What?
Over 18 months in 2017 and 2018 I was employed as a school services officer at Murray Bridge High School, a category 2 school in inner regional South Australia. I had several roles, including offsite 1:1 support of students with exclusions or alternative programs, delivery of small group intervention for literacy and numeracy, and in-class support of students with verified disabilities in mainstream.
Off-site support
My primary role for the majority of my contract at Murray Bridge High School was the academic support of students who had been excluded from school and those in the process of transitioning into a mainstream school setting (for example, after a long period of home schooling). I liaised with classroom teachers, school leadership, youth workers, Department for Education truancy officers and other professionals, as well as the student, parents, caregivers and other family members to create individualised programs for each student to support their re-entry into the school. Many of these students had a range of diagnosed and undiagnosed developmental and mental health conditions and presented with challenging behaviour and near-complete disengagement from education. Further, the family situations of these students were often complex and presented a variety of difficulties. With a sensitive and thorough approach to communication, and by carefully adapting class work to the needs and interests of each student, I was able in most cases to successfully reengage students and their families in the education system (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 5.5, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3).
Small group interventions
I was responsible for interventions in both literacy (Fountas & Pinnell Levelled Literacy Intervention) and numeracy (Quicksmart) for groups of up to four students. At the beginning of the year I was provided with students initial testing results from which, in collaboration with teachers and other support staff, I set learning goals for each student. I collected qualitative and quantitative data on student performance each session, in the form of notes, software output and program progression, both to inform future sessions and for reporting purposes. I provided summaries of students' progress and performance to the intervention coordinator and relevant teachers. While involved in these interventions I made suggestions, supported by primary literature, for improvements to the delivery of the literacy program, which were implemented and resulted in better results for all participating students (1.5, 2.5, 3.1, 3.3, 3.6, 5.1, 5.4, 5.5, 7.1, 7.2).
Daily records
In-class support
While at Murray Bridge High School I provided in-class support, primarily for students with verified disabilities in mainstream classes, though I was also assigned to assist students in other at-risk groups such as Indigenous students and those under the guardianship of the Minister. This involved ongoing informal assessment of each student's progress and ability in the task set by the classroom teacher in order for me to tailor the support given in each situation. This took many forms, including explaining tasks and concepts in a way different to the teacher, creating scaffolding for tasks on the spot, supplying concrete learning aids, and providing alternative or additional work on the same concept at a level more suited to the individual student. Often I was able to accommodate the needs of other non-target students as well, which had the additional benefit of normalising my assistance for all students in the class and reducing (and in some classes, eliminating) the stigma associated with students who had been assigned SSO support. On occasion students would confide in me, and this sometimes resulted in the need for a mandatory report to the child abuse reporting line, which I completed and recorded as per the legal and Departmental requirement (1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 4.1, 5.1, 7.1, 7.2).
Professional network
As a Department for Education employee I engaged in the professional development planning process. I found this to be a good opportunity to solicit detailed feedback on my professional practice from colleagues and leadership, and to identify my further training needs. I attended whole-site and regional training days, which provided me with a range of strategies to improve my practice, and allowed me to grow my professional network. Since the end of my time at Murray Bridge High School I have made an effort to maintain ongoing connections with the staff at that site and others; this network is a source of both professional and personal support (6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.2, 7.4).
Sub standard descriptions
1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students.
1.2 Understand how students learn.
1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.
1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
1.6 Strategies to support full participation of students with disability.
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.
2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies.
3.1 Establish challenging learning goals.
3.3 Use teaching strategies.
3.4 Select and use resources.
3.5 Use effective classroom communication.
3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs.
3.7 Engage parents/carers in the educative process.
4.1 Support student participation.
4.3 Manage challenging behaviour.
4.4 Maintain student safety.
5.1 Assess student learning.
5.4 Interpret student data.
5.5 Report on student achievement.
6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs.
6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice.
6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice.
6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning.
7.1 Meet professional ethics and responsibilities.
7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements.
7.3 Engage with the parents/carers.
7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities.