2016 beverley park school annual report - amazon s3 · the art exhibition was a huge success. all...

Beverley Park SchoolAnnual Report

2016

5508

Printed on: 16 May, 2017 of 15 Beverley Park School 5508 (2016)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2016 is provided to the community of Beverley Park School as an account of the school'soperations and achievements throughout the year. It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has made to provide high quality educational opportunities forall students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings from self–assessment that reflect the impact of keyschool strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equityfunding.

School contact details

Beverley Park SchoolBeverley RdCampbelltown, 2560www.beverleypk-s.schools.nsw.edu.aubeverleypk-s.School@det.nsw.edu.au4625 1118

Message from the Principal

Beverley Park School has enjoyed a remarkable year of education for students with special needs. This year we havecelebrated 75 years of providing educational programs for students with additional learning needs, held our biannual artexhibition and celebrated student success across all the key learning areas.

The 75 year celebration was held over the course of the year with many smaller activities, culminating in a specialBirthday Celebration in November. Community members, past students and staff along with their families and our currentschool community celebrated the schools achievements with a 'Fun Day'. The local police Transport Command Divisionattended and provided their support with fun activities, and a visit from Constable Charlie the Penguin who bought alongice creams for all. A highlight of the day was reading stories written by past and present students and staff about theirexperiences at Beverley Park. All members of the school community had the opportunity to place items in the timecapsule which is buried in the schools central courtyard ready to be dug up at the years 100th Celebrations.

The Art Exhibition was a huge success. All students worked throughout the year to create works of art that reflectedsome aspect of their learning at school with the central focus being "Place". The official opening of the exhibition washeld after school in the evening to allow families and members of the community to attend. An incredible event, membersof the local community attended and the school was supported by other schools whose students catered for and waitedon the guests.

Beverley Park School prides itself on the relationships we hold within the local community and celebrated theseconnections. Local High Schools come weekly to support students sporting and communication programs. A regularteam of volunteers visit the school to support student learning.

Connecting with parents remains a strong focus for the school. Regular workshops presented by the school therapy teamhave been attended by parents and have proven to be most valuable, with parents learning communication strategies,key word sign language, how to create and use visual resources to support student communication and explore funactivities to help with student engagement in learning including sensory education.

The school charity Kids Inc worlds hard to support the therapy needs of the students by funding a speech pathologist,occupational therapist and therapy aide. The work the team has achieved in 2016 has seen the embedding of therapypractices into class programs and supported student engagement in learning through meeting their individual sensoryneeds and supporting student communication programs. The school physiotherapist leads the team along with theschool principal and guides the team to share goals and strategies to meet the individual needs of each student. Kids Inchave supported families with the transition to NDIS and held many information sessions. inviting service providers intothe school to support families who are transitioning onto NDIS.

The school P&C meet monthly. They have two main goals, fundraising to buy equipment for the students to use at schooland helping to engage families with the school. A number of successful events were held throughout the year, and a veryspecial Gold Grass Outdoor Cinema night heralded the end of the years events.


School background

School vision statement

Beverley Park School provides a safe, respectful and inclusive learning environment with commitment to providing eachstudent with the opportunities to acquire skills, values and positive attitudes to a chief their full potential and besuccessful participants in the community.Our vision is for each student to be empowered, life long learners who are confident and creative individuals supportedby staff, parents and community who have high expectations of the students and who are an engaged 21st Centurylearning community.

School context

Beverley Park School is located in Campbelltown in Sydney's South West. The school provides quality education forstudents with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. There are nine classes for students in Kindergarten to Year12. We celebrate the unique abilities of all our students and support their life long learning through quality educationwithin a supportive and harmonies school environment.

All students have Personalised Learning and Support Plans which are developed collaboratively with parents, staff andsupport professionals. Within the innovative, engaging supported learning environment students participate in a broadrange of learning opportunities. The school has a strong emphasis on student wellbeing. High expectations of ourstudents to succeed are shared by staff, parents and community. Programs are supportive of positive values andbehaviour for learning across the school and community.

