Hello!
My name is Mrs Debi Lawrence and I have been working in education for over 26 years. I am passionate about children’s education, especially reading and writing, and have always strived to ensure personalised growth tailored to each individual child’s needs. I believe learning should be engaging and fun and that we should be giving children the tools they need to become confident, independent learners alongside developing their self esteem and their individual personalities.
My Story
I have worked across the Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, have extensive SEND experience and have worked in a setting with enhanced ASD status. I worked for six years as a Deputy Head Teacher, where I was responsible for leading and supporting the whole school in their curriculum. This involved reviewing planning, developing practices within the school, mentoring staff, leading workshops, supporting parents and working with children at all different stages of their learning. I was also seconded to other schools to support their development, particularly with regards to planning, processes and curriculum development.
My Core Beliefs
I am a firm believer in reading being at the core of learning and life long skills and as such have always been continually reviewing and developing my practice to ensure I give every child the best education I can. I have undertaken training in Dyslexia to enhance my skills. Whilst not every child who is finding learning to read hard is Dyslexic, I have found that the strategies often still benefit them. I use a range of techniques to develop all the essential skills;
· Sound manipulation
· Decoding
· Phonological awareness
· Blending & Segmenting
· Word recognition
· Fluency
· Reading for meaning
· Reading for pleasure
· Vocabulary
· Working memory
· Links to writing