Students with Disabilities

Our schools are defined by their commitment to welcoming all who seek to share our life. We believe in inclusive practices for all who wish to enrol in our schools. Therefore the enrolment of students with disabilities is welcomed by Catholic Education.

Parents of children with disabilities are asked to give the school between six and twelve months notice of enrolment. In some cases where there is a high level of need, notice needs to be given two years in advance to facilitate transition into school or transition to Secondary school.

A special needs enrolment needs to occur at least six months before the student starts school so that procedures can be followed and funding applied for to enable the student with special learning needs to access the curriculum.

In all of our classes, in all of our schools there are students for whom changes are made to either the curriculum being taught or the strategies used by the teachers when they are teaching the curriculum.

Our teachers plan for these students in their classes and are assisted by the Learning Support Teacher at each school.

Nearly all of our schools have students who have a disability and have been verified as being a student with a disability. The more than 100 students we have who fit into this category are fully integrated into the classroom. We have students who have been diagnosed with hearing, visual or physical impairments, students with social/emotional or autistic disorders and students with intellectual or speech/language impairments.

Our students are able to access therapy support through non-school organisations such as ACCIST.

Having students with disabilities, and others who learn differently in our classrooms allows all our students to recognise, support and respect differences in us all.

Learning Support Teachers

Learning Support Teachers play an important role in the life of the school. The Learning Support Teacher contributes to the quality of the Catholic educational outcomes of the school by providing effective assistance to teachers in improving classroom learning for students at risk of not achieving their appropriate Literacy and Numeracy standards. Learning Support Teachers are available in all schools. These teachers help to identify students who have particular learning needs. They can provide diagnostic testing and programming for students with special learning difficulties. They also help coordinate special programmes for students with disabilities and facilitate inclusive learning practices throughout the school. They model good teaching strategies and help to promote these strategies throughout all class levels.

Speech Language Pathology

A Speech Language Pathologist is based at Catholic Education Services and provides Speech Pathology services throughout the Diocese from Tully to Thursday Island. Speech Language Pathologists work to ensure that students with speech or language difficulties are able to achieve the best possible educational outcomes. They promote the development of oral language skills within schools and provide specialised support for students who have speech language difficulties. The Speech Language Pathologist works with students at schools, liaises with parents and support teachers and school officers. Referrals can be made through the Learning Support Teacher or Principal at each Catholic school.

Advisory Visiting Teachers

An Advisory Visiting Teacher (AVT) is a specialist teacher in an area of disability who works as a consultant to schools across the Diocese. AVTs are involved in identifying and meeting the educational needs of students with disabilities.

They play a key role in facilitating the delivery of quality education to students with disabilities who have been ascertained as requiring specialist educational support.

The AVT based at Catholic Education Services provides support to teachers and parents of ascertained students in the categories of Intellectual Impairment and Autistic Spectrum Disorder across the Diocese.

Through this role the AVT promotes and facilitates inclusion of students with disabilities within the wider community of the school.

AVTs in the area of Vision Impairment, Physical Impairment and Hearing Impairment also support students within Catholic Education in the Cairns Diocese. These AVTs are employed by Education Queensland and work across both sectors.

Requests for contact or AVT service are made through the Learning Support Teacher or Principal at your school.