There are strong partnerships establishes with parents and community groups which support the educationalachievements of our students, staff and community. Beverley Park School is a member of a Community of Schools withPassfield Park and Mary Brooksbank Schools. This professional partnership fosters collaboration to build capacities ofleadership and education innovation.

Self-assessment and school achievement

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework,school achievements and the next steps to be pursued.

This year, our school undertook self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework. The framework supportspublic schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practiceacross the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading.

The school boasts a Learning Culture that demonstrates that all teaching staff understand the importance of studentengagement. Teachers have worked closely with the school therapy team to ensure that students sensory need are metto support student engagement in their programs. We have a high expectation of student behaviour. Our school is apositive behaviour for learning school (PBL). The school staff use a consistency of language around the schoolsupporting the students understanding of the 3 school rules, Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be a Learner. Beverley ParkSchool excels in the developing of respectful relationships between the school and its community to support students as21 Century Learners.

In 2016 Beverley Park School placed strong emphasis on Wellbeing programs for students, staff and the schoolscommunity. The schools believes that the development of a framework to meet the wellbeing needs of all stakeholderswill provide all students with the opportunities to connect, succeed and thrive relative to their personalised learningneeds.

This year the school placed an emphasis on quality transitions in the area of Curriculum and Learning. Carefulplanning around providing meaning activities to support student transitions resulted in students moving into the school,from year 6 to year 7 and exiting the school with confidence. Student learning outcomes are determined through carefulconsideration and understanding of the curriculum and careful adjustments to each students program are made to meettheir personalised learning needs.

Assessment and Reporting is paramount to measuring student success at beverley park School. Each student ismeasured against their achievement against personal outcomes. School reports are sent home at the end of semester


one and at the end of the year. The reports contain photos which depict areas of students achieving their learning goals.The schools uses a variety of tool for measuring students achievement go goals. In particular the use of GoalAttainmentScales (GAS Goals) are used to explicitly measure students progress in communication.

At Beverley park School Student Performance Measures are unique to each student. Each student works to achievehis or her own personal best and are compared only to their own progress towards achieving the goals established in thePersonalised Learning and Support Plans.

The school is working towards improved systems in the area of Effective Classroom Practice. Teachers regular reviewtheir programs hand meet with their supervisors to monitor the development of classroom programs. All classrooms arestudent focussed with visual communication systems and visual timetables displayed to support student engagement inlearning.

Data Skill sand Use at Beverley Park School are used to measure individual students performance to ensure thatstudents are making steady progress in their learning outcomes. Students data samples inform progress and areregularly evaluated. Data collected is personalised for each students learning needs.

The school prides itself on demonstrating Collaborative Practice. Team and staff meetings include all teachers andschool learning officers. Staff work together to ensure the success of the students in all classes and across all learningenvironments. Staff work together to encourage, coach and mentor each other.

Learning and Development is valued by the whole school. Teacher professional learning is provided weekly at teacherprofessional learning and is curriculum based. Across the Community of Schools identified professional learning wastargeted to meet the needs of all school staff based on their goals in their Professional Development Plans (PDP's)

The school has a culture of supporting teacher to achieve their accreditation through meeting expectations theProfessional Standards. The teachers are developing an understanding of the importance of being a part of the systemand are working beyond the school to build their capacity and share best practice with other teachers.

Beverley park School is committed to supporting aspiring leaders and providing Leadership opportunities for staff whodemonstrate the capacity and interesting in leading teams across the school. The leadership team meets weekly tosupport the leadership of programs and implementations of reform across the school.

School Planning, Implementation and Reporting is valued by the whole school community. The schools communityare involved in developing the school vision and the schools plan was developed in consultation with the schoolscommunity.

School Resources at Beverley Park are used thoughtfully to maximise student learning opportunities. The school postsgenerous playgrounds, a school pool and a hall. Plans are in place to upgrade the physical aspects of some of the olderbuildings and spaces. Students access all learning environments to meet educational outcomes in ways that areengaging. The school is well equipped with current technology including iPads, computers and interactive white boards.

