At Acorn since 2003 we offer the professional support of a Psychotherapist once a week. This service develops in the following areas:

Families and students

• Organisation and delivery of workshops dedicated to parents focusing on topics rotating around important aspects of childhood and pre-adolescence decided with the school management board.
• Organisation and management of informative sessions/workshops dedicated to Middle school students, developed around topics that are considered useful and are highlighted as such from the school’s management in accordance with teachers or suggested/emerged amongst students. Time and programme scheduling is attentively negotiated and decided in accordance with teachers.
• Availability for one-to-one meetings with parents and/or students whom feel the need to have a constructive and individual talks regarding issues emerged inside the learning setting.

EYFS department and Year 1 class

• Collaboration with Early Year Foundation Stage department and Year 1 class, in order to observe and collect relevant data related to:
  – Development of the Italian language in children who are native Italian speakers and in children who are bilingual or trilingual;
  – Emotional and social development;
• Management of the IPDA screening test in the Year 1 class, communicating any relevant results to the Head teacher and the relevant class/department teachers – agreeing with the school Senco about the need to confront those data with the ones acquired in English.
• Guidance to the Italian teacher in the EYFS and Year 1 department, in order to outline the most suitable strategies with children aged 2-6 years old with respect to the individual cases that need an intervention.
• Support EYFS and Year 1 teachers during meeting with parents to outline the activities that should be undertaken outside the school to further reinforce certain abilities of 2-6 years old children.

Primary and Middle school departments

• Observations based on teachers, parents or Head teacher’s request, related to the emotional-social development and/or the learning process, reporting data and results within a week from the observation to Head teacher, Senco and teachers.
• Availability upon request of Italian teachers for meetings on individual cases or regarding specific themes and/or issues emerged in class.
• Management for the Italian department of individual parts of the ACMT and any other assessment test, which is considered necessary.

Middle school department

• Organisation and management of informative sessions/workshops dedicated to Middle school students, developed around topics that are considered useful and are highlighted as such from the school’s management in accordance with teachers or suggested/emerged amongst students. Time and programme scheduling is attentively negotiated and decided in accordance with teachers.
• Availability for one-to-one meetings with parents and/or students whom feel the need to have a constructive and individual talks regarding issues emerged inside the learning setting.
• Guidance and delivery of specific resources related to “attitudinal questionnaire” to be handed to students who are completing their final year of middle school and are making a decision with respect to their future academic path. Evaluation of the scores attained and communication of results to the teaching team and to parents.

Sen procedure

• Attendance to monthly meetings with the Senco coordinator in order to contribute to identify the specific interventions and activities that are more suitable for the screening of specific cases.
• Share vision and advice with Senco to support flagged children who have been included in the SEN procedure.
• Guidance offered to the Italian teaching staff in all departments towards the use of specific assessments and/or means through which they can identify particular specific difficulties.
• Availability to participate, upon request of the Head teacher or of the Italian teachers, to meetings regarding the revision or draw up of the PDP.