Classrooms are populated with a diverse group of students who have a broad range of learning needs. The Summit on Inclusive Education (29-31 May 2002) defined inclusive education as a process of responding to the uniqueness of individuals, increasing: their presence, access, participation, and achievement in a learning society'.
At Bowen SHS our staff are committed to providing a quality education, support and services to all students, including students with disabilities. One way we help our students to engage with the curriculum is by providing adjustments. An Educational Adjustment is a change or support that can be made to enable all students to demonstrate what they know and what they are able to do with what they know.
The P-12 Curriculum Framework Guidelines for Students with Disabilities states that 'Adjustments to support the learning for students with disabilities include all actions which increase the capacity of a student to access, participate in and achieve their intended learning goal.'
In addition, the Disabilties Standards for Education 2005 (Section 3) define the legislated requirements for education providers to provide reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities (as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992). An adjustment is a measure or action taken to assist a student with a disability to participate in education on the same basis as other students.
As part of our core blelief we strive to make education accessible to all students by specifically tailoring programs to cover the following areas:
- enrolment
- participation
- curriculum
- student support services
- harassment and victimisation.
Some adjustments may be necessary throughout a student's education while other adjustments may only be needed for a short period of time.
Education adjustments can be made across any or all of the six component areas of the curriculum:
- planning
- teaching and learning
- assessment
- reporting
- environment
- resources.