What can I do as a parent to support my child with… Their below average processing speeds and comprehension?

General points

  • Give your child one instruction / one question / one task at a time. If there is too much information to hold in their head it can be frustrating and overwhelming. 

Before school

  • Encourage them / help them to pack their school bag the night before to help with forgetting equipment. It might help to have a visual tick list of what they need each day.
  • Provide a clear structure to the morning routine and use a visual timetable and a timer if it’s helpful. It will help your child to know what they have to do and what time it must be completed by to leave for school on time. 

After school

  • Monitor how much time your child is spending on homework and limit this to a reasonable amount of time, even if the task has not been completed. 
  • Encourage your child to attend homework club to receive help with the tasks and any organisation
  • Support your child in keeping healthy with a balance of good eating habits, exercise and bedtime routine.

What can I do to help myself with my below average processing speeds and comprehension?

  • Complete homework in a timely manner, use of homework club may help. Limit distractions such as TV/Phone when completing work at home
  • Little and often will be beneficial. Lots of repetition of key concepts and recall of information
  • Get someone at home to help test you on what you have learnt that day- talk it through with someone or show them what you have learned.
  • Sticking to a routine, using visuals to help me if needed. 

What are we doing as a school to help students with:Their below average processing speeds and comprehension?

  • If we are aware of a significant slow speed of working and processing we can add this to the SEND register so teaching staff are aware of the child’s needs. We may complete a Pen Portrait with the child and you as parents to help inform teachers of how best to support your child.
  • We may be able to support with specific interventions in Maths or English. Your child may benefit from some further processing practice through games such as Uno/Bananagrams/Chess
  • Encourage students to come to lunchtime and afterschool clubs
  • Support in the class with a whole school focus on recall and metacognition
  • Support with relevant access arrangement

During the school day

  • If a word processor would help with keeping up with the pace of lessons, students can use a Chromebook. 

Access arrangements 

  • We need to have evidence of need in a normal learning environment in order to apply for access arrangements. 
  • School will apply to JCQ for access arrangements for exams. This must be no earlier than May of Year 9 (within 26 months of sitting the exam).

Key websites for more information:

Games can support working memory and processing:

10 games to support childrens’ short term memory and processing skills: