The ABS established the Counselling and Learning Support (CLS) Department in 1992 as a separate, but yet a complementing programme that aims to nurture and support individual students while providing them with specialised services.
Goals
- To promote nourishing environment for productive mental health conditions.
- To help school’s community through multi-facets of developmental, preventive and intervention services.
- To help students make the best of their potential: personally, academically and socially.
- To help students better cope with different rigorous requirements and situations in their lives.
- To ensure, as much as possible, equal chances of meaningful learning experiences for all our students.
- To enhance and support the school's performance as it aims to meet the diverse needs of its students.
- To prepare the students for their future career and helping them developing and discovering vocational interests.
Services
In addition to the school’s new support services, the school is offering small coherent groups in the evening, Saturday classes, teachers' office hours and curriculum modification.
The following services are offered by the CLS Department:
- Early Identification: a school screening system starting from KG onwards, and through in-class observation process, in addition to parents/teachers observation and feedback. Based on the accumulated data, a preliminary IEP plan, which addresses the student’s specific learning need for support will be designed and then actualized upon parents’ concession.
- Assessment: investigating the nature of the learning difficulty more in depth, in order to better specify aspects of relevant help.
- Intervention: two features of intervention are taking place:
- Counselling services that aim at developing coping skills and personal, social, and emotional growth.
- Facilitating learning and empowering students, in order to create a sense of meaning and self-esteem.
The support that is given to students to help them improve learning is always based on an Individual Education Plan (IEP), which addresses specific learning difficulties.
Means of Communication
The CLS Department operates through an ongoing open line of communication between the staff, students and parents. These channels will ensure proper planning, the exchange of information and feedback.
Means & Ways
The CLS Department provides help and support through pull-out, one-on- one setting, group setting, and support in inclusive setting.
Whenever needed, our staff will take the initiative to inform the concerned parents about the necessity of referring the student to an out-of-school agency or professional to receive further assessment or intervention.