Information about Learning Support at Clearview
At Clearview Primary School we recognise the diverse learning needs of our students and the need for barrier-free access to education. We work with students and their whānau to identify and address any barriers that may stop students from accessing, participating in, or remaining engaged in education. This includes Māori and Pasifika learners, learners who are neurodiverse or who have a disability, and those with learning support needs (NELP Priority 3)
Every child learns in different ways and at different rates. If your child doesn't seem to be learning in the same way as other children or is having difficulty with speaking, hearing, seeing, moving about, or with their behaviour then they may need some extra support to learn and develop.
Clearview Primary staff work hard to get to know your child and we provide most of the support for children with learning support needs. As a parent, you're usually the first to notice differences between your child and others of a similar age - you’re their first teacher after all. You'll want to know if there is an issue and if there is, what can be done to help your child, who to go to for help and how to navigate this support.
If you're concerned about your child’s learning and development, your first place to go is to your child's teacher. They can answer questions and if there is a need for further support, they may wish to involve the Learning Support Coordinator in future discussions or meetings.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a culturally inclusive framework. Although UDL has been developed in the USA, it resonates for us here in Aotearoa. UDL takes a people-first approach to planning learning. It asks us to think about who we will teach and what those learners bring with them before we think about what we will teach and how we will teach it. UDL is focussed on ensuring all learners get a chance to learn in ways that work for them. It is about removing barriers and opening doors to learning.
Here is a video to explain more about UDL & the New Zealand Curriculum.
Student Monitoring Documents
At Clearview Primary we aim to ensure that additional support strategies are documented for our learners so that there is a consistent supportive approach from year to year, teacher to teacher. We have two layers of this monitoring for different levels of needs.
Our first level of documentation is our Class Based monitoring system (Class CAPs) for students whose teachers and the LSC are monitoring ongoing progress (including academic, behavioural and wellbeing) and recording the strategies and supports that are in place in class.
Students monitored via a Class CAP may need short term support or have small amounts of Teacher Aide intervention provided by school, have lower level individual or group based strategies or additional teacher attention during class time to boost their engagement and/or achievement.
Typically parents are not involved, as many of the strategies in place may be common supports in classrooms, however whānau are welcome to ask their child’s teacher what strategies/supports are in place. Monitoring is updated termly by class teachers and monitored by the LSC, team leaders and assistant principals.
The higher level of these documents is an Individual Education Plan or Individual Behaviour plan (IEP/IBP) that is a student specific document that whānau, teachers, the learner and any support agencies all have input into and these are reviewed in Term 1 and Term 3 each year, to align with our Learning Conferences and reporting schedule. This means that our higher needs students have termly in-depth reporting and communication with whānau in the form of either IEP/IBP (Term 1 and 3) or mid/end of year reports (Term 2 and 4).
It is important to note that approximately only 5-10% of students across schools have an IEP/IBP in place - these are typically for students who may have long term individualised funding, high and complex needs and ongoing academic difficulties. Whilst some support agencies may ask/recommend that your child has an IEP/IBP in place, it does not always need to be named that, and it is likely that your child would be on the monitoring system if they are being supported at school for different reasons.
The IEP/IBP is a collaborative process of goal setting and reviewing. It may include:
- who will be working with the student, their role and what they will do
- how the student's learning can be supported at home
- teaching strategies that will support the student to learn
- resources or special equipment the student might need
- what success for the student and team working with the student will look like.
The IEP/IBP acts as a document detailing what is in place for a student, so that everyone can be clear about their goals or next steps, who is helping and how they are being supported to achieve these goals.
Teaching Assistants (TAs) at Clearview Primary
Our Teaching Assistants (TAs) are a valuable resource. We currently have 13 part time TAs on our team and they are funded from various sources to support our learners. The funding is directed to be used with that student/s depending on the need for 1-1 or group based.
Sometimes people from outside agencies might recommend that your child has a TA to support them (such as your GP or if you have had a professional report for dyslexia or other diagnosis). Unfortunately, schools in NZ are not funded in this way and so this may not be possible - students in NZ do not require a diagnosis to access funding, and equally getting a diagnosis unfortunately does not mean they will get funding for a teacher aide.
What we try to do as a school is to pool our wonderful TA resources so your child may benefit from a small group or else your child’s teacher may be able to spend time taking a small group while the TA roams around the class. This way means that your child can get some extra support even if they don’t have a TA directly allocated to them.
Of course, this is dependent on the needs across the school and we have to prioritise how this is used.
If you have any concerns regarding your child's learning or emotional well-being, your first point of call is always your child's home base teacher so please contact them first, and your child's teacher can follow up with the LSC.
He waka eke noa- We are all in this together
Ngā mihi nui
Learning Support Coordinator
