School Administrative and Support Staff

Bilingual support staff work with students, staff, parents and the community to improve students’ learning and welfare outcomes. Their roles include: • supporting students’ learning and welfare • providing opportunities for students to develop personal and social skills • interpreting problems of students to staff • translating letters and documents • working with teachers in the classroom • providing orientation for staff in relation to the ethnic community • acting as interpreters in student and parent interviews • liaising with counsellors to facilitate students’ transition to High School • communicating with parents • assisting families with resettlement and orientation to their new society • liaising with the local ethnic community

Counsellor Support

• Provide counselling for individual students and their families

• Provide funds/assistance as required to students in need through the SAS

• Provide advice and support to members of the Welfare Team

• Support Welfare Team with information and resources

• Initiate and implement preventative and remedial programs for "at risk" students

• Make applications for Funding Support for students with disabilities, learning needs and behaviour/emotional concerns

• Conduct psychometric and other assessments of students as required

• Assist in the placement of students for High School Experience

• Liaise with welfare and other agencies

• Link families with community support services

• Organise serious incident and other debriefings

Click here for an overview of Careers & Educational Pathways available to CSIEHS students

High School Placement

Teachers, Careers Adviser and counsellor decide when a student is ready to transfer to high school by assessing the students' length of stay at CSIEHS, performance in class, level of English, self-esteem and confidence. Parents and students may choose any high school they like but it is not always possible to place the student at that school because there may not be a vacancy. Parents or guardians are responsible for arranging their own child's placement if they choose a non-government school. In this case parents should inform the counsellor of their choice of school.

High School Experience

Before students transfer to high school they visit their future high schools for a week of school experience. During this week students have the opportunity to learn about the school and the subjects they will study and meet some of the students and teachers.

A 'buddy' or support student, usually of the same nationality, helps the student to settle in to high school. Our teachers also visit the students at their high schools to support them. The school experience program is very important for the successful transfer of our students to high school.

Learning Support Classes

There are three learning support classes support classes at the CSIEHS - one in each language level. Students will be offered placement in these classes if the teachers or School Counsellor feel it necessary.

The reasons for placement in these classes is varied. Some students have an identified learning difficulty, some require more time to settle into the new learning environment and some may have had disrupted schooling in the past. Students may be referred to these classes after eight weeks initially in a class or earlier if the class teacher feels its warranted. In this class students will be working in the same Key Learning Areas (subjects) as the other students but at a slower pace.

Students may move into or out of the learning support class if their progress is satisfactory, however some may remain in the learning support classes as they move through the three language levels of the high school. As well as the learning support classes, the Support Program can provide extra help to individual students on a withdrawl basis. This may occur when a student is identified as needing more intensive help in a particular area e.g. spelling

Welfare, Orientation and Settlement (WOS)

Cleveland Street Intensive English High School provides a Welfare, Orientation and Settlement (WOS) Program for newly arrived students. WOS is taught in Stage 4 and Stage 5 at the Preliminary, Intermediate and Transition levels. A support program is also available. Topics covered include: orientation to learning, the local area, migration issues, anti-racism and bullying issues.

The rationale of this program is to provide learners with support during the period of acculturation in our school. New arrival students are exposed to many new experiences: new ways of learning, new friends, a new culture, a new language and an introduction to a co-educational high school. By empowering our students we aim to maximise their self -esteem and give them the social skills and coping strategies to adapt to their new link high school.

The ethos of this program permeates throughout our whole curiculum and informs our approach to teaching and learning.

Pronunciation Class

From 8:30 - 8:50 each morning there is a special pronunciation class. Students who want to practise their English pronunciation can attend this class. Sometimes their teachers will recommend that they should attend.