Special Education

Subject Overview:

At Kurri Kurri High School, the support unit is known as Kuta-kaya – which stands for “Think strong, able and powerful” and has nine classes catering for the following disability categories:

Mild Intellectual Disability (IM)

Moderate Intellectual Disability (IO)

Autism (AU)

Emotional Disturbance (ED), and

Multi Categorical (MC).

Students gain access to Kuta-kaya through the access request process by the school Learning and Support Team. Students are in staged based classes.

Individual Education Plan (IEP)

All students in Kuta-kaya have an IEP, which is developed in collaboration with student, staff and parent/caregiver and outside support agencies. During Term 1, parents, students and staff meet to develop goals in areas relevant to the students’ academic, social and life learning outcomes. In Term 4, these goals are evaluated with parents, students and staff to monitor students’ progress and make subsequent changes to support students further.

KLA’s

Subjects taught within Kuta-kaya in Years 7-10 include English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, PDHPE, Food Technology, and Technology Mandatory. Along with these subjects, students’ access many elective subjects in the mainstream environment and the decision of whether students access elective subjects within the mainstream environment is made after collaboration with the student, Kuta-kaya teachers, parents/carers and mainstream Head Teachers as part of their IEP. Kuta-kaya staff work closely with mainstream teachers to ensure that differentiation occurs for each individual student in classwork and assessments.

In Years 11-12, Kuta-kaya offers Life Skills subjects including English, Mathematics, Modern History, Food Technology, PD/H/PE, and Work and the Community Life Skills. Year 11 and 12 students if agreed upon in IEP meetings can attend mainstream classes to complete courses in interest areas outside of what we offer.

Community Access

All students are encouraged as part of their IEP to participate in programs to access the community. This includes travel training, work sampling, recreational sampling, grocery shopping skills, excursions within the local area including local the local Library, local shopping centres and further into Hunter Region.

Whole School Events

Kuta-kaya students participate in all whole school events including sports carnivals, year specific excursions and events and the end of term STARS rewards program. Students can access White card, First Aid and many other school events.

Faculty Goals

•  Develop and implement personalised support plans for each student in Kuta-Kaya, tailored to their specific needs, abilities, and learning styles.
• Foster an inclusive classroom environment where all students feel valued and supported, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. This includes implementing differentiated instruciton techniques and providing appropriate accommodarions and modifications.i
• Foster strong partnerships between Kuta-Kaya students, their families, and faculty members, ensuring open communication channels and collaborative efforts to support each student's holistic development and success..
• · Facilitate seamless transitions for Kuta-Kaya students as they progress through different grade levels or prepare for life beyond high school, empowering them with the skills, resources and confidence needed for their future endeavours.
• Utilise student data effectively to guide decision-making processes and tailor support interventions, ensuring that every Kuta-Kaya student receives targeted assistance and experiences continuous academic and personal progress. 

Stage 4:

In Stage 4 students of Kuta-kaya are transitioning to a high school setting and establishing routines around rotating classroom each lesson and building relationships across the school. Students are learning English, Mathematics, Science, HSIE, PD/H/PE, CAPAL and Mandatory Technology.

Students participate in sport as a whole faculty and can go on Community Access excursions. Our Stage 4 students complete work experience around the school like our ‘Return and Earn’ recycling program.

Stage 5:

In Stage 5 students have established themselves in high school and are familiar in the environment. Students are learning core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science, HSIE and PD/H/PE. Students will undertake Food Technology as an elective and will get to choose another elective of their choice based on interests to attend as part of a mainstream class. Students have the option to participate in year 9 and 10 mainstream sport on Wednesdays and will have more options to attend Community Access excursions that will start to build in travel training. Our Stage 5 students will start to have conversations around transition post school and work experience will be actively sought.

Stage 6:

In Stage 6 students are shifting their focus to post school options and transitioning to service providers and options at TAFE. Students are completing subjects in English, Mathematics, Modern History, PD/H/PE, Food Technology, and Work and Community. Students have the option to attend mainstream courses of interest or select a TAFE VET course. In Stage 6 we work with students and families to build towards transition to post school life and will work with external services to allow students to start attending these programs on school days. Students will be strongly encouraged to try work experience and more Community Access Excursions will occur to support independent living skills.

Important Links

NESA Life Skills  

Life Skills | NSW Education Standards

VET Courses and Students with a Disability 

VET courses and students with disability | NSW Education Standards

School Partnership with the Mai Wel Group 

https://maiwel.com.au/

NDIS

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Faculty Achievements:

Most of students access school to work services before leaving school, therefore the opportunity for further training and employment is increased for all our students.