Students are required to complete their Junior schooling with a level of literacy and numeracy that will allow them to function in the Senior school and/or to successfully gain employment pathways. The Learning Facilitation Centre is focussed on providing support for students with learning challenges in order to assist them to access the curriculum, teaching and assessment in order to achieve the aforementioned goal.
The Centre is staffed with core teachers and teacher aides, and is led by the Learning Facilitation Centre Co-ordinator. The classroom teacher and the LFC staff work in conjunction with Support Services staff, including: Guidance Officers; School Nurse; Social Workers; Speech Language Pathologist; School Chaplain; Community Education Counsellor; EALD Co-ordinator and Administration Staff.
The Learning Facilitation Centre team extends to include: Deputy Principal, Heads of Year (HOYs), LFC Co-ordinator, Guidance Officers, LFC Case Managers, Study Skills teachers and teacher aides.
Aims of The Learning Facilitation Centre:
Students will:
- be provided with support in the areas of essential literacy and numeracy, via specialist classes
- be provided with the opportunity to work on organisational skills and approaches to working on set tasks
- gain confidence and skills in how to approach assignment writing, prepare for examinations, work through mathematical concepts and formulas
- develop greater confidence and self-belief in their school work generally
- gain individualised success – a sense of achievement and empowerment
- receive support in the affective areas of schooling – relationships, assertiveness, appropriate behaviours, time management and organisation.
- identifying and tracking the range of learning difficulties within the school
- provide the procedures for the early and continuing identification of students with learning difficulties
- undertaking informal and formal assessments
- co-operative planning with classroom teachers to assist with reasonable adjustments to class programs and assessment tasks
- explicit teaching of students in literacy and numeracy concepts, small group withdrawal, in-class support or one-on-one
- maintaining professional development and networking with other support personnel
- maintaining accountability to the Principal and parents
- managing the acquisition, use, development, storage and maintenance of resources
- liaising with other schools to assist in the transition between educational settings
- liaising with other providers of specialist support
The level of support a student receives is determined by their degree of need. A range of data and assessment tools are used to determine the requirements for each student. The LFC offers a number of assistance modes, including:
- a full line of Foundation Mathematics and English classes
- assessment support, including assistance with reading exam questions
- the delivery of reading intervention programs
- the implementation of Individual Curriculum Plans for identified students
- tutorial support classes instead of LOTE
- impromptu support, including times before and/or after school and lunch breaks
- in-class support, usually with a teacher aide
It is important to note that a student's lack of progress due to behavioural issues, and not learning difficulties, will not qualify them for learning support classes and intervention.