Wednesday 11th March 2015
Last week, myself and our ITAD manager, Sammy, were lucky enough to visit one of the schools Springboard work at. We were extra fortunate that our visit coincided with world book day, so amongst the schools usual rabbits and chickens there were also numerous princesses, witches and superheroes to be spotted. (We were told Year 6 also had a pet snake, but thankfully we didn’t see that!)
In each of the schools they work in, Springboard set up a special room for their tutoring sessions. The rooms are aimed at being cosy and colourful, to help the children feel comfortable and relaxed. The children selected to receive help from Springboard are all below the stage they should be in their literacy skills. Taking them away from the classroom setting can increase confidence; many children who struggle with their literacy skills find it hard to speak out, or concentrate, in the normal classroom environment.
Whilst we were there, two sessions were going on. One involved a year 2 pupil, who was at stage 5, two levels below the rest of her class. The session involved various exercises around the “th” sound (or the one where you have to stick your tongue out!). These included using flip cards where the child marked her answers on one side and flipped it over to see if she was right. At the end of the session they played a shopping list game, and before leaving she was allowed to choose a sticker.
The second session was an assessment of where a little girl had reached, during her time so far with Springboard. This was another year 2 pupil but she was at stage 1. The assessment involved her finding the different sounds on a piece of paper and then in reverse, being shown the sounds to pronounce. Again at the end she got a sticker before going out to break.
Giving the children plenty of praise and encouragement can be crucial to increasing their confidence, as well as helping to make learning fun. The children enjoy their sessions and word has gotten out, with other children wanting to come along, so they can have a sticker and play games too!
Overall it was a fantastically eye opening morning into the work that Springboard do and knowing that Secure Paper’s support is going to such a wonderful cause. Secure Paper, a part of the BPR Group, donate the cost of a tutoring session for every 10 hard drives collected. To find out more about our IT services you can take a look at our webpage: https://www.paper-round.co.uk/service/batteries-toners
