Student Care Services
Dhirubhai Ambani International School recognises that each child has a unique learning potential as well as differing developmental need and that every effort must be made to optimise learning in positive and inclusive ways.
The School's Student Care Services Centre is committed to the DAIS Inclusion Policy and provides child-centred support to all pupils facing difficulties regardless of formal diagnosis. There is a collaborative approach to learning support and counselling services. The Centre helps students accept and understand their difficulties and works to equip them with skills and strategies to overcome and deal with them in effective ways. Parents play an important role by discussing their child’s specific needs with the team at the Centre and are guided with strategies to provide support at home, so that their child can make optimum progress in academic, social and emotional development.
The team works to ensure that students receive appropriate developmental assistance and coordinates with teachers to provide supportive classroom activities that relate to students’ educational and personal needs. Apart from deployment of trained Para Educators, counsellors and clinical psychologists to work with the students, the school has provisions for alternative learning materials/special equipment/technology as part of the Individualized Education Programme (IEP). They also consult with teachers and the Heads about issues and concerns involving students, as needed or as requested.
Similarly, the varied services provided include working with students in groups to facilitate their holistic development and effective adjustment in school by embedding social and emotional learning into the curriculum in addition to identifying special educational needs (SEN) using a range of psycho-educational evaluations. The department members also conduct in house Professional Development workshops with teachers to update them about recent pedagogical teaching and learning practices.
Student Reflections on PSHE class sessions
“To me PSHE is like ‘group therapy’, for the lack of a better term. I really like it because I feel it’s a place where I can talk about my life, my experiences and things that are bothering me. I feel like this environment has made me more capable to balance my ‘personal life’ and emotions. I do a lot of things within and outside school. I often get compliments for handling them well, but sometimes I feel like a machine. I forget that I have emotions and function on high stress. PSHE helps me keep that balance, helps me understand what I feel and learn to take care of myself. This is the toughest, most challenging class for me and I really love it.”
- Vrinda Das
“Social Media – a major topic each and every one is impacted by at this moment. Although I am not a victim of this ‘contagious epidemic’, nevertheless I still spend time on it. The heated debates on whether social media inflicts our privacy rights made me realise that we just skim through terms and conditions of it. The other day, I downloaded an app and I looked at the major points. It has made me more aware and self-reliant.”
- Vardhan Shorewala
“PSHE is an enlightening subject that educates us on various topics that aren’t usually discussed in our regular classes. It is always helpful and it helps me identify certain issues and prevent them. For example, when we covered the topic of procrastination, I was able to figure out how to put a plan together to minimise my own procrastination. As a whole, our discussions are very helpful. We get to express ourselves in a safe environment and are always supported. All in all, PSHE is a great subject that I look forward to every week!”
- Ishaan Maker