Student Support
Keilor Downs College strives to maximise opportunities for students with disabilities, impairments and additional learning needs to achieve maximum success by recognising that all students have the potential to learn and by providing the appropriate structures and approaches to best support their potential.
The College aims to:
- Ensure that all students feel safe, secure and included at school
- Ensure that all students with disabilities and special needs feel accepted and welcome at school
- Maintain a high level of knowledge of students’ special needs and to plan and implement programs, support structures and approaches to address these needs
- Ensure that students are supported with individual plans to support their learning, wellbeing and full participation in school
- Ensure that the entirety of PSD funding is directed into the PSD program, staffing and support structures
Guiding policy
Under section 32 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, education providers must comply with the Disability Standards for Education (2005). To comply, an education provider must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to accommodate a student with a disability. These Disability Standards apply to all students with disability, not just those who are eligible for support under the Program for Students with Disabilities.
The Standards cover issues such as enrolment, participation, curriculum development, student support services and the elimination of harassment and victimisation. They also direct that policy and practice in this area should reflect collaboration between teachers, students, parent/guardians and health professionals to develop planned responses to support a student’s behaviours, communication skills and learning needs.
Our Integration Aides
The Integration Aide is Educational Support, whose role is to assist and support students with a disability or impairment (whether they have funding or not) to participate as fully as possible in classroom activities.
The aide should work under the direction of the classroom teacher who is expected to implement the design of curriculum modification. It is within the aide’s role to make curriculum materials and aids.
How can Aides work in your classroom?
- An aide can work directly, one on one with an integration student.
- An aide can be asked to withdraw a student to another area, for example, the library, integration or house, to complete a specific task. They should not be sent out of class on a regular basis as the aim is for the student to be integrated into a full mainstream educational program.