The Management Practice and Process at Beverley Park school are managed by teams including but are not limited tothe Work health and Safety team, and Finance Committee. A member of the schools P&C supports the finance team.

Leading

Our self–assessment process will assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our School Plan, leading to furtherimprovements in the delivery of education to our students.

For more information about the School Excellence Framework:

http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about–the–department/our–reforms/school–excellence–framework


Strategic Direction 1

Student Learning

Purpose

To Provide an engaging, accessible learning environment that supports students personalised learning with realisticgoals which enables students to participate and communicate to their full potential as successful learners.

Overall summary of progress

All students have high quality personalised Learning and Support Plans which are developed within a multi–disclipinaryteam including family members, teachers, learning support officers and therapists. Student achievement of personalisedlearning goal is measured through a variety of too for collecting data and is regularly analysed to ascertain that studentsare meeting their short term goals. Goals are reviewed every 5 weeks. Student reports reflect student learning in the keylearning areas. All students at Beverley Park School have learning adjustments to access the curriculum.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year Funds Expended(Resources)

Student performance/ progress inpersonalised goals will bemeasured using Goal AttainmentScales.

All students have Goal Attainment Scales (GASGoals)for communication. Staff participate inprofessional learning to write GAS Goals, andcollegial discussion to evaluate student successmeasures. Goals are reviewed every 5 weeks andadjusted to meet students needs.

School programs support thedevelopment of student positivebehaviours for learning, socialand emotional skills.

Student Positive Behaviour For Learning has beena focus this year with a goal to establishing a wholeschool rewards system. USSF Funds were used toemploy additional SLSO's to support extremechallenging behaviour and provide time for teachersto plan and implement, and evaluate behaviourSupport Plans.

Professional LearningFunds

USSF Funding forbehaviour support

Professional Learning includesuse of current technologies tosupport student learning andengagement in 21st Centurypedagogy.

Staff have begun to access online professionallearning opportunities to build their capacity andsupport achieving their goals identified in thePerformance and Development Plans.

Using technology across the school to supportstudent engagement in the curriculum, teacheraccess to writing high quality programs and tosupport communication between the home andschool remains a focus of professional learning.

Next Steps

In 2017 the school will look closely at developing scope and sequence for all the key learning areas and subjects tosupport student learning from kindergarten to year 12.

• A continuum for professional learning around the curriculum has been developed. All staff will work across theschool to build on their curriculum knowledge to provide high quality teaching and learning programs.

• A culture of mentoring teachers and classroom observations will ensure that best practice is shared across theschool to support student learning. Clear feedback to teachers to support their professional development.

• Accessing ongoing professional learning delivered at school, across the network, and sharing knowledge acrossthe school to build capacity of all teachers to implement highest quality programs that demonstrate understandingof the curriculum and units of work.

• Developing high quality resources that meet the learning needs of students. • Continue to work on and monitor student behaviour management plans. • The PBL team to refine and support Positive Behaviour for Learning implementation in the school.


• The implementation of the student voice program across the CoS twice in 2017. • Ongoing implementation of creative and performing arts programs which are innovative and inclusive. • Build on already exisiting processes for the collection and evaluation of data to inform planning and programming.



Staff and Leader Learning

Purpose

To provide a high standard of education through collaborative learning opportunities for sharing and exchangingexpertise of innovative education and quality leadership which inspires all CoS stakeholders to excel and reach their fullpotential.


Professional learning across the community of school was most successful. the teams are working together and sharingideas around best practise.

The CoS conference was successful in supporting staff professional learning around Choice Theory and Wellbeing.

All staff attended Twilight Sessions that focussed on Wellbeing, the need to look after yourself so that you can return towork, and 'Work On'.

Work began on the development of the Assistant Principal handbook, however direction changed and will be revisited in2017.

