Course Review: Shelley England, Study Skills SpLD Tutor, (Non-Medical Helper)

After twenty years in the classroom and a successful tenure as a Headteacher at a school with enhanced specialist provision for autism, Shelley England left her role in leadership to train as a psychoanalyst.

While training, she wanted to take on a position that would allow her to continue supporting young adults with additional needs. Her search led her to the role of a Specialist One-to-one Study Skills and Strategy Support – Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD), also known as Non-Medical Helper or Study Skills SpLD tutor in Higher Education.

Shelley chose Dyslexia Action’s Level 5 CPD Certificate in Supporting Adults with Dyslexia and Co-occurring Difficulties as it would qualify her to practice as a Study Skills SpLD tutor by awarding her Associate FE/HE of The Dyslexia Guild membership after completing just three online CPD Units of the six Unit Certificate.

Why choose this certificate?

Shelley says initially her motivation was to gain professional certification to ensure career stability. However, she soon realised that what she was learning on the Certificate would bring about significant improvement in the way she approached student support.

“I thought, What else can I learn about dyslexia? I’ve worked with it for years, but the programme taught me so much, especially when it comes to practical tips for using assistive technology and academic writing structures. It reaffirmed my understanding of memory structure and metacognition, but also really enabled me to help students recognise the strengths of dyslexic thinking.”

How have you used the strategies from the course to support students?

Today, Shelley supports a diverse range of students, from undergraduates to PhD candidates and trainee doctors. She uses the scaffolds and strategies she learned on the programme to help them navigate an education system that hasn’t always recognised their brilliance.

“I think there’s been a lot of progress in further and higher education, especially in terms of assistive technology and online learning capabilities that can really help, but we still have a way to go. The way we assess students is still so narrow and even things like the virtual learning environment isn’t always that logical or consistent. A lot of dyslexic students still feel different or “less than” and that really shouldn’t be the case. Learners don’t just need compassion – they need the right strategies to help them unlock these brilliant ideas they often have and the programme helped me with that.”

Any advice for anyone considering undertaking this Certificate?

Shelley says she “learned a lot from other delegates on the courses” and has the following advice for anyone considering it:

“I would say just get on and do it. You can fit the Units around your own work. It’s highly supportive in terms of learning from other peers on the programme, your tutor, the support materials, and the multimedia and learning platform itself are really useful.”