Background
At St Andrews International School, our mission is to provide an inclusive, international education in a safe, happy, supportive and stimulating environment where all needs of the learner are met. St Andrews has always had an open-door policy, but there were some children whose education we could not support in the mainstream alone. The Primary School STARS program was born and conceived with these children in mind. The STARS team designs learning around individual students and their needs within a dynamic school environment. The curriculum is delivered at each child's ‘edge of learning’ and runs alongside comprehensive functional and social skills programs to develop generalisation of knowledge and understanding.
More recently in 2018, the success of STARS has allowed us to develop a High School inclusive initiative; Embracing Differences (ED). This progression has been key to bridging Primary and High School special needs curricula, providing students with a pathway into adulthood. As such, we have seen the ED Program enable adolescents and young adults to reach their potential with consistent nurture, encouragement, adjustment and learning opportunities embedded into daily activities.
At St Andrews, we encourage all students to succeed, regardless of their additional needs. The STARS and ED high needs specialists work to promote student strengths and talents. Where there are opportunities to access mainstream classes, we facilitate participation and engagement. The programmes aim to build confidence, relationships, resilience and progressive thinking for our students, as well as learn important life skills within a diverse community. At St Andrews, there is a culture of understanding that all learners are included. Our entire community accepts and engages our high needs students without fear or judgement, celebrating differences and fostering quality of life.
Our high needs programs centre around transdisciplinary approaches to education including teachers, families, therapists, learning support assistants and outreach professionals. Through the dissemination of expertise and availability of support, a myriad of seamless and all-encompassing opportunities are made possible. Students are actively included in whole school special events such as International Day and Christmas festivities; extracurricular activities such as Gymnastics, Football and Art; and also community events such as Reef Clean Ups. Again, levels of adjustment vary for each student. St Andrews provides a range of programmes, facilities and resources to think innovatively to ensure inclusion of our high needs students as equal members of society.
The STARS and ED programmes focus on community access and vocational opportunities, allowing students to practise and generalise skills in everyday contexts e.g. shopping, bake sales and community fitness programmes. Students build on interests and hobbies through the opportunity to do activities such as horse riding, ten pin bowling and water sports. Our high needs students attend residential trips with their mainstream peers and have the chance to attend holiday camps and day programmes which facilitate opportunities to venture into the community for socialisation and adapt to new experiences.
The High Needs Program initiative has demonstrated a positive impact on students with additional learning needs in a multitude of ways. The main impact for our students is being understood. The care and consideration given to the nature of our students and their needs lead to meaningful connections and trusting relationships. We take pride in the fact our students play active roles and do not feel lost within our school community, avoiding possible stress and anxiety.
Our STARS and ED students are socially integrated as equals within our vibrant international setting. They learn, transition, play and share meals amongst others across two campuses. In addition, ‘Buddy Programmes’ run within the school day to foster friendships formed during class time, breaking down any preconceived ideas that mainstream students may have about people with disabilities or learning difficulties. Building upon this work, Disability Awareness Days are recognised across St Andrews and activities for all students to access are coordinated by our specialist staff, and by the high needs students themselves, allowing our students the chance to grow by advocating for themselves.
STARS & Embracing Differences High Needs Provision
Our mission is to encourage all students to succeed, regardless of their additional needs. The STARS and Embracing Differences Special Educational Needs and Disabilities programmes were conceived with special needs children in mind, designing learning around individual students and their needs within a supportive school environment in the centre of Bangkok. The STARS and Embracing Differences high-needs specialists work to promote the individual strengths and talents of our learners. Both programmes are designed as a complete educational and learning support provision, incorporating 1-2-1 LSA adult support for each child from a highly trained Learning Support Assistant, small class sizes (max of 8), specialist teaching from SEND specialist teachers, and a trans-disciplinary approach to innovative curriculum design and resources. At all stages there is a ‘Preparing for Adulthood’ focus that flows continually throughout the universal, targeted and specialist tiered levels of provision.
Our high needs programmes are available to Primary students as the STARS programme and High School students as the Embracing Differences programme. Our Primary STARS students transition through to the Embracing Differences as they progress through to High School. We also welcome new students to join us at any stage of their educational journey, and learn in our dynamic and nurturing environments.
St Andrews Support Programme
The curriculum is delivered at each child's 'learning edge' and runs alongside comprehensive functional life and social skills programmes. Our students develop knowledge and learn skills needed to overcome the challenges that they may face in life. Our students in our SEND programmes get the highest level of support, with a dynamic and diverse curriculum that supports students at universal, targeted and specialist stages of intervention..
Lessons & Learning
Our highly qualified, caring and committed teachers in our SEND programmes cover elements of the mainstream academic curriculum and individualise accordingly to how the student engages and learns best. Lessons are created to be engaging and stimulating to accommodate students' emotional regulation throughout the day. The learning doesn’t stop in the classroom. We often bridge learning, to ensure the generalisation of skills, to various outside environments, whether in the swimming pool, on journeys around our school campuses, gardening, rock climbing, cooking, and other therapeutic activities. The programmes aim to build confidence, relationships, resilience and progressive thinking. We are proud of all our students and the essential life skills they gain within our diverse community.
