Chalmers Road School provides educational programs for students aged four to eighteen years with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities and draws from a wide geographical area as well as a diverse cultural and social community.
The school aims to provide individual educational programs to assist all students to reach their potential and independence for adult life. Chalmers Road School promotes a positive learning environment using Positive Behaviour Intervention Support (PBIS) across all environments and learning experiences.
The school's motto "Outstanding education in a strong community environment" underpins the principles, practices and philosophies of the school where individual welfare in all aspects - educational, physical, social, spiritual and cultural - is paramount and all students are challenged to learn, grow and co-operatively participate. There is a strong community value at Chalmers Road School with ongoing support for families and effective partnerships with the community.
Each student from Kindergarten to Year 12 has a Personalised Learning and Support Plan (PLSP). These plans prioritise learning areas that are highly relevant to each student. Parents and school staff work in collaboration to develop and review these learning plans. Each student's learning is supported and enhanced by teaching strategies that cater for individual learning styles. Adjustments are made to the NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum to meet the learning needs of students.
A strong focus on literacy, communication and numeracy, provides a good foundation for learning across the curriculum. Chalmers Road School is committed to developing a range of programs to support and develop student communication needs. We use multimodal strategies to support the development of communication and literacy. These strategies may include verbal and visual communication, use of keyword signing, picture exchange communication (PECs), voice output devices and iPads.
Literacy programs are varied for each student. There are both academic and functional literacy programs developed with adjustments to support the development of literacy skills for each student. Students require adjustments to the teaching, learning and assessment activities to enable them to access the syllabus outcomes and content. Appropriate resources and technology are used to support student learning.
Please visit the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards (BOSTES) NSW for more information.
Chalmers Road School is organised into 3 main sections:
Junior Grades - early intervention and transition to school focus
The Junior grades comprise of three classes across Years 1 to 5. Each class has approximately 6 to 7 students supported with Teacher and School Learning Support Officer.
The main focus for learning across the Junior classes are communication and the development of appropriate self-help skills. This empowers students as individuals as well as gaining their own sense of worth and dignity. Students are also involved in learning based on the 6 Key Learning Areas from New South Wales Education Standards Authority including:
- English
- Mathematics
- Science and technology
- Human Society and its environment
- Personal development, health and physical education
- Creative arts
Each student has a Personalised Learning and Support Plan to guide their learning goals. These are written in partnership with parents to ensure they meet the needs of each student. Planning meetings are held twice a year and a whole team-based approach is encouraged where all personnel involved in the student's education are encouraged to attend and contribute to devising these mutually formulated goals. Regular communication between the school and home is welcomed as we aim to work together in delivering learning programs that enable the student to achieve success and maximise their potential as well as developing their overall well being. These are important foundational aspects to prepare the Junior student for a successful school experience.
Middle School - flexible structure to allow for primary and early high school teaching and transition programs
There are three Middle School classes for students across Years 4-8. Students in Middle School participate in a variety of discovery-based learning activities to encourage the development of skills in enquiry, cause and effect, collaboration and problem-solving.
Students access a differentiated curriculum which has been specifically created for individual needs. Teachers deliver innovative, high-quality programs from the Australian Curriculum and encourage students to build independence across all areas. Every student has a personalised learning support plan (PLSP) that has been developed in consultation with parents and focuses on the following areas:
- English
- Mathematics
- Science and technology
- History
- Geography
- Personal development, health and physical education
- Creative arts - dance, music, drama and visual arts
High School - community access and transition to post-school programs focus
There are 4 High School classes across Years 7-12. The students in High School participate in functional based programs that aim to prepare them for post-school life.
A central focus for learning is functional literacy and numeracy skills, including recognising community symbols, money handling skills and understanding time. All High School outcomes are taken from the Board of Studies Life Skills Syllabus. Teachers are skilled in programming and delivering high-quality lessons and programs using the Australian Curriculum and they encourage all students to build independence across all areas. Programs are developed based on the following key learning areas:
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- History
- Geography
- Personal development, health and physical education
- Technological and applied studies
- Creative arts - dance, music, drama and visual arts
- Languages
- Work and the community
Each student in High School has a Personalised Learning and Support Plan (PLSP) that is developed in consultation with parents and carers. These goals are developed to specifically cater to each student's individual needs and focus on transition planning for post-school life.