PARENT INFORMATION

• School Parents Information
• Learning Development Programme - School
• Parent Workshops

SCHOOL PARENTS INFORMATION

School Timings

Parent Meetings

There is a scheduled parent-teacher-coach meeting once in the academic year, and a parent-teacher meeting once a semester. Teachers and coaches are also available throughout the school year, should you need to discuss your child’s progress at any other time during the semester. Meetings to discuss specific issues can be arranged by contacting our Client Services Manager.

Transportation

The St Andrews School has a bus service that runs daily from Jebel Ali to the school. It will be put into place as of Sunday, September 7th, 2008. Schedules will be confirmed and the exact bus stops and timings will be announced the 1st week of school. At this time, you will be invoiced and your child’s spot will be confirmed for the bus service.

[NOTE: For time saving reasons, the bus WILL NOT stop at individual homes, only the designated bus stops]

The cost of the bus service is 4,500Dhs per child, per semester; payable at the beginning of each semester (i.e. 1 current and 1 post-dated cheque). If you would like to register your child for the bus service, please contact Debbie Dodds at the school.

Curriculum & Events Calendar

Parent Support Group

A Parent Support Group is run at the St Andrews School on a regular basis. The purpose of this group is to help parents understand their child’s development and provide them with the education they need to get the most of their child’s time at home.

The Parent Support Group will also provide an opportunity for parents to share ideas and thoughts on various subjects and issues.

All parents are welcome to attend, information on times and dates to be sent home once school starts.

Uniform Requirements

All students are expected to be in full uniform at all times, including school excursions, unless otherwise notified. Due to the hot Dubai sun, we stress the importance of students wearing hats to school and on excursions. Please ensure that your child’s uniform is the right size, clean and tidy, with all the buttons done-up. Girls are also expected to have their hair neatly tied-up, with NO jewellery, nail polish or make-up.

Failure to adhere to the school dress code will result in the student being sent home.

Tailor Information

ZAKS is located in the Beach Center, Jumeriah Beach Road, on the 2nd level. They have our uniform selection and will do any alternations necessary and any adjustments needed throughout the school year. Their contact number is 04-349 2505.

LEARNING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME - SCHOOL

What to Expect

Students in the Learning Development (LD) programme will receive three individual sessions, plus three group sessions throughout the week. The schedule for coaching sessions will vary depending on the needs of the child, as well as their class activities. Some of these group sessions will include, but are not limited to: Handwriting Skills, Social Skills, Auditory Processing (Listening Skills), and the ALERT Programme.

In addition to the above mentioned coaching programme, students will be doing a Reflex Integration Program every morning before classes begin (at 8am sharp). Therefore it is vital for students to arrive at school on time. More details regarding the Reflex Integration Program will be available in our parent workshops.

During the first 2 weeks of classes, teachers and coaches will be working together to adjust your child’s schedule accordingly. Details outlining your child’s LD programme will be sent home after their schedule is finalized.

Individual Programme

Occupational Therapy using a Sensory Integration Theory Approach

Sensory integration is the ability to take in, sort out, process and make use of information from the world around us. It allows us to make an appropriate adaptive response to meet the demands of the environment.

• Touch (Tactile sense)
• Movement (Vestibular sense)
• Body Position (Proprioception)
• Sight (Vision)
• Sound (Auditory)
• Smell (Olfactory)
• Taste (Gustatory)

Information perceived through the senses is sent to the brain where it is organized and interpreted. As a result, a plan of action is carried out in response, e.g. a feather tickles your hand, so you brush it off.

In order for the higher levels of the brain (cerebral cortex) to work effectively, the lower levels (brain stem) must sort out the information accurately. This processing of sensory information is called Sensory Integration.

The integration of the senses is the basis for the development of intelligence and achievement. Higher levels of thinking and behaviour require integration among sensory inputs and motor action.

Children who present with learning difficulties usually present with a dysfunction of sensory integration.

Sensory Integration therapy is a specialised programme to resolve or improve a child's sensory integration, which can improve academic success and behaviour.

Speech and Language Therapy (SLT)

Speech and Language Therapy ‘speaks’ for itself. The development of speech and language is complex and dependent on the foundation of sensory motor development, which is why a child with a speech delay may also need to see an Occupational Therapist who uses a Sensory Integration approach.

However you may be surprised, as many people are that a child who can speak well needs SLT. The SLT will address areas of Auditory Processing (Listening Skills) which will influence the development of the Receptive Language ability (following instructions and understanding language).