Community of Schools professional learning was well received, and staff across the schools developed professionalcollegial relationships that resulted in learning activities for students.

Sharing of best practise of teaching and learning plans for students in pre Early Stage 1 saw the unpacking of ideasaround the literacy, numeracy and science frameworks.




100% of all professional learningopportunities across the CoSreflect Performance andDevelopment Plan goals.

All teacher Performance and Development Planswere considered with the development ofprofessional learning across the CoS (Communityof Schools.) As a result the CoS were able todeliver professional learning that focussed onsupporting teacher Performance Goals and wereable to use expertise within the CoS, or to inviteleaders from across the network including theQuality Teacher Advisor and Learning andWellbeing Team.

Each School committed$1000 to a shared accountmanaged by Beverley ParkSchool to provide funds forcatering and course costs.

100% of all staff attend the CoSconferences.

All staff (teachers and School Learning SupportOfficers) attended the CoS conferences. Feedbackof the conference was positive with staff developingand building on positive collegial networks that buildthe capacity of staff across the CoS.

Each School committed$1000 to a shared accountmanaged by Beverley ParkSchool to provide funds forcatering and course costs.

100% of all staff is involved intrialling and using assessmentsand teaching strategies for allstudents at pre ES1 level.

The frameworks were delivered across the schools,and all staff attended professional learning toimplement and embed them into teaching andlearning programs. Further work is required in 2017to build the capacity and confidence of teachers atBeverley Park to implement all the frameworks.

Next Steps

In 2017 the Community of Schools will continue to work towards building the capacity of its school leaders, aspiringleaders, teachers and School learning support officers. Working together to share best practise has been greatly valued,


and will continue to see the sharing of ideas, programs and collegial networking which is vital to developing teachersacross the system. In 2017:

• The Assistant principal handbook will be a focus for the teams. Working with the Principal School Leadership todevelop the handbook to share what is best practise in leadership in a School For Specific purpose, unpack thenotion of what leadership is and what is required to support the principal in leading the school.

• Ongoing professional learning for all staff in the Community of Schools which is developed as a result of thecollation of PDP goals for teachers and SASS staff.

• Activities for students across the CoS that include combined sporting activities, Boccia Cup, excursions andoutings. Pen Pal activities to continue for secondary students.

• Embedding of the Pre Early Stage One Literacy, Numeracy and Science frameworks at Beverley Park School forall students. Evidence of assessment and planning to be monitored by school executive. A culture of sharing ideasto be fostered. Ongoing professional learning to support new staff at the school.

• Continuing to foster the culture of collegial support across the school to build capacity of all staff to implement highquality teaching and learning programs.

•



School Learning

Purpose

To develop strategic partnerships to enhance our shared of equity, high expectations, diversity and the celebration ofsuccess. To wrk together as a learning community to give students the opportunities to achieve their personal goals andlead successful lives.


Strategic partnerships are highly valued by the Beverley Park School community. In 2016 a number of school activitiesprovided parents with the opportunity to participate in school activities which built upon the already confident parentgroup. Activities such as the Easter hat Parade, Grandparents Day, Sports Carnivals and the 75th Birthday Celebrationsproviding opportunities for parents, family, carers and community members to visit the school. The school networked withother local primary schools and interested community members attend PATCH– a volunteer program for Parents AsTeachers of Children and PAVE, Parents As Volunteers.




Schedule/ Calendar of parentparticipation is developed basedon feedback from parents whichincludes 4 workshops, studentlearning sessions and schoolevents. Increased levels of parentand community participationacross school activities areevident.

Parent workshops are well attended. They arepresented by the school based therapy team. Eachworkshop has a different focus, that centres ofstudent communication and engagement inlearning. Parents are supported to make their ownresources to take home to use and provideconsistency in communication strategies acrossenvironments.

Funded by Kids Inc theschool charity

School charity provides fundingand resources for specialisedlearning programs and staff whichmeets the current needs of thestudents and is sustained.

