A personalised student-centred approach to learning support

We want all students to be able to participate fully in lessons and benefit from the excellent teaching standards at Leighton Park. For some that means a little extra support is needed, and our Individual Learning Centre (ILC) is designed to give them just that.
Peckover at sunset

The difference between surviving and thriving

In line with our Quaker values, we want to give students the time and space to develop authentically as themselves, with their own unique abilities and challenges without the instinct to self-limit. The Individual Learning Centre provides a safe and welcoming environment that offers a graduated response to students’ strengths and needs. We offer a choice of interventions to support students in their journey through school.

  • Wave 1 – all our student benefit from adaptive teaching to ensure their needs are met in the classroom.
  • Wave 2 – students benefit from small group sessions (up to four students) with specialist teachers 3-5 hours a fortnight
  • Wave 3 – students receive 1 hour of 1:1 individual support a week.

Our experienced team of specialist teachers create tailored sessions, designed around the individual and placing the students’ wellbeing at the heart of our work – empowering students with the skills and strategies they need to achieve their full potential.

ILC Three Waves

Levels of learning support at Leighton Park

Leighton Park is a selective independent school, which nurtures and supports children to develop into their full potential. Leighton Park students achieve the best academic progress in Berkshire and our admissions assessment process aims to ensure that students can access the curriculum at the pace at which it is taught here.

Whilst our students benefit from small class sizes, we do not have Teaching Assistants or 1:1 support in class. If your child is used to having more support in class, please speak with the Admissions Team. 

All our student benefit from adaptive teaching to ensure their needs are met in the classroom.

We work with our teachers to support them in ensuring that classrooms and teaching are adaptive and inclusive for all pupils. Students can benefit from individual Learning Support Plans, which are shared with all stakeholders in the student’s education, including teachers, support staff, boarding staff and parents 

We will also put in place appropriate access arrangements for examinations and support with the assessment for these as necessary. There are no additional charges for Access Arrangements. These are implemented in alignment with relevant regulations. These are strictly adhered to, and not all desired access arrangements can be implemented or be approved. For more information, please contact the Admissions Team or the SENDCo 

Students in Years 10 and 11 may also – after discussion between the family, the SENDCo and the Deputy Head (Academic) – choose to access Curriculum Support in place of a Modern Foreign Language (i)GCSE. The aim of Curriculum Support is to provide additional time and space for students who need it. The role of the teacher here is not to teach them new material but to provide the support they need to access and use this time and space to meet their own individual needs. 

New for 2025/26! We are introducing small group sessions to provide an additional choice of support for those students who might benefit from some focussed intervention with the ILC but who might not need the intensive support of a 1:1 session. These sessions will be in groups of a maximum of 4 students and will be focussed on those students’ shared areas of need. 

  • Cognition & Learning – focussing on reading, writing, spelling, developing working memory, assistive technology and wellbeing. Time and support to work on Prep and Coursework. 
  • Communication & Interaction – focussing on communication skills, cognitive load, social relationships, sensory overload and wellbeing. Time and support to work on Prep and Coursework. 
  • Social, Emotional & Mental Health – centred on focus, organisation, information chunking, social skills, behaviour, executive function and wellbeing. Time and support to work on Prep and Coursework. 
  • Physical & Sensory Needs – focussing on time management, accessibility, adaptive technologies and wellbeing. Time and support to work on Prep and Coursework. 

There is, of course, much overlap between these needs and no student will ever fit neatly into any box! We will be led by each student’s unique needs, skills and interests when placing them. 

 

These are typically scheduled for one hour per week with the student coming out of a selected timetabled lesson. These sessions are especially valuable for students who might benefit from building a strong relationship with their ILC teacher as a “go to person” in school. These are bespoke sessions tailored to individual students’ unique needs, but will follow a similar structure to the small group sessions and include the following; 

  • An individual Learning Support Plan with termly SMART targets and progress reviews shared with all stakeholders in the student’s education, including teachers, support staff, boarding staff and parents. 
  • Liaison with external agencies and professionals as deemed necessary/appropriate to the student’s needs.  
  • Lesson observations in subjects that you feel need the most support. 
  • A dedicated parents’ evening for ILC students to discuss and review their progress and targets and setting new ones. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! These sessions are open to anyone who feels that they might benefit from them.

Absolutely, it is not uncommon for needs to emerge during the course of the school year. Particularly after major transitions.

Whilst this may be possible, the risk of being at a disadvantage- in terms of content covered – compared to their peers needs careful consideration.

It is natural for the picture of a student’s need(s), amid the support required, to evolve and change during the course of a school year – from the challenges of transition to the demands of examinations, we will be in place to help your children manage with consistent and sustained support as they grow and develop their strategies through the course of the year.

Equally, returning to a class/subject part way through the year can place a student in a difficult position of “constant catch-up”.