Expressive Language- spoken language and speech articulation are also important areas of language development. The highest level of expressive language is the written word. Children with difficulty planning thoughts on paper benefit from SLT intervention.

Phonological awareness (sound and symbol integration) is an important pre-literacy skill also addressed in SLT.

Literacy Programme

Our Reading and Literacy Specialist will see selected children on a one-to-one basis two times per week. She is an experienced British teacher who has worked as head of sixth-form in a main-stream secondary school in London, International Schools and Special Schools in Madrid and Cairo. She has a Masters Degree in Education with emphasis on Special Educational Needs, a B.Sc. (Honours) and a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education.

The programme follows systematic multi-sensory schemes that are designed around the student's individual learning style.

This programme is for the older child who has progressed from the Speech and Language programme. The reading specialist along with the Speech and Language therapist determine which children are appropriate.

Play Therapy & Counselling

Under construction

Group Programmes

The Reflex Programme

This is a set of exercise to be used in a strict developmental sequence starting with the infants earliest learned skill – the ability to hold the head up. The movements are based upon infant movement patterns acquired during the first 6 to 9 months of life, which form the foundation for all later voluntary movement, including skills necessary for reading, writing, attention and concentration.

The ALERT Programme

We all want our children to learn, however we take basic requirements for granted. We assume they will listen, attend for a period of time, and be calm enough to participate in their learning experiences.
Without these basic requirements all efforts to engage a child in learning will be limited. The optimal state for learning is to ‘CALM’ and ‘ALERT’.

The ‘ALERT’ Programme is an important tool for adults concerned with helping students, particularly those with learning difficulties. It is easy to use, it is fun for students and adults working with them, and it translates easily to everyday life.

The programme is a cognitive approach for children to promote awareness of how they regulate their alertness levels, and it encourages the use of sensorimotor strategies to manage their levels of alertness and concentration.

It is designed for children ages 8 to 12 but has also been adapted for preschool through high school and adults.

It can be used in class, at home, and on the playground.

To help children understand the concept of self-regulation, the analogy of a car engine being like our body helps. If your engine is on low, sometimes it runs on high, and sometimes it runs just right.

Duration and Frequency: Once per week by the OT for 30 minutes

Social Skills Programme

Social skills are taught in order of complexity, starting from the foundational skills and working up to cognitive skills.

Foundational skills are used for basic social interactions.

Interaction skills are skills needed to interact with others.

Affective skills are needed for understanding how your feelings can influence others’ feelings

Cognitive skills are the skills needed to maintain more complex social interactions.

Important social skills that are necessary at all levels of complexity and are taught throughout the programme include:

1. The ability to remain calm, or at a tolerable level of anxiety while in a social situation
2. Listening skills, including letting others know how you are listening
3. Empathy with and interest in others
4. Ability to maintain rapport whether natural or learned
5. Knowing how, when, and how much to talk about yourself – self disclosure
6. Appropriate eye contact

Progress Reports & Meetings

Throughout the school year, you will be receiving the following progress reports for your child’s Learning Development Programme.

PARENT WORKSHOPS

Throughout the term and school year, BILD may host various workshops, seminars and lectures for parents of the school, as well as the general community. These seminars aim to support, educate and involve the parents in their child's education, and may include such topics as:

• Reflex Integration Programme
• Understanding ADHD
• Optimal Nutrition for your Child
• Handwriting with your child at home
• Alert Program: Home Program
• Academic Success
• Developmental Milestones
• Discipline with Love
• Emotional Maturity
• Empowering Parents to enhance their child’s potential
• How Children Learn
• Identifying Learning Difficulties
• Power of Play
• Pregnancy: The Amazing Newborn
• Pre-writing and Reading Skills
• Sensory Integration: The Foundations for Development
• Speech, Language and Listening Development
• The First 12-months of Life

For updates on session dates and how to register, please contact Huda Ramadan.

