Although all students work from the same broad curriculum, some will complete different activities on the same topic to develop and consolidate their understanding. All teaching and learning takes place within the mainstream classroom.
A small number of students at St Brigid’s receive funding from the Federal Government to assist them in reaching their full academic potential. Teachers, students and parents work in partnership to ensure that this goal is realised.
St Brigid’s believes in the principle that all students should learn together wherever possible. We recognise that the needs of our students are diverse and we attempt to accommodate different learning styles, rates of learning and learning abilities. The school leadership team actively promotes the use of differentiated and adjusted teaching as a strategy for ensuring that every student is engaged and learning successfully. It is recognised throughout the school that some students require significant adjustments to their learning programmes if they are to be optimally engaged and challenged and individual plans known as adjustment plans have been developed for those students requiring them. As a school we want all students in our classes to access the curriculum in order to learn.
St. Brigid’s Learning Support Team is made up of teachers who have post-graduate qualifications in a variety of fields of Special Education. We work with individual students and small groups in learning spaces across all KLAs.
Once a student’s needs are identified, the Learning Support Team in consultation with the classroom teachers and outside professionals, where appropriate, ensure that the student is provided with appropriate support structures. All students who have an acknowledged disability as well as those who have a diagnosed learning difficulty or difference have an Adjustment Plan in place to meet their individual learning needs. Additionally, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is created as a legal document to assist the learning support team to create an appropriate Adjustment Plan (AP) for each student. The Learning Support Team can assist teachers with the development of learning strategies and differentiation of tasks and assessments to ensure that students’ various levels of need are catered for in their learning. Students with both acknowledged and imputed disabilities receive additional support in the learning space from the Learning Support Team. Provisions are offered during exams and assessments for students who meet the NESA guidelines for Disability Provisions.
