Debra

• Fully enhanced DBS on DBS Update Service
• Qualified, practising female teacher since 2003
• Experience as a Head of Department in History and Politics
• Director of Learning for Humanities in previous role
• Examiner in History for GCSE and A-Level
• Study skills / Executive Functioning skills Lead
• Previous examiner experience in English to GCSE and French to A-Level
• Extensive experience in tutoring children in Maths, English, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning for 11+ at all ages and stages
• Teaching children how to impress in independent school interviews, having participated in the selection process
• Teaching and personal experience in all aspects of SEN, particularly in ADHD and ASD, including highly anxious children and demand avoidant profiles -Professional experience working with children with working memory problems, trauma and language difficulties, notably DLD
• experience working with a 'team around the student', such as therapists, counsellors and psychologists

Tutoring Experience

Current experience since August 2023: Home tuition to children who are unable to access school for a variety of reasons - anxiety, new to area, Looked After Children, Home-schooled children (often neurodiverse).

Previous role
2020 - 2023 - Director of Learning for History and Geography in school for children with SpLD

Experience before 2020
Head of Department in History and Politics in Mainstream Faith School
worked in Learning support in one of the top independent schools in South East London
Teacher of English, Maths and Geography for Local Authority of Bromley
Head of History for an inclusive girls' independent school, Hertfordshire (SEN / mainstream specialists)
Teaching History and French to A-Level in top secondary Jesuit school in England
Early experience in teaching
Teaching English abroad - Luxemburg and Italy
Teaching English to summer school students - London

Tutoring Approach

I don't just teach students subjects, I embed the skills to learn them independently - often focusing on gaining the study / executive functioning skills needed to succeed. I'm also a believer in using a 'growth mindset' which actually works for neurotypical as much as it does for neurodiverse students.

Overall, I have an intuitive and dynamic approach to working with different personalities and characters gained over 20 years' understanding of students' difficulties by paired working on materials to gain insights into any difficulties
Using both traditional methods of teaching (workbooks) to using technology (IPADS and computer) which may use assistive technologies (Read Write, speech to text, etc)
knowledge of RUCCS, QUACK and NUMICON to help students learn maths and English