Danielle Steendam Email & Phone Number

Sunshine Coast, Australia

As the director of 'Literacy Advance', I work with families and school communities to provide knowledge, skills and understanding to teach children who are experiencing difficulty in learning to read. The focus of my expertise is in the foundational levels of formal schooling. I provide professional development to teachers and practical support to families to develop the underpinning skills that are required for children to progress with their learning. My passion is teaching children to read, spell and think! In particular, I specialise in supporting students with dyslexia and draw on training from IMSLE, Yoshimto Orton-Gillingham to design programmes that respond to the particular learning needs of individual students. This work involves accurate data collection and progress monitoring to determine the effectiveness of instruction and adjustments are made regularly in response to quality evidence-based data. In addition to supporting individual students, I also regularly provide Professional Development sessions with a focus on the significance of letter formation/handwriting. I have been mentored by Barbara Brann (creator of Casey the Caterpillar and Building Blocks to Literacy) for more than 7 years and I am the only person in Australia authorised to deliver 'Casey the Caterpillar' handwriting workshops. These sessions are presented to schools and Early Learning Centres. I have presented more than 60 professional learning sessions via zoom and through a face to face session to audiences across Australia.

Queensland, Australia

I support young children who are experiencing difficulty in learning to read. Often this means partnering with families and communicating with schools to identify the reasons for the struggle and then to provide an individual , systematic and structured approach to providing the required support. Many children who are struggling to learn to read are missing important underpinning skills and as a specialist teacher, I assess the area where skills are missing and teach the children these skills that can then be integrated with other areas of their literacy knowledge to provide a foundation for learning to progress.

Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia

Introduced school staff and school community to literacy practices and processes aligned with the Science of Reading. Co-ordinated whole school professional development to support the introduction of an integrated approach to literacy instruction. Audited school literacy assessment processes and co-ordinated the introduction of Acadience benchmark assessments. Supported teachers to analyse class data and identify specific areas of instruction to support student progress. Presented parent seminars to inform the school and wider community about approaches and practices to support the development of strong literacy foundations. Supported a community of teachers to respond to the individual learning needs of students experiencing difficulties with literacy. Worked together with parents, equipping and empowering them to know how to provide explicit, instructional support to their own children experiences difficulties with reading and writing. Designed programmes in response to data - to support effective development of literacy skills for those students identified as requiring additional strategic support. Trained educational assistants to deliver structured, literacy sessions to groups of students experiencing difficulties with reading. Managed online data collection and analysis of individual students and whole class literacy progress.

Sunshine Coast

As a Casual relief teacher in Lower Primary schools, I am available at short notice to fill in for a teachers where required. I am versatile and experienced and am able to quickly enter a classroom, establish rapport and manage the learning environment. More than a decade of teaching experience has equipped me to be able to move with flexibility and sensitivity into a classroom and foster the learning of the students.

Queensland

Preschool teacher in remote indigenous community - Western Cape region - Queensland

Northern Territory, Australia

Various teaching and management positions including: Teacher-in-Charge - Preschool in Nhulunbuy; Homelands teacher - Arnhem Land; Early Childhood Teacher - Nhulunbuy

Northern Territory, Australia

Classroom teacher in remote indigenous community in Roper Region, NT. Also worked as a contract teacher, specialising in Sustainability at a Darwin based school.

Graduate Certificate Of Education Specialisation In Learning Difficulties, Special Education And Teaching, Hd

Specialised in studies relating to the Science of Reading; Explicit Direct Instruction and Student Learning Difficulties in the area.

Graduate Diploma In Education (Early Years Specialisation), Elementary Education And Teaching, Hd

Bachelor Of Business (Communications) Majoring In Public Relations, Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services