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[On-screen text: Inclusion Outreach Coaching. Building capability and whole-school change at Lilydale Heights College. The Education State / Victoria State Government / Department of Education ]
Tim Wright: We had a number of students who we were worried that we weren’t providing them the program they needed and we weren’t showing the learning growth. We felt we didn't really have the skill base within the school to properly train up our teachers in a way that they were going to be able to cater for these kids.
[On-screen text: Inclusion Outreach Coaching aims to improve the capabilities, practice and confidence of the education workforce to build inclusive practices and, in doing so, improve student outcomes.]
Tim Wright: When our coach came in at the start of the IOC program we actually identified what we were doing really well and we actually also identified some areas where we could build on that.
Carmel Fitzgerald: The idea was to develop the capacity of the school to assess any student that comes in and to be able to work out exactly what their point of need was.
Tim Wright: So she then also looked at our structure and said, What's the best way we can implement that?
Carmel Fitzgerald: The implementation team is really vital to the success of any partnership because that's the group of people who make sure that we have buy-in from staff and they are the ones that often engage staff in the processes that we establish.
Tim Wright: We actually got a group of staff together who were passionate about inclusion but also had roles in the school where they could actually embed some change.
Jenny Clarke: Carmel came in and did a lot of professional learning with the whole teaching team around autism spectrum, ADHD, and she modelled a lot of the assessment tools that we introduced. And she trained people up to use those really efficiently.
Tim Wright: So there really is a diverse range of teacher assessments going on and they're far more accurate. Therefore they're more confident talking to parents around what students can do and what their learning program is.
Carmel Fitzgerald: The amazing thing with Lilydale Heights is it's not just that they have gained great confidence and skill and ability in working with diverse learners and meeting their needs, but the that they have built in point of need, teaching to their school’s strategic plan means that all of the students in the school are having their educational needs met and have an opportunity to be much more engaged in their education as a result. So the impact of it hasn't just been for diverse learners, it's been for all learners.
[On-screen text: The Education State / Victoria State Government / Department of Education / Victoria State Government – Authorised by the Victorian Government, Melbourne]
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