Fowler Road School is intended as a 12 to 18 month intervention that supports students in regular public schools close to their homes (home schools). The program has an emphasis on working with home schools to facilitate students' attendance there with minimal difficulties.
Students attend Fowler Road School from 9am to 12:30pm, Monday to Friday. They attend their home schools during the afternoon. Students are dropped at home school by DET approved transport (taxi).
Whilst Fowler Road School supports a student focused approach, daily afternoon attendance at Home School is an essential part of every student's intervention. This provides consistent daily opportunities for students to practice and generalise social skills learnt at Fowler Road School to the real world regular school environment. As a general guideline the following support procedures apply to home school attendance as part of each students Fowler Road School intervention:
Assessment and settling in
On starting Fowler Road School it is suggested that the student not to return to home school for a period of up to four weeks, as negotiated with the parents. The following must occur within the students first four weeks at Fowler Road School:
- Fowler Road School teachers are to complete curriculum and behavioural assessments and write individual learning plan and behavioural risk assessment.
- An arranged visit for the home school teacher (and teachers' aide) to Fowler Road School to gain an understanding of the Fowler Road School program and to reconnect with the student in their Fowler Road Class.
Fowler Road staff to make contacted with Home School to confirm date within the settling in period for student and the Fowler Road Teacher to visit home school. As part of the student's reconnection with their home school it is important that the student introduce and show around the Fowler Road Teacher. The Fowler Road teacher is to provide copies of ILP, risk assessment and fax back sheets to the Home School Teacher. This visit is usually 30minutes maximum.
Starting home school attendance
At the end of the four week settling in period the student will start attending home school a minimum of two afternoons per week supported by a teacher or teacher's aide from Fowler Road School for up to four weeks. During this period of supported attendance the following will occur:
- Students will arrive with a member of staff at a time negotiated with home school teacher (possibly during the lunchtime period to simulate student arriving on taxi).
- Fowler Road Staff member will provide playground and classroom support during afternoon at home school. This gives Fowler Road School staff and home school staff an opportunity to assess playground/student needs and further develop/modify the students' individual program to assist success.
- Fowler Road School staff will reduce the time spent directly with student on the playground and in classroom, allowing the student to become independent of Fowler Road staff member.
- Home school teachers are required to fax back student behaviour feedback form by the morning after the student attends home school on 98922529. This assists the student to know that the two school are linked and behaviour at home school will be followed up at Fowler Road School.
- Fowler Road School staff will show student how they will be dropped by taxi transport and what the student needs to do when arriving at school as per procedure indicated by home school (eg. go to office, sign in etc).
- Home school staff will make necessary application for any additional support through Funding Support or RSSSP that they require to support student's attendance as Fowler Road School staff support is reduced.
- Home schools requiring further support will need to negotiate with the principal of Fowler Road School. This may require a review meeting of the students program and placement.
Increasing home school attendance
After first four weeks of home school attendance students will increasing their attendance on additional afternoons until they are attending five afternoons a week within a 6-8 week period. During this period of increasing attendance the following will occur:
- Students will travelling to school on approved DET transport (taxi) and home school is responsible for the supervision of the procedure for the students arrival.
- Fowler Road School Staff will provide initial support for each additional afternoon as they occur. This support should last up to 4 weeks for each additional afternoon, so that students do not become dependant on Fowler Road School staff.
- Home school teachers are required to fax back student behaviour feedback form by the morning following each of the afternoons the student attends home school on 02 9892 2529.
- Variations from this attendance pattern will need to be negotiate with the principal of Fowler Road School. This may require a review meeting of the students program and placement.
Ongoing intervention program
Once student is attending five afternoons at home school, Fowler Road School staff will provide ongoing support through:
- consultancy/resource support via phone, email, fax and arranged meetings with home school teacher
- programming and review meetings as arranged with home school teacher
- assisting with curriculum modification and development of individual programs
- assisting student with the development of prior knowledge and preparing them for activities that will be occurring at home school
- following up fax back sheets from home school teacher with student
- negotiating/identifying targeted behaviours/social skills for student's ongoing development and achievement at home school
- additional in school support through visits to classroom or negotiated short term support for a targeted area of the student's development at home school (eg playground support).
Once students are experience successful progress during their afternoon attendance at home school, attendance for whole days at home school may be negotiated as a recognition of this success. Whole days allow for the generalisation of learnt skills to other parts of the day at home school while still student is still being supported within the Fowler Road Program.
Exiting Fowler Road
Once students are attending five afternoons at home school unsupported by Fowler Road School Staff an exit plan will be negotiated between Fowler Road School and the home school involving an increase in the student attending additional full days at Home School over an agreed period no longer than one term (ten weeks). During this period the following will occur:
- Fowler Road School staff will arrange a review meeting with home school to negotiate the students exit/transition plan to fulltime attendance at Home School. Fowler Road Staff will provide home school with a copy of "What to Expect" and discuss with home school the stages the student will experience as they exit Fowler Road Program at this meeting.
- Fowler Road School staff will provide a written copy of the exit/transition to fulltime attendance plan as signed by Fowler Road Principal to Home School Principal and teacher.
- Home school teacher will liaise closely with Fowler Road School Staff over changes in students behaviour during exit so that Fowler Road School Staff can provide appropriate behavioural support to student as they progress through the stages of exit.
Any changes to the exit plan will need to be negotiate with the principal of Fowler Road School and will require a full review meeting to discuss exit plan.
Available funding support for home schools
RSSSP funding available through the home schools regional office. Funding Support for Students with Disabilities in regular classes available through Disability Programs as ongoing support once student is attending home school more than half the time.