Support Education
Providing Extra Care
We understand that some students need extra support across a range of areas of development – physical, social, artistic and intellectual. Students may be referred for extra support by Class Teachers/Guardians or Subject Teachers, or parents may request assistance for their child through consultation with teachers.
Our support education program is implemented in a variety of ways, including individual lessons with a specialist teacher, in small groups with two to six children, or within the classroom. We have several students for whom government integration funding has been granted. Work with these students may include classroom support, an individual learning program, and/or assistance from an aide.
Where necessary and/or appropriate, children may be referred to private therapists for other forms of specialist assistance, including Extra Lesson, motor development therapy, psychology, speech therapy and other allied health professionals.
We aim to ensure that all our students feel welcome and that their unique needs and learning styles are accommodated and valued. We seek to enact thoughtful and informed curriculum decisions by working in partnership with families and other professionals, ensuring that all students gain access to the knowledge, skills and experiences that will prepare them to make worthwhile contributions throughout their lives.
It is important that we discover an educational method where people love to learn and go on learning their whole lives.
Rudolf Steiner
Careers Support
Our Careers Counsellor supports Senior Secondary students, both individually and collectively, with career pathways and tertiary entrance.
Beginning in Year 10, students explore different career paths via talks presented by people working in a diverse range of industries. Support then continues through to choosing VCE subjects and looking at the specific entrance requirements for courses students are considering.
Each student has the opportunity for year-round one-on-one access to careers discussions if requested to assist in their research into their future pathways. Our smaller year-level size allows us the opportunity to work with the students as their ideas evolve and develop throughout their senior school journey.
Curative Eurythmy
We are very fortunate to offer Curative Eurythmy to our students. Curative Eurythmy is a modern therapy developed by Dr. Rudolf Steiner that works strongly with the whole human being – body, soul, and spirit.
By taking Eurythmic elements and working with them in a therapeutic way Curative Eurythmy supports and nurtures the healthy development of the child. Acknowledging that each child is unique, the therapist will choose specific exercises and modifications for each session according to individual needs.
The exercises used in Curative Eurythmy are specially developed for particular conditions, addressing a wide range of imbalances and illnesses. Our Curative Eurythmy therapists also work collaboratively alongside other allied health professionals to best support the child and their healthy development so that they may reach their fullest potential and have a strong sense of self.
Extra Lesson
Extra Lesson or Threefold Therapy for Learning was developed by Audrey McAllen 50 years ago based on Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy of education and child development. It is not a formal part of our education, but an adjunct that some of our students find to be hugely beneficial.
Extra Lesson helps to identify blocks to learning and builds new pathways, enabling the child to learn more happily and successfully. Assessment looks at the first 7 years of development, the child’s daily routine and rhythm, including diet and sleeping patterns. An individual program is designed comprising movement exercises, drawing and painting specific to the child’s needs.
The child’s self-esteem and self-confidence are enhanced through the activities, which help improve co-ordination and concentration, bringing balance and calm, and ultimately improving literacy and numeracy skills.