Our school supports the provision of appropriate learning experiences for all students. Support personnel, along with the special needs committee, enhance the school philosophy by providing specific support and intervention for students with special needs, their teachers and families.
The school recognises three broad groups of special needs children:
those with exceptional learning abilities
those with learning difficulties or disabilities
those with low incidence disabilities (physical, visual, hearing, speech-language, intellectual impairments or autistic spectrum disorder)
The school's Special Needs Action Committee (SNAC) is chaired by the Support Teacher Literacy and Numeracy (STLaN) and includes the Guidance Officer, Advisory Visiting Teachers (AVTs) and classroom teachers as needs arise. SNAC facilitates the overall provision of services for all children and plans the nature of the support/intervention program. SNAC ensures all referrals from teachers and parents are handled appropriately by specific support personnel and they monitor the effectiveness of subsequent intervention.
The STLaN is part of our school teaching staff and assists class teachers with children who are having difficulties with their work. The STLaN also coordinates the work of a range of ancillary staff members who provide assistance through programs such as Support-a-reader, Support-a-writer and Support-a-maths-learner. Other visiting specialists include a speech therapist, and various advisory visiting teachers for low incidence support needs.
Needs of exceptional children are catered for by ability grouping in Mathematics in all stages. Various teachers also provide opportunities for students to access particular activities such as Tournament of minds, writers' workshops, local eisteddfods, debating and spelling competitions etc.
Chaplaincy
A School Chaplain is a safe person for young people to connect with at school and provides a listening ear, caring presence, and a message of hope. Chaplains run positive, fun activities for students and assist in fostering supportive, caring school communities.