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Our learners experience varying degrees of educational barriers in all areas of development. The primary need is support and intervention to help them firstly access their functional, everyday environment with independence and secondly, to access a functional learning environment.
Each learner at Herbert Street Special School has an Individualised Support Plan (ISP) and a Learning Program that is tailored to their learning needs. Both of these documents are compiled in line with the DCAPS (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement Grade R-5 For Learners with Severe Intellectual Disability). Due to our learner’s diverse needs, we follow the DCAPS with additional supports, adjusted timeframes, continuous assessment procedures and simplified skills. This is done to give learners the best opportunity to learn, develop functionality and to be valuable integrated members of their communities.
Our main focus areas at the school include life skills (behaviour, physical development, social and independence skills), functional mathematics and language (communication, language and functional literacy skills). The Junior Section emphasises early developmental skills and various independence skills in their daily programs. When learners reach the Middle Section, emphasis is placed on independence skills, functional mathematics and literacy and a portion of their learning program is focussed on pre-vocational skills. Within the Senior Section a large portion of the learner’s learning program revolves around vocational skills.
A child needing placement in a public special school for learners with Autism, has to be referred to the Western Cape Education Department’s Autism Spectrum Disorder Database (WCED ASD Database). A WCED referral form must be completed by a professional in the field of Autism (medical doctor/psychologist/therapist etc.) and sent together with any reports that are available (therapy reports/medical reports/school reports) as well as proof of residential address to the Administrator of the WCED ASD database (waitinglist.asd@gmail.com).
The learner’s name will be added to the WCED ASD Database and allocated to an ASD school, depending on the area in which he/she resides. An updated database list is sent to all ASD schools regularly. The relevant school that the learner falls into will be notified of the new learner on their database, and all the documents pertaining to this learner will be sent to the school.
The allocated school is now responsible for making contact with the family to arrange a screening interview (SI) when they reach the learner’s name on the database. The SI involves meeting with the parents/caregivers to collect background information. The school will, at this point, explain what an observation period entails. If the learner does not meet the criteria for an observation period, the school will refer the family to the most appropriate resource.
If the learner meets the criteria for an observation period, the allocated school is once again responsible for contacting the family when the learner is due to return for an observation period. During this observation period, the school will determine the level of educational support the learner requires and whether an Autism unit is the best placement for the learner. The information from the observation period will be presented at the WCED’s Sifting and Placement meeting where a final decision will be made regarding placement. The allocated school will then communicate the outcome of this meeting, as well as recommendations based on the assessment, via a feedback session with the family.
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