Community As Partners (CPS)
Description of Program:
As Rockingham Lakes is a new school it is vital for the wider community
to be an integral component in the education of its students, especially
with early intervention in the early childhood years. During 2002/2003
we have experienced difficulty in establishing a cohesive P&C
that is representative of the parents of this school. We have through
a research model, conducted parent meetings to specifically welcome
and inform our community of current pedagogy and ways they can effectively
support their children’s education at home.
The Target Group
The program will benefit the whole school community including are
specific target groups. These consist of:
The Navy parents
These parents make up large proportion of our school community.
They are mobile because of the nature of their employment and often
one parent is away for long periods at sea. Students often have difficulty
because of this transiency, disruption and the stress of parents being
in dangerous situations. The CAP program provides support for the
education and early intervention, and provides information of services
available within our community.
Students at Risk
Our baseline data, combined with the H Index 97.69 indicate that
effective early intervention strategies are absolutely critical at
this school. While teachers provide targeted programs to address individual
needs the work that parents do at home must support these programs.
This target group often wants to help but does not have the skills
to do so effectively. The CAP program provides these parents with
strategies they can use to help their children.
Indigenous Parents
Whilst we have a small proportion of these students in the school
the CAP program provides opportunities which encourage them to feel
welcome and promote and inclusive community. While links have been
made with these parents which have already improved these factors
need ongoing support. The ASSPA support group has been established
within the school and through funding is raising awareness of Aboriginal
culture across the school community. The school has also established
strong links with BAYS – Burdiya Aboriginal Youth Service, which
has benefited our students.
Speech Pathology:
An introductory speech assessment has been conducted with all kindergarten
students, which has resulted in the identification of students who
have an articulation deficit. A speech pathologist has conducted a
parent training workshop to upskill and train a voluntary group to
work with individual students on a daily basis.
General Parent Body
With outcomes education and the change in pedagogy it is important
that the parent body is informed about these changes and the way they
look in classrooms. These parents also need to use appropriate strategies
that support school programs at home. Parents are encouraged to undertake
this as an action learning model. Strategies are provided for them
to try at home and opportunities for discussion provided at the next
meeting. This encourages ongoing participation and is a most effective
way of upskilling our community.
Teachers in the school provide input to the sessions, model strategies
and are available for questions.
