Frequently Asked Questions


1. What criteria must an applicant satisfy to be eligible to apply for placement of their child at the School?

Criteria: diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder from a practitioner acceptable to the NSW Department of Education and Training - a developmental pediatrician, psychiatrist or psychologist. 

2. Age of Entry: 

4 years and 6 months to 13 years (at time of entry).

3. What documentation and history will need to be supplied by parents in order to satisfy the criteria for eligibility?

A report written within the last 12 months accepted by the NSW Department of Education and Training, from a developmental pediatrician, psychiatrist or psychologist.

4. What selection process will be applied to determine a child’s right of entry to the school?

At the time of application, the child’s parent will complete an Expression of Interest form.  If the child appears appropriate, a more detailed questionnaire will be forwarded to the parent, for completion.  If, subsequently, a place is offered to the child, an assessment appointment will be arranged.  At the assessment there will be further history taken, observation of the child, and formal assessment to assess the child’s skill level.

The application process will endeavor to select students that enable the student body to be as balanced as possible having regard to issues of ability, communication skills and behaviour.  Thus we may not always take the next child on the waiting list if that child or their student peers would not benefit by the child’s attendance at that time.

5. Who determines whether or not a child will be approved for enrolment at the school and a place offered?

The enrolment committee, which is likely to comprise a director of Woodbury, a staff representative of the school and a parent representative of the school.

6. How many children will the school cater for?

In 2008, 32 children.

7. On what terms is the fee payable?

There will be an entry bond of 1 term’s fee in advance, which will be returned (interest free) at termination of the school placement, after all monies owed are paid.  Fees will be paid prior to the commencement of the next term.

8. What do the fees cover?

Assessment, program development, program monitoring, program implementation, and education materials,

9. What extra expenses are parents likely to be asked to fund over and above the annual school fee?

They will be asked to provide uniforms, food and medications required during the day and also be required to offer volunteer support.  All parents will be required to donate through voluntary work at an average of 10 hours per term to help with jobs like clerical work, material development, building maintenance, fundraising, etc.

10. Have arrangements been made to enable some of the fees to be offset by contributions to tax deductible funds?

School fees are not tax deductible .   Donations cannot result in services being provided to the donor or their family.    Despite that family will be asked to support Woodbury school fundraising efforts.    To the extent we are  successful in raising donations we hope to reduce the school fees.

11. Will the school be eligible to receive public funding and to what degree?

The school’s budget already includes the public funding provided by the State and Commonwealth governments and in particular the Education Departments.

12. What is the primary teaching and/or therapy method/s likely to be employed at the school?

Woodbury School is an ABA School and as the name implies, the techniques are those research based techniques usually associated with Applied Behaviour Analysis in teaching institutions, and would include discrete trial training, activity based learning, incidental teaching, position teaching, fluency boarding.

13. How many teachers will be employed at the school?

1 teacher per 4 students.

14. How many teachers’ aides will be employed at the school?

It is envisaged during the establishment/transition year that there will be 20 aides – 1 per child.  In subsequent years, it is expected that these may be reduced to 16 aides for 20 children as the children formulate small group learning environments.

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15. How will tasks be allocated between teachers and aides?

There will be 7 class teachers.  The role of the teachers will be to:

  • Supervise the implementation of the child's ABA program by the teacher's aide to maximise its effectiveness
  • Provide a safe, reinforcing environment for the children at all times;
  • Teach group lessons;
  • Provide a safe, reinforcing environment for the staff;
  • Increase their knowledge of ABA with the aim of taking over some of the role of the clinical director;
  • Ensure that school policies are implemented at all times;
  • Keep attendance and enrolment records in a legal manner;
  • Order and maintain equipment;
  • Ensure the curriculum is implemented as intended;
  • Assist in the development of IEPs;
  • Collate data as directed by the Clinical Director;
  • Assess the child's progress.

ABA Therapists/Teachers’ Aides: 

Industrial awards and conditions are currently being investigated, however, it is planned that ABA Therapists/Teachers Aides will mainly be permanent part-time workers, most often university students.

Therapists/Teachers’ Aides will be responsible for:

  • ABA therapy with individual children under direct teacher supervision;
  • Shadowing children in integration/transition settings;
  • Data collection;
  • Integration shadowing;
  • Minor clerical duties relating to their student;
  • Some development of equipment and teaching aides;
  • Attendance at programming and parent interviews;
  • Attendance at training as required.


16. Is it contemplated that emphasis will be placed on a core list of subject areas for each child and in what subject areas will the children receive instruction?

Each child on the Autistic Spectrum has a very individual pattern of excesses and deficits as well as a unique learning style, and therefore a very specific set of educational needs related to this configuration. As an ABA school, Woodbury will be in a position to allow for the development and delivery of an individual program to match each student’s unique profile of skill development. Our aim is for Woodbury students to reach their potential through a structured and individualised program taught using research based ABA technologies but directed towards meeting Board of Studies KLA outcomes

The students at Woodbury will be working on individual programs to achieve syllabus outcomes at different Board of Studies Stages in different Key Learning Areas and /or Foundation skills. Foundation skills are the skills required to be developed before a student can achieve outcomes documented on the Board of Studies NSW Curriculum.

Most Foundation Skills are prerequisite to more than one KLA.

