Support Programmes

At St. Nicholas we employ a whole-school approach towards support, which means all pupils are included and have their individual needs catered to. Teachers work together as a team, sharing experiences and ensuring: appropriate targets are set, teachers respond to pupils’ learning styles and pupils are given tools to access the curriculum. In this way, St Nicholas pupils experience consistency in good practice from year to year. In the light of this belief, there are three departments and a learning centre to support the learning of English and Portuguese, as follows:

ESL (English Support Lessons)
The English Support Lessons Department primarily provides supplementary support for students whose level of English interferes with their ability to engage fully in the English immersion experience at St. Nicholas. Making use of a variety of resources (including audio-visuals, games, books, educational software etc.), the department seeks to identify children who need English support as early as possible, provide support which directly addresses the pupil’s individual needs, and prepare them to cope with St. Nicholas’s curriculum in the classroom. The ESL dept. works with pupils from Kindergarten to Senior Years. The pupils are taken out during normal lesson time to work on their own or in a small group. In the case of seniors, lessons are scheduled during option time. ESL teachers also give in-class support, either providing pupils with specific activities in English or helping them cope with the language of different subjects. The ESL department also supports class teachers with suggestions of activities and resources, as well as administering inset trainings in the area.

SEN (Special Educational Needs)
The Special Educational Needs Department aims to ensure that the individual needs of students with learning difficulties are met with appropriate differentiation and teaching. The department seeks to identify pupils who need special support as early and as thoroughly as possible, integrate them as much as attainable in mainstream curriculum and make sure pupils experience appropriate and meaningful adaptations and teaching, so they can develop to their full potential academically, physically and socially. The areas of remediation are numerous, however SEN at St. Nicholas focuses on developing basic skills for learning, literacy and numeracy skills, which affect a broad range of learning areas. Although only a small minority of pupils requires extensive testing, outside professionals are sometimes needed to provide direction and insight and the department is responsible for referring the pupils and later on interpreting reports of other professionals, providing support and information to classroom teachers. Similarly to the ESL department, SEN provides support to pupils from Kindergarten to Senior Years, both in-class and outside the classroom, when pupils are taken out to work individually or in a small group. The SEN department also supports class teachers with updated information, specific inset trainings and general orientation.

LLC (Literacy Learning Centre)
The Literacy Learning Centre specialises in working with Year1 and Year 2 children who are behind in Literacy but do not display specific learning difficulties. It aims to prevent further problems in Literacy by providing early and intense intervention. The LLC also provides help for children who come from different school systems to adapt to our literacy programme. Ultimately, the LLC serves to disseminate effective teaching practice in the area of reading by working closely with teachers and assistants in reading lessons and through the guided reading programme. Pupils are taken out to work individually or in a small group.

PFL (Portuguese as a Foreign Language)
The Portuguese as a Foreign Language Department provides support to foreign pupils who arrive at St. Nicholas with very poor or no Portuguese skills at all. It aims to enable those pupils to express themselves and communicate in Portuguese. As the learning of Portuguese is mandatory in Brazil, the PFL department works with pupils who cannot cope with the curricular Portuguese lessons, until they are linguistically competent to take the regular Portuguese lessons back in the classroom. The PFL department aims at not only teaching Portuguese to foreigners but also at helping pupils to adapt to the Brazilian culture and habits, ensuring that the newcomer may feel secure and comfortable in the new environment. The PFL department provides support to children from Year 2 to senior years. Pupils are taken out of regular Portuguese lessons to work on their own or in small groups.