The school charity funds a School Learning SupportOfficer to provide therapy to students 4 days aweek. The therapy aid works with the schoolphysiotherapist to implement programs to studentsacross the school which include accessing standingframes, walking and movement programs, fitting ofspecialised equipment and supporting families atappointments and wheelchair clinics.

Funded by the schoolcharity.

Next Steps

School communication between home and school to be and ongoing priority. • School newsletter to be fortnightly and include classroom news stories, insights about the NDIS, information that is

relevant to families int he school community. • Continue to increase parent participation in regular events at school. • The P&C to wrk to support the school in engaging families in activities at the school. • Continue to work towards improving communication between school and home by providing means that support

the families. • Develop positive culture of learning for parents, by continuing with the Therapy Workshops and inviting parents to

inform the school about what type of learning opportunity they would like. • Empowering parents/ carers to be an active voice for their children. • Ensuring that communication and consultation processes are respectful, active and timely between the school and

community. • Continue to strengthen the relationships between beverley Park School and other school in the network through

the collegial sharing of practise, supporting other schools with students with additional learning needs and sharingof the Special Education Toolbox.

• Develop a schedule of activities that encourage parent participation that is based on feedback from parents.


• Ongoing support from the school Charity to provide funding to resource specialised learning programs and staff tomeet the current needs of students.


Key Initiatives Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)

Aboriginal background loading All students who identify as Aboriginal have aPersonalised Learning and Support Plan.Funding was used to support key programsacross the whole school including AboriginalArt and Music workshops, the employment ofa specialist Aboriginal Education teacher toimplement programs to students and tocontinually build that capacity of staff tounderstand the needs of Aboriginal Studentswith learning about the 8 Ways of AboriginalEducation Program.

$2,373.99

English language proficiency All students at Beverley Park School have apersonalised communication program. Fundsreceived for English Language Proficiency areused to support students to developcommunication strategies, using speech, signlanguage, visual supports or technology tosupport communication.

$3,406.91

Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

QTSS funds were used strategically tosupport teachers in class. Supervisors werereleased to support the development of classprograms, to make observations on teachingand learning and to provide feedback onsupervised lessons and programs.

0.087 FTE– equivalent toapproximately 2 hours aweek Teacher Time

Socio–economic background Socio–economic funds were used to supportstudents learning in classrooms through therelease of a school learning support officer tohelp students develop communication skillsthrough the implementation of programsdeveloped by the school speech pathologistand class teacher.

$22,844.09

Support for beginning teachers One teacher received beginning teacherfunding. This funding was used for teacheridentified professional learning as well as torelease the teachers supervisor to mentor andcoach.

$4080.73

Targeted student support forrefugees and new arrivals

Funding was used to support the students todevelop communication skills and supportregular attendance at school, by releasing theSLSO to support the implementation ofteacher and speech pathologist developedcommunication programs.

$400


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2013 2014 2015 2016

Boys 35 37 38 43

Girls 20 19 16 13

Students are enrolled at Beverley Park School by aregional placement panel.

Structure of classes

At Beverley Park School we have organised theclasses into groups of students who are of similar agesand stages. This enables us to provide dignified andage appropriate planning. Each class has a teacherand school learning support officer (SLSO). The schoolalso accesses additional funding to support studentswho require significant support through the employmentof additional SLSO's to assist with behaviour, andsupporting all students to access the curriculum.

There were 3 school leavers in 2016. All students lefthave accessed community participation programs.

Year 12 attaining HSC or equivalent

3 students achieved the Higher School Certificate, LifeSkills.

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal 1

Assistant Principal(s) 3

Classroom Teacher(s) 6.76

Teacher Librarian 0.4

School Administration & SupportStaff

10.82

Other Positions 0

*Full Time Equivalent

4.5% of the workforce identifies as being Aboriginal.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirementsfor teaching in NSW public schools.

