Specialized academic support

SINEWS offers specialized academic support for children in primary and secondary school who have learning difficulties.

Clinic Appointment

Our home-based and classroom support specialists are professional learning specialists, psychologists and speech therapists, who offer services in English and Spanish for students attending bilingual or international schools within the Comunidad de Madrid.

Alba Ferrero
Division of Psychology, Psychotherapy and Coaching
Alba María Ferrero Vega
Neuropsychologist
Study coach
Coordinator of the specialised services of psycho-pedagogical support and speech therapy at the school
Languages: English and Spanish
See Resumé

How do I know if my child needs specialized educational support?

Some of the following signs could indicate a possible learning difficulty:

  • Delayed academic development in comparison to his/her age group.
  • Unsatisfactory academic performance compared to the time spent studying.
  • Apparent lack of concentration and attention.
  • Lack of motivation towards learning.
  • Low reading comprehension.
  • Writing issues (spelling, grammar mistakes, etc).
  • Below average math skills.
  • Language or communication difficulties.
  • Difficulty relating to classmates, teachers or relatives.

What kinds of problems can a support specialist help with?

A support specialist does not replace therapy with a psychologist or a speech and language therapist. However, this service offers specialized classroom or home-based after-school support, focusing on academic contents (homework, projects, exams, etc.) and training the child in study techniques (time management skills, task organization, etc.)
A support specialist can help when there is:

  • Dyslexia: reading and writing difficulties.
  • Dysgraphia: writing difficulties, including words (spelling mistakes, letter inversions…) and text compositions, as well as hand-writing issues.
  • Difficulties learning mathematics: related to numerical operations as well as problem solving skills.
  • Attention deficit with or without hyperactivity.
  • Generally low academic achievement, below that expected for age and education level.

Different types of academic support are available in English and Spanish.

Classroom support

The learning specialist will accompany the student in the classroom in order to achieve personalized, integrated support that is adapted to the academic curriculum. This type of support requires previous permission from the child’s school.
This option is aimed towards children who experience significant problems in following the class and those who fundamentally need individualized attention (autistic spectrum disorder, attention deficit, language difficulties…)
The minimum service offered in this case is 2 hours a day/3 times a week (6 hours/week total). Rates vary according to the number of hours required (See prices below.)

Home-based support

With the comfort of receiving educational support at home, the specialist will help the child overcome learning difficulties in the language used at school for each subject (English and/or Spanish). This service is available starting from 1 hour 30 minutes/2 days a week (3 hours per week total). Rates vary according to the number of hours required. (See prices below.) This service is available for those addresses that are within the the M-40.

Study coach at Sinews

This service is aimed towards adolescents and adults who feel frustrated with their academic performance and need to optimize their results: 

  • Teenagers who need a little boost at specific times of the academic year, such as testing season.
  • Students preparing for IGCSE, EvAU, A-levels or IBs. 
  • University students
  • Examination candidates

What will we learn?

  • Effective study skills
    • How to extract main ideas
    • How to make a good outline
    • Mnemonic strategies
    • How to study a topic
    • How to prepare for a subject depending on the type of examination
  • Time management skills and appropriate task management
  • How to increase performance on exams
  • Build up a study routine. 
  • Reduce procrastination. 
  • Learn to manage the emotions related to exams: nerves, blank mind, anticipatory thoughts, etc. 

The rate is 78€/session and sessions will last for one hour.

IMPORTANT!: Before starting an academic support service at school or at home it will be necessary to carry out an initial interview which will last one hour (rate: 70 Euros). This interview is only with the parents/guardians and all documentation and any previous reports available must be brought in order to better evaluate the existing difficulties and the type of support that the student will need. If a complete psycho-educational assessment is needed beforehand, the evaluation will be held at SINEWS offices.

RATES

SUPPORT TEACHER AT HOME UNIT PRICE TOTAL
3 hours/week 1.5 hours – 2 days/week 37,5 Euros/hour 450 €/month
4 hours/week 2 hours – 2 days/week 35 Euros/hour 560 €/month
4.5 hours/week 1.5 hours – 3 days/week 32,5 Euros/hour 585 €/month
6 hours/week 2 hours – 3 days/week 30 Euros/hour 720 €/month

 

SUPPORT TEACHER AT SCHOOL UNIT PRICE TOTAL
10 hours/week 2 hours/day, 5 days/week 26 Euros/hour 1040 €/month
15 hours/week 3 hours/day, 5 days/week 24 Euros/hour 1440 €/month
20 hours/week 4 hours/day, 5 days/week 22 Euros/hour 1760 €/month
25 hours or more/week 5 or more hours/day, 5 days/week 20 Euros/hour 2000 €/month