGeorge syndrome and hearing loss. I began my career as an LSA supporting a non-verbal autistic child who used PECS to communicate. This taught me very early on the importance of getting to know the individual child, building trust and understanding how they learn best. As a qualified teacher, and more recently working in SEND leadership, this has remained central to my approach. I am good at finding a way into a child's learning, particularly when they have lost confidence or traditional approaches have not worked. I adapt my teaching to make learning engaging and achievable, helping children feel comfortable getting things wrong, recognise what they can do and leave each session feeling more confident.

A bit about me

Throughout my career, I have worked with children with a wide range of SEND in mainstream and independent schools and through one-to-one tuition. My experience includes ASD, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia (DCD), dyscalculia, apraxia, DiGeorge syndrome and hearing loss. I began my career as an LSA supporting a non-verbal autistic child who used PECS to communicate. This taught me early on that getting to know the child, building trust and understanding how they learn is the starting point for making progress. As a qualified teacher, and more recently in SEND leadership, this has remained central to how I work. I am good at finding a way into a child's learning, particularly when they have lost confidence or traditional approaches have not worked. I adapt my teaching around the individual, helping children feel comfortable making mistakes, enjoy their learning and, most importantly, recognise what they are capable of achieving.

My teaching philosophy

My approach always starts with getting to know your child. I do not expect a child to bend and adapt to the learning; I work out how the learning needs to adapt to them. Good tutoring is about understanding what makes your child tick. What motivates them? When do they feel successful, and what causes them to switch off or lose confidence? Every child needs something different. They might need structure, timers and clear goals, movement and regular breaks, or colour, visual prompts and tasks broken into achievable steps. Often, it is about finding the right combination. I enjoy working this out with your child and helping them understand how they learn best. I want you to see your child becoming more confident, willing to have a go and enjoying their learning. Once I understand what they need, I can build sessions around them, challenge them at the right level and help them make meaningful progress while developing a more positive relationship with learning.

Schedule

Tutoring specialisation

I’m providing tutoring sessions for students with these educational needs: