Support

SAER Students at Educational Risk

Students whose academic, social and/or emotional attributes are a barrier to engagement with the content and standards defined in the Western Australian Curriculum are considered to be ‘Students at Educational Risk’ (SAER).

What do I do if I am concerned about my child?

In the first instance, any concern about your child’s progress should be discussed with their teacher.

If your child has been diagnosed with an educational or medical need it is better to have the initial conversation with Mrs Claire Gardner, Deputy Principal.

What does the school do if they are concerned about a student in the school?

Teachers at Samson PS regularly assess your child’s progress against expected standards. If your child is struggling at school then we may also decide to implement a plan to support them. These, together with national tests, such as On Entry or NAPLAN, are great indicators for staff that a student is not learning at the expected level. It is also not uncommon for children to be referred to a speech or occupational therapist.

Initially, the teacher will raise their concern with Mrs Claire Gardner.  These conversations are designed to plan any intervention strategies that will be used to support your child. Our team will create a documented plan which your child’s teacher will explain to you and ask you to sign. The teacher will contact you and request you to come to the school for a meeting to discuss how we can work together to support your child.

Who is involved?

SAER Coordinator

Mrs Claire Gardner has overall responsibility for the management and coordination of SAER provision within Samson PS and is also designated the SAER Coordinator. She coordinates multi-agency meetings, educational assistant timetables, documentation and ensures compliance with departmental policy.

School Psychologist

The School Psychologist is Mrs Cath Redman. She is normally in school on Thursday. Referrals for the psychologist are made through Mrs Gardner.

The role of the school psychologist is to apply their psychological and educational expertise to support students to achieve academic success, psychological health and social and emotional well-being. The psychologist will often participate in case-conferences with parents or work shoulder to shoulder with staff on the development of documented plans.  The school psychologist does not provide counselling or help to students, rather she provides support to teachers so they are able to best support their students.

Intervention

The school uses a range of intervention strategies to support academic, as well as, social & emotional needs. The strategies are tailored to the needs of the individual child and take place in either an individual or group setting. Additional support is used when appropriate.

SSEND

As a school we also have access to education support from within the department through SSEND, the School of Special Educational Needs: Disabilities. SSEND support the teacher through advising them on how to modify the curriculum in the best way to support your child, regardless of their specific need.