Student support services

At ISL, we see children in a holistic way to meet their varying needs. This leads us to provide students with a variety of support, organised by the Student Support Services Coordinator. We realise children are multifaceted and, as such, may benefit from the following support:

Learning Support

Our aim is to challenge and support each student according to their individual needs. We strive to enable students to become independent learners who advocate for themselves, and develop their self-awareness and confidence. We provide appropriately matched support services in accordance with students’ needs as well as provide a learning structure for classroom teachers. We encourage families to collaborate with ISL by providing us with relevant information about their child’s learning. This information may include: previous psychological-educational evaluations, speech-language evaluations, occupation or physical therapy evaluations, school documentation, and medical information that may impact learning.

We believe in providing high quality programmes for all students; balancing number of students with diverse learning support needs with appropriate resources to best meet their individual needs.

Types of Support:

Progress Plan – Students with mild needs receive support according to the data collected from classroom teachers and, when necessary, external evaluations. This may include classroom and test-based accommodations.
Individualised Education Plan – Students with mild-to-moderate needs receive support based on data collected from classroom teachers and an external evaluation. This may include a class designed to support their specific needs as well receive classroom and test-based accommodations.
1:1 Support – Students receive 1:1 support from an assistant based on their needs. These needs are assessed using data from classroom teachers and external evaluations. The costs are in addition to standard ISL fees.

Medical Team

At ISL, we have two nurses who provide medical care to students when needed and provide clear guidelines to maintain a healthy school environment for everyone. The nurses tend to sick and injured students and staff, offering first-aid, care and advice. Prevention is provided through health care lessons. In collaboration with teachers, counsellors and other staff, the nurses assist in providing full holistic care at ISL.

Well-being

Counselling aims to promote the holistic development and well-being of each individual student. The student counsellors offer education, prevention, and crisis interventions, through one on one sessions when needed, as well as regular classes centered on psychosocial development and awareness. Our well-being programme is based on CASEL’s five competencies: self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, responsible decision-making, and social awareness in order to promote the development of healthy, well-rounded students. The counsellors collaborate with classroom teachers, leadership, and the Student Support Services department to meet students’ individual needs.

English as an Additional Language

English as an Additional Language (EAL) support addresses the needs of students from non-English speaking backgrounds who are still in the process of developing interpersonal and academic English language skills. The EAL department at ISL provides a range of direct and indirect support for students with limited knowledge of the English language. This support can take the form of individual instruction, small-group instruction, in-class support, co-teaching with homeroom or subject-specific teachers and provision of modifications for students to be supported within the mainstream class. The flexible nature of the programme allows students to receive various types of support according to their needs.