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Lynfield College Learning Support Structure
All students at Lynfield College are placed into Hui mai classes and curriculum classes, based on option lines for their year group. Teacher Aide support is provided based on the funding allocation. MOE funded students with learning/behaviour needs have at least one IEP a year.
In Years 9 and 10, students whose ability in Literacy or Numeracy is compromised or whose behaviour is deemed to be at risk can be referred (through the SENCo) to the RTLB service.
Achievement is assessed by looking at intermediate transition data, asTTle results, school assessments and in some cases PROBE reading assessments.
Intermediate transition data is used to place Year 9 students into a literacy class (LDV) for a 2 term programme (run during language option times). It runs in Terms 1 and 2 for one group and Terms 3 and 4 for the other. These classes are smaller and if a student is funded, can have teacher aide support.
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At Years 10,11,12 and 13 the South Pacific Education Course option enables mainstream students to work on individual programmes to gain independent work skills and knowledge within an integrated curriculum. There are topics related to transition into the work force, e.g. writing a CV, form filling, interview techniques and telephone etiquette. At Years 11,12 and 13 there is the opportunity to gain Unit Standards through the SPEC programme. Supported SPEC is also available to ORS funded students.
At Lynfield we are aware that for some ORS funded students, the mainstream experience is overwhelming. However, we are committed to ensuring as many students as possible attend classes with their peers. For some, this requires initial teacher aide support to get to class until they are confident to get to class alone. Providing an ideal learning scenario for every student with learning/behaviour needs, is not always possible. Our goal is to support students, their whanau and teachers, to ensure there is equitable access to the curriculum.
AWS Agility with Sound is a literacy programme that is offered to a selected group of ORS funded and non funded students (in LDV) who need a programme that focuses on phonemic awareness. It was created by Betsy Sewell for New Zealand students who have dyslexic tendencies and challenges decoding print.
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ORS Funded Students
Achievement for students who have classes in the Learning Support department focuses on participation and engagement through the development of literacy, numeracy and life-skills. It is our aim that the students are confident and competent in supported and independent situations.
ORS funded students learning at Levels 1 - 2 of the New Zealand Curriculum, may attend English and Maths in the Learning Support classroom (M3). Unfunded students who are at this level, and have significant neurodivergent challenges, can be included in this group. IEPs focus on the key competencies.
Students are mainstreamed for their options and core subjects. They will usually have teacher aide support, dependent on student need and the need to provide a safe environment for learning. For example a student may go to PE unassisted, but have support in Technology.
ORS students are mostly funded for a maximum of 12 hours a week. One student has Very High ORS verification qualifying for 16 hours a week. For the students who come under the Learning Support Department there are concessions made in regards of what year group they learn with. For instance a Year 11 student may gain more learning from the Year 9/10 Food Tech curriculum, than from the Year 11 Hospitality option, which moves at a faster pace and is aimed at commercial cooking. A Year 13 student may be placed in a Year 11 or 12 Automotive because of their interest but not necessarily with peers due to challenges understanding health and safety regulations. The twelve hours a week of funding needs to be topped up by the school’s special education grant as well as funding from the school board.
Lynfield College partners with Central Auckland Special School to engage specialist teachers for some ORS funded students. Currently three specialist teachers are working with students on a weekly basis. They attend IEPs and are involved with whanau as well as the students and their teachers.
Lynfield College also welcomes engagement from resource teachers from Ko Taku Reo. The resource teacher has a number of students on their direct caseload as well as their indirect case load.
As students with considerable learning needs get older and the NCEA academic demands increase, the effectiveness of mainstream classes reduces for most. To ensure students continue to access the curriculum at their level, specialist supported learning classes are provided. These classes are differentiated to provide opportunities for the students to master skills and concepts related to the cross-curricular theme. Lynfield College offers supported PE classes, supported drama, supported food technology and supported music.
As students with ORS funding move towards the end of their schooling, a transition service is employed. Geneva works with students to transition them into the two year Life Skills Course at Unitech. Whanau are given a choice of what transition service would best suit their child’s needs for the last year of their schooling.
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