Message from Foster Carer Debbie…
P has a few learning difficulties when it comes to his academic achievements at school. His handwriting in particular was quite poor, and his executive functioning skills also required a high level of support. He also experienced difficulties in sequencing, especially with maths.
Our Education Support Mentor uses his teachers’ semester goals for the class and feedback from parent-teacher interviews to focus on areas of improvement for him. This feedback is welcomed by his Support Mentor, and she makes their weekly sessions not only educational and challenging but also fun and tailored to his interests to get him to focus and engage with her.
You can see his confidence and self-worth grow as he completes tasks and is praised for his efforts. P has adopted a love of learning new things through researching in books and has a very strong interest in the army and defence forces.
P enjoys his Support Mentor attending our home and will get excited if we tell him, it is “tutoring day”. Since starting these sessions, I feel he is more open to learning and trying new things as he is gently supported out of his comfort zone. The patience his Support Mentor shows him and her ability to adapt the learning environment to suit his emotional needs is inspiring.
P generally has enthusiasm in relation to learning, and I feel having the support from his Support Mentor regularly, and the ongoing consistency has strengthened his passion to learn.
P still struggles with his learning and his emotional regulation but his attitude towards improvement has improved, and his willingness to try has definitely been noticed as he is displaying improvements in all the academic areas he has previously been struggling in.
Well done P!
*This photo is a stock photo to preserve the privacy of our children in foster and kinship care.
