Supporting Learners
There are Learning Support Teachers whom are responsible for the co-ordination of special education support programs for students who have been diagnosed with a disability. The Learning Support Teachers work in collaboration with class teachers, parents, disability specific specialists, teacher assistants and students.
The school employs a number of teacher assistants who provide in-class and withdrawal support to students who have been diagnosed with a disability.
Speech & language support from a Teacher Assistant is given to children who are in Prep – Yr 3 and are seeing a Speech Language Pathologist on a regular basis. This extra support is available to students who have not been identified through other DCEO processes but require some form of speech support in their early formative schooling years to develop and enhance sound speech, communication, language processing skills.
Education Adjustment Program
A student with disabilities is identified through a formalised process from DCEO as requiring further educational support which assists them with specific skills to access the school curriculum. The class teacher, parent/care giver, Learning Support Teacher, external professionals such as Pediatrician, Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Ophthalmologist, Audiologist, Psychologist or Psychiatrist all contribute in getting vital information together in order to ascertain what the specific needs are of the child involved. The school and parents gather all of the relevant information which assists the school to design an appropriate individualised educational program (IEP) of support for the student in order for them to be able to access their school curriculum program.
The Education Adjustment Program (EAP) is a formalised process developed from DCEO for identifying the educational adjustments that are provided by a school to meet the teaching and learning needs of student/s with disabilities. This formalised process allows the school to apply for additional human resources funding which is used to support the identified student/s. The teacher assistant works with the identified student/s to provide them with appropriate skills & strategies in order for them to access their school curriculum.
There are 7 categories of disability support in Catholic Schools:
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Autistic Spectrum Disorder
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Hearing Impairment
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Intellectual Impairment
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Physical Impairment
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Social Emotional Impairment
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Speech Language Impairment
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Vision Impairment