Transition Education
Like any student who is preparing to leave school, students with disabilities can feel anxious about making what is a significant change to the school life they have known for so many years. It can be more challenging for students with disabilities, as they usually require additional support to cope with the emotional transitions involved.
Leaving school can also be a very challenging time for parents and carers, who face a significant milestone in their child's life that highlights the different pathway their child with a disability will have as an adult. Parents also need also to navigate the various options available to their child as they enter adulthood. The Support Teacher Transition will keep parents and carers informed of the process and is an important part of the support that is available to families.
Teachers of students with disabilities develop Person Centred Learning Plans (PCLPs) that develop each student's functional and independence skills, with a practical appraisal of a student's future life outcomes, beginning with the end in mind, considering the greatest level of inclusion possible. This is the key to successful transitions from school.
Transition Plans
Begin with the end in mind.
Person Centred Learning Plans (PCLPs)
Each student who comes to William Rose School has a unique PCLP that addresses specific needs. PCLPs are written by teachers, in consultation with parents using the Student Reviews and or negotiated personal goals.
Teachers assess the abilities of the students and, with the priorities negotiated with parents, develop programs to foster the most effective learning. For some students, an aspect of an PCLP may entail learning how to brush their teeth independently, for others it may involve independent travel skills to school. PCLPs can encompass steps that are small and need repeated reinforcement and practice, while for others there are programs of more complicated skills that can be achieved relatively quickly. PCLPs are responsive and are able to be adapted as needed.
PCLPs address immediate goals, with a view of the future and where the parents see their children being in adulthood. PCLPs are the backbone of all of the programs and lessons that each student experiences.
Focused learning goals
To assist with focusing the entire learning support team on the same goals, prioritising two or three main goals and displaying these in the classroom helps everyone to be consistent and provide practise and experience for the student.
We like to include at least one ‘social' goal and one 'home' goal that can be supported in school and home settings. The social goal typically is a personal development one and may be about communicating needs, making friends, asking for help or taking initiative, for example. The ‘home' goal is generally a more practical or functional skill, such as making a sandwich, brushing teeth, independent toileting, washing dishes, looking after belongings, and so forth. Both are negotiated as part of the IEP process with families.
ITPs
As part of our students' vocational education and training, ITP meetings are held regularly once students have entered years 9 and 10 (stage 5). The purpose of the ITP is to guide teachers in devising programs to provide students with appropriate opportunities to gain experience in work placements and other community-based activities. Teachers review the students' abilities, interests and work ethics in order to fine tune the programs for students as they near school leaving age.
Independence skills, from self-care to managing relationships with others, form a large part of the ITP planning also.
