Redland Bay State School recognise that individual students will need different types of support at different times as they undertake their education journey.
Inclusive education when they can access and fully participate in learning, alongside their similar-aged peers, supported by reasonable adjustments and teaching strategies tailored to meet their individual needs using multiple tiers of support. Inclusion is embedded in all aspects of school life, and is supported by culture, policies and every day practices.
Information to assist in supporting students can be shared at enrolment and at anytime throughout the child's schooling career.
At times support can be directed towards students who are identified as requiring additional support needs for example: performing either significantly below or significantly above expectations, social emotional support, medical support and holistic therapeutic support with collaborating outside agencies. This support is guided from the school-based Inclusion Committee.
A Deputy Principal, Head of Inclusion, Support Teacher for literacy and numeracy, Speech Language Pathologist and Guidance Officer form the core of the committee. Classroom teachers, Advisory Visiting Teachers (AVTs), parents and external support providers also help guide committee decisions and recommendations.
Parent permission is obtained before any student is referred to the Inclusion committee and parents are kept informed of any committee recommendations and actions.
The committee makes recommendations that may see students accessing any of the following services:
Learning support
The support teacher, literacy and numeracy can work with teachers and students to support student learning.
Types of support can include:
- co-operative planning with teachers
- needs based resourcing
- small group support through structured programs.
Guidance officer
The guidance officer can provide counselling services or cognitive assessments and often acts as a liaison between the school and outside agencies (e.g. community services, child youth mental health and paediatricians).
Speech and language
All Prep students are assessed for oral language and identified students are supported through small group instruction or focused 1 on 1 support through Prep and Year 1. Other students are supported on a needs basis. Speech and language specialists also provide professional development opportunities for staff.
Inclusion Support
Students with a disability are fully integrated into mainstream classes and supported by an inclusion teacher and teacher aides. Personal learning plans are developed for each student to ensure individual needs are supported.
Education Queensland Therapy and Nursing Services
Occupational therapists and physiotherapists working in Queensland state schools support students with disability to achieve the best outcomes from their education. They help students to access and participate in all areas of school life. Each discipline's specialised knowledge and skills contributes to the team's understanding of a student's abilities and assists them to: • learn • follow routines • interact with others • organise and look after themselves • participate in physical activities • be safe at school • manage emotions and behaviour. Occupational therapists and physiotherapists often work as a team. Each offers something different, however both professions work with school teams, including students and their parents or carers, to make changes to the environment, equipment used, and support students to learn and practice new skills
State schools registered nurses (SSRNs) employed by the department, assist schools to assess student health needs, develop health plans and provide training that builds the capability and confidence of school staff in providing student health supports. Ongoing support and refresher training is also available. By working collaboratively with students, their families, school staff and treating health teams, SSRNs help minimise the impact of the student's health needs on their learning.
Cultural Supports and English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D)
This diverse area of education is continually evolving and requires flexibility, innovation and creativity from schools to ensure each individual student can access their age-equivalent curriculum.
Programs include: Deadly Choices , Yulu Burri Ba Health Checks, Celebrations Day, Community Education Officer.
Students are those whose first language is a language or dialect other than English and who need support in developing their proficiency in Standard Australian English (SAE), both conversational and academic. Band scaling is a set of descriptors of observable language learner behaviours that assist teachers to determine where their students are in their development of SAE.
These students can include:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- children born in Australia
- immigrants and refugees
- international students
- children of adults who use Auslan to communicate.
School chaplain
The school chaplain offers students opportunities for informal discussions. Students seeking ongoing support need to obtain parent permission.
Outside Agencies
The School continues to work with government and non government agencies with parent permission on an individual needs basis.