WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS
www.impact-education.com.au
OUR VISION
OUR MISSION
Helping kids love learning
Providing services to optimise a child’s learning and development enabling them to reach their full potential.
OUR VALUES Children Matter - We honour and respect each and every child’s journey because we believe that every child matters. Strive for Excellence - For us, it’s all about exceeding your expectations by providing services, which not only support you but also inspire and motivate you. Be Innovative - We are innovative and never stop thinking outside the box. Why? Because we aim to continue discovering new ways to improve, create and inspire children to thrive in the world of education. Collaborate - It takes a village to raise a child and we believe that by working together, we really can give a child the best opportunity to succeed. Act with Integrity - We pride ourselves on our honesty and integrity. Be caring, passionate and make it fun!
OUR APPROACH We believe in a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to teaching and learning. This is achieved by looking at the ‘whole’ child and focussing on all areas of a child’s development: social, emotional, physical and cognitive. Why? Because this ensures we are providing the most effective building foundations of the brain in order for every child to reach their full potential. As a child grows, there can be times when learning challenges or developmental delays become evident. We’ve all heard the comment ‘They’re not trying hard enough.’ We believe in looking into the reasons why they may not be achieving and how we can help them succeed. Understanding the ‘why’ behind a problem is the first step to finding solutions.
Natalie Nicholls CEO and Founder BEd, PGDip.SpLD, Dip.Neuro.Psych, MEd.CogPsych (completing)
OUR SERVICES All our services are personalised as there is no ‘one-size fits all’ approach. We offer:
Training that empowers educators and parents with brain-based knowledge, tools and strategies to optimise a child’s learning and development.
Kid’s Catch-Up Courses that provides children with learning challenges, opportunities to ‘catch-up’ and effectively reduce any learning gaps.
Functional Learning Skills Assessment (FLSA) explores the student’s basic academic skills as well as the underlying developmental and cognitive skills that provide critical foundations for learning.
Education Advocate Service is where we support & monitor, with relevant specialists, a child’s education progress over a period of one year to ensure learning progression.
Consultation Sessions will provide you with expert advice and customise recommendations for a child’s future learning needs.
Integrated Listening System is a multi-sensory program for improving brain function. It includes auditory, visual and movement activities to help overcome learning barriers.
‘Helping Children Love Learning’
WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS Ready to feel more confident to support your child’s learning? We’ve put together a series of short courses just for you! At Impact Education, we understand how painful it can be to witness your child struggling with schoolwork. We understand the challenges involved in trying to help your child keep up with the school’s learning materials and we understand how at times you might feel helpless when it comes to knowing how to make your child’s learning experience easier for them.
We have good news for you. You are not alone! Every parent feels this way at some point along the parenting journey. We can’t be experts at everything and that is okay. These short courses have been carefully and creatively crafted to assist you to build confidence in your ability to support your child and their learning. Check out our workshops for parents below and book today.
Learning Foundations Course Learn how to build the correct foundations in the brain and body with this eye-opening course. Click here for bookings and more information
Help Me Understand Learning Difficulties Learn how to build the correct foundations in the brain and body with this eye-opening course.
Literacy At Home Help me! How do I teach my child to read, spell and write? You will learn the core basics of how to help your child succeed with literacy at home.
Intervention for Learners with Dyslexia and other LD
Too many children are falling behind in school unnecessarily. Stop YOUR child from falling behind, increase their learning & improve their confidence now!
What is it? We now offer parents a unique holistic service that monitors your child’s education progress for the entire year. We believe in looking at the whole child, so we explore all areas of development, emotionally, socially, physically and academically. How? You will receive a dedicated LD Specialist Consultant that becomes your case manager as the central point and liaises with the class teacher and relevant specialists such as specialist tutors, psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists to ensure your child overcomes the barriers to learning and succeeds. We, of course, keep you in loop and make recommendations on how your child would benefit. Why? From our experience, we have found this service to be extremely successful with a child’s progress. Communication with a multi-disciplinary team is the only way we can ensure all areas of a child’s development are addressed and keep everyone on their toes!
If you are a parent who has a child with learning challenges, you will instinctively know how beneficial this service will be for you. It is one less thing for you to worry about.
Tell me about the package… LD Specialist Consultant We have highly trained specialists that become your case manager. Following an assessment, they will be able to make recommendations on what we need to implement to ensure your child succeeds in learning, which may include referrals to other specialists. Learning Profile Pack The learning profile pack provides detailed information on ways your child learns, your child’s strengths, challenges, likes, dislikes, learning styles, recommendations, strategies and much, much more! This is supplied to the school, teacher and anyone working with your child so they receive the WHOLE picture.
