Learning Support Assistants participate in regular classroom activities and routines whilst supporting identified pupils. Sometimes this may be just one pupil in a lesson who is identified as being on the Code of Practice at School Action, School Action Plus or being Statemented. More often it is usually six or seven pupils that need support in a lesson – sometimes the whole class!

Resources are prepared or adapted to the pupils’ needs in order to support activities identified in the Individual Education Plan. Learning Support Assistants are aware of the pupil’s targets and will help them to meet these targets.

Work Aid is held in room 53 every lunchtime from 12.40 – 1.10 pm. This is organized and run by Learning Support staff. Pupils can play board games, take part in craft activities, receive help with homework and socialise.

CHUMS is peer mentoring scheme within Southmoor Community School which has been in place since 2001.

Currently sixty-five pupils from Years 10 and 11 have volunteered to be part of the scheme which involves having duties in the Year 7 yard and in the CHUMS office.

All CHUMS are given two days training, which includes some counselling and listening skills.

Pupils from all years can access the CHUMS in the yard or the CHUMS office. The CHUMS can be identified by their distinctive tie and badge.

The CHUMS work alongside staff during the transition of pupils from Year 6 to Year 7. They support the pupils when they visit the school during the summer term and particularly on the first day of school in the September when they help with the compilation of timetables and showing pupils around school. A team of CHUMS is assigned to each new form group and they can be available during registration sessions and the year group assembly.

CHUMS are on duty in the small quad and the CHUMS room on a rota basis during breaktime and part of lunchtime and pupils can access them at these times for problem solving or just to talk to.

Learning Mentors have been in place at Southmoor Community School since January 2001. They are part of a government initiative called Excellence in Cities to help breakdown “barriers to learning” of pupils identified as needing help in school.

Pupils can be referred by their Director of Learning to the Learning Mentor team via the Head of Inclusion and Achievement, Mrs.L.Jay. Barriers to learning include:

How can Learning Mentors help?
Learning Mentors can:

Learning Mentors offer their support to their mentees in many ways. A pupil might require help in a particular lesson where they have problems with the pupils, the work given or perhaps at the request of the member of staff. The support given in the lesson is one-to-one. Mentoring sessions with the mentees take place on a weekly basis usually lasting between 30 minutes and an hour. During these sessions targets are set between mentor and mentee relating to the problems the pupil may be having, taking into account their IEP, if appropriate. At each subsequent meeting the targets are discussed and the pupil self-evaluates their progress.

Mrs.V.Kapeni’s caseload of mentees includes any pupils entering Southmoor who are asylum seekers or pupils who have little grasp of the English language. As well as mentoring sessions with these pupils she spends some of her time helping them to improve their use of the English language.

A mentee can be exited from the process after all targets have been met and discussions have taken place with the DOL and parent/carers. During the exit process pupils and parents are invited to complete questionnaires to enable Learning Mentors to evaluate their own performance.

The following are comments from parents: