The support cycle is a method of planning to assist schools to meet the needs of individual students. Your involvement along with school and district staff and other relevant people at each stage is essential to ensure coordination and successful outcomes for your child’s special learning needs.
The key processes of the support cycle are:
Appraisal helps the learning support team decide what your child needs to learn and how your child will be assisted to learn. It is the basis for determining learning outcomes, programming and support needs in an educational setting.
The appraisal process involves all those with significant information and knowledge of your child, including you. A learning support plan is developed during the process.
The learning support team should consider:
As part of the appraisal process, information and reports from other professionals may be needed to be considered.
This stage of the support cycle involves providing the support the student needs to learn effectively.
The nature and level of support your child may need to access the curriculum includes:
Your child’s learning support plan may indicate that an individual learning program is needed in one or more areas. An individualised learning program identifies what needs to be taught, how it is going to be taught, who is going to teach it, when it will be taught and where it will be taught.
The learning program should be developed collaboratively with all those who have an interest in the education of your child. The individual learning program should consider educational needs identified through the appraisal process. It will suggest appropriate curriculum and effective teaching strategies for your child.
If your child has a non-English speaking background or an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background, additional support should be considered at this time if needed.
It cannot be assumed that your child’s educational needs will remain constant. Regular monitoring of student progress is essential. A new set of goals and outcomes may be developed as a result of reappraisal. Contact with you is an essential part of this process.
As part of the ongoing reappraisal processes, a formal review meeting is held once a year if your child is:
It is very important that you take part in the formal review. The meeting may consider changes to the placement, program or type and level of support for your child.
Related articles
Information supplied by: NSW Department of Education
Extract from “Who’s Going to Teach my Child – a guide for parents of children with special learning needs.”
NSW Department of Education and Training, 1999.
Reproduced with permission.
Disclaimer: The information contained on this website is not intended as a substitute for independent professional advice.