Small Group support is limited to four students per group and is available to all year groups. Curriculum Support group sizes may be the size of normal classes.

Small Group sessions will be delivered by the specialist staff of the ILC whilst Curriculum Support will be staffed by teachers from across the school.

The aim of Curriculum Support is to provide additional time and space for students who need it. The role of the teacher here is not to teach them new material but to provide the support they need to access and use this time and space to meet their own individual needs. This may include time to complete prep and coursework in a supported environment, and extra independent study and revision time to consolidate what has been studied in class.

These groups will look at the following areas of need: 

Cognition & Learning; Communication & Interaction; Social, Emotional & Mental Health and Physical & sensory Needs. Through these lenses we can develop strategies to support executive functioning, organisation and time management, cognitive load,  breaking down tasks and information into smaller chunks and applying these to the students’ classwork, prep and coursework challenges.

There will be a maximum of four in a group.

Our SENDCo, Stuart, would be happy to talk through your child’s individual needs and look at the options with you.

Yes, if you feel this is more appropriate to your child’s needs.

We are aiming to provide more choice for parents to enable support at the level appropriate to each student’s needs. These Small Group Support sessions aim to bridge the gap between 1:1 interventions and the supported study in Curriculum Support.

Three one-hour-long sessions per fortnight in Years 7, 8, 9, Lower and Upper Sixth.
Five
one-hour-long sessions per fortnight in Years 10 and 11.

Should your child want to take two languages then they could still access the 1:1 support offered by the ILC.

Should your child want to take Geography and History then they could still access the 1:1 support offered by the ILC.

Yes, these routes would both still be open to them. GCSE content in these subjects does not start until Year 10.

Sessions will be delivered by the qualified, experienced and specialised teachers from our Individual Learning Centre.

Students would attend their group lessons during their study periods, so this would not be compatible with students who study the IB Diploma or take four A Levels.

It is never easy making these choices. The reason we have chosen these subjects is that they would provide 3 periods and fortnight, which gives a good amount of time to see progress within the small group sessions. The other significant factor was that GCSE content in these subjects does not begin until Year 10, thereby keeping both these routes open at GCSE should they be desired.

Learning Support Tuition Fees

Small group support

For small group support the cost is £1,455 for 3 sessions a fortnight in Years 7, 8, 9, Lower Sixth  & Upper Sixth and £1,785 per year for 5 sessions a fortnight in Years 10 & 11.  The appropriate level of support can be discussed and agreed with parents beforehand. 

One to one support

If families choose to have 1:1 support through the ILC, they will usually receive one 55-minute session per week at a cost of £2,385 per academic year.

Meet Stuart Bracewell, our HEAD OF THE INDIVIDUAL LEARNING CENTRE (ILC) & SENDCO

With a background in the visual arts and as a qualified SENCo, Stuart has over 20 years of experience in teaching across Independent, International, State, Special and Higher education settings and is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.  In addition to working as a teacher of young people with special educational needs Stuart addresses wider issues of inclusion through his research and writing recently completing his PhD and doctoral thesis at the University of Reading. Stuart has presented his research at the annual conferences of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) and the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain (PESGB) and is due to publish his first book with Routledge in 2025.

Meet our students

Sofia ILC

Sofia, Upper Sixth

"The ILC has helped me with a number of things including spelling, grammar and punctuation. I have had helpful support with my course work, especially in English, and I am now able to plan my essays better. I have been given useful tips for improving my studying, such as learning how to read faster and how to scan through large pieces of text. I feel as though the tailored help from the ILC has definitely improved my work, and it has helped me to become more independent and efficient."
Tom ILC

Tom, Lower Sixth

"The ILC team has been a great support to me from starting LP in Year 9. As well as helping me with understanding new vocabulary and comprehension, my ILC teacher worked through each of the GCSE anthology texts with me, which meant I had time to prepare before we looked through the text in the lesson. The ILC has given me a place where I could ask questions about anything we have studied in class, and has built my confidence for my exams which I am very happy with."
Els - student with working dog

Elouisa, Year 8

"The ILC helped a lot because of the activities that we do. It is a safe space and everyone is helpful and friendly and this helps with my learning. Sunny (the dog) also really helps me with my anxiety, and he is really cuddly. He makes me feel better and helps me to relax."
Harry ILC wide

Harry, Year 9

"The ILC has helped me by firstly improving my English skills in general and has helped me to improve my words per minute when typing on my computer. I feel much more confident in my English lessons now."

The Den is now open

We are pleased to be able to offer a quiet safe space for students who require this throughout the academic day.

The Den is perfect for those who just need to take a time out, regroup and refresh under the pink neon lights.

How can we help?

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Shinfield Road
Reading
Berkshire, UK
RG2 7DE
+44 (0) 118 987 9600
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