Overview of the Program
Students are included with their peers in elective classes (eg Home Economics, Art, Drama, Music, Pottery, Woodwork, Fitness for Health, Electronics), in Religious Education, Physical Education and Health, as well as in the House system, camps, retreats, assemblies, choir, societies and clubs (eg St Vincent de Paul, Computer, LEAP) and sports (eg cricket, football, soccer, softball, basketball, rowing). The PEER PAL program also provides ever-increasing opportunities for learning and friendship development within the College and beyond.
When students are not attending mainstream classes, they return to the Mary Ward Centre where they follow individualised programs designed to cater for their specific needs. Teaching methods vary from small group tuition, to one-to-one tuition, to independent learning using computer-assisted packages. Language programs embracing reading, comprehension, spelling, phonics, grammar and expressive writing; mathematics and money programs; computing; society and environment and science - are all major areas of the curriculum. Students who have motor difficulties are able to access specialised electronic equipment, for example, a Smartboard, Discover Switch, Big Keys or a Touch Monitor as well as modified independent living equipment. Current reading/writing/spelling and mathematics computer programs promote multi-sensory learning. Art, music and spiritual reflection are also inculcated into the educational program. In Years 7-10, students who have particular interest/aptitude may study core subjects such as Mathematics, Science, English and Society and Environment and in Years 11 and 12 they may select courses which contribute to the WACE certificate. These students are carefully monitored in their mainstream classes and receive ‘back-up’ teaching in the Centre. With the new Curriculum Council initiatives, students will be increasingly involved in Preliminary (P) Units attached to specific courses of study eg English, Mathematics and Business Management and Enterprise as well as Endorsed Units such as Workplace Learning (Mode 2) and community service.
Students in Years 10, 11 and 12 are given the opportunity to join the Transition Program where the emphasis is on assisting them to effectively make the transition from the College to life beyond. The curriculum includes nationally accredited modules such as Wider Opportunities for Work (WOW), the content of Certificate 1 in Business and Retail as well as Career Education and Business Enterprise, Independent Living and Leisure & Recreation.
In 2009 we are jointly involved with Swan College of TAFE in delivering the Wider Opportunities for Work (WOW) program. Students will develop work, community and life skills thereby enhancing future employment opportunities. The course covers word processing, spreadsheet and database application and the development of a presentation package. It also involves sending and retrieving information using web browsers and email, technology and communication, career development and occupational health and safety. Students will also receive Certificate 1 in Information Technology as a result of successful completion of the WOW program.
In Retail, students learn about Communication in the Workplace, Safe Working Practices, Working Effectively in a Retail Environment, Performing Routine Housekeeping and Operating Retail Equipment. In Business, students learn Basic Communication, how to Use Business Equipment, Follow Workplace Safety Procedures, Operate a Personal Computer, Develop Keyboard Skills and Follow Environmental Work Practices. In Enterprise Education students develop Interpersonal Skills, Teamwork, Literacy and Numeracy, Communication and Workplace Practices.
The Mary Ward Centre currently operates laminating and binding businesses. Students are involved in areas relating to these businesses such as customer and cash register skills, money counting, invoicing, cleaning, packaging etc. Our new purpose-built centre has allowed the range of businesses on offer to be extended to the making of wine sleeves, therapeutic heat packs, cards - and paper shredding for use in paper making, packaging and pet shops. Office and enterprise skills are actively taught in a simulated environment. The Centre is equipped with its own photocopier and fax machine as well as email and internet facilities.
Career Education includes workplace learning, job-seeking skills, gaining information about different jobs, safety in the workplace, presentation and communication skills. In Independent Living students learn skills such as banking, budgeting, shopping, cooking, housework, protective behaviours, first aid and also how to travel independently using the public transportation system. Excursions are undertaken to areas of learning eg shopping centres, the Energy Museum, Francis Burt Law Centre, Electoral Centre, Centrelink, Centrelink Careers Reference Centre, Banks and the Fire Safety Museum. Work sites, such as the Coca Cola factory, Perth Mail Centre and West Australian Newspapers are also visited using public transport where possible. In Leisure and Recreation, students are involved in cardmaking, paper making, board and card games and inter-school soccer, athletics, swimming, tenpin bowling and discos. They also participate in PEER PAL recreational activities held each Wednesday at lunchtime within the Centre. These activities are additional to mainstream Physical Education classes and after-school sports. The Centre also runs the “Circle of Friends” Youth Group which takes place periodically on Friday evenings (usually twice per term) and students and Peer Pals enjoy fun times together dancing, playing games such as air hockey, soccer, table tennis, board games and watching videos. Additionally, “The Claremont Café Club” is held on the first Friday of each month for students in Year 12 and beyond. Students in the Mary Ward Centre attend a gym and aerobics program at Challenge Stadium on Tuesday afternoons and participate in horseriding on Friday afternoons.
