Student Support Services Management
The Student Support Services Management team meets weekly to discuss the needs of students who may require
differentiated support to access and engage in the learning environment at
school. These meetings involve a Deputy Principal, Head of Special
Education, Support Teacher: Literacy and Numeracy (ST:LaN), Guidance Officer,
Speech Language Pathologist, English as Additional Language or Dialect (EALD)
teacher and identified classroom teachers.
Special Education & Inclusion
Middle Ridge SS maintains a Special Education Program (SEP) overseen by a Head of Special Education (HOSES) and facilitated by a team of dedicated specialist teachers and support staff. The level of support provided by HOSES and SETs is differentiated according to the frequency and intensity of adjustments needed to enable the student to access and participate in education on the same basis as their peers. Most students with a disability can access and participate in education and the curriculum in the same mainstream classroom as their similar-aged peers without disability, when reasonable adjustments are made.
The HOSES and SEP staff may provide advice to classroom teachers for students with disability across all adjustment levels. More direct support may be provided by HOSES and SEP staff in relation to student's adjustment levels, including intensive small group lessons for students requiring additional support, case management, support to develop learning materials and connecting school staff to other departmental specialists. The majority of students with a verified disability are enrolled in a mainstream classroom and may undertake further intensive support in an alternate space on an as-needs basis.
The HOSES will assist school staff to connect with the appropriate departmental officer for specialist advice such as State School Registered Nurses, Speech Language Pathologists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Education Advisors, Advisory Visiting Teachers and Guidance Officers. In some cases this may involve referring a school staff member/s to the specialist. For students with more intensive needs this may involve liaising with regional specialists to develop individualised health plans.
English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D)
EAL/D learners who speak a language or dialect other than English may need support with the English language in order to access their age-appropriate curriculum.
Not all learners who speak other languages or dialects are EAL/D learners, because they may have sufficient English language proficiency to participate effectively in the school curriculum.
EAL/D learners can include those born in Australia and raised in families in which languages or dialects other than English are spoken, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students or children of migrants. Those students born outside of Australia may include humanitarian entrants, international students and migrants.
EAL/D learners may need specific teaching approaches to build a language foundation for successful classroom learning and schools provide support targeted to students' needs.
Currently more than 200 students from approximately 30 different cultural and language backgrounds who nominate English as an Additional Language or Dialect are enrolled at Middle Ridge State School. We strive to cater for students from migrant and refugee backgrounds, as well as many who are born in Australia. Additional individual and small group support is provided in class or on a withdrawal basis for a smaller number who require more intensive assistance, (dependent upon assessed need), by a specialist teacher and experienced teacher aides. The programs developed collaboratively by the specialist and class teacher will focus on the English language, literacy and cultural demands of the curriculum and the student's current capacity to meet those demands.
Highly Able and Gifted Education
At Middle Ridge State School, we believe that students who are highly able or potentially gifted are entitled to rigorous, relevant and engaging learning opportunities drawn from the Australian Curriculum, aligned with their individual learning needs, strengths, interests and goals.
Our Teachers will aim to enrich learning by providing students with opportunities to work with learning area content in greater depth or breadth; encompassing specific aspects of the general capabilities learning continua; embedding higher order cognitive skills of the critical and creative thinking capability and by focussing on cross-curriculum priorities. Teachers may also accelerate students' learning by drawing on content from later levels in the Australian Curriculum.
Programs may be developed within the school and across year levels to cater for students who have been identified as 'gifted', talented or exceptionally able. Advice is sought from Education Queensland personnel to collaborate with class teachers to co-design and implement programs, activities and support measures that aim to challenge, extend and enrich learning for children who have identified as gifted, talented or exceptionally able. Planning and the provision of support and enrichment is guided by Education Queensland policy and its Gifted and Talented Framework.
Learning Support Programs
Students who require additional tailored supports through focused and/or intensive teaching for short or prolonged periods of time in the areas of literacy and numeracy, may be supported by the Support Teachers: Literacy and Numeracy (ST:LaN) and and/or trained Teacher Aides. If focused and/or intensive teaching is provided, students will continue to access differentiated teaching and learning within the context of the learning being undertaken by the peer group and class.
Guidance Officer
Guidance Officers are highly trained, specialist teachers who deliver a broad range of services within school community context. They contribute to the development of a comprehensive student support and wellbeing program that is responsive to the needs of the school community.
Our school's Guidance Officer may work directly with students in addition to liaising with and advising a student's teacher/s, school support personnel, family, other specialists or external support providers.
Support offered by Guidance Officers may include the provision of advice and counselling on educational, behavioural, vocational, personal, social, family, and mental health & wellbeing issues.
Psychoeducational assessments also form an important part of the work that Guidance Officers undertake to enhance positive educational outcomes for students.
Guidance Officers provide leadership, support and case management in responding to some of the most complex and challenging of circumstances including student protection matters, critical incidents, mental health issues, and suicide prevention and postvention support. Most state primary schools receive a part-time service from the region's Guidance Officers, who share a caseload across multiple campuses. At Middle Ridge SS we are currently supported by a Guidance Officer for the equivalent of two days a week.
At Middle Ridge SS all requests for the provision of a Guidance Officer's services are referred to our Student Support Services Management team for review, consideration and prioritisation.
Speech Language Pathologist
Speech-Language Pathology services in Queensland State Schools support students, their families and education teams to ensure students are able to achieve in education.
Speech-Language Pathologists can help students with:
- developing their speech sound system
- understanding and using language for thinking, discussing, reading, writing, numeracy and learning
- managing social interactions in the school setting
- speaking fluently
- having a healthy voice so that they can manage their speech throughout the school day
- safely eating and drinking at school.
At Middle Ridge SS all requests for the provision of a Speech Language Pathologist's services are referred to our Student Support Services Management team for review, consideration and prioritisation.
Chaplaincy
As a non-teaching staff member, our School Chaplain provides students and staff with social, emotional and, with parental consent, spiritual support. The Chaplain in a state primary school is an empathetic 'listening ear' and additional adult role model within the campus, helping to enhance engagement with the broader community, including parents. The School Chaplain can also support students in both the classroom and the playground in order to develop a rapport with them and provide social and emotional support. At Middle Ridge SS our School Chaplain is employed on a part-time basis through Scripture Union Queensland, attending our school for 3 days each week. Requests for access to the assistance that may be provided through the School Chaplain are to be directed through the school office.
Studenst with Health Support Needs
Student's with health support needs, including those requiring specialised health procedures, may require the school to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that they can safely participate in all aspects of school life including camps, excursions and sporting events. Each student will receive support based on their identified and assessed needs. A student's support is documented in an Individual Health Plan and/or Emergency Health Plan (health plan), which is developed and updated by the school in a collaboration between the state schools nursing service, parents and a school staff representative.
Students with acute medical needs
The school maintains a register of students with acute medical needs. All medical plans for these students are updated annually, or as needed.