Support for Learning

In line with the Midlothian policy of promoting the inclusion of pupils with additional support needs in mainstream education, our departmental aim is to create an equitable learning environment for all pupils within the school.

The Support for Learning Team comprises of teachers and Learning Assistants who are specialists in Additional Support for Learning (ASL). Our department is an integral part of the Pupil Support Team who work alongside guidance staff, subject teaching staff, youth workers and a wide range of external agencies to meet the needs of the pupils in our care.

We aim to support pupils within the classroom setting wherever possible but recognise a number of our pupils require more targeted,  individualised support to develop their  literacy, numeracy and well-being.

We support all young people in the school through transition at both junior and senior levels to ensure that they have the opportunity and skills to pursue positive destinations. Our ‘Support for All’ policy aims to ensure our young people transition to appropriate and successful placements, be it secured employment training or further/higher education.

As a department, we provide:

  • Support to Learning and Teaching within all areas of the school curriculum. We provide targeted and generic support in class.
  • Assessment and identification of additional support needs. We provide a range of in-house assessments and if necessary engage external agencies for more specialised assessment.
  • Consultation – we work closely with departments and other agencies to ensure that appropriate strategies and resources are in place to support our young people within schools.
  • Tutorials – these are needs lead and provide small group support to young people to consolidate learning and achievement.
  • We lead a nurturing programme through Club 55 – a short –term, focused piece of group work – which supports younger pupils in S1/S2 who have struggled with transition to high school.
  • Literacy support – we working in small groups and on an individual basis using programmes such as Toe-by-Toe and Fresh Start, to address literacy difficulties. We also organise paired reading partnerships between sixth year and junior students.  We support our pupils’ independence in writing through widespread use of IT.
  • Support for external SQA examinations – the department is responsible for arranging and delivering all Additional Assessment Arrangements to our young people who sit external examinations.
  • We aim to build successful and productive partnerships with guardians and parents.

Staff Members

Mrs T Edge-Loake Principal Teacher SfL (Monday – Thursday)
Ms A Colquhoun SfL Teacher
Mrs C Blyth Learning Assistant (Monday – Wednesday)
Mrs A Glen Learning Assistant
Mrs K Harley Learning Assistant
Ms C Pierrepoint Learning Assistant
Ms N Young Learning Assistant

HighSchool High School