Supporting unique and developing minds

We chat to the passionate team running the Pōhutukawa Learning Centre to understand more about diverse learning support across both our Senior and Junior Schools.

The Pōhutukawa Learning Centre (PLC) is a key part of the St Cuthbert’s offering that stands out for many students, parents and teachers, as an incredible point of difference. At its heart, the PLC is where learning specialists and teachers go the extra mile to make sure all students are supported to play, learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of life at school.

We talk with the accomplished PLC leadership team, Rochelle Lawrence and Rachael Busch, to understand more about their roles, and how the PLC supports our diverse learners.

What’s the PLC all about?

At St Cuthbert’s, we recognise that children and young adults learn best when they feel accepted, enjoy positive relationships with their fellow students and teachers, and can access specialised learning content. They also need to feel they are active, visible members of their classes.

Therefore, making sure we are supporting students who might need a little assistance, or who simply process the world in different ways, is extremely important to us. It’s all about maintaining a positive, inclusive learning environment.

The PLC was set up to support both Senior and Junior cohorts and uses ‘enriched learning techniques’ backed up by the latest research, to ensure the learning environment meets the needs of all our students.

Rochelle Lawrence, our new Head of the PLC, explains that ‘diverse learning’ is a formal term used in educational and academic circles. “Essentially it recognises that we all learn and process information in different ways,” she says.

“Once we understand how a student learns best, that is when the magic happens!” says Rochelle.

What can learning support look like?

The PLC can offer a range of support to target students’ learning needs. For example, there are a number of Learning Enrichment programmes in action, which also includes Future Problem Solving and Philosophy classes to stretch critical and creative thinking.

Some students may find themselves falling behind the expected achievement levels of their classmates, so our Specialised Learning Intervention Programme focusses on helping these girls to fill in any learning gaps, recognise their learning differences and how they learn best, as early as possible, so they become more skilled, confident learners.

“We find strategies that help children advocate for themselves and learn to work with their challenges, not against them,” emphasises Rochelle.

“Our goal is to generate an inclusive space and build self-efficacy, so children know they are capable and can contribute,” adds Rochelle.

“We want to ensure that students experience success in a way that’s meaningful for them, and to break down barriers to learning.”

Rachael Busch, our new Head of the Junior School PLC, is just as passionate about the various ways the Centre supports younger students, explaining how they take a multi-tiered approach.

“PLC students still spend most of their time within mainstream classes to ensure they always feel socially connected to their peers,” says Rachael. “We can provide targeted intervention led by our experienced specialist teachers, in small group settings both in and out of the classroom,” says Rachael.

“We also work closely with teachers to make small changes to the classroom programme, and provide wraparound support by facilitating collaborative family meetings, which focus on individual learning goals and support.”

Both Rochelle and Rachael emphasise that it’s key to work with parents to help them navigate the next steps for their children. “Parents provide important information to help us get to know their daughter better and understand their child’s areas of need, interests and areas of strength,” says Rachael. “This allows us to use these areas as a foundation for our learning support.”

Working closely with our teachers

Rochelle and Rachael are also working to equip teachers with the skills and confidence to be responsive to diverse learners in the classroom.

“Teachers can make a huge difference. Sometimes all they need is extra layer of knowledge and of course extra capacity –which we can support with” says Rachael. Rochelle aims to maximize the reach of the PLC centre, matching our resources to the scope of the needs of each student, “with the ultimate goal of a child not needing us anymore, in the nicest possible way!” she emphasises.

The team aims to be at the forefront of the latest academic research, and Rochelle believes that their formal training mixed with real world experience, means the PLC team brings a host of expertise.

A large team of learning specialists

Both Rochelle and Rachael are clear that the success of the PLC is very much a team effort.

“We’re lucky to have 11 specialist teachers working in full and part-time roles, supporting girls in literacy, numeracy and all areas of the curriculum, as well as in our gifted and talented programmes across the school” explains Rochelle.

“We also have nine learning support staff working part time as parent and Ministry funded learning assistants,” says Rachael.

“The investment and commitment to employing quality teachers and learning assistants to help our students reach their full potential, are nothing short of amazing!”

Meet Rochelle Lawrence

Head of our Pōhutukawa Learning Centre

Rochelle Lawrence always wanted to work in education. As a child, she would come home from school and teach her younger siblings how to read.

She also has a love of learning and continuous education and is in the final stages of her EdD this year.

One thing is burningly clear – Rochelle embodies ‘By Love Serve’ in her study and vocational work. “I feel strongly that everyone is entitled to access knowledge, and all the opportunities that come with that. That’s what motivates me first and foremost,” says Rochelle.

Although new to the PLC role this year, Rochelle is not new to St Cuthbert’s. She taught Year 7 and 8 from 2016, with maternity leave and more study soon after. Lucky for us, she returned part time as a learning support teacher, which led into this new, full time management position.

Rochelle says she’s very much a big picture person. “I’ve come to understand the importance of systems for creating strategic context, that then sets foundations for our targeted learning support. For example, I’m currently working on a wider strategy to enable and empower teachers cater to specific learning needs.”

But she also loves the detail, and the emotional rewards from helping each individual student succeed. “When I see a student finding a new concept or skill challenging, being able to help and be a part of their learning journey is such a pleasure.”

Rochelle is loving a change in focus to just girls, and feels her role is one of empowerment.

“My first class of Year 7s graduated last year. It was so rewarding to see their growth through school and seeing them set off to change the world. Sometimes we have thirteen years with a student. What an amazing privilege that is!”

Meet Rachael Busch

Head of our Pōhutukawa Learning Centre, Junior School

Rachael originally worked at St Cuthbert’s 20 years ago in after school care, and returned last term to take over from Felecia Tomich, in the PLC role. She is taking great pleasure getting back into the classroom and enjoying facetime with younger students again.

The last few years have been all about academic research and then clinical work for Rachael, as she put primary teaching on hold and completed her Masters in Educational and Developmental Psychology at Massey University.

She completed a thesis on the impact of modern learning environments (MLEs) on students with sensory processing difficulties. This continues to be an area in which she is deeply interested, not only for students in MLEs but also in single cell classrooms.

Rachael pursued an internship and worked for the Ministry of Education in 2021/22 and is now a registered Educational Psychologist. She is currently completing the SPELD assessor training to identify students with specific learning difficulties.

“As a teacher, I always connected and loved working with children who needed a little extra learning support and encouragement, as well as our students who were experiencing behavioral difficulties” says Rachael. “All they really need is for someone to understand them and see them as individuals with their own set of strengths and challenges. So, it was a natural progression for me to explore a new professional journey as an Ed Psych.” she adds.

Rachael also has an avid interest in teaching dance and drama, as she recognises that diverse learners often connect to the arts and more creative ways of learning and expressing themselves.