WHILE Swan Hill Specialist School does some things differently, at its core, it is still a school just like any other in the district.
“We’re a school like every other school, we offer everything that every school offers, but we can offer that little bit more,” Swan Hill Specialist School’s inclusion outreach coach Amanda Dalton said.
Swan Hill Specialist School provides specialist education for students with mild to severe intellectual disabilities, associated multiple disabilities, and with autism. Students come from Balranald, Sea Lake, Koondrook and everywhere in between, travelling on the school’s own bus system.
The school still follows the Victorian curriculum, including VCAL for its older students, while incorporating group and individualised programs to ensure that every student’s needs are met.
One of these programs includes a cooking program, with every classroom equipped with a kitchen where the students prepare their own lunches. For the younger students, this might be making sandwiches, while the older kids will make something a little more advanced.
“It is generally something that we try to encourage healthy eating,” Ms Dalton said.
“It’s something they can make on their own, or with very little assistance, that they can then make later on at home as well.”
Other programs include horticulture in their own school garden, swimming in the school’s own heated pool, PE, arts, music, and a hands-on learning program with the middle and senior year students.
The school also has a weekly community participation program, using their buses to get the students out into the community to teach them hands-on, practical life skills.
“We can teach them by doing things like shopping for their cooking program, going into shops, accessing parts of the community, and using the library,” Ms Dalton said.
Some classrooms throughout the school are set up with foam climbing equipment for students that need some sort of physical therapy, incorporating individualised programs into their day.
“We have a lot of those programs that teachers or ESS (education support staff) can do five minutes a day or 10 minutes a day,” Ms Dalton said.
“Our biggest thing is that we are a school that offers what every other school does, but we can offer those individual programs as well.”
By the end of their time at Swan Hill Specialist School, Ms Dalton said the aim is that all of their students are prepared for a life outside of their safe schooling environment.
“We are trying to move them along as best we can in all areas, with the idea that they will be able to function the best they can and live a fulfilling life, and do the best that they can in whatever they chose to do,” she said.
