Inclusion at Ipswich North State School

Education Queensland policy promotes inclusion of children with special needs into classrooms. This practice has been proven to be beneficial to both students with disabilities (SWD’s) and to their peers.

At Ipswich North State School, we are aiming to provide an environment which promotes positive academic, social and emotional outcomes for all students and as such, we are catering for the learning needs of each child while providing them with support and strategies in order for them to participate within the regular classroom curriculum.

The structure of this supportive learning environment can take many different forms and it is the role of the classroom teacher, S.E.P. (Special Education Program) staff and other school staff to determine which types of support are appropriate for each individual child.


S.E.P. Staff:

S.E.P. staff at our school consist of the HOSES (Head of Special Education Services), S.E.P. Teachers and S.E.P. Aides. These staff will all be involved in assisting teachers to observe, plan and evaluate activities and experiences to meet the child’s needs.

S.E.P. staff will provide varying types of support. Some of these may be:
* Assistance with planning and curriculum adjustments;
* Providing small group activities and experiences, either within the classroom or in the Lily-pad room (formerly Jade room);
* Assistance with modifying class work;
* Providing appropriate level work for children to participate in;
* Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech therapy programs in
small groups;
* Assistance with writing I.E.P.’s (Individual Education Plans);
* Assistance with data gathering for E.A.P. (Education Adjustment
Program) purposes;
* Social skilling lessons and life-skill development activities;
* Support with behaviour management strategies.

To access this support you will be asked to fill in a referral form and return it to the HOSES. The HOSES will then organize to meet with you to discuss possible times for the support to occur. Support forms have been distributed to each class or can be requested from S.E.P. staff.

Class Teacher Roles:

Students with Disabilites must have the opportunity to access as much of the curriculum as possible. They will be based in classrooms and support from S.E.P. staff will be provided for them either in the classroom or during some withdrawal time to the Lily-pad.

As SWD’s are expected to access the same curriculum as their same aged peers, it is the classroom teachers’ responsibility to ensure that this happens. The Essentials and Standards for learning are set out in a way that all children are able to learn at different junctures. These should be used as a basis for SWD curriculum and documented levels should be kept for validation purposes.

SWD’s must be reported on using the same scale as the other children
(A-E).

SWD’s can participate in modified assessment tasks and marked accordingly as long as they are accompanied by a modified criteria sheet (rubric).

All modifications to the regular class curriculum must be documented as this is important for validation of the EAP (Education Adjustment Program).

The following information has been provided to assist you with your planning and implementation of Inclusive Curriculum.

If you have any questions, concerns or require any assistance, please do not hesitate to ask.


Yours in Inclusive Education

Sandra Beaumont
HOSES

Address

Ipswich North Special Education Unit                        Phone:  3813 5827

Ipswich North State School                                        Fax:      3813 5829

Downs Street,

North Ipswich. Qld. 4305.

STLD

Support Teacher- Learning Difficulties (STLD) at Ipswich North State School performs a varied number of duties to monitor the achievements and performance of all the students from Pre-school to Grade 7. The aim is to ensure that the specific needs of all individuals are met by making modifications to classroom programs which allow the child to access the appropriate curriculum.

· Test new students to the school to obtain literacy and numeracy data for the purpose of placing the student in the correct instructional grouping for Literacy and Maths.
· Attend the Special Needs Assessment Committee Meeting and arrange for Appraisement testing for children at risk due to learning difficulties.
· Perform Appraisement tests in Literacy and Numeracy and Learning How to Learn, write the Required Appraisement Reports and devise a support plan in collaboration with the classroom teacher and consultation with the parents.
· Review support plans as required.
· Liase with specialist staff ie. Guidance officer, Speech Pathologist, etc.
· Organise intervention programs such as: Support-a-Reader, Support-A-Writer, Indigenous Tuition Assistance Scheme, Phonemic Awareness, Fine Motor etc. for groups of students across all year levels.
· Organise State Testing for Gr’s 3, 5 and 7 and then analyse the results.
· Monitor and track data from school based standardised tests.
· Support teachers with data information, resources and program requirements.
· Attend professional development sessions on new policies, special needs or curriculum and relay information back to staff.

As support teacher to all staff and students, my role is to encourage
awareness of individual needs and then monitor and supervise the application of adjustments which benefit the child’s education.

Key Teacher

The Key Teacher has the responsibility of monitoring the progress of all students in Preschool, Grade 1, 2 and 3 at Ipswich North State School. This is achieved by ensuring that the continua phases for Reading, Writing and Number are recorded accurately in each child’s file. Main indicators and sub-indicators are assessed and marked off by the class teacher on an ongoing basis throughout the early years of school.

In Term 2, validation testing is carried out for Grade 2’s to confirm if a child has been “caught in the net” for reading, writing or number. If this occurs, the child receives intervention to support the child’s learning.

School Moderation is organised to discuss phase allocations and to ensure consistent interpretations among all teachers. Data is collected and the key teacher then attends District Moderation.

Continua reports are sent home to parents as well as class reports. Diagnostic Net information is used to track the child’s progress through the phases. This, combined with other knowledge the teacher has about the child, is used to plan the teaching program for the class and to decide if some extra support may help the child.