Department of Education - Victoria

Baringa School is committed to excellence in Special Education. We aim to provide an innovative, caring and stimulating environment where learning is relevant and purposeful and where students develop a sense of belonging through mutual respect and cooperation. Our school motto is 'Be Respectful, Be Safe, Be a Learner'.

Baringa School is located in Moe, which is in the Latrobe Valley. The school provides a comprehensive educational program for students who have an intellectual disability aged from 5 to 18 years of age. Current enrolment is 175.

The student population is drawn from a wide geographical area incorporating Trafalgar through to Traralgon.

 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Baringa School community sees the provision of a safe, caring and positive learning environment as its most important goal. The environment aims to support students as they strive to develop social, emotional, communication and educational skills that will lead to independence. School community commitment to providing a curriculum that challenges student learning through achievement and success is strong. 

 

CURRICULUM

The curriculum at Baringa is based on the Victorian curriculum and covers English, Mathematics, Personal & Social Development, Health & Physical Education, Independent Living Skills, Art, Technology and Communication.  A number of enrichment programs are also offered including Outdoor Education, Camps, Advance (a community volunteer program) vocational training including Work Experience and Pre work skills, and travel training. 

The school operates in Units of Lower Primary (ages 5 - 9), Upper Primary (ages 9 - 12), Secondary (ages 12 -16) and a Senior Learning Centre (SLC) for students over 16 which provides a range of options including preparation for post school pathways and independent living skills. 

Our Assistant Principal in Student Wellbeing leads a student support services team, which includes a Psychologist, a Primary Welfare Officer and two Speech Pathologists.  This team provides welfare support to all students across the school. 

Baringa School is committed to the implementation of a whole school approach to Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (PBIS) for student engagement and learning. Staff understand that behaviour is a learned skill, and that prosocial behaviour can be taught through explicit teaching and positive recognition.  Teaching expected behaviours is a shared responsibility and requires a combined effort by all staff to ensure our students are Safe, Respectful Learners.

Individual student needs determine the curriculum focus for each student. Parents and professionals identify these collaboratively during Support Group meetings. When collated, these needs drive the curriculum provided for students. Through this process, Individual Learning Plans and personal goals for students are established.  Many students present with challenging behaviour and require individual behaviour plans and modified or negotiated programming to ensure successful participation at school.

 

To help all our students to continue to build and develop their literacy skills, a new research-based literacy program called InitiaLit has been introduced across our school curriculum.  InitiaLit addresses reading, spelling and writing by explicitly teaching the relationship between sounds and letters which builds knowledge and understanding of word structure, providing students with a reliable set of skills and strategies to use when reading and writing words.

 

FUTURE PLANS

Baringa School has a continuing commitment to work together to improve all school environments. The concept of promoting positive student behaviour through positive programming continues to be an important underpinning program to support students in all areas of learning.

Curriculum priorities focus on student achievement and engagement through the extension of literacy and numeracy across the school, extension of information technology to support learning, and further training in improving teaching and learning across the school, with a particular emphasis on explicit teaching and differentiated learning. 

Ensuring that staff have strong capabilities in relation to working in a special education setting will continue to be an important focus for professional learning, particularly as experienced and Special Education qualified staff retire, and new staff come into the school. Knowledge and understanding of the principles underpinning School Wide Positive Behaviour Support and Understanding Poverty are important aspects of our culture and beliefs in relation to student wellbeing and engagement.

 

SC1    Demonstrated knowledge of the relevant curriculum, including the capacity to incorporate the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills. Demonstrated capacity to respond to student learning needs.

SC2    Demonstrated capacity to implement high impact teaching strategies, guided by how students learn, and evaluate the impact of learning and teaching programs on student learning growth. 

SC3    Demonstrated capacity to monitor and assess student learning. Demonstrated capacity to use data to inform teaching practice and to provide feedback on student learning growth and achievement to students and parents.

SC4    Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated capacity to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with students, parents, colleagues and the broader school community to support student learning, wellbeing and engagement.    

SC5    Demonstrated behaviours and attitudes consistent with Department values. Demonstrated capacity to reflect upon practice and engage in professional learning to continually improve the quality of teaching.