LEARNING DIVERSITY

LEARNING DIVERSITY NEWS

What a great start our students have made in 2023. I always gain great pleasure from watching the fast transformation of our students into their new year levels, subjects and study. The Year 7 group should be congratulated for the way they have adapted so well to their new environment. 

I would like to invite students and parents to make contact with me if you feel you or your child might benefit from some of our ongoing services:

• We offer after school tutoring in the library Monday to Thursday from 3:30pm to 4:30pm with our Learning Diversity team. Students can organise 1:1 tutoring with our team if they would like specific help or can simply attend and approach a staff member for casual support. 
• Our after school Flourish Program can assist your child with improving organisation and study skills. This is run by Dr Larry O’Connor and is available in the library every afternoon.
• We can complete baseline assessments and offer referral support for children who may be presently underperforming and who may need additional support and intervention in their learning program.
• We can support parents to seek information and support through behavioural assessment processes such as the diagnosis of autism or ADHD through their Doctor and Paediatrician. 

SPEECH THERAPY

Unfortunately, we are still searching for a Speech Therapist to coordinate and work with students in language, speech, and social skills development. We are working to find a solution to this gap in our normal practice of student support. 

PROGRAM SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS

Program Support Group Meetings are currently operating. I value deeply the conversations I have with parents and students and am very interested in continuing to identify goals and areas of improvement and support or intervention. I thank those parents who have been able to make the time to meet with me. Please remember that if you were not able to meet with me and I have met with your child, I am more than happy to arrange a follow up meeting. 

PERSONAL LEARNING PLANS

Personal Learning Plans are now available in the Parent Access Module (PAM). Please review these plans and teacher goals. You are encouraged to bring the plan and goals to Parent Teacher Conferences at the start of Term 2 in order to guide your discussions and review any goals previously set. 

Q16 AND MC30 DIVERSE SPACES

The Q16 and newly formed MC30 Learning Space has flourished in Term 1 with a number of students finding social connections and safety. Chess appears to be the game of the term with many competitions occurring. Puzzles and sensory sand have also been popular activities. In Term 2 our Arts Captain, Tamika Hall will be facilitating some art activities.  

NATIONAL CONSISTENT COLLECTION OF DATA (NCCD)

The National Consistent Collection of Data for students with disabilities (NCCD for SWD) asks schools to list students for whom they are adjusting curriculum or conditions to create equity in their learning programs. 

The NCCD information informs the Government of how many students in a school are being offered additional support to improve their learning, from extensive adjustments such as having a 1:1 Learning Support Officer, to having a supplementary adjustment such as a small and highly structured literacy support or Foundation Mathematics class. There are also some students who require adjustments due to a medical condition, such as students with anaphylaxis. They are included in the census due to the criteria of the information guidelines.

The Federal Government provides additional funding directly to our college for resource management and staffing for particular levels of support. This funding creates opportunities for our college to provide interventionin class support and small programs such as MacqLit. It also enables whole school training and opportunities for teachers to learn more about students with disabilities and advance our knowledge and skills in teaching diverse students. The NCCD Team have been working hard to ensure all students receiving adjustments to their learning program will continue be supported in 2023.

For further Information about the NCCD please go to the website. 

Please also see the attached letter to parents explaining our legal obligations under the NCCD and the information that will be shared. The Data collection is in August in 2023.

Ms Melanie Saleta

Head of Learning Diversity