VISION  SUPPORT

The Seaview High Vision Support program supports students who are totally blind or have low vision and who have enrolled at Seaview High School because they require specialised support and resources to participate fully in the regular school curriculum.   Students have been identified through their Negotiated Education Plan.   Vision impaired students can participate in all areas of the school curriculum and are involved in many extra curricula areas of school life.   In 2006 there are 9 students with vision impairment at Seaview High.   Students attend regular lessons in the school classrooms and have a study area for work and storage of materials.   Adaptive equipment and specialised resources are available.   Alternative Braille/tactile, large print and audio materials are produced for individual student needs in a teacher/office area.

THE STUDENT

STAFF

SPECIALISED RESOURCES

BRAILLE

EXPANDED CORE CURRICULUM

VISION IMPAIRMENT STAGE 1

ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY

TRANSPORT ASSISTANCE

THE  STUDENT

The Seaview High Vision Support Program supports students who are totally blind or have low vision and who have enrolled at Seaview High School because they require specialised support and resources to access the regular school curriculum.  

Students have been identified in their previous schools through their Negotiated Education Plan, as requiring a level of specialised support not available in their neighbourhood schools. 

Eligibility for Enrolment

Students must be identified as being one of the following:

 1.        (a)    totally blind and/or

(b)      Braille dependent and having long term support needs

 2.        Partially sighted, having had a sudden vision loss that results in the need to access the extended core curriculum for students with vision impairment.

 3.         Partially sighted and requiring, as a result of reduced vision, intensive support to access, participate and succeed in all the required learning areas and intensive instruction in several of the extended core curriculum areas. 

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STAFF

Teachers from the South Australian School for Vision Impaired work as support teachers of students with vision impairment at Seaview High.  Support teachers are trained in the education of students with vision impairments.  They are skilled in the use of Braille and other alternative print formats and the teaching of the expanded core curriculum for vision impairment and can advise on the educational implications of specific vision impairments. 

 

Support teachers assist the students to access the school curriculum, while teaching them the specialised skills required by a person with vision impairment.  The support teacher works collaboratively with the classroom teacher, providing advice and assistance to ensure that materials and teaching practices are modified appropriately to accommodate each student's vision needs. 
 
The long-term nature of the program at Seaview High and the access to continuing training and development, mean that many staff, both teachers and ancillary staff, have extensive experience with the special teaching and learning adaptations required for students who have vision impairments. 
 

SPECIALISED RESOURCES

To access the curriculum, students will require the use of a range of special materials and equipment. 

The Program at Seaview High provides:

 

§        Large print and audio materials	§        Specialised Braille technologies
§        Low vision devices	§       Talking and large display calculators
§        Special lighting equipment	§        Mobility devices (eg long canes)
§        Adaptive computer equipment:  speech,     magnification and Braille	§        Braille materials: literary and technical

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BRAILLE

Braille requirements are provided by the Support Program through the resources of the South Australian School for Vision Impaired, the State Wide Service for Braille. 

• Braille teaching and learning is part of the program offered at Seaview High School for some students.

• On-site Braille transcription of daily teacher and school handouts is provided.

• Braille text requirements are provided by the Braille production and library service of South Australian School for Vision Impaired.

EXPANDED CORE CURRICULUM

As part of their program at Seaview High, students with a vision impairment study an extended core curriculum which encompasses the specific skills and knowledge that a person with a vision impairment will need to be as independent as possible in school and post school life.

The curriculum may include:

• Social Skills

• The Use of Low Vision Devices

• The Use of Adaptive Technology

• Adaptive Computer Skills

• Orientation and Mobility

• Independent Living and Study Skills

• Braille and Tactile Skills

• Transition to Post School Options

• Self-Advocacy

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VISION IMPAIRMENT STAGE I (Integrated Studies)

This is a one semester course which prepares students for their post-school options.

Students will:

• gain knowledge about their vision impairment

• develop communication and advocacy skills

• investigate post-school options and community support

• extend skills for safe independent travel

• participate in adaptive technology training or a community leisure organisation

ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY

Students have specialised teaching in this area from a visiting orientation and mobility teacher from South Australian School for Vision Impaired who works within the program at Seaview High.    The program includes:

• independence in the school environment

• residential travel

• route and travel planning and execution

• public transport

• travel for transition to post-school

TRANSPORT ASSISTANCE

On application, transport assistance may be provided by DECS to support students to attend Seaview High School.

 

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website last updated June 2006