The Role of the Learning Mentor and Strategies Used

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The role of the Learning Mentor and the strategies used in supporting English and the impact on pupils’ learning. In this paper I will firstly look at the role of the Learning Mentor and their position within the school setting, then look at the similarities with that of my role as a teaching assistant within the school setting. I will also look at English and the challenges of supporting children in learning phonics/reading and the strategies used to support them. Barriers to learning phonics and reading in my setting will also be discussed in relation to the ideas of what is believed to be good practice and these will be analysed in relation to current practices. I will finally draw conclusions from an evaluation of the above and recommendations made to improve my own professional development within the setting. According to the Department for Education website (26 April 2012): Learning mentors support, motivate and challenge pupils who are underachieving. They help pupils overcome barriers to learning caused by social, emotional and behavioural problems. Learning mentors need good listening skills and an understanding of health and social issues that affect children and young people's development. The mentors mainly work with children who experience 'barriers to learning', including poor literacy/numeracy skills, under-performance against potential, poor attendance, disaffection, danger of exclusion, difficult family circumstances and low self-esteem. Ofsted (2007) also make reference to the role of the Learning Mentor. They found that pupils benefited from the increased support received. It was also stated that by deploying adults with different skills within the school setting allowed schools to improve the care and support given to the more vulnerable pupils and those at risk. This was not realised when schools did not match skills and
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