Specialist education
The Endeavour Hills Specialist School (EHSS) accepts enrolments under two disability criteria, making it unique amongst metropolitan special schools. The student population comprises students with a variety of needs, including mild, moderate and severe intellectual disability (ID), and autism (ASD) with a language disorder. Approximately one-third of the current enrolment group have co-morbid diagnoses of both ASD and ID. More than half of the students have additional physical and sensory impairments. An holistic approach to our work ensures that the abilities and needs of the whole child are addressed and developed within the program of learning.
Students are allocated to sections of the school with due consideration of their age, needs and abilities. The sections are broadly aligned with Junior, Middle and Senior Schools. Within these ‘sub-schools’, students are assigned to ‘like’ groups, where their academic skills, physical needs, and personal and social capabilities are accommodated. This means that students in one class might have similar needs in a particular facet of the learning:
- communication, such as use of Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) devices;
- behaviour, such as anxiety; or social-emotional needs, such as strong boundaries and explicit expectations;
- learning, such as explicit instruction.
Deep consideration is given to the development of each class group, and the size of the class is dependent upon the presentation of the students in each group. A teacher and at least one assistant are assigned to each class. Therapeutic supports are provided by a transdisciplinary team in accordance with the needs of individual students and the whole group.
Parents/carers are welcomed into the school as vital members of our community.
Wellbeing ⇔ learning
The wellbeing of students at EHSS informs and underpins the learning programs. The learning programs are devised with wellbeing as a key determinant.
The wellbeing ⇔ learning approach is a major factor in pursuing success for our students - staff know the specific needs and abilities of each student and how to cater for them. A Student Profile is compiled in consultation with parents/carers to ascertain medical background, skills and needs, triggers, preferred activities and interests. Individual Learning Programs are then developed to identify the next steps in education and learning.
Learning and Teaching
The Early Years Learning Framework and Victorian Curriculum provide the basis for curriculum. Learning and teaching strategies are informed by best practice in specialist education. All staff are trained in Team Teach, an approach to understanding and responding to behaviours of concern.
The curriculum capabilities area of Personal and Social provides the keystone of our engagement work. These skills are essential in enabling students to understand themselves and others, and manage their relationships, lives, work and learning more effectively. Students learn to recognise and regulate emotions, develop empathy for others and understand relationships, establish and build a framework for positive relationships, work effectively in teams and develop leadership skills, and handle challenging situations constructively.
The Respectful Relationships program empowers students to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.
Teachers differentiate their program of instruction to meet the learning abilities of their students, in collaboration with the transdisciplinary team.
A transdisciplinary approach to learning ensures that all staff (teachers, assistants, therapists, psychologist) are responsible for the development and implementation of an active and developmentally-appropriate program for the individual needs and abilities of each student.
The Positive Behaviour Supports framework informs and guides the practices of all staff when working with students, other staff, parents/carers and the broader community. Expectations of behaviour and conduct are explicit, modelled, taught and visible throughout the school community.
Explicit and direct instruction form the basis of all interactions and teaching. School expectations are explicitly written, highly visible, continually modelled and directly taught. Visual representations of expectations are posted throughout the buildings. Learning goals are integrated into all aspects of the school day, and every interaction is considered a learning opportunity. Teachers know and understand their students’ specific needs and abilities.
Differentiated teaching ensures that each child receives a level of support, guidance and challenge that is appropriate to their particular skill set and developmental needs. Each Learning Place provides multiple spaces for break-out learning, with wide corridors and sliding walls creating additional spaces for collaborative learning needs. Each Learning Place provides multiple spaces for break-out learning, with wide corridors and sliding walls creating additional spaces for collaborative learning.
Regular practice ensures newly-acquired knowledge and skills are generalised. They are then embedded through the provision of diverse opportunities to transfer the new learning in novel situations. The school is extremely well designed to cater for the diverse and extreme needs of the students.
The Life Skills rooms in three of the five Learning Places provide space and equipment for students to learn and practice activities of daily living, including: washing, cooking, bed-making, serving meals, knife and fork skills, organisational skills.
An Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is created in consultation between the parents/carers, the school team (including teacher and therapists), and external service providers as appropriate. The ILP goals include agreed academic, personal and therapy goals which define the expected attainment for the school year. School staff report on the student’s progress twice a year, and Student Support Group meetings are held once a term.
Data and evidence are collected and stored on Accelerus, the reporting program where ILP goals are written and reported upon.
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) engage in cycles of inquiry based on collaborative questions in pursuit of continuous improvement. Progress data is regularly recorded, reviewed, interrogated and reported.