REMEDIATION in literacy and numeracy for children aged six to 13 will be the main area of focus at the annual summer intervention programme at The Mico University College Child Assessment and Research in Education Centre (Mico CARE).

The intervention will run from July 8-25 at 5 Manhattan Road in Kingston and concurrently at 2 Royes Street in St Ann’s Bay.

The summer programme provides a safe haven and a non-judgemental space for students, a release from Mico said, with classes designed to meet the needs and level of the students, rather than the demands of a pre-set curriculum. A model featuring small class sizes and individualised instructions will be utilised in order to ensure maximum benefit to the students.

Director of The Mico Care Centre Dr Sharon Anderson-Morgan described the intervention as “a Godsend”’ for students with lower than optimal literacy and numeracy skills, highlighting that it will employ evidence-based remediation strategies for both literacy and numeracy. The literacy component will be delivered using the Lindamood Bell Learning Processes, a programme used with much success in several countries to teach students with language-based learning challenges.

The programme in Kingston will this year have an additional component of computer technology, which will help to prepare students for success in an increasingly techno-dominant environment. In addition to literacy and numeracy, the St Ann programme will allow children to explore their creative side through art and craft.

Mico CARE Centre manager for St Ann, clinical psychologist Shanique Westcarr, said the approach of working with the children’s level rather than being enslaved by the curriculum helps to build the confidence of the students, who look forward to attending classes and become excited about homework. She said the increased confidence and recognition of their improvement then become catalysts to producing even greater results, and added that parents are usually overjoyed at the progress of their children.

Established in 1981, The Mico CARE Centre is the leading public educational institution offering diagnostic and therapeutic intervention services for children with exceptionalities. It was founded to meet the needs of children requiring special education support in Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean and provides support and education for teachers, parents and caregivers. Mico CARE also advocates for the enrichment and improvement in the delivery of special education.