Above and Beyond

Here’s one that will knock your socks off!  

Did you know that we are not a tutoring service?  

Never have been and never will be.  Here’s why:

• Our individualised literacy/numeracy instruction and intervention programs are developed to meet the needs of the child, rather than shaping the child to meet the program.
• We teach children, not curriculum.
• We do not provide more of what is already failing children in the classroom.
• We liaise and communicate with classroom teachers and school leadership to collaboratively work towards supporting children.
• We are able to unpack and interpret allied health assessments and reports on your behalf.  Our connections with allied health professionals also mean that we can make recommendations for speech therapy, occupational therapy, paediatric services and psychology services.
• We research schools’ capacities in meeting the needs of students with literacy/numeracy challenges and build an awareness of benchmark schools to the parent community.  We can “school match” to ensure that the right preschool, primary or secondary school is selected to fit your child’s needs.
• We can provide support in navigating the school system, especially when school supports are not forthcoming.
• We are here to empower parents.  You and your child are our number one priority!
• Our library of decodable books is unmatched by any school in the neighbouring area.
• The mental wellbeing of every student is first and foremost.  We are about building confidence and self-esteem.
• We use explicit instruction, rather than teach through osmosis or discovery learning.
• Whole language mumbo jumbo is banned.  This includes guided reading, predictable readers, running records, guessing at words and looking at pictures to attack unknown words.  You will only find systematic, synthetic phonics programs here using the Multisensory Structured Language Education approach (Little Learners Love Literacy, Barton Reading and Spelling Program).
• ROTE memorisation is also banned.  We teach the concepts behind math, not just the formulas.  The Australian-based Math-U-See program, used at Lasting Lessons, provides an effective, hands-on and multisensory approach to learning maths.
• We foster learning for life, rather than just for passing Friday’s spelling test or multiplication drill.
• A virtual classroom setting is offered to students with genuine barriers to accessing our premises.
• All teaching practitioners work diagnostically.  That is, as children’s literacy/numeracy challenges arise, we address them in our program planning.
• Our comprehensive assessment process not only detects the reasons behind literacy/numeracy challenges, but inform our planning.  Unlike commercial literacy/numeracy programs and school curriculum which dictate where to start teaching, your child’s individual literacy needs guide our starting point. There’s no use in covering ground that has already been mastered.
• We provide an Individual Learning Plan critiquing service with recommendations for accommodations and modifications.
• We proudly provide philanthropic literacy/numeracy intervention and instruction services to seriously disadvantaged students.
• We develop comprehensive and easy-to-read student profiles for distribution to teachers.
• We offer professional learning opportunities to experienced and preservice teachers to develop their understanding of evidence-based programs and practices.
• Our own professional learning is not insular.  We immerse ourselves in a mix of robust in-house and external training opportunities.  To complement this, we solicit and organise membership of relevant professional communities and networks. Our learning is never stagnant, and we would never purport that our learning is done and dusted.
• When we see a gap, we fill it with student and parent workshops.
• Our "live reporting"via Tutor Bird is designed to give a true and up-to-the minute reflection of your child’s literacy/numeracy growth.  During the writing process, we are incredibly reflective and make plans to address any existing or new literacy/numeracy challenges in the upcoming term.
• Our understanding of disabilities, developmental delays and learning differences stems from years of experience in varied settings, coupled with “lived” experience.
• We are a specialised field with teaching practitioners embracing their profession …. it’s not a side job as a means to make a few bucks.  All teaching practitioners are invested in the children’s successes.
• Operationally, Lasting Lessons mirrors a not-for-profit status.  That is, all funds coming in through fees or a private injection, goes straight back into the business to serve students and their families.
• Our door is always open.