Student Support Services

Student Support Services: As a school, we are committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all of our students. The first step towards this aim is the homeroom teachers and teaching assistants. In some situations, a child will require additional support to help them thrive at school. This is where the Student Support Team (SST) steps in. 

The Student Support Team (SST) is led by the Vice Principal and consists of the Primary School Counselor, Language Support teachers for TAL and EAL, and Learning Support teachers. 

The Counselor supports the social and emotional learning and wellbeing of our students. The Counselor is a valuable resource for proactively supporting students and parents through ongoing lessons, responding in the time of need, or small group and individual support. The Counsellor also works with students as they join or leave our school in order to help them transition well. 

The Learning Support Team ensures that all students have access to rigorous content, an enriching curriculum, and meaningful learning experiences. The Learning Support Team works closely with students, teachers, parents and administrators to provide ongoing support in creating equitable learning opportunities to ensure that all students can access the curriculum to their full capacity.

The EAL & TAL Teachers lead the language acquisition classes for our language learners through a variation of co-teaching. They regularly monitor and report on the language development of our multilingual learners.

Tiers of Service: We follow the internationally recognized MTSS model of support. MTSS is a research based Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS Model) for academic and emotional well-being. Tier 1 is general classroom support, Tier 2 is targeted support for a short period of time, and Tier 3 is more intensive ongoing support. If a child requires short bursts of support to help close learning gaps, the SST can work with the teacher to provide support.

Referral for Support: Teachers will do their best to support a child’s needs within class. If further intervention support is needed, the teacher will inform parents and then refer the child to the Student Support Team (SST) will observe the child, gather student work, and determine next steps, which may include the development of an Individualised Learning Plan (ILP). 

Individualised Learning Plan (ILP) defines the key target areas for a child to work towards, with short targeted support. This could take the form of a Behaviour Intervention Contract or as an ILP with learning targets and strategies to support progression. Parents will be invited to contribute to these plans and support the implementation. In some cases, the school may request an external evaluation. 

External Evaluations can screen for health concerns or specific learning variances, and they can be very powerful tools in helping teachers determine the best steps for supporting a child’s learning. If more ongoing support is needed, or in cases where a child is not progressing, the school may require external assessments from a Paediatrician, Educational Psychiatrist or Occupational Therapist, or other specialist to help us determine a holistic plan for support. If the school requests external evaluation and support, families are asked to collaborate towards meeting the school’s requests. 

Individualised Education Plans (IEPs) are developed once a full evaluation is carried out and the report is received. This plan will entitle the student to intensive ongoing support that falls within the school’s capacity. It is possible that the family will be expected to provide additional support outside of the school. In some cases, the school may require “shadow teachers” to support the needs of a child. 

Support Agencies: Panyaden will, when possible, lean on external agencies to help us meet students' needs. At times, we may need to request that parents supplement services provided at school at their own expense. We will do our best to vet agencies and provide recommendations. The school is ultimately not responsible for, or able to direct, the work of these agencies. 

You can learn more about the learning support services by speaking with a member of our team.