Supportive kindergarten staff have led to many examples of mothers in tears because their child with a disability has received their first birthday party invitation ever, or has been invited to a friend’s house after kindergarten for a play.
In promoting positive messages of inclusion and acceptance for children with a disability, kindergartens and primary schools have a key role to play. We are fortunate in the Grampians to have the majority of our educational providers going out of their way to offer a warm and supportive welcome to children with developmental needs or disabilities.
Pinarc Support Services has shared the joy of hearing of the child who rarely spoke at kindergarten standing up at ‘Show & Tell’ and talking about the snails in her garden, and was really well received by all the children.
At times simple measures can be very effective. A number of years ago it was difficult to find a place for a young boy in any primary school as he tended to run away. Then one school took him in and gave him a red hat. All the other children had green or blue hats, so it was always easy to spot the boy in the red hat. He was able to go along on excursions because all the children understood that to keep him safe he needed to stay within the group. It became a shared responsibility to keep an eye out for him and he could so easily have missed out on many positive educational experiences.
We have heard of understanding teachers teaching all children in primary school to use sign language or keywords signing. Rather than singling out one child as different, these strategies are inclusive and provide all children with a positive learning opportunity.
There have been a range of things that our great Primary Schools have done to make a significant difference to these childrens’ transitions, including:
• Encouraging one family to pop in to the school at any time and to say hello to the Principal and Prep teacher and feed the chickens with older children at the school.
• Encouraging families to use their playground at weekends or summer holidays so children become more familiar with the setting.
• Inviting new families to the school to attend a playgroup with staff visiting to chat to the future Prep children
• Participating in Kindergarten Support Group Meetings and working closely with kindergarten staff to ensure that a child’s needs are met.
• Attending nearby kindergartens to make observations and discuss a child’s needs with staff.
• Welcoming children into the classrooms, to sit and experience the environment before they begin the school year.
• Inviting parents to come in and photograph the school, class rooms, teachers, facilities etc., so that the child can look at these and familiarise themselves with the new environment
• Schools Special Needs Co-ordinators liaising with Pinarc Staff to ensure all information they have on the child is up to date and accurate.
• Inviting Pinarc Early Intervention Therapists to attend meetings or provide consultation.
• Conducting tours of the school
On the whole schools and kindergartens are very welcoming to both the children and their families. There are lots of little moments that add up to big moments for all of us, and we think they are worthy of celebration.
What have your little or big moments been, let us know?
