Integration
Purpose
We feel that students benefit most by learning through experience and with their peers. In order to provide students with the most meaningful learning experiences and opportunities to socialise with their peers we encourage all students to integrate in some capacity. Depending on the individual student’s needs this could range from supported playground integration, to integration into a variety of mainstream classes and settings. The purpose of integration varies for each student in line with their learning goals, whether they be academic, social, or a combination of both. For each student the level of integration will vary from full integration with no additional support, to modified tasks and curriculum, or individual support provided by an SLSO in the mainstream classroom
Planning and Process
To facilitate successful and meaningful integration, support teachers consult with parents/caregivers, students and mainstream teachers to discuss the appropriate level of integration and support. At each IEP meeting teachers will discuss the current level of integration, how successful it has been and what the next step will be. They will also discuss the integration options with the student to address any concerns or questions. Then the support teacher will meet with the relevant classroom teachers and develop an integration plan that outlines the students learning and support needs, their level of integration and strategies that can be used to support the students inclusion in that particular class or setting. These plans are developed for each new course students integrate into and are reviewed across a term to ensure the integration is successful and the level of support being provided meets the student's needs.