At St Joseph’s School the educational journey of all students is important. Therefore, we aim to cater for students of all abilities ranging from those with learning difficulties through to those who need enrichment and extension programs to better challenge them. Overall, our goal is to provide academic success for all within the context of a Catholic school environment. The are many procedures and practises in place to achieve this.

For all students, their primary educator is their class teacher. That may involve a number of different teachers depending on the subjects they do. All class teachers incorporate Planning for Personalised Learning (PfPL) as part of their planning for the individual learning needs of all students. Teacher planning incorporates the differentiation required for all students to access the curriculum. This planning for personalised learning ensures that students achieve their entitlement to ‘rigorous, relevant and engaging learning programs drawn from a challenging curriculum that addresses their individual learning needs’ as described in the Australian Curriculum. The PfPL poster below illustrates the planning process.

Support from within the school includes our Learning Support Teacher, Miss Erin Canavan, and her staff. Miss Canavan, a qualified and passionate Special Education Teacher, has been at St Joseph’s School for three years and the long hours she dedicates to the students and the school has been very important for the development of the Learning Support program. Miss Canavan is fortunate to have a team of very good Teacher Aides across both the Primary and Secondary Campuses. They work closely with teachers to support the needs of the students. Miss Canavan also oversees the very important verification process necessary to ensure the school gets the state and national funding necessary to resource the Learning Support program.

To maximise the learning of those more talented students, the school has both a Gifted and Talented Program and an Enrichment and Extension Program. These programs parallel each other and provide extension activities and modifications for identified students in the classroom and through co-curricular activities. The GATS (Gifted and Talented Students) Panel is responsible for the identification of gifted and talented and enrichment and extension students and development of suitable programs and modifications. The GATS Panel consists of:

• The Head of Enrichment and Data Improvement
• The Learning Support Teacher
• A member of the School Leadership Team
• The Guidance Counsellor
• Class Teacher/s

During an identification process, the GATS Panel relies on specialized testing and input from staff and parents.

Key groups responsible for supporting students with different needs (both academic and social/emotional) are the Student Welfare Committees (Primary and Secondary) which meet regularly to identify and monitor students at risk. The committee consists of the:

• Principal
• Deputy Principal or Assistant to the Principal Primary
• Learning Support Teacher
• Guidance Counsellor
• Heads of Wellbeing (Secondary)

The Student Welfare Committees also consult with class teachers and the Heads of Curriculum. The outcome of Student Welfare meetings is the development of individualised support plans for students. These plans involve both curriculum and pastoral support.

St Joseph’s School is also fortunate to have the ongoing assistance of expert staff at Toowoomba Catholic Schools including experienced Learning Support Teachers, specialist Education Officers in Numeracy and Literacy and specialists such as the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Speech Therapist. These staff work closely with our teachers to maximise the learning of our students.

Finally, I would like to recognise the work of two specialists at school who are important to ensuring students of all abilities are looked after at St Joseph’s School. Guidance Counsellor, Mrs Cathy Mills, does outstanding work caring for the social and emotional wellbeing of our students and their families. Her work assists the students to be in the best possible state of mind to succeed in their learning. She also works closely with the teachers to support their learning programs. Similarly, the work of internationally acclaimed music educator, Dr James Cuskelly OAM, is more than teaching the students to sing. His unique teaching methods have cross curriculum benefits through improved general auditory processing and improved language and literacy skills.

I hope this gives you a good snapshot for what St Joseph’s School offers to support our goal to provide academic success for all. Please don’t hesitate to discuss your child’s progress and plan for learning with their class teacher. Parents and caregivers are essential to the development of the learning plans for our students. That input and feedback about your child’s process is very important to our planning and teaching for all students.

The other staff mentioned here, including the School Leadership Team, are also available to assist you. Further, if any parent or caregiver would like to speak to me about any issue, please do not hesitate to contact me. We are all here to help.

God Bless