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About The Learning Staircase |
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The Learning Staircase Ltd is a small Christchurch company set up in 2001 by a group of specialist teachers and assessors. As teachers ourselves, we were used to having to make our own resources and games, such as picture rhyming packs, because ideal materials weren't available commercially. For example, nearly all rhyming games currently available elsewhere have the word printed under the picture. If a child has real difficulty identifying the sound patterns of rhyme, they will simply rely on the visual cue. Consequently, the resource is not actually developing the skill you think it is! We were also frustrated by expensive resources in glossy packaging, which promised the earth, but could only be used in one or two ways. In addition, as assessors of children with learning difficulties, we constantly came across parents and teachers who were desperately looking for the right kind of resources to use to address their children's needs. In particular, there seemed to be a real need for resources which also offered guidance and advice, particularly for people who were non-specialists. We set up The Learning Staircase to produce resources, which were enjoyable to use, high quality and versatile. All of our products can be used in many different ways. We provide full teaching instructions and game suggestions, but the possibilities are only limited by your imagination. The pictures we use are produced by our own artist and are detailed, realistic and colourful. They are not age-specific and can therefore be used and enjoyed by adults and older children, as well as by pre-schoolers. Our picture packs can be used in many ways. For example, we have a rhyme pack which contains 40 cards (10 sets of 4 rhyming cards). Although it is obviously designed to develop rhyming skills, the cards can also be used to develop other aspect of phonological awareness (initial, medial and end sounds, syllables and word retrieval), visual and auditory memory, vocabulary and language skills. In addition to the main range of materials, we also have a range of wipe-clean gameboards which enable dozens of different game variations. They can be used with all of the other resource materials, or with existing materials of your own. Our Managing Director, Ros Lugg, is a specialist teacher and assessor with extensive experience in New Zealand and the UK. As well as being in demand as a speaker and as a consultant in schools, she is responsible for the initial design of our products. Our aim is to provide a complete service and, where possible, individual support to all our clients. Ros can be contacted for advice by e-mail.
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