The importance of teams

Another of the powerful ways the school’s Statement takes meaning is in the organisation of its teams. The school leadership places a high value on the effectiveness of teams as a strategy in building the supportive school community. The leaders play a vital role in managing and organising resources to support the team structures. They approach their team leadership role with sensitivity to:

• acknowledging each team member’s strengths
• valuing their contribution to group tasks
• recognising the diverse needs of team members
• recognising the importance of the team leader role in setting the tone for constructive dialogue during the meeting

There is a general feeling from staff that strong leadership in managing and supporting various team structures is crucial. It validates team efforts and individual contributions to the complex business of supporting student learning.

How does the team structure support the learning of students with disabilities?

The school has an interconnected team structure that supports the learning of all students. The teachers are organised into grade–basedteams (often on a two grade / year basis) and there is a teacher assistant (TA) team.

The interweaving of a third type of team enables a particularly strong support structure for students with disabilities / additional needs. These are the planning meeting teamsthatmeet to facilitate the access, participation and achievement of individual students. These teams have a broad membership. Where the work of these teams overlaps (see diagram below) the support for individual students is strongest. Collective responsibility and the potential for constructive problem solving are maximised.

• Grade level team
• Teacher assistants team
• Planning team
  

That comment is from the school’s Assistant Principal who has a major role in ensuring the organisation and maintenance of the effective team structure. It suggests the way the apparently smooth operation of the school is the result of much careful planning and decision-making based on the strength of the school’s values and beliefs. She adds:

Teams fulfil a number of functions, and are a part of the supportive culture that we have at the school, that helps everyone to work more successfully …’

Dr Joanne Deppeler in Inclusive education: A practical guide to supporting diversity in the classroom states:

One of the main advantages of working as a collaborative team relates to problem solving. The process of inclusion often throws up specific problems for which there are no easy or single solutions. Often these problems are unique to your classroom or particular child, when general blanket advice on inclusion is not helpful. In these instances the only way to proceed is to solve the problem and move forward. Often we can solve problems ourselves but occasionally it is helpful to consult colleagues who are more aware of our specific circumstances and can assist in solving the problem.

The role of supporting students and teachers

The task of co-ordinating support for teachers and students is one of the roles of the assistant principal. She describes the supports in place for students and teachers as many and varied:

We have layer upon layer of support, all interdependent and working to help students achieve at the highest level possible for them.

Some successful support processes at the school are outlined below:

• teachers and teacher assistants work together with children and their families to promote high learning outcomes for students

• our team structure provides support for teachers and teacher assistants to build capacity and develop confidence and competence

• we work hard to build partnerships with families, although there are sometimes many obstacles
  the teacher assistant meeting is a key process to build shared responsibility for students and their learning

• the duty roster which matches students, TAs and teachers is another highly productive way to build shared responsibility

• the process of two-year cycles for teachers and teacher assistants builds capacity and competence and allows teachers and TAs to start from a position of confidence.
  the balance of special and general roles for teacher assistants allows them to manage demanding positions with a positive approach

• relationships are critical and underpin the success we achieve – they demand constant attention and maintenance

• we celebrate successes and highlight the great work of the team.

The assistant principal describes some of the complexity and the challenges of supporting students with high needs in a school …

My work to co-ordinate the learning plans for children at our school is like planning an exciting world trip, then helping the traveller and their team to negotiate the treasures, trials and tribulations which accompany any lengthy overseas travel. Everyone starts with many excited plans about visiting far-off, exotic places. The realities about actually getting there rely on high-level planning and support at every turn.

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