1 November 2022

Learn how you can use the practice guidance resources to support the education of all learners, including those with additional needs. The hands-on practical guides provide information on specific additional needs, such as learners who have autism or are vision impaired or who are deaf or hard of hearing. Plus, we head to Ceduna Area School in the state’s far-west to find out how the guides will make a difference at their school.

Show Notes

• Practice guidance

Transcript

Teach is produced on the traditional land of the Kaurna people. The South Australian Department for Education would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and pay our respects to all elders, past, present, and emerging.

Dale Atkinson: Hello and welcome to Teach, a podcast about teaching and learning in South Australia. My name is Dale Atkinson from South Australia's Department for Education, and today we are talking about the department's new practice guidance resources for supporting all learners and in particular, those learners with additional needs.

The practice guidance has been developed by educators for educators. Those educators who developed those resources are with us today in the form of Jen Mathwin-Raymond the Manager of Practice Guidance, and Rhoni McFarlane, the Director of Inclusive Teaching and Learning. Welcome to you both.

Jen Mathwin-Raymond: Thank you.

Rhoni McFarlane: Thank you.

Dale Atkinson: So, first of all, I guess the main question is what are the practice guides and what are they for?

Jen Mathwin-Raymond: They're actually very practical, basic learning strategies that anyone, no matter whether they're an early career teacher or a later career teacher, can pick up and learn something from. They're written by teachers for teachers and they are the sorts of things that might have been put into place today, or they can certainly be put into place tomorrow. So that is the focus, it’s something that is achievable. It is not reliant upon funding. It is something that anyone can pick up and do tomorrow.

Dale Atkinson: In my hot little hand, I have a white binder that says ‘Practice guides for learners with additional needs’ and in front of me on my laptop on EDi I have the page for practice guidance. Can you tell us how these two things work together and what teachers should do to get their hands on the resources where they need to get their resources?

Rhoni McFarlane: I think one of the challenges that we face is that teachers are really busy and the fact that we've produced practice guidance in two formats means that when a teacher needs a really quick response to something and to try something, they can go to a fact sheet.

But when they want to do that deeper dive and really develop an understanding of what's behind potentially a child's need. They can go online and look at EDi and explore deeper, click onto links that will take them to more information if you know they're seeking it in their own time. I think the readiness of having the practice guides in the hands of teachers via the fact sheets in schools and then the longer version online allows for them to engage at different levels at different times. That's around language as well.

Dale Atkinson: Yeah, and it's really beautifully compiled on EDi, it's all together in a really easy to navigate, easy to find space, and I think educators out there are going find this to be an incredibly useful and easy resource to use. So where did the initiative for the practice guides come from? What was the background of that?

Rhoni McFarlane: Yeah, I'd love to take credit for this, but I've only been in the role for three months. It's sort of multifaceted. Our previous executive director, Carolyn Crosser-Barlow, had a conversation with an old friend who happened to be a teacher and she was expressing at the time the frustration that she had with not being able to meet the needs of a young person that she was struggling with in her own classroom and just wish she had something in hand to be able to rely on, to inform her of some approaches she could do in the classroom.

And then I guess emerging out of that was a piece of research that the department requested that really highlighted ways that we could be working to have greater inclusive practices. And one of those key elements was practice guidance. Like how do we make sure we get really evidence informed approaches in the hands of teachers in classroom? And that being one lever for a really important practice.

Dale Atkinson: When we look at schools and the profile of students in schools, one of the things that teachers are always trying to do is meet that individual student at that point of need. But the difficulty can be very diverse environment with lots of complex and competing demands on your time as a teacher and as an educator, is understanding who that student is, but also what the specific plugins that might help them. So what are the role that these have in helping bridge that gap that you might have as an educator?

Jen Mathwin-Raymond: One of the things that each of the guides will outline from the word go is that every child's an individual. Many of them come with a specific learning need, but others will come with a complex range of learning needs that are all interrelated.

And so it's important to look at the guides and say, maybe match the two guides or three guides together and then think to yourself, okay, so knowing my learner as well as I do, how can I actually cherry pick the bits that will work the best for this particular child? And try and see. And if it doesn't quite work, then go back and try some others.

