At Meadow Springs ESC, English (Literacy) is a key component to every child’s individual learning program. Each class has a dedicated Literacy teaching block, where students engage in a range of activities based on our whole school approach to teaching. Using the explicit teaching model, “I do- We do- You do” approach, teachers base their programs on each child’s individual goals which are supported by Dianna Rigg PLD resources, BLANK level questioning and Black Sheep Press Oral Language resources. In addition to this, the “Talk for Writing” program is being implemented in our senior level classrooms.

An additional emphasis is placed on developing each child’s functional communication skills, particularly for students the school identifies as having Complex Communication Needs (CCN). At our school this means, students who cannot use their “words” to meet a range of communicative needs in the same way a neuro-typically developing peer of the same age can. To action the Communication Bill of Rights, students are supported by school staff with the families and/ or therapists to put Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in place. Where students do not have access to therapists, the school supports the use of PODD Books and other AAC tools to develop intentional communication.