ARTICLES

• Accelerated Learning Development Reynolds, C,. (2008).
• Sensory Integration and School Success Reynolds, S,. (2008).
  My World, UAE: Ministry of Social Affairs.
• School can be a Struggle, even if you're Spiderman Reynolds, C,. (2008).
  My World, UAE: Ministry of Social Affairs.
• A Mother's Story Reynolds, C, . (2005) Emirates Parent Plus Magazine.
• The Skill Of Handwriting Reynolds, S, . (2005) Emirates Parent Plus Magazine.
• Baby Sense Reynolds, S, . (2005) Emirates Parent Plus Magazine.
• How Children Learn Reynolds, C. (2005) Emirates Parent Plus Magazine.
• Dyslexia: Why man can’t live on the moon Reynolds, C. and Reynolds, S. (2005) Emirates Parent Plus Magazine.
• Smart Learning Reynolds, C. (2005) Emirates Parent Plus Magazine.
• Body Language Reynolds, C. and Reynolds, S. (2004) Emirates Parent Plus Magazine.
• Raising Boys Reynolds, C. and Reynolds, S. (2004) Friday Magazine-Gulf News.
• Learning Problems: Reading the Signs Reynolds, C. and Reynolds, S. (2003)
  Friday Magazine-Gulf News.

Back to Articles

Back to Articles

RESEARCH

• Effectiveness of Sensory Integration Presentation
• A Two Year Study of the Effectiveness of Sensory Integration Therapy on Neuro-Physiological Development
• Pilot Study
• Literacy Study for Your School

EMPLOYMENT

The British Institute seeks to hire staff in September and January each year. We are always on the look out for good staff. If you would like to apply for a position please fill in the application form and fax it to +971 4 394 4169.

• Occupational Therapists
• Speech Therapists
• Educational Psychologists
• Administration

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS

Occupational Therapists - with Sensory Integration Experience

Applications are invited for qualified, experienced and self motivated therapists to help children with learning difficulties.

Salary package range: US$33,000 – 43,000 / annum – tax free, plus travel, accommodation and gratuity benefits.

Requirement: Bachelor Degree with a minimum of 2 years experience.

The British Institute seeks to address children’s learning and behavioural problems through a team of occupational therapists specialising in neurodevelopmental therapy and sensory integration techniques. The objective is to help children overcome or mitigate these developmental delays and neurological aetiology. The OTs work as part of a wider team, including speech therapists, teachers and educational psychologists.

The positions offered are on a single person expatriate status on 2-3 year contract.

The salary package range is tax-free and includes salary, accommodation., visa and immigration costs, and end of contract gratuity. Employees are also eligible for end of year professional bonus.

SPEECH THERAPISTS

Educational Psychologist

Applications are invited for a qualified, experienced and self motivated educational psychologist to help children with learning difficulties.

Salary Package: US$40-46,000 per an.
Location: Dubai
Qualifications: Degrees in Education and Psychology.
Registration with the British Psychological Society - or eligible for BPS registration

The British Institute seeks to address children’s learning and behavioural problems through a team of therapists specialising in neurodevelopmental therapy and sensory integration techniques, speech therapists, psychologists and teachers.

The British Institute offers a school programme (British curriculum) as well as an afternoon learning development programme.

The successful applicant would be involved with the assessments of children entering the school programme, assessments of children (primary and high school) from schools in Dubai, and counselling of children with learning related challenges.

The position offered is for a single person expatriate status on 2-3 year contract.

The salary package range is tax-free and includes salary, accommodation., visa and immigration costs, and end of contract gratuity. Employees are also eligible for end of year professional bonus.

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST

Speech Therapists

Applications are invited for a qualified, experienced and self motivated Therapists to help children with learning difficulties.

Salary: US$33,000 – 43,000 per an.
Location: Dubai
Qualifications: Degree in Speech Therapy (UK, Aust, NZ, S.A. Canada)
Registration with a Speech Pathology Association, or equivalent Experience in Paediatrics

The British Institute seeks to address children’s learning and behavioural problems through a team of therapists specialising in neurodevelopmental therapy and sensory integration techniques, speech therapists, psychologists and teachers.

The British Institute offers a school programme (British curriculum) as well as an afternoon Learning Development Programme.

The successful applicants will be involved with the therapy programme of children in the school, and the therapy for the Learning Development Programme in the afternoons.

The position offered is for a single person expatriate status on 2-3 year contract.

The salary package range is tax-free and includes salary, accommodation., visa and immigration costs, and end of contract gratuity. Employees are also eligible for end of year professional bonus.

ADMINISTRATION

Administration

Applications are invited for a qualified, experienced and self motivated staff to work in administration.

Senior secretarial, secretarial and receptionist positions are available.

The British Institute seeks to address children’s learning and behavioural problems through a team of therapists specialising in neurodevelopmental therapy and sensory integration techniques, speech therapists, psychologists and teachers.

The British Institute offers a school programme (British curriculum) as well as an afternoon Learning Development Programme.

The successful applicants will be involved with the therapy programme of children in the school, and the therapy for the Learning Development Programme in the afternoons.