The objectives of the Australian curriculum are the same for all students. The curriculum offers flexibility for teachers to tailor their teaching in ways that provide rigorous, relevant and engaging learning and assessment opportunities for students with a disability.
Students with a disability can engage with the curriculum provided the necessary adjustments are made. The complexity of the curriculum content and to the means through which students demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding.
For some learners, making adjustments to instructional processes and to assessment strategies enables students to achieve educational standards commensurate with their peers.
For other students, teachers will need to make appropriate adjustments to the complexity of the curriculum content and by necessity, how the student’s progress is monitored, assessed and reported.
Adjustments
Learning adjustments are measures or actions taken in relation to teaching, learning and assessing that enable a student to access and participate in achieving syllabus outcomes and content, that are different from those for the age/stage group, and that meet the student’s personalised learning needs.
Supporting teachers of students with special education needs – K–6
Students with special education needs in primary school generally work towards the outcomes and content in the Board's K–6 syllabuses for English, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Human Society and Its Environment, Creative Arts and Personal Development, Health and Physical Education.
However, some students with special education needs may require additional support and/or adjustments to enable them to access class work and/or demonstrate achievement of syllabus outcomes.
The Board has produced support documents that assist teachers in programming for students with special education needs in the key learning areas of English, PDHPE and HSrE. They are available on the Board’s K–6 educational Resources website.
Life Skills, Years 7-12
Life Skills is a curriculum option for students with special education needs. The program is designed for students who cannot access the regular outcomes and content with adjustments and/or disability provisions. It is predominantly for those students with an intellectual disability. Life Skills may provide a more relevant, accessible and meaningful option for some students with special education needs.
Eligibility for Life Skills
Life Skills courses can be accessed by students in mainstream and support classes from Years 7-12
They are available to students who have significant disabilities, and are functioning at least 2 stages behind their peers. These students would consistently achieve 'E' grades in core subjects. The school learning support team, in consultation with the student and parents, make the decision as to whether a student is placed on a Life skills program.
To access Life Skills in Stage 6, students would usually have studied 4 Life Skills subjects in Stage 5.
What Life Skills means for the student
They may achieve outcomes at school or in community settings such as work experience. Life Skills students may access job agencies and job skill programs and they can achieve outcomes for Life Skills courses in these community settings. Students are not required to sit HSC exams in Stage 6 Life Skills subjects.
Life Skills and personalised learning plans
Personalised learning plans (PLP) refer to curriculum adjustment plans created to suit individual student needs. PLPs are prepared around specific standards dependent on the student's Stage of Learning.
- Stage 4/5: Refer to Life Skills outcomes imbedded in KLA syllabus.
- Stage 6: Refer to separate syllabus documents on the Life Skills Board of Studies section.
Allow time for planning
The learning support team, (L&ST, SLSO, Special Ed staff) can help you with adjustments and accommodations.
Assessment of Years 7–10 Life Skills
Students undertaking Years 7–10 Life Skills outcomes and content in one or more courses will be assessed on their achievement of the outcomes identified in the planning process. Students do not need to complete all of the associated content to demonstrate achievement of Life Skills outcomes.
Students can demonstrate achievement of outcomes in a number of ways and across a range of environments, including the school, home and community.
Evidence of achievement of outcomes can be gathered through ongoing assessment for learning and assessment of learning at particular points in the course of study.
Students entered for Life Skills courses may achieve the designated outcomes independently or with support.
ACE 2009 Last Updated: 29 July 2012
Stage 6 Life Skills Subjects
The Life Skills subjects are as follows:
- Creative arts: Music, Dance, Drama, Visual Arts
- Technology and applied science (TAS): Agriculture, Industrial Technology, Design and Technology, Textiles and Design, Information Processes and Technology, Food Technology
- Human society and its environment (HSIE), including: Aboriginal Studies, Business and Economics, Citizenship and Legal Studies, Geography, History, Society and Culture, Studies of Religion
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Work and the Community
- Personal development, health and phyiscal education
Each Life Skill course comprises a 2-unit preliminary course and a 2-unit HSC course. There are no external exams for Life Skills courses.
Assessment of Life Skills outcomes in Stage 6
Students undertaking a Stage 6 Life Skills course will be assessed on their achievement of the Life Skills outcomes identified in the planning process for the individual student.
Students can demonstrate achievement of outcomes in a number of ways, and across a range of environments including the school, community and workplace. Assessment should reflect the student’s ability to generalise the knowledge and skills to a range of adult environments.
The content listed with each outcome provides examples of assessable activities on which teacher judgement will be based. Students do not need to complete all of the associated content to demonstrate achievement of a Life Skills outcome.
Evidence of achievement of outcomes can be gathered through ongoing assessment for learning and assessment of learning at particular points in the course of study.
Students entered for Life Skills courses may achieve the designated outcomes independently or with support.
Management strategies for students with learning disabilities
Seek out information about the special needs of students and their background. This information is available from Learning Support staff or on the intranet.
Provide routine and consistency for students with disabilities.
Communicate with parents/caregivers through diary/email/phone.
Collaborate with other class teachers.
Assistant Principal Learning and Support, Learning and Support Teachers and School Learning Support Officers can assist.
Adjustments for students with autism, aspergers and mental health conditions
Some useful adjustments for students with autism, aspergers and mental health conditions may include:
- provide structure, routine and clear instructions
- alert student in advance of any changes from normal routine
- always keep a calm approach, otherwise you will escalate the situation and there will be a meltdown.
- avoid confrontation
- listen to their story of what happened
- don’t expect eye contact
- give them processing time
- try not to generalise
- sarcasm/ jokes are often not understood.
- limit choices –they can be overwhelming
- help with organisation
- use visuals where possible
- try a positive approach.
More common adjustments
- Scaffold tasks
- Adjust work load and put the easiest questions first
- Provide a variety of short activities in longer lessons
- Negotiate with student how much they are able do of a class task
- Provide extra time
- Minimise amount of note taking
- Give one or two step instructions
- Use repetition and clarification. You may need to say the same thing repeatedly or in different ways.
- Pre teach vocabulary
- Provide visual clues and prompts
- Provide audio or graphic versions of texts
- Use a variety of assessment strategies
- Acknowledge effort as well as achievement
- Use strategies from whole school programs.
Organisational supports
Learning support staff in schools may colour code timetables and work books for some students.
They can provide scaffolds, visual cues, social stories and checklists. These enable students to engage in learning in a more independent manner.
They can help with assistive technology if required.
Possible descriptors for reporting on Life Skills student achievement
- Achieved or independent
- Achieved with support
- Consolidating
- Developing
- Beginning.
Disability provisions for the Higher School Certificate examinations
Disability provisions in the HSC are practical arrangements designed to help students who couldn't otherwise make a fair attempt to show what they know in an exam room.
The provisions granted are solely determined by how the student’s exam performance is affected. Provisions may include braille papers, large-print papers, use of a reader and/or writer, extra time or rest breaks.
Applying for disability provisions
Disability provisions application forms and information guides are available to schools from Schools Online for students who intend to sit for the Higher School Certificate examinations.
Further resources
For further information on curriculum adjustments, see: