​​​​​​​​​​​​​At Stella Maris, we strive to provide opportunities for every child to achieve their full potential. This encompasses academic, spiritual, social and overall student well-being.

Inclusive Practices

​Inclusive Education ensures that schools are supportive and engaging places for all students, teachers and caregivers.  It is about building communities that value, elaborate and respond to diversity. ​

An inclusive practice is the provision of educational opportunities that may require reasonable adjustment but does not impose an unjustifiable hardship on the school, for students with a wide range of abilities, backgrounds and aspirations in school settings (van Kraayenoord, Elkins, Palmer & Richards, 2000, p.9).

​At Stella Maris, we work in collaborative partnerships to achieve educational outcomes for all students. Support at our school can look like this:

• ​Adjustments to programming inside the classroom
  

• Assistance from Support Teacher and Guidance Counsellor in Planning and Programming

• Resources to compliment inclusive practices

• School Officers working with students
  

• Professional Development

• Social Skills Development

• Withdrawal of students in small groups or individually for a specific program

Enrolment Support and Transitions

Enrolment Application and Support Procedure (EASP)

This process seeks to reveal and clarify the needs of the student and to identify the educational adjustments required for accessing the learning program for the student. Adjustments are made for students with a disability to enable them to access the curriculum, achieve curriculum outcomes and participate in school life. An adjustment is any change made to help a student participate at school, learn, and be comfortable and safe.

More information is available in  "Supporting Children with a Disability at School – A Guide for Parents".

The Enrolment Application and Support Procedure may also be used to support the enrolment of students who have been identified as gifted.

Transitions occur when a student has to move from or into a new educational setting. Transitions may occur when students are moving:

• Into prep
• From one year level to another
• From one phase of learning to another
• From primary to secondary school, or
• To prepare for the most appropriate career pathway throughout life.

Before a transition process commences, parents, with support, are encouraged to take time to visit all possible educational settings when considering a placement for a student with a disability. The Enrolment Application and Support Procedure (EASP) is one way of identifying the support and personnel required to make the transition as smooth as possible. The purpose of a transition meeting is to discuss and plan, collaboratively, a suitable course of action to assist the move as effortlessly as possible.