Teacher qualifications

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 80

Postgraduate degree 20

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

In 2016 staff attended teacher identified professionallearning. Professional Learning Funds were used tosupport teachers to attend PL opportunities thatsupported key initiatives identified int he school plan.

As a community of schools much of the professionallearning offered was around meeting teacher identifiedPerformance and Development Plan Goals. To supportthis specialist teachers from Glenfield Education officerwere invited to the school to support teachers to writetheir accreditation reports, to write their maintenance ofaccreditation reports and learn how to write high qualityjob applications.

Community of School professional learning at 4Twilight Sessions focussed on staff Wellbeing with acourse designed to help staff find ways to look afterthemselves in the challenging busy workplace. Thesesessions were well attended by all school staff,teachers, school learning and support staff and SASS.

The school has a strong commitment to supportteachers seeking to achieve their accreditation, andoffered support to a number of causal teachers oncontracts, and working day to day to complete theiraccreditation at Proficient. 3 teach completed andsubmitted their Accreditation at Proficient reports.

In 2016, 1 teacher at Beverley Park School successfullycompeted her first cycle of maintenance ofaccreditation, while others continue to log thereprofessional hours.


Financial information (for schoolsusing both OASIS and SAP/SALM)

Financial information

The three financial summary tables cover 13 months(from 1 December 2015 to 31 December 2016).

The financial summary consists of school incomebroken down by funding source and is derived from theschool Annual Financial Statement.

The information provided in the financial summaryincludes reporting from to 31 December 2016.

Income $

Balance brought forward 239 458.06

Global funds 93 193.05

Tied funds 132 492.66

School & community sources 21 195.31

Interest 2 265.78

Trust receipts 3 986.90

Canteen 0.00

Total income 492 591.76

Expenditure

Teaching & learning

Key learning areas 1 037.48

Excursions 0.00

Extracurricular dissections 22 687.90

Library 0.00

Training & development 7 108.78

Tied funds 141 792.25

Short term relief 29 357.52

Administration & office 23 060.75

School-operated canteen 0.00

Utilities 19 935.24

Maintenance 13 348.78

Trust accounts 5 026.48

Capital programs 0.00

Total expenditure 263 355.18

Balance carried forward 229 236.58

The information provided in the financial summaryincludes reporting from 1 January 2016 to 31December 2016.

2016 Actual ($)

Opening Balance 0.00

Revenue 404 065.44

(2a) Appropriation 388 413.54

(2b) Sale of Goods andServices

0.00

(2c) Grants and Contributions 15 343.43

(2e) Gain and Loss 0.00

(2f) Other Revenue 0.00

(2d) Investment Income 308.47

Expenses -136 386.67

Recurrent Expenses -136 386.67

(3a) Employee Related -110 841.29

(3b) Operating Expenses -25 545.38

Capital Expenses 0.00

(3c) Employee Related 0.00

(3d) Operating Expenses 0.00

SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THEYEAR

267 678.77

Balance Carried Forward 267 678.77

There is no opening balance recorded in the SAPfinance table. The opening balance for the school forthis reporting period is recorded as the BalanceBrought Forward in the OASIS table.

The OASIS Balance carried forward amount (ie, fundson date of migration) is included in the (2a)Appropriation amount in the SAP table.

Any differences between the OASIS Balance carriedforward and (2a) Appropriation amount is the result ofother accounts and transactions being included in the(2a) Appropriation amount.

The school has a finance committee that meetsmonthly. This team compromises a parentrepresentative, teacher representative, school principaland School Administration Manger.

The school had a significant overspend in leave, and anapplication fro supplementation has been made to havethe funds reimbursed.

The school is working towards updating the library andhas budgeted money for this purpose.

The school has rolled over money to put towards a poolupgrade to modernise the facilities to make them moreaccessible.


