The Learning and Support Team (LST) consists of the Head Teacher-Welfare, Head Teacher-Female Students, Learning and Support Teachers, English as Another Language or Dialect Teachers, Transition Teacher, School Counsellor, Student Learning Support Officers, Careers Advisor, Librarian and Key Learning Area Specific - Support Teachers.
The team meets each week to discuss the focus areas of additional support for students. A range of support measures are discussed and after consultation with key stakeholders, the most appropriate modes of intervention are used. Regular evaluations of the learning strategies ensure that all of a student's educational needs are catered to. This includes conducting review meetings to discuss student progress towards achieving outcomes and providing access to a broader range of learning experiences, specialist teaching staff and external agency/community services.
Team members participate in a broad range of professional learning to ensure we can cater for the diverse needs of our students. Professional learning improves our ability to recognise and respond to various student learning abilities and make necessary adjustments to learning pathways. The team has also developed the Learning and Support Scope and Sequence that maps and reviews individualised learning and ensures identified interventions are monitored and adjustments made as required.
As part of the process of tailoring the learning of students with identified needs, the team also consults the students, their parents or carers, and relevant health professionals. This collaborative approach ensures individual student needs are addressed and that ongoing evaluation is undertaken. For students with diagnosed mild to severe disabilities, one-on-one in-class and extra-curricular activity support is provided, including small withdrawal focus groups which ensure increased participation for students of varied abilities.
Our school is committed to working with Aboriginal parents and community members to develop personalised learning pathways for our Aboriginal students. We recognise that personalised learning pathways can increase Aboriginal student engagement and support improved learning outcomes and educational aspirations. Our Aboriginal student personalised learning pathways enable teachers to provide tailored support for each student's learning.
The Learning Support team also helps mainstream teachers provide a differentiated curriculum, targeting gifted and talented learners, reviewing interventions that impact the transitional stages of the student learner from beginner to skilled, and extending the knowledge and thinking capacity of those identified as having a talent in a specific key learning area. This collaborative approach has also been effective in evaluating assessment tasks and their respective criteria to ensure that every kind of learner is being challenged.
Finally, the Learning Support Team communicates regularly with students, parents and teachers about their support interactions and interventions. This reflective action helps identify initiatives that improve student performance and provides the faculty with advice on its future direction.