Accompaniments In some cases, we may recommend that your child participates in additional programs to fill in the gaps in their learning and improve their brain function.
Individual Education Programs (IEP) Any child with a learning challenge (difficulty) should have an IEP. It is an individual program outlining your child’s learning needs, services the school will provide and how progress will be measured. Several people will usually be involved in creating this document. Termly progress review assessments To ensure your child is progressing, we provide regular review assessments. Attendance at IEP meetings IEP’s are reviewed periodically, usually termly, at a meeting with the class teacher, tutors, LD Specialist Consultant and other relevant specialists to review and ensure your child is progressing and on the right track. Email and phone contact We provide you with regular updates on your child’s progress and encourage you to connect with us regularly as and when the need arises. We are here for you and your child.
and liaise with relevant specialists Module 6: Language DevelopmentManage and The Brain
• • • •
In some cases, further practitioners or specialists
Language and the brain will be required to provide their expertise. The LD Specialist Consultant dedicated Stages of language development, including learningisto read. to communicating with relevant specialists Language disorders and support throughout the year for your child. Activities to develop language skills
EDUCATION ASSESSMENT CHECKUP FUNCTIONAL LEARNING SKILLS ASSESSMENT At Impact Education, it is our passion and unique holistic approach that makes us different. In addition to dealing with difficulties at a superficial level, we also look for the underlying causes relating to the body’s development, physical, social/emotional and intellectual aspects. To ensure a comprehensive approach, we use a 3 step process, the first stage being an assessment. Sometimes parents just ‘feel’ that their child is not progressing as they should. What is important is that the outcome provides a route forwards in terms of what can be done to improve the child’s daily performance. We start with an initial consultation over the phone to determine whether an assessment is suitable for your child’s needs. Firstly, we assess underlying causes and current ability levels to determine the best possible intervention for your child.
Developmental Assessment We assess aspects of a child’s neuro-developmental status.
What is it?
This helps us understand how it affects their ability to learn.
Why is it tested?
What is tested?
To reduce the impact of receiving information incorrectly on a child’s learning. • • • • •
Auditory Skills Visual Skills Motor Skills Emotional Sensory Processing
Cognitive Assessment
Educational Assessment
We look at the core cognitive abilities required for learning.
This provides us with information on any gaps in a child’s learning.
These skills are required for learning and weaknesses can make learning challenging.
To make recommendations for accommodations and strategies to help a child be a successful learner.
• • •
Working Memory Phonological Processing Rapid Naming
• • • •
Reading Spelling Writing Mathematics
Following the assessment, you will receive a written report explaining the results and recommendations for your child. You will be invited to attend a free 30min consultation to discuss our findings.
KID’S CATCH-UP COURSES To provide an opportunity where children can ‘catch-up’ and REDUCE gaps in their learning. Is your child finding school challenging or falling behind? Having difficulties with literacy or has been diagnosed with a learning difficulty and needs specialist tuition? Our catch-up courses are designed to fill in the gaps and equip your child with the set of skills they need to progress in learning and literacy.
The earlier support is implemented, the more chance the child has to improve at a quicker pace. Research has shown that a structured, cumulative and multi-sensory approach (auditory, visual and kinaesthetic) is the most effective way to help students overcome their learning challenges. Unstructured or general support, however, can impede a students learning progress.
What does the Kid’s Catch-Up Courses involve? All our teachers have specialist training in teaching children with learning challenges. Each course runs for 10 weeks, in small groups of 3 for 1 hour. The frequency of the course depends on the child’s needs. The courses are available for children from age 6 + Each child attends a Teacher Planning Interview during which an individual program is created. Twice yearly your child will be invited to take part in a progress test where results are shared with the parent/s. We genuinely care about the progress made by each of the students. Therefore, to maximise their learning, we have designed two catch-up courses that focus on different areas of development.
Launch Course This course involves filling-in the gaps in the developmental foundations that are required for a child to learn and work at their optimal level. The multi-sensory program, ‘Integrated Listening System,’ improves brain function. It uses music, movement and language activities to ‘re-train’ areas of the brain which are used for learning, communication and movement. All activities are fun and can be customised for all ages and skill levels. Research has shown that most children with learning challenges, have neuro-developmental delays and this course assists in enhancing these areas to optimise a child’s learning. It improves visual and auditory processing, concentration, memory, balance, coordination, behaviour and academic areas such as reading, writing, spelling and maths. Research has shown an increase in reading proficiency by an average of two years only after three months of use.