Because the practical nature of the way in which we've laid them out and the fact that they're written by teachers, for teachers, then there is always something else that you can give a go and something that will meet with success. Maybe a little bit of success initially, but then we build onto that.

Dale Atkinson: So this is something that's really going to, I think, come alive if you're using this in a team sense with the rest of your colleagues, isn't it, that you can bring these down off the shelf and have a real kind of, granular discussion about how you can help individuals and children.

Rhoni McFarlane: Yeah, I think it's one of the things that we've been talking about with the team is really how do we know that this is actually having an impact? And one of our measures is actually how teachers are talking to each other about the strategies and how they're implementing them, so that I know that, you know, my colleague in the next room has tried some strategies from one of the practice guides, they can talk to me about how they've worked and then I might be able to say, oh, okay, well if you've used that approach, I might be, you know, willing to test that as well. And then we can compare and say, well, if this worked for me but it didn't work for you, you know, maybe we could tweak or maybe we could try another strategy.

I think that collegiality in a shared experience of having the same evidence-based research in front of us with strategies that we can both apply, but again, individual students so they can work in some context and not in others.

Dale Atkinson: Now, I know you've been engaging a lot with teachers, leaders out in the field. What sort of influence have they had over the development of the guides?

Jen Mathwin-Raymond: Well, they were quite pivotal, of course. One of the things people will often say to me is, how did you choose the topics for the first 16? And we've got another, a range of them on the go. Basically, we asked pretty much everybody, so we asked teachers when we met them out in the field.

But we also put together very early in the piece a practice guidance board, quite high-level people, but we also put together a reference group of teachers, leaders, practitioners, people from support services, and we said, what do you think is needed at the moment? And then we sort of prioritised. And one of the priorities that you'll see as soon as you pick up the guides is there's quite a significant number of topics that are around the provision for autism.

And that worked out quite well because it is quite topical at the moment. We do have a number of children, for all intents and purposes, we're trying to meet their needs, but they're quite complex and so, I certainly have had great deal of feedback from people saying that that was really helpful and they certainly have been applying them.

Dale Atkinson: What's something that you guys have really enjoyed about this process of developing these guides?

Rhoni McFarlane: From my perspective, I just love when we can create a product that's really valued and needed, and if you can deliver something that is going to help a teacher in their core work, that's ultimately the win, right?

I was recently in a forum where I had the privilege of hearing a young man speak about a year 10 boy who's autistic, and he was talking about his experience as a young person and, and a mixed experience about his learning environment. And he talked about a teacher who tried and then tried something else, and then tried something else again until he found something that worked. And what was the most valuable thing that this young person described was not the fact that they had success in their learning, but actually that their teacher believed in their success and that they kept trying. So for them, they felt that they were valued.

And I think we all want to be valued. And how we can express that in the classroom is by trying and not giving up, but keep persisting and finding ways to reach the young people in our classroom.

Jen Mathwin-Raymond: Every child deserves to feel a sense of belonging that this is their place and that they have a right to be there and they're respected and valued.

And if we can do anything to support that, then I reckon we're on a winner.

Dale Atkinson: Yeah, and I think these are incredibly powerful tools in terms of helping that to happen. Now you mentioned that these are just the first suite. The plans are already underway to broaden the offer. What if teachers are out there and they're looking at these and thinking, well, that's great, but I've got students who need X. How do they get in touch with you and what should they be telling you?

Jen Mathwin-Raymond: It's at the bottom of every practice guide. You click on there and let us know. Just send us an email and say, look, I like this bit about it, or maybe you could expand on that bit, but also could you then start talking about developing something on, whatever.

Dale Atkinson: So you guys are the real face, the real people behind the behind the email address. That's great. We will include a link in the show notes to where it lives on EDi, so people will be able to access that, who are listening to the podcast, but it's a brilliant resource, both in hard copy and on the web. So well done. Thank you very much.

Jen Mathwin-Raymond: Thank you.

Dale Atkinson: And we're also joined by Andrew Gravestocks who's the principal at Ceduna Area School. Andrew, how are you?

Andrews Gravestocks: Good, thank you. Good.

