Even though school support and school coaching share the same goal, helping the pupil succeed at school, the two terms shouldn’t be treated as synonyms: while support focuses on difficulties understanding lessons, coaching addresses issues around the subjects themselves (self-confidence, time management…).
School support: overcoming difficulties in one or more subjects
The main goal of school support is to improve a pupil’s learning abilities. In practice, this means private tutoring around the subjects causing them difficulty, whether that’s French, history, maths, physics and chemistry…
During these sessions, the person providing school support may go back over the lesson with the pupil, re-explain certain concepts, offer exercises, help them revise, or bring them up to speed in a subject. Delivered at school, in community venues, or at the pupil’s home, this tutoring helps improve their grades.
School coaching: developing a love of learning
School coaching, for its part, doesn’t address the content taught at school. While its goal is also to improve the pupil’s learning abilities, it focuses more on methods and the individual themselves.
During these sessions, the coach considers the pupil’s personality, helping them get to know themselves better, bringing out their resources and strengths, helping them overcome difficulties and blockages, and connecting with what truly matters to them… A more psychological approach aimed at developing a love of learning and encouraging them to find their own solutions.
The impact of school coaching for children with DYS
Genuinely complementary, school support and school coaching both help pupils do better at school, particularly those with DYS disorders, which are long-lasting learning difficulties. Beyond the essential role of school support, coaching offers an equally vital response: while specialised professionals (speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, graphotherapist…) work on rehabilitating the child so they develop coping strategies, the coach focuses (among other things) on guiding them towards a calmer path.
Deeply doubting their own abilities, a child with DYS often has a complicated relationship with others, which stops them thriving at school. They then enter a vicious circle, gradually losing confidence and motivation, making it even harder to get down to work and putting their schooling at risk. With coaching tailored to DYS disorders, the child can find the keys to thriving at school, reversing the effects of this cycle and coming out stronger.
Why not talk this over with one of Ora-Visio’s parental guidance professionals? They fully understand the issues linked to the different DYS disorders and can offer an informed, personalised response. Available remotely, they’ll easily fit into your schedule.
