“ Hello, my name is Gemma Devitt and I have been appointed as the Head of Inclusion for the whole school. You may have previously seen me working in Early Years, if you were part of our Léman family last year, which is where my passion for inclusive education began.
Over the years, I have worked in various roles across schools, ranging from Early Years teacher in a top UK Independent school, Primary Teacher and lastly as a Special Educational and Behaviour specialist teacher. During this time, I found a passion for valuing student differences and learning various techniques to support each child’s individual learning needs, to the greatest extent possible.
The need for the role of Head of Inclusion at Léman was identified as we are tuned in to the children’s individual needs and we understand the global shift towards a more holistic approach to education.
Our mission to enable children to become empowered, challenged, inspired and connected, to create the ‘whole’ child, has meant that as a school, we have recognised that students’ needs are much broader than just academics.
Therefore, the role of Head of Inclusion was created, to foster a culture of high expectations and aspirations for all pupils to achieve to their fullest potential whilst overcoming barriers to learning, or the normal challenges children face when developing social and emotionally.
A large part of the role is overseeing our EAL programme across both Primary and Secondary and creating individualised support for children who may need it. We are keen to ensure that all children are given the best opportunities to overcome barriers to EAL, and will provide as much support and teaching as possible.
I am also responsible for creating a specialist pastoral programme for the Primary school which will focus on supporting children socially and emotionally and giving them the tools to be able to overcome any barriers which may arise.
Our students will be given the opportunity to learn about their strengths and weakness and see this as an opportunity to ‘be the best they can be’.
Lastly, the main part of the role is to provide support for children who have a special educational need. I will be working closely with families and teachers to ensure that we cater to all the needs that may arise and put specialist provisions in place, to best support your child’s development.
We are continuing to work towards a culture of inclusivity and community, ensuring that all children are given equal opportunities to thrive. We want to ensure that students’ differences are celebrated and valued - we are a diverse learning community, and we are stronger together! If you have any concerns or would like some advice about your child, then please do not hesitate to email me at gemma.devitt@lis-chengdu.com, to see how best we can support your family. "
Gemma Devitt
Head of inclusion
What does Inclusion mean at Léman school?
What does Inclusion mean in the primary school?
The Inclusion team has been developed to foster a culture of high expectations and aspirations for all pupils to achieve to their fullest potential, whilst overcoming barriers to learning, or the normal challenges children face when developing social and emotionally.
We cater to children’s individual differences and see those differences as something positive to bring to our school community and learning. Our team are extremely experienced in catering to the needs of children who have Special Educational Needs and who need additional support, Support with learning English (EAL), or the children who might need a little bit of support in areas such as friendships, social and emotional skills, self-esteem etc… all of which are perfectly normal to experience.
Our team have created several specialised interventions for pupils in the school to help all children succeed in every area of their development as well as currently creating a positive ethos amongst our school and community.
What does Inclusion mean in the secondary school?
In secondary, inclusion focuses on three facets: special education needs (SEN), pastoral, and English language support. The central idea of these areas identifies personalized learning to ensure that children are taken care of so they can perform their best in school.
SEN investigates how to best support a child's needs so that he/she can most effectively learn in the classroom. Ms. Gemma Devitt leads SEN in secondary, and the team determines and shares best teaching and learning practices to help support the children. This helps inform teachers and parents about how to support their children at school and home.
The pastoral program has been developed at Léman to support all students' personal, social and emotional needs. Secondary school follows the positive behavior expectations so that students can be the best community member they can be by looking after themselves and caring for others and the environment around them. Ms. Monica Webster and Ms. Katherine Hwang lead the secondary pastoral program and help students when they need personal, social and emotional support.
Finally, the English language support team helps prepare students to strengthen their English language development to prepare them for next steps after Léman. The team scaffolds learning both in English classes and in subject specific classes to give individualized attention to help students learn at their own pace. Mr. Cristiano Mariotti and Ms. Hannah Si lead the English language support team and work with students to build their English to help give students the best chance to succeed in their next steps in life.
These three programs work together to create a personalized experience for children in secondary. Both the parents and Léman want the children to have the most effective, efficient learning environment, and these programs work to allow students learn faster and farther through the individualized approach.
How can we support your child?
Thinking your child may need a little bit of extra support can often seem very daunting. The Inclusion team have a deep understanding of how you may be feeling and are there to support your family in any way possible. We are extremely experienced in our fields and want to ensure that all children have the best chance of becoming the best version of themselves.