2016 Actual ($)

Base Total 425 456.35

Base Per Capita 6 020.85

Base Location 324.00

Other Base 419 111.51

Equity Total 28 625.00

Equity Aboriginal 2 373.99

Equity Socio economic 22 844.09

Equity Language 3 406.91

Equity Disability 0.00

Targeted Total 1 642 676.13

Other Total 10 714.00

Grand Total 2 107 471.48

A full copy of the school’s financial statement is tabledat the annual general meetings of the parent and/orcommunity groups. Further details concerning thestatement can be obtained by contacting the school.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

The school has an established Aboriginal EducationTeam compromising teachers and learning supportofficers who all share a passion for AboriginalEducation. The team meets regularly to plan forAboriginal Education across the school with 2 mainfocuses, those being the education of students whoidentify as Aboriginal and teaching all students aboutthe history of, and current issues facing AboriginalAustralians today.

Students explored creating Aboriginal Artworks andparticipated in activities that supported learning aboutAboriginal heritage during Naidoc.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

The school has an appointed Anti– Racism ContactOfficer, (ARCO). The ARCO works to support staff andstudents of all cultural backgrounds across the school.Posters in the school clearly identify who the ARCO isand how to contact them. The ARCO is readilyavailable for all members of the school community.

All students have personalised learning and supportplans which includes outcomes for communication. Allstudents have access to learning a language that givesthem a voice to express their needs and wants, makerequests, comment and discuss. The voice need not beverbal and may well be the use of visuals, key wordsign language or technology to communicate.

Students participate in Harmony Day activities which

acknowledges the need to live together in harmony.

The school is implementing the Kids Matter Framework.This framework supports the wellbeing of all membersof the school community and includes modules tosupport inclusion of families from a range of culturalbackgrounds.

Other school programs

The school Hydrotherapy Pool provides learningopportunities for all students. Most students swim atleast once a week while other students access the poolmultiple times a week. The schools physiotherapistdesigns programs for students with high supportphysical needs to access the pool to move, stretch andmeet their physical needs. The pool is warm andprovides an environment for tight muscles to relax andallow freedom of movement for students. For manystudents the pool is the environment in which they havethe most freedom and when supported are able tostand, walk or float. Many other students access thepool to meet their high sensory needs. For studentswhose learning and engagement relies on sensoryinput the pool provides the a place to splash and kick.To cascade water or put their face in the water.Teachers use this time to teach for example numberrecognition, but placing numerals on the bottom of thepool and asking students to collect them.

The school based therapy team compromises aphysiotherapist, 4 days a week, speech pathologist 1day a week, occupational therapist one day a week,and therapy aide 4 days a week. This is funded throughthe schools Charity Kids Inc. A focus has been placedon engaging students in their learning. This has beendone through providing support for students physicalaccess such as exercises that encourage reaching andstretching, communication programs that give studentsa voice, and sensory programs that meet each studentspersonal sensory needs and thus increase theirengagement in learning. The therapy aide assists thetherapist and learns the programs, she then visitsstudents in the classrooms throughout the weekimplementing specific therapy programs to ensurecontinuity of delivery and regular access to therapy inthe classroom. Conductive Education is a specialisedprogram facilitated by the schools physiotherapist.Students with high physical support needs are given1:1 support to leave their wheelchairs, sit on slattedstools or other pieces of equipment and access avariety of activities that increase movement. Theprogram encourages students to do as much forthemselves as they can. Staff allow students time torespond and encourage independent movement fromthe students.

Accessing the Visual Arts is a priority for students atBeverley park School. A specialist Art Teacher hasworked closely with staff and students throughout theyear to develop the capacity and confidence ofteachers to teach visual arts, and to support studentengagement. The art teacher has been released fromclass each Thursday to go into classes to help teachersprepare for the Art Exhibition. Works of art enteredaround the theme of 'Place'. All students contributed to


the success of the Art Exhibition by creating individualinstallations or by participating as part of a group orclass to create a shared installation. The Art Exhibitionwas very successful and the evening was well attendedby staff at neighbouring schools, members of the localcommunity, and the students their families and staff ofBeverley park School.


2016 beverley park school annual report - amazon s3 · the art exhibition was a huge success. all...

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