How do we support our students?
One team, one community who work together.
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Personalised and stimulating curriculum
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Small class sizes (max 8 students)
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Access to mainstream lessons and activities where appropriate (fully supported by a 1-2-1 LSA)
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Supportive Therapists & Specialist Teachers - trans-disciplinary approach to innovative curriculum design and evidence-based, up-to-date intervention
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Attentive and highly trained Learning Support Assistants
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Strong communication with our families
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Opportunities in the community for functional life skills
Therapists and our SEND specialist teachers
Our Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Art Therapists, Play Therapists and Physiotherapists collaborate with the educational team to highlight how they can develop pupils' skills across various school learning opportunities. This trans-disciplinary approach is reviewed termly at IP (Individual Plan) meetings with specialist therapists, key teaching staff and parents, and this process is designed to have the child at the centre of every plan. Goals at universal, targeted and specialist tiers are identified, and steps towards targets agreed and worked towards in our innovative curriculum design.
Speech and Language Therapy (including Social Skills)
Speech and Language Therapy involves integrating speech and communication strategies and activities into functional classroom and social experiences for pupils with speech problems, language difficulties or learning disabilities. This therapy team works closely with families and specialist teaching staff, empowering them to support children in their areas of need. In addition, for our high needs students, these therapists lead the implementation of AAC devices and other communication systems as required.
Occupational Therapy
The role of Occupational Therapist involves integrating sensory, fine motor, motor planning and actions of daily living strategies into classroom based experiences for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities, supporting them to access and engage in the mainstream curriculum as appropriate. Occupational Therapists set OT targets to ensure that a student can participate in the full breadth of school activities, including paying attention in class, concentrating on tasks, holding and using everyday objects functionally and behaving appropriately in class.
Art Therapy
Art Therapists use art materials and the creative process to explore emotions, reduce anxiety, increase self-esteem, and resolve other psychological conflicts. As an expressive medium, art can be used to help clients communicate, overcome stress, and explore different aspects of their own personalities. In addition, Art Therapists work to engage children with social disorders and disabilities through social reciprocity and joint attention.
In addition, we offer play therapy, physiotherapy, social communication groups, and the Orton-Gillingham (OG) Dyslexia Program as an optional ‘add-on’.
A range of tiered, evidence based Interventions
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Universal, targeted and specialist levels of intervention, tailored to each individual students learning goals and complex needs profile
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'Push in' type interventions (universal) (e.g. emotional regulation and sensory diets, Communication Passports, supporting children at lunch/snack time, mainstream class attendance where appropriate, swimming pool etc.)
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Group targeted interventions e.g. Social Skills, vocational opportunities such as cooking classes and enterprise
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Therapists advise targeted and specialist programmes, strategies and resources were appropriate for at home and school, and regularly review goals at IP Review meetings
We focus on practical and dynamic learning experiences that foster social communication skills and are crucial to curricular tasks.
Our facilities
We have created purpose-built and accessible spaces in the heart of our campuses that provide a safe space to learn and opportunities to access the mainstream environment. Our movement and sensory rooms allow our students with sensory or vestibular, greater control of their learning across the school day. We have included intervention spaces and custom-made classrooms to increase learning potential and enable our students to be the best that they can be.
Our partners
We have built strong relationships in our community with partners such as STEPS, LEAP (Learning and Educational Advocacy Programme) and The Rainbow Room Special Needs Awareness Centre.
The best way to experience our school is to visit us…
Ms Catherine, Director of Whole School Learning Support can be contacted at catherine.mc@standrews.ac.th and is more than happy to share more details on admissions procedures for prospective high needs students, and curriculum and pastoral provision details.
Primary STARS
For a tour of our STARS facilities, please contact Ms Grazelle, STARS Co-ordinator at grazelle.ma@standrews.ac.th
High School Embracing Differences
For a tour of our Embracing Differences department, please contact Mr Sean, Embracing Differences Co-ordinator at sean.wo@standrews.ac.th
Our facilities
We have created purpose-built and accessible spaces in the heart of our campuses that provide a safe space to learn and opportunities to access the mainstream environment. Our movement and sensory rooms allow our students with sensory or vestibular, greater control of their learning across the school day. We have included therapy spaces and custom-made classrooms to increase learning potential and enable our students to be the best that they can be.
Our partners
We have built strong relationships in our community with partners such as STEPS, LEAP (Learning and Educational Advocacy Programme) and The Rainbow Room Special Needs Awareness Centre.
Primary
For more information or a tour of our STARS facilities, please contact Ms Grazelle, STARS Co-ordinator at grazelle.ma@standrews.ac.th
High School
For more information or a tour of our Embracing Differences department, please contact Mr Woods, Embracing Differences Co-ordinator at sean.wo@standrews.ac.th
