Tasmanian Curriculum > Educating students with special or additional needs > Inclusive education > Inclusive Curriculum Project Phase 2 > Case study 1

Case Study 1

This school had not catered for a student on the Register of Students with Severe Disabilities before 2006. The student’s enrolment at the school provided an opportunity to trial and implement practices for developing an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and establishing collaborative structures that support inclusion.

  

School transition periods pose both challenges and opportunities to schools, students and families. Schools are in an ideal position to provide the structure and support to address these challenges successfully. Transition planning clarifies goals, roles and strategies for a positive move from one setting to another.

From the beginning, staff from the primary school, the high school, the parents and cluster support staff collaborated to support each other in order to plan the most appropriate transition for [student]. There was recognition that this was not just a new chapter in the student’s life but also the family’s and the high school’s. The transition from a primary to a high school setting was going to present some new challenges for both the student and her family. In addition, this was the first time that the high school had a student on the Register of Students with Severe Disabilities.  

In preparing for the student to move to high school, the family, the primary school and high school staff and cluster support teacher met early in the previous year. The parents were asked about what they thought transition might look like for their daughter. Their response was that it should be just like everyone else’s.

The school has a two-stage transition process. In term three, each primary school Grade 6 group has an afternoon at the high school. This begins with them joining a Year 7 assembly, followed by lunch in the grounds and two classes in the afternoon. Later in the term, all Grade 6 students have a whole day at the school undertaking a range of activities to help them get to know each other, as well as key staff, and to build familiarity with the school. 

In addition to this, the family visited the school at weekends to familiarise their daughter with the environment and layout. They focused on key buildings, routes to take and safety aspects such as driveways and car parking areas. Another task the family undertook was to collect their daughter’s timetable prior to school starting so that they could colour-code it with her books and pre-teach some of the routines associated with following a timetable. These were successful strategies, as many staff commented on how independent she was early in the year. 

The high school approached the enrolment of a student on the Register of Students with Severe Disabilities quite strategically.  

• Senior staff investigated the levels of support available such as funding and branch / cluster resourcing.
   
• They identified approaches for ensuring a smooth transition. Elements such as staffing and role definition were addressed early. For example, key staff were selected to organise the process, communicate with parents and begin planning for the following year.
   
• The family was invited to share their ‘expert’ knowledge of their child and to share their ideas on transition.
   
• Regular meetings were held during the year to keep the process on track between the primary and high school, the Teacher Learning Support Leader (TLSL) and the family.
   
• The Year 7 co-ordinator visited the primary school several times to observe the student and liaise with teachers there. The information collected helped to shape the high school’s understanding of the student’s needs and inform the planning put in place for Year 7.