Boost Course This course is designed to fill in any gaps in your child’s literacy. We use an evidence-based phonic approach that helps the student to understand the logical structure of written language. The literacy program focuses on improving reading fluency, comprehension, spelling and writing abilities. The course is: • • • • • •
Multi-sensory – using different senses such as auditory, visual and kinaesthetic Cumulative - building on previous steps and working at the right confidence level Structured - small steps, using routines, order and logical sequences Explicit – clear, systematic and direct Dynamic – short, varied, purposeful and effective Purposeful - relevant, tailored to student’s strengths and weaknesses.
With appropriate support, learning difficulties need not be a barrier to success.
These courses are very popular, so please book early to avoid wait periods.
SPECIALIST TUITION At Impact Education, we offer 1:1 specialist literacy tuition for children who are ‘at risk of’ or have been diagnosed with a learning difficulty, such as dyslexia. All our specialist teachers have undergone extensive professional development training to deliver evidence-based literacy intervention and in some cases your tutor will have post-graduate degree qualifications in learning difficulties. Our extensive expertise, together with evidence-based phonic approach, helps students to understand the logical structure of written language. Specialist tuition focuses on improving spelling, reading fluency, writing and comprehension. Each lesson is: • • • • • •
Multi-sensory – using different senses such as auditory, visual and kinaesthetic Cumulative - building on previous steps and working at the right confidence level Structured - small steps, using routines, order and logical sequences Explicit – clear, systematic and direct Dynamic – short, varied, purposeful and effective Purposeful - relevant, tailored to student’s strengths and weaknesses.
Students we’ve worked with show an average of 2 years gains in as little as 6 months!
CONSULTATIONS (Parents or School)
A Child’s Future Is In Your Hands Are you concerned about your child’s learning or literacy progress but not sure where to go or what to do? Has your child been diagnosed with a learning difficulty? A consultation session with a specialist literacy and learning consultant will point you in the right direction.
With appropriate support, learning difficulties need not be a barrier to success.
INTEGRATED LISTENING SYSTEM
The Integrated Listening System improves visual and auditory processing, concentration, memory, balance, coordination, behaviour and academic areas such as reading, writing, spelling and maths. Research has shown an increase in reading by an average of two years after three months of use.
What is it? ILS is a multi-sensory program for improving brain function. It uses music, movement and language activities to ‘re-train’ areas of the brain used for learning, communication and movement. All activities are fun and can be customised for all ages and skill levels. A neuro-application of the Tomatis Method from the 1950s, the iLs uses filtered sound and vibration to exercise the brain’s ability to take in information - training the senses to work together more efficiently. Through specific programmes, the iLs trains the brain at the foundational level. It takes your perceptual skills ‘back to basics’, retraining stages of brain development that may have been interrupted or incomplete in childhood. The iLs exercises many senses simultaneously, leading to better integration of multi-sensory information. As the developmental stages are worked through and the senses re-balance, perceptual skills improve and dysfunction fades. Improving basic brain function on this deep level has widespread effects. Improved sensory alignment means improvements in coordination, concentration, speech articulation, language and social skills. Comprehension and functional performance increase as the brain learns to use its resources more efficiently. The Integrated Listening System is used at the centre in the Launch Kid’s Catch-Up Course. In addition to the course, or alternatively, it can be rented to use at home.
The iLs equipment consists a standard iPod, a small amplifier, and specially made headphones with a small vibrating plate for sonic bone conduction. The whole kit can be worn and carried quite comfortably. During a session, the person listens to filtered music. Fine adjustments are made by filtering out or boosting different frequencies, both through sonic bone conduction and through normal over-ear headphones. This forces the brain to work harder on some sounds and to ignore others. The programme duration varies between forty to sixty sessions over eight to twelve weeks. Sessions are a half hour each, twice a day and may be divided up over the day if necessary. The gradual and steady iLs programme ensures that the changes are reinforced, with enough time to integrate. For those suffering from sensory difficulties, the iLs can make the world a far more comfortable place to be.
Who can it help? The iLS can help children with learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, but it can also help children with sensory processing, language processing, attention and concentration, fine and gross motor function, emotional regulation and academic areas such as reading, writing, spelling and maths.
Impact Education Pty.Ltd www.impact-education.com.au enquiry@impact-education.com.au PO Box 670, South Perth, WA 6951