Dyslexia friendly
At The Meadows we are proud to have achieved Full Dyslexia Friendly Status (2011).
All of our students have a preferred individual learning style. Understanding how dyslexic students learn best and being flexible enough to adapt teaching approaches are vital factors in enabling dyslexic students to learn effectively in the classroom.
In all areas of the curriculum at The Meadows School we:
- Make older children aware of their preferred learning styles
- Are prepared to explain things many times and in a variety of ways
- Ensure that written materials are accessible
- Give clear, step-by-step instructions, allowing time for the meaning of the words to be absorbed and appropriate questions to be asked
- Use multi-sensory methods of learning (including “over-learning”)
- Use visual prompts and mnemonics
- Enable dyslexic children to show their interest, knowledge and skills, despite their difficulties with writing
- MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO BUILD CONFIDENCE THROUGH DEVELOPING A STUDENT’S STRENGTHS AND SUCCESSES
When we are making worksheets we:
- Use buff paper and Comic Sans font
- Use bold headings
- Use bullets or numbers on worksheets rather than continuous prose
- Keep text in short sentences / short paragraphs
To make our classrooms “dyslexia friendly” we:
- Keep classrooms tidy!
- Make sure there is sufficient lighting (no flickering fluorescent tubes!)
- Keep visual movements / distrations to a minimum
- Ensure there are lots of table prompts (eg number lines, timetables, days, months, key spellings etc)
- Make sure Interactive whiteboards have appropriate background colours
- Encourage students to work quietly