Student Support Services

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT AT ESRM

The aim of educational support is to facilitate students' access to the curriculum through a range of interventions inside and outside the classroom. Educational support is divided into general, moderate and intensive support, according to the individual needs of the students, and is guided by the European Schools' Educational Support Policies and Procedures[1]. To ensure that students' needs are met inside the classroom, teachers provide differentiated instruction and class sizes do not exceed a maximum of 24 students. In addition, the ESRM offers tailored support lessons in small groups or for individual students.

Student Support Services

STUDENT SUPPORT @ ESRM
“Educated side by side, untroubled from infancy by divisive prejudices, acquainted with all that is great and good in the different cultures” (Jean Monnet)

Embracing Diversity
Since their foundation in 1953, European Schools have celebrated the linguistic, cultural and religious diversity of their students. At ESRM, we believe that diversity enriches and strengthens our school community and contributes to our student’s outstanding achievements. Diversity fosters innovation, broader personal and social development and is a reflection of our values and culture. Every student brings unique personal talents. Yet, to succeed and to thrive, any student may require support at some point during their studies. Therefore, ESRM offers dedicated support when students are behind (e.g. due to a move), struggle with learning, feel stressed, demonstrate challenging behaviour, are gifted / exceptionally talented and/or are pondering their future studies and careers.

Student Support @ ESRM
ESRM offers three kinds of support for Students:

Educational Support: to help students reach their academic potential, we offer study skills classes, additional lessons in core subjects (L1, L2, Math) for students who may be experiencing difficulty in a particular aspect of a subject and/or need to ‘catch up’ (e.g. due to a move), dedicated individual support for students with a diagnosed learning difficulty or need (e.g. ‘dyslexia, AD(H)D) and classes for gifted /exceptionally talented students;
Counselling: to help students navigate emotional, social and behavioural challenges, we offer individual counselling, coaching and the ‘KiVa’ & ‘Caring School’ anti-bullying programmes;
Guidance Counselling: to help students select the right fit of university and study choices, we offer advice on subject choices, internships and university applications.

ESRM’s Approach
In our experience, the best results are achieved when families and the School work together. It is therefore important that parents inform the school if their children have received or need additional support. Our approach to pedagogical and psychological support follows the Policy and Procedures of Educational Support of European Schools*. The following principles further guide our work:

We follow a positive, whole-child approach, recognising the individuality of our students. We seek to harness their interests and strengths to overcome challenges and foster growth.
When students have a diagnosed special educational need (e.g. dyslexia, AD(H)D), we offer coping strategies and accommodations /special arrangements (the latter must be justified by an external psycho-medical report). For the Baccalaureate (S6+S7), a request for special arrangements must be submitted by current S5 students in October.

Organisation of Student Support
Our dedicated staff include Teachers, Pedagogical Advisors, Psychologists, Social Pedagogues and Guidance /Careers Counsellors. Class Teachers play a central role and are the first point of contact regarding your child’s overall learning and well-being.

Due to the growing demands of the curriculum, the Baccalaureate exams and the vulnerabilities of youth, our Student Support Department offers dedicated pedagogical and psychological support in the Secondary School. In addition, ESRM students are offered careers/guidance counselling in English and German.

Contacts

Primary School

Amanda O'Shaughnessy: amanda.oshaughnessy@es-rm.net

Educational Support Coordinator*, Class / Support Teacher

Stella Seemann: stella.seemann@es-rm.net

Sozialpädagogin

Secondary School

In order to direct you to the most appropriate member of our support team, we ask that you contact Alexandra Bebb (a.bebb@es-rm.eu) for all support questions in S1-S4 and MYP and for all questions about S5 -S7 and DP1 to Dr. Contact Daniella Schmitt (d.schmitt@es-rm.eu).

Career Guidance

Daniella Schmitt: d.schmitt@es-rm.eu

Careers/Guidance Counsellor, English

Guidance with university applications in English

Michael Nickel: michael.nickel@es-rm.net

Careers/Guidance Counsellor, German

Guidance with university applications and work experience in Germany

The Department also has a general email: student.support@es-rm.net

To learn more about Educational Support at European Schools, please consult: