Carenne Public School - Individual Educational Programs

Topic Index

• General Information
• Case Conferences
• Reports on Student Progress.

1: General Information

The staff at Carenne are committed to implementing Individual Educational Programs (I.E.P�s) for all junior students in the school and Individual Transitions Programs (I.T.P�s) for all senior students. I.E.P�s/I.T.P.�s are designed in conjunction with those who are involved with the students total well being from home, school and the community.

At the beginning of Semester 1, a case conference is held where the students short term and long term needs are discussed and priorities for Semester 1 are set. These programs are developed in line with the Carenne School Curriculum based on the areas of:

• Independent Living
• Leisure Skills
• Academic Skills
• Vocational Skills

It also takes into consideration the important areas of Communication, Physical Management, Behaviour Management, Integration/ Inclusion, Transition and Vocational Skills.

At the beginning of Semester 2 a similar procedure is implemented so that priorities can be evaluated and set again for Semester 2.

A copy of each student�s I.E.P./I.T.P. is kept at Carenne and provided to all involved in the student�s education.

I.E.P�s/I.T.P.�s are assessed on a regular basis and feedback is provided to parents and caregivers through formal reports at the end of each semester and other informal avenues eg. Communication books, student diaries, phone calls and regular contact with parents (or caregivers).

2: Case Conferences

The content and sequence of each student's individual educational program should be determined by their present and future learning needs. To ensure consistency and continuity of purpose for each student, a plan for the involvement of the various school personnel, parents/caregivers and others who may be concerned with the students' education, is necessary. (Curriculum Statement for The Education of students with Severe Intellectual Disability, p.45).

The process for developing the I.E.P. involves all the abovementioned people. To ensure that parents/caregivers and other professionals are actively involved, effective and realistic strategies need to be developed. These strategies should recognise different environmental circumstances (e.g. different home circumstances, part-time therapy services, vocational aspirations).

For parents, these strategies should allow for:

• the supplying of relevant information about the student that can assist in setting objectives and determining teaching procedures.
• participation in determining the student's priority needs and objectives.
• pursuing program objectives and strategies at home and in the community consistent with those at school.
• participation in determining changes and refinements to priorities and objectives (p.45 Statement).

For other professionals these strategies should allow for:

• supplying of relevant information about the student to assist in determining priorities, objectives and effective teaching strategies.
• participation as appropriate in decision making about the student's priority needs, objectives and educational programs
• having direct involvement as appropriate, in particular aspects of implementing the educational program (p.46 Statement).

To allow parents/caregivers other professionals and school personnel to contribute, a variety of means need to be considered.

These include:

• personal interviews
• case conferences
• questionnaires
• meetings
• workshops
• written reports
• consultation with other personnel
• collection information.

Case Conferences are a valuable process in providing the highest quality education for each student in our care. The diverse needs of each student necessitates that the format for any case conference must be flexible to allow the needs of the students and case conference participants to be adequately addressed. It is suggested that a case conference should not exceed 1 1/2 hours. The school will use a range of techniques to allow teaching staff to be released from class duties for a session (approx. 1 1/2 hours) to conduct the case conference. For some conferences it is beneficial for the teacher's aide attached to the class to participate in the conference. The release of a teacher's aide is very awkward but a range of options will be explored when the need for the teacher's aide to attend the conference is of a very high priority.

3: Reports on Student Progress.

Two reports on student's progress will be sent to parents (or guardians) each year. The first report will be prepared in Semester 1 and finalised for distribution in week 6, term 2. The semester 2 report will be finalised in week 7, term 4.

The format for the report is flexible and can be adjusted to best suit the student, class and teacher's needs. The length of the report is left to the discretion of the class teacher. The report will be based on the student's Individual Educational Program and Case Conference information. The report should comprise skills based comments relating to the student's achievements in the identified priorities and objectives areas (I.E.P.). The report must be an accurate and honest account of the student's skills and achievements and should concentrate on positive progress made.

The report will have a standard cover page on school letterhead; all other pages will be prepared on plain paper. Type written or computer printed reports are preferred and the school will attempt to provide support for teachers who choose to use the printed format, but there will be no compulsion for teachers to prepare printed reports. Reports from T.A.F.E., Therapists and other personnel involved in a student's program, will be added to the school's report as attachments.

Reports will be distributed to all parents and the hostel (for students resident at the hostel). A copy of the report will be placed in the student's school file. Copies of the report may be distributed to other parties involved in a student's education such as therapists, case conference participants, T.A.F.E. teachers, pre school teachers at the discretion of the class teacher and the principal. Carenne operates on an "Open Door" policy and consequently parents are always able to request an interview to discuss any items in their child's report. There is no formal system of follow up interviews.