At The British School of Barcelona, we understand the importance of supporting our students through their learning journey. We have a comprehensive Student Support programme with policies and procedures in place which encompasses four major areas, namely Learning Support, Personal Development, Wellbeing and Mental Health, and Safeguarding and Child Protection.

 

As part of this programme, our Student Support team organises different events and initiatives with students and parents throughout the year, including specialist workshops that contribute to the continuous learning development of the team.

 

One of our latest events was a twilight session for professionals held on 20th October in our Secondary Wellbeing Centre which gathered 26 experts in the field of student support with an aim to share experiences and good practice. Psychologists, speech and language therapists, and specialist teachers attended, and it was also a fantastic opportunity to continue to develop links with local international schools.

 

During the session specialists on autism, neuropsychology, emotional intelligence, strategic brief therapy and language development presented key findings from recent research and practical strategies on how to support students in different contexts (school, home, and social situations).

 

 

The event hosted 6 different presentations by expert psychologists and learning specialist in Spanish and English:

  • Group Intervention in Children and Teenagers with Social Difficulties, by Alex Escolà (IDAPP), addressed the benefits of group treatment to encourage peer socialisation, as well as existing programmes with scientific evidence and more important considerations when creating groups.
  • Translating Research to the Classroom, by Meritxell Alquézar (Cuida), where she spoke about the benefits for schools when psychologists discover important findings about the mind and neuroscientists investigate the function of the brain.
  • Identifying and Supporting Multilingual Learners with Dyslexia, by Fiona Higgins (The Weread2 Project), where she demystified common misconceptions around Dyslexia and multilingualism and how to develop strategies to support these learners in the classroom.
  • Cuando la inteligencia emocional se convierte en la clave para desarrollar empatía, resiliencia y motivación (When Emotional Intelligence Becomes the Key to Developing Empathy, Resilience and Motivation), by Laia Boix (Cuida, BCG), guided us through the world of Emotional Intelligence, looking at areas such as empathy, flow, resilience and awareness of personal strengths.
  • Terapia breve estratégica en el contexto educativo (Strategic Brief Psychotherapy in an Educational Context), by Carmen Sancho (Centro de terapia breve estratégica), taught us what Strategic Brief Psychotherapy is and how it is developed in an educational context to solve problems with simple techniques and strategies.
  • TEA en femenino (Feminine ASD), by Helena Abellán and Elena Huerta (Centre de psicologia de Castelldefels), explained how girls with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) are often under-diagnosed due to gender specificities in the manifestation of ASD, which exposes them to challenges that deserve a specific approach.

 

It was a very vibrant event where we were able to learn from each other, share experiences, and meet new experts in the field.