The Diverse Learning Team caters for the inclusion of all children with a statement of support, across the school. The team consists of the Diverse Learning Coordinators, Administrator, and the Learning Support Educators (LSEs) who work alongside the educators, class support LSEs, an Educational Psychologist, the Diverse Learning Officer and the Heads of Departments.
Together they work to ensure that the children are included in the school community by providing each student with the right support needed to be able to achieve his/her maximum potential in all aspects of life, not only academically but also socially and emotionally.
The students’ potential could not be achieved without close collaboration with each student’s parents/guardians, to not only work on achieving the student’s goals, but also to encourage the students to develop advocacy skills and where possible to take responsibility of their own learning. The school staff provide regular feedback to the parents with regard to their child’s progress and an open dialogue is encouraged by both parties.
The team also liaises with the parents/guardians and the professionals following the students, to create an Individualised Education Programme (IEP) that focuses on their strengths whilst providing adequate support where necessary. The IEP is then monitored and updated on an ongoing basis and assistance is provided according to what was agreed upon.
Furthermore, the department ensures that there are transition plans for students with diverse learning needs, to ensure a smooth progression from one sector to another.
Our Educational Psychologist works closely with educators to identify students who may have diverse learning needs that impact the student’s learning process. She works closely with stakeholders to identify SMART goals to tackle priority needs in order to empower students to be successful.
Psycho-educational assessments are also carried out in-house, in the natural environment of the school, in view of getting a better understanding of the student’s holistic profile.
Furthermore, the Educational Psychologist coordinates accommodations and services as necessary, according to the student's individual needs, assisted by the Diverse Learning Officer.
This involves working closely with parents, educators, leaders and tutors, and external professionals as necessary, to provide a holistic individualised service.
Miriama embarked on her career in 2003, dedicating herself to assisting children with multiple disabilities and their families at the INTEGRA NGO in Bratislava, Slovakia. Concurrently, she pursued her Master's degree in Curative Education. As part of her professional development, Miriama also underwent training in Belgium and Spain.
In 2005, Miriama successfully completed her Master's degree in Curative Education from Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. Subsequently, she joined the curative therapy team at the Professor Karol Matulay Social Services diagnostic center, also in Bratislava.
Seeking new opportunities, Miriama relocated to Malta and became a therapist at a prominent NGO specializing in disability services. Following that, she worked for two years as an ABA therapy technician at an NGO focused on supporting children with autism. Later, Miriama transitioned to the role of a Learning Support Educator,where she dedicated 11 years to this role, with three of those years spent at San Anton School.
Kathleen has been working with children with diverse learning needs, specifically autism, for the past eight years. She started off as a tutor at a leading NGO within the disability sector and eventually was leading a day school programme within the same NGO.
She furthered her studies by reading for a Master's in Disability Studies, with her research focusing on inclusion in mainstream schools of children with autism and challenging behaviour.
The research was child-led, to gather their perspective about inclusion.
Furthermore, Kathleen has attended the Studio III Train the Trainer course for a low arousal approach when dealing with challenging behaviour and has delivered training on autism and challenging behaviour.
Gianella completed her undergraduate training in Occupational Therapy and initially worked as an OT in various hospital settings for a number of years. In 2003, she started working as an LSE which motivated her to further her studies in the field and hence in 2014, she graduated with a Master’s Degree in Education in Special Needs from the University of Nottingham, with distinction.
Her research focused on inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity as a result of two different perspectives: ADHD and SPD. This research led her to further her studies with the University of Ulster to achieve a Post Graduate Diploma in Sensory Integration.
She has worked as a Special Educational Needs Teacher at the European School of Brussels, as an Occupational Therapist at the British School of Brussels as well as a Diverse Learning Coordinator at a local church school.
Natasha completed her undergraduate training in Psychology, Social studies at the University of Malta which included an exchange program at Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia, USA.
She completed a Social Work Diploma and then pursued her studies and obtained a postgraduate Diploma in Life Skills Teaching, after which she worked as a PSCD teacher for 6 years.
Natasha also worked as a visiting lecturer with the Department of Education and the University of Malta.
During this time she qualified as a Gestalt Psychotherapist and later pursued her Master's in Educational Psychology and worked as an Education Psychologist in the School Psychological Services in the Education Division for six years.
Maria graduated with a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Logopaedics from Queen Margaret University (Edinburgh) in 2008 and ever since has a continuous engagement with children and their families.
She initially worked as a Speech Language Therapist in various clinics and at the Greek Navy Hospital in the Neurology department and later became the co-founder of a clinic in Greece, Athens.
Working with families motivated her to further her studies so that she would be able to support them more and in 2014 she graduated with a DipHe in Counselling and Counselling Skills from Pearson-Edexcel.