Foundation Skills can be categorised under the headings:-

  • Communication
  • Social Skills
  • Play and Leisure
  • Motor
  • Independent Living Skills
  • Pre/academics     

The Key Learning areas of the BOS Curriculum are English, Mathematics, Science & Technology, Human Society and its Environment, Creative Arts and Personal Development, Health and Physical Education. The hours allocated to each KLA or Foundation skill are as required by the BOS to meet the standard required for the school to be registered.

All the students in the secondary school in the first year of operation will work towards the outcomes from the Life Skills curriculum.
There will be a strong emphasis on ‘independent living’ skills, leisure skills and communication. The school will deliver their own programs in this area in order to make the Life skills curriculum relevant to each student.

17. What degree of supervision will be exercised over the teachers and by whom?

The consultant executive director will provide programming expertise and assess the supervision of the teachers [1 teacher will be appointed to the position of head teacher]

18. What are the minimum qualifications held by the teachers and aides at the school?

All teachers will hold appropriate degrees as acceptable to the Board of Studies and NSW Education Department.   The aides will receive intensive ABA training.   The majority of these aides are likely to be university students undertaking degrees in child related disciplines, such as psychology, special education, speech pathology and occupational therapy.

19. What is the proposed ratio of “group activities” to “one to one” activities?

It will depend on each child’s level of functioning.  It is anticipated that children, at whatever age they enter the school, will initially have a program which is predominantly one to one.  As soon as they show the ability they will be authorised to work part of their day in a diad or triad or small group.  There are 4 designated levels within the school. 

Levels (within Junior and Senior Classes)

Level 1 

  • 1:1 teaching throughout the school day, 4.5 hours individual and 0.5 small group work with groups of 2-4 children.  A teacher will lead group time, with each child being shadowed by their ABA therapist (teacher’s aide).

Group teaching aims to:

    • Establish classroom group behaviors e.g. waiting, attending in group, sitting on mat, looking at teacher and simple turn taking.
    • Increase social interaction with peers.
    • Promote generalisation and functional use of skills learned in individual lessons.

 Level 2

  • 1:1 teaching for 4 hours/day.
  • Group teaching, with a reduced ratio of 1 teacher to 3 students in the group (1:3) 1 hour/day.

Level 3

  • 1:1 teaching for 2 hours per day, with some independent work required.
  • Small group of 6 students with 2 teachers for 2.5 hours.
  • Larger group work (ratio of 2:10) for 0.5 hours.

Level 4

Students at level 4 will receive individual lessons as required, however most learning will take place in a group (ratio of 1:8).  The group would be approaching a regular classroom model, run on ABA principles.  After successful time in this group, it is expected that some integration in regular classrooms would be possible.

During the early stage of the development of the school, whilst numbers are low, some of these groupings will not be possible to achieve but are published to explain the model Woodbury is adopting.

20. Who is to be responsible for overseeing the performance of students and staff and overseeing the progress of the school generally?

The clinical director of the school, who will report to the directors of the board of Woodbury.   Naturally, the school will be required to comply at all times with all Education Department criteria for its continued operation.

21. Is each child to receive an individual education plan?

Yes.  It will be determined at the assessment appointment and will include a report from the parents so there will be a dual educational and parent driven program.  And it will be updated regularly.

22. How are outcomes to be assessed and with what regularity?

As in all ABA programs, data is collected on a day by day, child by child basis. The assessments will be continuous and ongoing but will be reported to the parents monthly, termly and yearly.

23. Is it contemplated that emphasis will be placed on a core list of subject areas for each child and in what subject areas will the children receive instruction?

It is a requirement of the Board of Studies in special schools that children are either being taught from the Board of Studies curriculum if they are able, or that they are willing  to - pre-requisite skills to enable them to access whichever parts of that curriculum they will be able to, in the future, access.  Senior children will also be receiving instruction in adaptive living skills.

24. Will each child have a playground program or therapy schedule to cover lunch and break times?

Yes.

25. Is it contemplated that the school will be catering for each child’s needs over a period of years or is mainstream integration the goal?

There will be streams within the school.  The children who are likely to be able to a more open environment, will be integrated into the most suitable available situation that the parents request.  Other children, it is anticipated, will have their needs met for a number of years.

26. Will the school employ or retain speech therapists or occupational therapists on any basis and if so, what will be their role?

The school will not employ or retain speech pathologists, occupational therapists, initially.  The parents will be encouraged to seek private speech pathology and occupational therapy assessments and these recommendations would be included and incorporated into the child’s ABA program.

27. To what extent will parental input be allowed/encouraged?

Each child’s Individual Education Program (IEPs) will be developed in consultation with the parents.  Regular attendance at parent training, and observation of their children will be mandatory.  Parents will be able to make appointments to observe their child more frequently the child's than those scheduled if they wish.

Acceptance of the school’s decision of the level of initial placement is a condition of offer of a place at Woodbury.

Initially, it will be a condition of offer of a place at Woodbury that all parents will volunteer 10 hours of time/expertise per  term, to assist with fundraising, maintenance of equipment and facilities, or other such designated tasks.  Parents may choose to make a suitable donation in lieu of volunteering time.

General

28. Where is the school located?

Balcombe Heights Estate, Baulkham Hills, NSW.

29. What age groups will be catered for?

Initially, 4½ until age 16.

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