Dale Atkinson: Hey, Andrew, you've been involved in developing some of these resources. Can you tell us a little bit about what that process was like?

Andrews Gravestocks: I was really pleased to be asked to be part of that working party, to look at the practice guidance for learners with additional needs, because I think sometimes, we haven't done that as an education department. We've constructed those types of guides without a very wide variety of people to consult within different circumstances.

So having people from remote country schools, city schools, but different educators with different experiences and support services. And looking for what is best practice outside of our system has been something that has been really unique for me to be part of. And I think it's, it's really added to the depth and the value for schools.

And I think the other part for me too is that it's really been upfront from the beginning that this is the first iteration of the guides and that they will evolve and change as more information and that becomes so that ultimately staff know they can go this resource, and it will be the current up to date, best practice information that the education department has.

Dale Atkinson: Can you tell us a little bit about your school?

Andrews Gravestocks: Yeah. So Ceduna Area School is in the far west of South Australia. We're about nine hours from Adelaide. Pretty diverse student population and community. Lots of different people move in and out of the space, given how west we are. High Aboriginal population and a reasonably high population of students with disabilities. We tend to have kids who can't access special schools and stuff nearby as well. We've got the two special classes on our site, but probably the level of disability within them is above what you would normally find in a special class.

Dale Atkinson: That presents some reasonably universal challenges across the public education system, which is what do you do as a teacher in terms of meeting each of those students at their individual point of need? And I guess the question that you guys are trying to answer with the practice guidance is, how do we service these kids?

Andrews Gravestocks: We've put a lot of effort into working with our support services group who are based in Port Lincoln, but we've got that four hours of distance between us and them. So we're really seeing the practice guides as being a really key component of what teachers can look at in the first instance, talk about, but then it can be that reference point for support services, teachers, leaders, students, parents, this is what the best practice is saying for your child. And then we're trying those things and then we can keep working on it from there.

So, you know, through the use of technology, we can be actually working on what the best way to support a child in their education is. With the guides as well, on a more regular basis and, you know, hopefully more timely and a better service for all.

Dale Atkinson: Particularly, you know, Ceduna Area School, but a lot of schools are dealing with an enormous breadth of issues among their students.

And it can be difficult as a teacher to understand the nuances of various different challenges that students may have. So something that provides a bit of clear guidance around the specifics of need is incredibly useful, isn't it?

Andrews Gravestocks: It certainly is. And I think the other part that is really helpful for that too is that it's, it's online so staff can access it anywhere, anytime, even if they've got, an inkling that this might be something they're thinking in their professional judgment, a student needs to support them. They can go and have a look, and they're almost, you know, we're going to be in a better place to be able to work with other agencies and families and the student themselves ultimately to support them because teachers have got that quick go-to, they can go to. And they're not too long, they're not too complicated and it's got where to go to from there for supporting other supports as well.

Dale Atkinson: Is it also useful in terms of teachers and leadership engaging with parents of children with these needs?

Andrews Gravestocks: I believe so. You know, having not done it yet, but I think we can put that on the table and say, here's what the practice guides are saying. What do you think and feel as a parent, would this support your child in their learning? And that will be a real, as I said, a really good focal point and a reference that we can use with families and staff. So where it can all be on the same page and hopefully working together as best we can.

Dale Atkinson: And what does it look like from the point of view of a leadership team or teaching teams?

Are these the sorts of things that you will get together as a group? And this, there's a nice thing about talking to you while you're actually physically out in a school, because the bell just went off in the background there, which is lovely.

Andrews Gravestocks: Yes it did, its end of lunch. Yep.

Dale Atkinson: What does it look like in terms of, you know, groups of teachers or a leadership and teaching group, how are these useful and how are they, how will they be used, do you think?

Andrews Gravestocks: I mean, we are very much at the infancy of that process, but we were going to begin tonight, even at our staff meeting, looking at the positive behaviour for learning classroom practices and can we get teachers to, you know, have consistency, coherence, and clarity around that practice for kids in our classrooms. And so this document does give us that opportunity to have that conversation.

Dale Atkinson: Well, thank you very much for your time, Andrew, and good luck making use of the practice guidance.

Andrews Gravestocks: No worries. Thanks Dale.