Inclusive Education

Inclusive Practice Teachers work cooperatively and in collaboration with school leadership personnel, teachers, other student support services team members and parents/carers to ensure that students with disability in primary and secondary schools across the Diocese are supported to engage purposefully in learning. The role holder will work to develop the capability within schools to cater for the diversity of these learners within the school population.

IPT’s provide a range of supports which include:

• Provide advice and guidance about the provision of supports for students with disabilities
• Collaborate with school staff to ensure students with disability have access to a relevant and rigorous curriculum
• Build staff capability through coaching, observation and feedback to identify and implement educational adjustments
• Establish and maintain effective collaborative relationships with relevant stakeholders to ensure their participation in goal setting, planning and decision making for students with disabilities
• Assist with implementation of Townsville Catholic Education Office (TCEO) policies and initiatives, including teaching and learning programs and review of educational goals
• Contribute to various educational team meetings and IEP meetings to help guide programs and practices aligned to student needs
• Provide advocacy for students with disability
• Providing support and advice to parents as necessary, in consultation and partnership with teacher
• Work inclusively to contribute to broader areas of curriculum development and whole school directions as well as the planning for and considered use of resources
• Assist class teachers with the identification of students who require referral to Student Support Service or Inclusive Education services where they may be eligible

The primary purpose of the School Officer - Assisting Student Learning is to contribute to the provision of a quality educational service by collaborating with teachers and student support services to provide support and guidance which assists students in their learning and development. The School Officer - Assisting Student Learning provides efficient and high-quality support to teachers with the preparation and/or enhancement of learning materials for learning and teaching and ensure all duties are completed to an acceptable standing as determined by the classroom teacher, student support services and Principal. School officers assist: 

• Student’s learning and participation in school
• Learning and teaching
• Inclusive education 
• Small group and Personalised support 
• Pastoral care

Our Advisory Visiting Specialists - Hearing Impairment offer specialist educational support for students from Prep to Year 12 who have a hearing loss. We support students in their local schools so they remain connected to their community, and we support individual programs to enhance their resilience in the hearing world. Working alongside teachers and students assists with building capacity to ensure our students can succeed.

Depending on the individual needs of the students, AVS HIs can:

• Provide professional learning for teachers and classroom peers
• Work with families in partnership
• Be a partner in planning for personalised learning
• Assist with adjustments to the curriculum to enable full participation
• Provide Deaf mentors to support in schools to enhance students language and cultural identity
• Provide Technology support for assistive listening devices
• Connect with Auslan interpreters

Our Advisory Visiting Specialists - Inclusion are committed to ensuring that students with disability have equal access to learning that will optimise their learning potential. AVS-I work cooperatively and in collaboration with TCE personnel, school leadership personnel, teachers, other Inclusive Education and Student Support Services team members and parent/carers to ensure that students with disability in primary and secondary schools are supported to access a safe and quality education. 

The role of AVS-I is to:

• Help optimise the educational opportunities, engagement and learning outcomes for students with the highest educational needs.
• Enhance collaboration with other professional support staff to ensure expertise from a range of services.
• Ensure learners have access to a relevant curriculum and effective instruction within a positive inclusive learning environment.

AVS-Is focus on working with those leading and supporting inclusive education in schools through: 

• Providing advice and guidance 
• Collaboration and consultation
• Building staff capability through coaching, observation and feedback
• Providing professional learning
• Assist with the implementation of TCEO policies and initiatives.  
• Establishing and maintaining effective relationships and participation in meetings
• Modelling of effective pedagogical strategies

The Speech Language Pathologists are dedicated to providing specialist support in the areas of communication and literacy development for students, parents and staff of our Catholic schools. 

Speech pathologists work with students who:

• are difficult to understand when speaking
• have difficulty with understanding language (eg. questions, instructions)
• have difficulty expressing themselves with words (e.g. telling stories, explaining things)
• stutter
• have a husky, hoarse or nasal voice
• have difficulty with eating and drinking
• have a Developmental Language Disorder
• have an EAP verified Speech Language Impairment 
• have complex communication needs (e.g. who are non-verbal or minimally verbal)
• have difficulty with literacy
• have difficulty with social skills

Speech pathologists provide support through:

• Screening of student’s skills in the areas of speech, language, voice, fluency (stuttering) and/or literacy development with provision of recommendations and reporting.
• Formal Speech and Language assessment and reporting.
• Development and monitoring of communication supports for individuals, small groups and whole class, embedded within the learning expectations.
• Professional development opportunities for staff and information sessions for parents.
• Providing an advisory service to schools around the use and implementation of whole class and small group programs for literacy / language / speech development.
• Consultation and collaboration on Townsville Catholic Education Office initiatives, including pilot projects, data collection and advisory committees.
• Working  with school leaders, class teachers, support teachers, school officers, parents/carers and other Inclusive Education and Student Support Services team members to remove communication and literacy barriers to help students participate at school and achieve their educational goals.

The Occupational Therapist is dedicated to delivering high quality occupational therapy support, which addresses barriers to student learning and enhances education outcomes. The Occupational Therapist works collaboratively to: 

• Provide consultative occupational therapy services and resources to assist school leaders and staff, parents, and other professional peers to develop knowledge and skills to support students with disability.
• Build staff capability through coaching, observation and feedback to identify and implement educational adjustments.
• Screening or formal assessments occur within the school environment and information profiling each student’s strengths and concerns is provided to the school and parents
• Develop evidence-based occupational therapy interventions that include proactive, targeted and intensive strategies
• Collaborate effectively to create partnerships within the school community to optimise the quality of service outcomes.
• Participate as an active team member in a number of educational teams with particular emphasis on the delivery of occupational therapy services as part of the educational program and towards educational outcomes.

Guidance Counsellors are dedicated to providing counselling, student support, classroom support and assessment services to all Catholic schools across the Townsville Diocese. Through their collaboration with Catholic Education Office, school leadership personnel, teachers, parents and students the following services may be available:

• Support to school staff to assist with planning and programming strategies for students who require significant adjustments to their learning.
• Support for students with disabilities - this may include seeking external assistance and access to personalised learning.
• Developing behaviour support strategies for students in collaboration with school staff and parents.
• Liaising with staff from the Inclusive Education team to promote a multidisciplinary approach to support positive outcomes for our students. 
• Facilitating counselling to students with personal, social and emotional needs.
• Liaising with health professionals to meet student needs which may include referral to external agencies for additional support and mental health assessment.
• Facilitating and administering appropriate assessments.
• Providing professional development to staff regarding student health and wellbeing and classroom support.
• Providing parent information regarding student educational needs and wellbeing.
• Assisting with school planning in relation to important student transitions, key pastoral issues and development over their schooling.