Carenne Public School - Special Programs

Topic Index

• Hydrotherapy
• Volcational Education
• Outreach and Integration

1: Hydrotherapy

Groups of students from the school regularly participate in Hydrotherapy programs. The activities are conducted at a heated pool in the local rehabilitation complex. The majority of the students involved are from the junior classes and follow the Halliwick method as a Learn-To-Swim program. A small number of students with specific physical therapy needs use hydrotherapy activities.

1.1 Halliwick method as used at Carenne Public School.

The Halliwick Method is a method of promoting water confidence and water safety for anyone who has not acquired these skills. It is particularly relevant for children and adults who have a disability but also an ideal introduction to the water for very young children.

Activities are carried out in a play way, often using nursery rhymes and other rhymes and song which the children love.

Halliwick is a one to one situation - one adult to one child and is carried out in a group of approximately 10, ie 5 children and 5 adults.

The main aims are:

• To have fun in the water
• To get children to blow the water away when it comes in contact with the mouth, ie. bubbles. This is to counteract the swallowing of water.
• To control their own body movements in the water, eg. by turning their own head they can free their face from the water and breathe.
• To do the necessary actions, eg. tread water, control own body, float, to keep themselves from sinking
• To be able to relax and feel safe while doing so.

24 basic skills are required so that the swimmer becomes mentally adjusted to, physically balanced in water and swims with safety. The skills are sequential and ensure progress.

They are interwoven, interdependent and include:

• Entry from the poolside - Level 1 - sitting entry to the instructor.
• Breathing - blow regularly onto the water.
• Static Positions
• Water Confidence - Level 1 - work with the instructor without gripping.
• Walking
• Jumping
• Head Control
• Exit over the side
• Breathing - exhale whilst submerged
• Rolling Recovery
• Sitting on the Floor
• Eyes open under Water
• Entry - from the poolside - Level 2 - sitting entry independently
• Breathing - exhale down the nose under water
• Mushroom Float
• Exit over the Side - get out of the pool unaided
• Somersault Forward
• Somersault Backward
• Pushing and Gliding
• Sculling

To ensure the students develop a positive attitude to swimming the skills are taught through a series of games. Several of these games are included as an example.

1.2 Humpty Dumpty

The child sits on side of pool, puts hands on instructors shoulders. The instructor puts hands on child�s waist. Sing Humpty Dumpty and at "had a great fall" bring child into water bring shoulders under water but not the fact. Move around with bobbing up and down motion.

Purpose - Enjoyable entry into water to help remove any fear the child may have.

1.3 Ring-A-Ring-A-Rosy

Long arm hold in circle. Sing "ring-a-ring-a-rosy" and on "we all fall down" child puts face in water and blows bubbles. More advanced group can go right under water.

Purpose - Breath control; blowing bubbles.

1.4 Change Places

Child in front of instructor held at waist - both facing centre. Child takes a breath and goes under to grab knee or toes of instructor opposite. Can hold toes up to surface or drop a plastic lid and child "dives" under to catch it.

Purpose - Body control, tread water.

2: Volcational Education

Vocational Education is a vital component overall education provided for students who attend Carenne Special School, Bathurst. Vocational Education includes: travel skills, social interaction skills as well as job skills. The training in these skills is commenced very early in a student's school life and will gradually increase in emphasis until in the student's final years at school when the majority of their education is centred around living and working in the community.

Vocational education is the area of the school's program where students experience the real world of work. The program aims to:

• introduce the young adult to a wide range of different work environments and jobs to increase their vocational awareness.
• increase the young adult's understanding of employment requirements.
• enhance the young person's ability to successfully interact with other members of the work force and the community.
• expand the young person's job skills, commencing with broad general work habits through to more specific tasks as the student's ability and experience increase.
• develop the young person's self awareness and self assessment skills so that they can make realistic employment decisions.

The Vocational Education Program has a range of components.

2.1 In School Component: - Work Training

Most students in the high school section at Carenne all participate in some form of work training. The younger students, 12-15 year olds, participate in activities run within the school. There are two broad areas of this in-school work, work groups and work stations.

A work group consists of a number of students and a teacher working together on a job for 1 1/2 to 3 hours in a day.

Some work group tasks are:

• running the school canteen (1 day per week)
• car washing
• ironing
• gardening
• biscuit making
• recycling - aluminium cans, paper/fire brick making, paper making

A work station is where 1 or 2 students work with a member of the school staff, assisting them with their tasks from 1 - 1 1/ 2 to a full school day. The work stations include: Teachers Aid, Clerical Assistant, Cleaner, Gardener/Handyman.

Students in this in-school phase of work training also visit some of the regular work experience placements to commence their awareness raising in preparation for entering the community work experience process at some later stage. Msub>Community Work Placements.

Once students in the in-school work program demonstrate that they have developed good work habits and they possess appropriate social and personal skills, the students commence work education with employers in the community. There are 3 levels of work education: Work Experience, Enclave and Job Coaching.

The Enclave operate with 4 or 5 students and 1 teacher working together at 1 job site. The teacher provides detailed training of the full range of work skills.

Work Experience involves the student working under the supervision of co-workers in a normal job setting. The Job Coach program provides specific job skill training for students who are ready for employment in a regular job. Community work placements have been in operation for many years at Carenne and through the ongoing dedicated support of many local businesses, a large number of Carenne students have developed an extensive understanding of the requirements and values of work and a job.

The wide range of employer support enables Carenne to offer work experience and job training placements in the following industries:

• Child Care
• Cleaning
• Gardening
• Printing
• Animal Care
• Senior Citizens
• Smash Repairs
• Retail Business
• Building Trades Office Work
• Automotive - cleaning and detailing
• Hospitality and Food Service
• Production Work - Food, Timber, Metal Industries

These industries provide realistic employment opportunities and cover a wide variety of jobs allowing the school to cater for individual student�s interests and motivation.

The programs operate on a Day Release model.

3: Outreach and Integration

This program has been established between Carenne SSP, Bathurst Public, West Bathurst Public, Kelso Public and South Bathurst Public Schools. Currently, in 1998, there are twelve students involved in the program.

Two of the students attend either West Bathurst or Bathurst Public School full time and receive the support of the Outreach Teacher in their academic work. The objectives are been based on Curriculum Based Assessment and Curriculum/Criterion Based Assessment and through consultation and collaboration with parents and the class teacher.

Programming and instruction is implemented through the Key Learning Areas as outlined in the NSW Department of Education and Training Curriculum documents as well as the Carenne SSP Curriculum.

The students enrolled at West Bathurst and Bathurst Public are able to participate in activities such as Swimming and community excursions. These activities not only develop the student's independence within the community but their physical fitness and self esteem.

The other nine students attend Carenne full-time, visiting one of the host schools for at least one 90 minute session per week. During this time they participate in the class activities established by the teacher at the host school, with support from the Outreach Teacher.

Through the integration process the students enrolled at Carenne are able to reinforce and generalise skills learned in a structured environment. They are also given the opportunities to practise appropriate behaviours as they socialise with their mainstream peers.