School Charter 2009

Vision.

• Carlson School provides high quality education supported by skilled therapists to meet the needs of students with Cerebral Palsy (and similar conditions) across Auckland.

 Mission Statement

• To meet challenge with courage and confidence.

 School Values

• Honesty and integrity.
• Respect and dignity.
• Courage and confidence.

 School Goals

• To be a centre of expertise for the education of children with cerebral palsy in which the value of team work is recognised.
• To integrate hauora/wellbeing in developing children’s individual skills.
• To provide a challenging and supportive learning environment that empowers students.
• To work co-operatively with family and whanau.
• To provide professional development for all staff.
• To deliver curriculum to be adapted for individual students, under the headings of technology, science, maths and statistics, languages, English, health and P.E., arts and social sciences and the key competencies of using language symbols and text, relating to others, participating and contributing, managing, self and thinking.

 Community Goals

• To provide education and therapy to meet individual needs within a safe and secure environment.
• To offer a range of learning environments, e.g. pre-school, satellite classes and mainstream inclusion.
• To involve family and whanau in decision making and goal setting.
• To demonstrate respect for cultural differences and acknowledge them in special programmes.
• To liaise with support agencies.

 Carlson School

We specialise in providing education and therapy programmes for children with cerebral palsy from the greater Auckland area.

Our contemporary facilities include custom-designed occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy departments, plus a sensory room, music/drama/library room and landscaped gardens for recreation and learning.

We offer education at our base school and satellite classes.

Our central location and school vans give ready access to city and community resources.

Up-to-the-minute technology is used to support student learning.

 

Cultural Diversity

We acknowledge and celebrate the rich mix of cultures which make up our school. Students and staff emanate from Europe, Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands and India, from Pakeha and Maori backgrounds. Many describe themselves as New Zealanders.

Student Mix.

18 European          11 Samoan                       10 Maori

  7 Indian                  6 Cook Island Maori        4 Asian

  2 African                2 Tuvaluan                      2 Tongan

 1 Japanese

Special Character

In 2004 Carlson celebrated 50 years of serving students who have cerebral palsy from the greater Auckland area.

Our Progammes

Students all have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) developed co-operatively with families, whanau, teachers and therapists.

The School

Students, aged from five to twenty-one, are offered a range of programmes, appropriate to their needs, based on:

-          the Learning Areas of the New Zealand Curriculum with an emphasis on the Key Competencies

-          Foundation Curriculum using sensory stimulation and perceptual motor experiences to enhance learning.

-          SPEC (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network) to enhance life skills and self-esteem for our students.

S.M.I.L.E.

Sensory Motor Integrated Learning Environment offers a pre-school programme for children aged between three and five years with physical disabilities and associated special needs. The programme is led by a teacher and therapists, and follows Te Whariki, the early childhood curriculum. SMILE is held three mornings a week and children may also attend their community pre-schools.

Early SMILE

This is a weekly group for children with physical disabilities, aged from birth to three years. Parents and caregivers are shown ways to encourage movement and play with their children.

Therapy Services

Therapies are provided throughout the school week, enabling our students to access their learning programmes. Services include: Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech and Language Therapy.

 

Student Achievement

During 2007 and 2008 Carlson School undertook, and continues to undertake a process of self review to establish ways of reporting on student achievement to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education planning and reporting. This has proved challenging as the majority of our students work at pre-level one of the New Zealand Curriculum, on Individual Education Programmes.

Carlson has a specialist reading programme which caters for students of varying ages 5 to 21 years, as they develop their literacy skills. In 2007/8 we reported on the progress of those students.

 

Target for 2009

To enhance students’ communication skills.

Linked to;

strategic goal 1) provide more targeted training and professional development for staff,

and strategic  goal 2) formalise student assessments in education and theory.

     School-wide teaching and learning programme development and focus

• Select one student from each class
• Collect baseline data on one aspect of student’s communication skills.
• Teacher, occupational and speech language therapist design goals and strategies to improve students’ communication skills.
• School to provide relevant professional development for staff.
• Implement programmes.
• Evaluate and report at key milestone times.
• Amend goal or programme as appropriate.
• Report on overall goal achievement in December