Yes

Yes

French
Spanish
Chinese
Japanese
English

30

25

Yes

In many ways, but we have a one-to-one laptop policy which means every student has their own laptop and they use it in lessons as necessary.

No

IGCSE and the IB Diploma and the IB Careers Programme

96% of students pass IGCSE with grade A-C
The average IB points is 36

Yes

Is is different depending on the year group and project work

98%

Yes

Individual Needs

The Individual Needs Department aims to provide all students with equal access to the curriculum and every aspect of school life, to support them so that they can achieve their full potential academically. The main focus of the department’s work is to ensure that students become as independent as possible in their learning, and less reliant on the intervention of other adults. A second major theme of the department’s work is to raise literacy standards, in particular those in writing and reading comprehension, which are crucial to long-term success.

Learning Support

Island School accepts students with a wide range of ability, some of whom have Special Educational Needs. The Individual Needs Department is responsible for identifying these students, and supporting them both directly and through collaborative work with mainstream teachers. Our approach to meeting the Special Educational Needs of our students is loosely based on the ESF wave model. Students’ Special Educational Needs are identified using information passed on from Primary schools, from school-based assessments and from concerns raised by parents, students, staff or other relevant bodies.

A range of strategies are employed, to ensure that the school meets the needs of these students. These include:

Withdrawal groups for students in Years 8 and 9 for students with literacy development needs. They are taught in place of a modern foreign language.

In both Years 7 and 8 an English support group exists, with reduced student numbers (14-20) and two teachers, to boost the progress of identified students. Every form in Years 7-8 has a fortnightly English Library lesson which is also supported by an Educational Assistant from the I.N. department.

In-class support from educational assistants in some Maths, Science, Humanities and Island Time classes.

1:1 Social Thinking sessions for students with identified difficulties with their social communication. This incorporates elements of Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking, and Zones of Regulation

The 16-week PEERS programme is also used, in the Elements programme, with students in years 9-11 with identified difficulties in their social communication.

Liaison between Individual Needs Support staff and mainstream staff (on academic and pastoral issues).

Special examination arrangements for some students at both IGCSe and IB level.

The dissemination of relevant information to staff through regular updates to the Individual Needs Register.

The provision of advice and training to staff on a variety of learning needs/strategies.

Meetings with parents to discuss intervention strategies and Student Support Plans (SSPs).

When necessary, referrals can be made to the Educational Psychologist.

When a student is identified as having Special Educational Needs his or her name is placed on the school’s Individual Needs Register in one of the following categories:

Level of Adjustment 1: subject teacher is responsible for ensuring student progress through differentiation of materials and assessments.

Level of Adjustment 2: subject teachers and Individual Needs teachers liaise to establish appropriate programs of intervention.

The school also has a specialist Learning Support Class (LSC) for students at Levels of Adjustment 3-4. From August 2016, 12 students will have designated places within this class. Entry to this class is regulated by ESF, as with all other ESF schools. Provision for students within the LSC can include many of the elements above, but goes further in offering a distinctly different programme when it is deemed to be in the student’s educational interests. This often includes elements of withdrawal, subject by subject.

The school’s Individual Needs Register is not a fixed entity – students may enter, leave or move between stages according to their particular circumstances.

Gifted and Talented Policy

Island School policy is to provide as many opportunities as possible for ALL students to be stretched academically in different aspects of the curriculum, rather than identifying a particular cohort for these opportunities. This educational offering is provided within both the subject areas, the cross-curricular lessons and in extra-curricular programmes such as Mathematics competitions.

Yes

Yes

An interview and written test for those that do not come from a partner school.

In most years

Applications should be submitted by 30 September

In some cases, in some years

7:55

2:45

No

Yes

Students can purchase lunch from a canteen

Student purchase the food they wish

Yes

There are over 63 clubs, societies and teams students can choose to join

Physical activities and sports is available at all levels to all students both as part of the curriculum and with extra curricula activities

Yes within school, within the foundation and against other schools

Playgrounds and gyms

The Island School Community…
Pursues Excellence…

Through our passion for teaching,
Through our passion for learning,
Through our determination to be the best we can be,
Through our resilience in the face of challenge.
Embraces Responsibility…

For our learning and teaching,
For our words and behaviour,
For our leadership,
For our local and global community.
Celebrates Individuality…

By recognising a variety of approaches to learning,
By recognising a variety of approaches to teaching,
By respecting our diversity,
By valuing empathy.

Island School’s Values Are At The Heart Of Learning

Our curriculum is based on our values and learning goals. We have a flexible curriculum throughout the school.

The Island School Community Pursues Excellence
This is achieved by a range of courses that challenge students to be the best they can be. Some of these courses lead to external assessment such as the IB Diploma or the IB Careers Programme. In these cases our results are consistently outstanding and our students achieve some of the top grades throughout the world.

Other courses allow students to go beyond the exam courses with a breadth and depth that can be varied to challenge students at the highest level.

The Island School Community Embraces Responsibility
Students take responsibility for their learning in two ways. There is a wide variety of choice of courses in the middle school and senior school. Students, with careful advice, take responsibility for planning their learning by choosing the courses that are best suited to them, their needs, and their aspirations.

Within many of the courses and programmes, students have the freedom to plan their learning, either through what they learn or how they provide evidence for that learning. While they find this hard to start with, they learn to take responsibility for their learning as they mature and so are better prepared for the demands of the programmes in the senior school and beyond school.

The Island School Community Celebrates Individuality
The unprecedented range of courses in the middle school allows a tailored, personalized programme for each student that reflects all aspects of their individuality, from their different learning styles to their different interests. The opportunities are there for all students to define the learning programme that suits their individual needs. Support is available to challenge and guide students at every level.

In the senior years the two graduation programmes are designed to be flexible enough for students to express their individuality within the curriculum as well as through the wide range of extra curricular activities.