Individual Education Plans (IEPs) / Individual Transition Plans (ITPs)
Individual Education Plans for students in Years 7, 8 and 9 and Individual Transition Plans for students in Years 10, 11 and 12 are compiled to establish educational goals to meet each student’s highly individualised needs. These plans are formulated at specific IEP/ITP meetings which include the student, parents, teachers, Catholic Education Office consultant and possibly the principal, tutor group teacher, therapists, local area coordinator and teacher assistants. The emphasis is on identifying and meeting the academic, physical, social and emotional needs of each student. In Years 10, 11 and 12, additional emphasis is placed on the development of skills needed for successful transition to adult life. The staff in the Mary Ward Centre endeavour to foster close and harmonious relationships with parents, therapists and other service providers and as a result, informal meetings occur throughout the year.
Students
The Centre caters for approximately 24 students in Years 7 to 12. Students have a wide range of disabilities such as severe language impairment, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Aspergers syndrome, autism, epilepsy, hearing and visual impairment and specific learning difficulties.
Inclusion
Inclusion in mainstream classes varies in both extent and scope due to different starting points, learning rates and previous experiences of individual students. Students with moderate impairments may spend a higher proportion of their school day in the Mary Ward Centre, while students with mild disabilities may only need back-up tuition and careful monitoring in their mainstream classes.
Students in Years 10, 11 and 12 (who follow the transition program) are integrated into the workplace at least one day per week. Some work placements may initially begin on-site at , for example, in the printing room, canteen, uniform shop, school grounds, library, istration and the staffroom (cleaning/washing up/collecting staff lunches). As students’ work skills improve, they move out in to the broader community. Students have completed work experience at Coles, Coca-Cola, IGA, Target, Fonterra, Gattos Christian Shop, Julie Bishop's office, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Wooldridges, Custom International, Para-Quad Industries, Activ Industries, Perth Homecare Services, Westcare, Good Sammy's, Claremont Therapeutic Riding Centre, The Herdsman, St Vincent de Paul, King Edward Memorial Hospital, Workpower, Cancer Council of WA, St John of God Hospital, Disability Services Commission, Challenge Stadium, the University of Western Australia and University of Notre Dame.
Additionally, students are/have been enrolled in TAFE programs such as Furniture Making at Swan College on Mondays (Transition students), Certificate 1 in Business Services for Students with Disabilities at Leederville TAFE and courses such as Literacy, Numeracy, Team Skills and Communication, LifeSkills, Computing and Driver Education at Central and Leederville TAFE campuses. Students involved in woodwork at Swan College of TAFE (Balga Campus) have additionally manufactured boxes for storage of notepaper and cocktail paper table napkins as part of the Business Enterprise Program. In conjunction with employment agencies, possibilities also exist for school-based traineeships and the completion of nationally accredited Certificate 2 modules.
While students with special needs are included in mainstream classes and within the wider community, a special feature of is the PEER Pupils Assisting Learning program. This program affords mainstream students the opportunity to voluntarily assist in the Mary Ward Centre. A progression of the program has been the development of friendships that now extend beyond the classroom into recreational and social activities. Mainstream students volunteer at lunchtime, House and ACC Para-Carnivals, discos and social functions such as the youth group within the Centre. They also organize holiday activities for the students such as movies, tenpin bowling and the like. It is not just a question of what students with disabilities gain from inclusion in school and community settings, but increasingly a question of what mainstream students and the broader community derive from inclusion among such students. The PEER PAL program results in a 'win-win' situation for everyone!
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