Student Support

​​​​Inclusive Education at St Bernard's School

“Inclusive education ensures that schools are supportive and engaging places for all students, teachers, and caregivers. Inclusion is about building communities that value, celebrate and respond to diversity underpinned by respectful relationships between learners, teachers, and caregivers. It is supported by collaborative relationships with communities and governments and shapes the society in which we live and the type of society to which we aspire (Slee, 2005). “

 

Inclusion involves a process of systematic reform, embodying changes and modifications in content, teaching methods, approaches, and strategies in education to identify and reduce barriers to learning. Inclusion aims to provide all students with equitable learning experiences and environments that best correspond to their requirements and preferences (United Nations C​onvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, CRPD, 2008 ).​

​At St Bernard's we cater for students who have a diverse range of personal characteristics and experiences. These characteristics and experiences may be attributable to physical, religious, cultural, personal health or wellbeing, intellectual, psychological, socio-economic or life experiences including:​

  • ​Students with disability

  • Students with gifts and talents

  • Students who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

  • Students with English as an additional language or dialect

  • Students in out-of-home-care

  • Students of refugee background


Student Support Team

The Student Support Team at St Bernard's works​ in collaborative partnership with class teachers, school officers, students, parents, BCE support staff, external providers and agencies to enhance the educational outcomes for all students to ensure that students can access and fully participate in learning, alongside their similar-aged peers, supported by reasonable adjustments and teaching strategies tailored to meet their individual needs. Inclusion is embedded in all aspects of school life, and is supported by culture, policies and everyday practices.

The Student Support Team consist of; Support Teacher-Inclusive Education, Guidance Counsellor, School- based Speech Pathologist, Learning Enhancement Teacher, EALD Teacher and Primary Learning Leader.


Consultation and Collaboration

St Bernard's staff are committed to building respectful partnerships between students, families, and educators to engage in collaborative planning and decision making. Staff work collaboratively to support students to participate in education on the same basis as other students. Through consultation with teachers, school support staff, parents, students, external providers and specialists, staff at St Bernard's work collaboratively to pursue a common goal. This is achieved through; Parent teacher meetings, Meetings of concern, Student support meetings, School-based Speech Pathology and teacher collaboration, Visiting-teacher and EO:IE support, Student support team meetings, ST:IE and teacher monitoring and review meetings.

 

Identifying Concerns

Personalised student support and intervention is a process that supports a wide range of students with additional learning and support needs. This includes those students in need of learning, social and emotional and behaviour support, those who have educational support needs arising from disability and those learning English as an additional language or some combination of these.

Within a continuum of support, there is increased, focused and personalised teaching and intervention responses at each successive level including increasing levels of adjustments, monitoring of student learning and behaviour and greater collaboration between teaching and support staff. In collaboration with teachers the support team consult regarding areas of concern and target intervention depending on the area of need and impact. Students are identified through monitoring tools, data, school referral process and assessed need.

 

​School-Based Speech Pathology

​ACARA (2012) identifies that “the ability to communicate enables learning across the curriculum, the school day and life outside of school".

School-based speech pathology support at St Bernard's is evidence informed and contributes to the progress and engagement, learning and wellbeing of students with speech and language needs. This occurs through partnerships and collaboration with all stakeholders.

Speech pathologists at St Bernard's work in collaboration with teachers to support them in catering for the diversity of students with speech and language needs in their classrooms.


Positive Engagement for Learning

Positive Engagement for Learning references teaching resources from the Bounce Back program that can be used to teach:

  • ​ACARA- General Capability- Personal and Social Learning
  • ACARA- Elements of the Health Curriculum
  • Our school PB4L expectations
  • Our School Learning Dispositions

​Teachers are encouraged to use Bounce Back as a resource to aide in the teaching of this Curriculum, Behaviour and Learning content.

The purpose of circle time is to provide a time and space in which children can learn the skills they need to thrive in life including:

  • Knowledge and understanding of self
  • Knowledge and understanding of others
  • Knowledge and understanding of how to get along with others
  • A sense of belonging and connectedness
  • Knowledge, understanding and tools for self-management
  • Collaborative decision making, conflict resolution and problem solving

 ​

EASP – Enrolment Application and Support Procedure

The Enrolment Application and Support Procedure (EASP) reflects the ongoing commitment of Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) towards inclusive practices in schools and is guided by the principles of justice as reflected in Church, education, and legal areas.

The consultation process seeks to reveal and clarify:

  • The characteristics of the learner including impact of the disability
  • The educational adjustments that are required for learning
  • The implications of adjustments for the student, family and school

​The EASP is to be applied for: Initial enrolment consideration: When application for enrolment is made on behalf of a student for whom it is considered likely that educational adjustments will be required to enable the student to participate in the curriculum and use facilities on the same

The Support Teacher – Inclusive Education receives the application and contacts the family to begin stage one. At each stage the ST:IE consults with the Principal and relevant members of the Student Support Team e.g. GC, SB: SP. The EASP document is created and shared with the family.


Stage 1 – Parent Meeting

  • Student Enrolment Team is formed.
  • Partnership formed.

Stage 2 – Data Gathering

  • Observe/Collect data – current setting, specialist, therapist and medical reports and assessments.
  • Explore educational adjustments.

Stage 3 – Enrolment Support Meeting

  • Examine implications.
  • Information is shared, discussed, and clarified

Stage 4 – Reflection, Consultation and Decision Making

  • Principal in consultation with Student Enrolment Support Team makes decision.
  • Principal communicates decision to student's associates in writing.

Stage 5 – Action Planning

  • The ST:IE consults with parents regarding transition to St Bernard's.
  • The ST:IE creates a Student Support Plan.
  • The ST:IE consults and collaborates with the Student Support Team and classroom teacher around support and adjustments