Inclusive education
If parents and carers have concerns about their child’s development, learning progression, social interactions or behaviour, they can access the following resources:
- Hearing and vision: General Practitioner (GP), Optometrist, Adelaide Hearing Service
- Reading and tracking: Behavioural Optometrist
- Sensory issues and motor skills: Occupational Therapist
- Speech and language: Speech Pathologist
- Behavioural: Psychologist, Child Development Unit, Autism SA
Child Development Unit (CDU)
The CDU provides a team approach to the assessment and management of children whose development is of concern in two or more areas and to provide support to their families.
Developmental assessment of children with two or more difficulties such as:
- slow development
- speech and language problems
- problems with their physical activities
- forming friendships with other children
- sensory processing
For more information, visit the Child Development Unit website.
Autism SA
Autism SA aims to improve life outcomes for people with ASD by providing and facilitating the very best information, connections, expertise, education, services, support and a strong representative voice for people in our community.
For more information, visit the Autism SA website.
GP (your local doctor)
Through the GP parents and carers may be able to access support in a number of ways:
- A Mental Health Care Plan: Patients receive up to 10 services per calendar year. Rebates under this plan are only available for occupational therapy or psychology sessions where the child is present.
- Rebates may be available for clients with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) related to – anxiety, struggle coping with school, obsessive-compulsive behaviour, other behavioural issues, anger management, attention, sleep and self-esteem issues.
- Chronic Disease Plan-which can be developed to support such conditions as Asthma and diabetes.
Student Review Team (SRT)
At Hendon Primary School, teachers monitor students through the collection of data and information from a number of different sources:
- Sutherland Phonological Awareness Test (SPAT-R)
- Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS 8th)
- Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) Reading and Maths
- Abilities Based Learning and Education Support (ABLES)
- National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)
- English as an Additional Language of Dialect (EALD) Levels
- Teacher data
- Anecdotal observations
- Private assessments.
Teachers use assessments and the analysis of data to identify students requiring additional support. These students are referred to the Student Review Team (SRT). The Student Review Team meets twice a term.
The Student Review Team will help monitor student progress and make recommendations of additional learning support, such as:
- close monitoring
- additional school support
- inclusion of students in intervention programs
- recommendations to parents to access outside agencies
- external referrals-speech, psychologist.
If the Student Review Team suggests a formal referral, parents will be contacted and referral forms completed to allow for the sharing of student information across agencies. Leadership will then have a pre referral discussion with external support services and provide supporting data on the student. If it’s deemed appropriate a referral will then be made to Speech pathologist or Psychologist. These support services then will carry out an assessment which could result in one of the following supports being in placed:
Individual Learning Plan (One Plan)
Students who have been diagnosed with a disability or learning difficulty requiring significant adjustments will have an individualised learning plan.
These plans are reviewed annually together with the Special Education facilitator, class teacher, and the parent or carer. The purpose of the plan is to support access, participation and achievement in the curriculum for students with disabilities. The parent or carer and the school work together to develop appropriate curriculum based on the Australian Curriculum (AC) framework and the needs of the learner. The plans will document the adjustments that are required to support the student achieving success.
Students may be designated a level of support which will then be used to either: support children in class, on-to-one, in a small group or through specific intervention programs.
Non-education service providers
Approval for a non-departmental service provider to work on the school site is made by the principal or delegate based on strict departmental guidelines. Individual rooms and spaces are not available due to capacity issues and the department requirement that all external service providers are supervised via line of sight by a Hendon Primary School teacher.
Parenting SA
Parenting SA have a range of Parent Easy Guides that provide information about raising children from birth to 18 years.
For more information, visit the Parenting SA website.
Calm Kid Central
Calm Kid Central contains over 25 interactive and animated educational lessons for children to learn to: cope with frustration, manage anxiety, improve peer relationships, manage conflict constructively, help themselves get to sleep, use calm words, re-direct their attention onto positive topics, ask for help – and many more.
Courses and lessons help parents/caregivers know what to say to children with big feelings and challenges – when they are distressed, what to do to help these children feel calmer, cope with their life challenges and act in more co-operative ways.
Child psychologists are on standby to answer an unlimited number of your questions and concerns (through a text based Question Centre) as your child and yourself work through the lessons. All questions answered within 24-48 hours.
In order to benefit from the program, it is essential that parents and carers are able to commit to 15-20 minutes at least once a week to watch the video lessons with their children, help them complete the activities and games and to watch and read the parent/caregiver lessons.
Calm Kid Central access is $28.50 per month or $177.50 per year (save $164.50).
For more information, visit the Calm Kid Central website.
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
If your child is younger than 9 you may be able to access the NDIS early childhood approach. The NDIS early childhood approach is for children younger than 6 with developmental delay or younger than 9 with disability.
Developmental delay is a term used to describe a delay in a child’s development.
It means that a child finds it much harder to do everyday things that other children their age can do, for example, dress themselves, talk or walk. A child with developmental delay needs lots of extra help to do everyday things compared to children of the same age.
If you have concerns about your child’s development your first point of contact will usually be your doctor, child health nurse, or other health professional.
They will help you work out what supports you and your child might need, and they may connect you with our early childhood partners. Our early childhood approach is about helping you support your child to learn new skills. It will also help your child to develop and take part at home and in the community. Your child doesn’t need a diagnosis to get support.
For more information, visit the NDIS Early Childhood Approach website.
The Smith Family
The Smith Family supports long term participation in education through the provision of timely opportunities and support, enabling students to optimise their education outcomes. For this reason, The Smith Family offers Learning for Life Scholarships, Programs and Support throughout the primary, secondary and tertiary education years; an eligible student and family can continue to be part of Learning for Life throughout their schooling and post school vocational education.
Scholarships are awarded to students in financially disadvantaged families that have demonstrated their commitment to education and who would benefit from additional resources and support and who meet the referral criteria. To be eligible for the program, families are required to have a current Pension Concession or Health Care Card and demonstrate a strong commitment and engagement to education.
For further information on the Learning for Life Scholarship, please contact:
Natalia Kerrilee
0481 132 327
Natalia.kerrilee@thesmithfamily.com.au
To Apply, register an expression of interest here.
In-School Psychology
In-School Psychology provides psychological services to children, adolescents, their families, and schools. Their unique service is offered on site at primary and secondary schools, in both the public and private sectors. The psychologists at In-School Psychology are experts in child and adolescent psychology and are professionals dedicated to providing outstanding and comprehensive services to assist children and adolescents, their families and their schools.
The In-School Psychology counselling service is a free service provided on-site at the child or adolescents school. One psychologist will be assigned to your school and will work in a collaborative manner with the wellbeing co-ordinator, teachers and parents to ensure the best outcome for the child/ adolescent. The duration and frequency of time spent at the school will be determined by the number and type of referrals and the needs of each child/adolescent. Our psychologist will regularly meet with the school’s contact person to discuss current and potential referrals.
n-School Psychology’s service is bulk billed to Medicare through the Better Access to Mental Health Care initiative. A child or adolescent is able to access the free counselling service when a Health Care Plan is filled out by the child/adolescent’s General Practitioner or Paediatrician. Each Health Care Plan entitles the child/adolescent to a maximum of 10 individual sessions and 10 group sessions each calendar year. Children under the age of 13 with a diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder are entitled to a maximum of 20 sessions bulk billed to Medicare. There is no out of pocket cost to the school or the parents for In-School Psychology’s service.
Access more information and forms on the ‘forms’ page.