What we do
Welcome
The South Coast Institute for Learning Development has grown and developed over the past 15 years and we are fortunate to have several wonderful professionals who work individually, having their own private practices on the premises but who also make themselves available to support and assist learners as a multi-disciplinary team. “SCILD” was primarily a learning and assessment centre but we now have four bridging classes, one for Grade 1, one for Grades 2 & 3, one for Grade 4 and a senior class for Grades 5 -7. We are also assisted by two teacher’s aids. The teachers have continued professional development and most of them have post graduate training in Remedial /NILD educational therapy. (For more information on NILD therapy, click on the NILD link.)
What we do
Various assessments are available and include aptitude, personality and Intelligence testing for the purpose of choosing subjects for Matric and for career or educational guidance. We have a Counseling Psychologist as part of our team and she consults on our premises. We also have a Speech and Language Therapist and three Occupational Therapists who work with different age groups (babies to adults.) These two disciplines also focus on Foundational skills for learning such as motor, visual and auditory perceptual skills. Our Educational Therapists offer Educational assessments which provide guidance for parents and teachers and help an individual understand his or her current academic performance levels and assist in setting short – and long – term goals regarding education, training and vocational choices. The focus is to understand a learner’s academic strengths and weaknesses and to determine the necessary levels of assistance where necessary and to design individual programmes.
Individual and group Remedial and NILD Educational therapy are offered to help learners overcome barriers to learning and to provide them with the skills to enable them to become independent learners and to help them reach their potential. We also offer extra-lessons in Math’s and Afrikaans. We offer support and information on ADD/ADHD. We also do school readiness assessments and screening for vulnerability for learning difficulties and provide a programme for early intervention. (Gr 0 – Gr 1)
Periodically, courses are run on study skills and teaching learners to understand Higher order Questions and to apply good Reasoning skills and critical thinking.
The therapists also run workshops for parents and teachers .We also mentor gifted learners and to the required testing to help organize concessions for learners with learning challenges. These include extra time, readers and scribes for exams.
Our Mission: Training teachers, developing minds and changing lives. Bridging the gap for those who learn differently.
The bridging classes of 2017
How are children admitted into the SCILD Bridging class, what criteria should be met and what are the procedures?
Entrance Requirements and Procedures:
If a child is apparently quite bright and yet is not achieving, has learning difficulties, a language barrier or needs to catch up on education missed, the bridging classes may offer the perfect solution.
Grades 1-4 are completely private and the learners attend classes at the SCILD centre from 7:30 to 12:15/14:15 pm daily depending on their grade. They are also allowed to play and socialize with Creston College learners at break on the Creston campus and participate in all sports at Creston College. (Creston College is a main stream IEB school.) SCILD has their own school uniform, which includes Navy shorts, a white golf shirt with the SCILD logo and a red jersey. They also have a navy and red tracksuit for the winter. The children can wear white takkies and white socks or black school shoes.
With the Senior class, we have a partnership with Creston College to co- educate learners who, despite having average to above average intelligence, are not succeeding in the mainstream due to specific learning difficulties. We also accept learners who have language barriers and need to learn English and to catch up gaps in their education. We accept between 5 and 10 learners in a class. Each learner in the Senior Primary phase needs to be registered with Creston College and pay the agreed percentage of their school fees. The learner’s wear the Creston College school uniform and have to abide by the Creston College Code of conduct. We share Creston’s rules and Christian ethos.
These learners belong to a class at Creston College and register with their Creston class daily. They attend Music, Art, Computers, PE, and Sport classes at Creston College and go on their excursions. They also have the same hours and attend their “Breaks” on the Creston Campus. The learners receive tuition and assessment tasks in the rest of the Grades learning areas at SCILD, namely English, Afrikaans, Math’s, and cultural subjects. Each subject will be taught at the current level of the child. The goal is to make small steps of success in order to build a positive self-image and to move forward to “bridge the gap”.
SCILD is adjacent to and readily accessible from Creston College.
Criteria for acceptance in the Bridging school:
- Intellectual assessment
The learner having been assessed by a registered Clinical, Counseling or Educational Psychologist on a recognized intellectual assessment should be in the average or above I.Q. range. - A legal agreement between Creston College and or SCILD and the parents must be signed and witnessed
This will cover details such as school fees and Indemnity.
The following would contribute to a positive prognosis and progress:
- Parental support and co-operation
- Parental supervision with regard to a child’s homework and school programme
- Extent of scholastic lags on admission
- Response to previous intervention
- Willingness and responsibility of parents to accept guidance and counseling when necessary
- Learner’s level of motivation and extent of secondary emotional problems
Learners who do not meet the Criteria
a) Primary Emotional Problems/ Behavior problems that interfere with other children’s learning.
b) Primary Physical Disability
c) Primary Deteriorating Physical Condition
d) Autistic
e) Aphasic
Educationalformancehience, EMS and Technology. These lessons will be taught by N.B. d) and e) will depend on the severity of problem and the extent to which other learners in the group may be affected. A full educational assessment (Woodcock Johnson 111) is required in order to establish current level of functioning and as a base line for teaching/ therapy. OR an educational assessment from a qualified Remedial teacher or institution such as the Sherwood Children’s therapy centre.
For more information contact Lynn Aron.
PRINCIPAL– L M Aron H.D.E. (WITS)
BA & Psychology Honours (UNISA)
NILD Educational Therapy (SA)
Tel: 083 2944 170
E-Mail : lynnaron@venturenet.co.za