At Blackwood High School, we know that no two learners are the same. Some students need a little extra support to shine. Others need to be stretched and challenged. Many need both at different times. Whatever your young person's learning needs look like, our Inclusive Education team works alongside you to make sure those needs are genuinely met.
For most students, great teaching is the starting point. Our teachers are skilled at adjusting how they deliver lessons so that every student can access the curriculum and experience real success in the classroom.
For students who need more targeted support, we work with your family to put the right adjustments in place — whether that's supplementary help, more substantial modifications, or an extensive plan that addresses complex needs.
If you have questions or concerns about how your young person is going, your first point of contact is always their Care Group Teacher.
Department for Education – Supporting Students
At Blackwood High School, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment for every student. With particular focus on priority learners identified by the Department for Education—including Aboriginal students, children and young people in care, and students with disability who need substantial or extensive adjustments—our dedicated leaders oversee targeted support and programs.
A One Plan brings together everyone who knows and supports them — you as their family, your young person themselves, school staff, and any external service providers — to create a coordinated approach to their learning.
One Plans are developed in line with the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) and the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and they focus on building your young person's skills using strategies that are grounded in evidence. Meaningful goals are developed together with your family across areas such as literacy, numeracy, and personal and social development to achieve their full potential with monitoring and review of their learning and goals throughout the year.
Department for Education: Education and Children's Services (Inclusive Education)
For neurodiverse learners, who can access learning with quality differentiated teaching practices or supplementary adjustments, their Care Group Teacher will develop and review a Student Education Plan, in conjunction with you as their family, your young person themselves, school staff, and external service providers to create a coordinated approach to their learning. This document gives subject teachers a clear picture of your young person’s strengths and challenges so they can adjust their teaching approach in ways that genuinely work for your young person.
Our Inclusive Education SSOs work directly with students who need additional support, whether that's one-on-one in the classroom, in small groups, or alongside the subject teacher. They also can support students to access the school’s Interoception room and quiet learning spaces. They also deliver targeted intervention programs under the guidance of the Leader, Inclusive Education.
Our Lunch Club is open every day. It’s a welcoming space built around regulation, connection and belonging.
Our Interoception Room gives students a quiet, supported space to develop interoception skills and manage sensory overload. Students can check in from 8:30–8:40am to get the morning started well, and they return to class when they're ready. How and when a student uses this space is always worked out in partnership with the student, their family, and our staff.
Intervention Programs
The school uses evidence-based intervention programs from Macquarie University. They can be delivered in small groups or one-on-one. If your young person is identified as eligible, through consultation with you, their teachers, and any relevant specialists such as a Speech Pathologist, they can access this program with your consent.
Literacy intervention sessions run three to four times per week, with each lesson lasting around 50 minutes. They are generally a 25-week program, and the research is clear: regular reading practice at home makes a significant difference to outcomes. We'll work with you throughout to make sure your young person gets the most from it.
Social skill and Personal Development
Social Skills Club is an evidence-informed intervention designed to help Middle Years students develop confidence, communication, and positive peer relationships in a fun and supportive environment. Drawing on evidence-informed approaches such as What's the Buzz?, students participate in engaging discussions, cooperative activities, and games to develop skills in teamwork, communication, resilience, conflict resolution, and building positive friendships
Dragons of the Spectrum (DOTS) is an evidence-based, neuro-affirming social skills program developed by the Social Play Academy. Using a simplified Dungeons & Dragons-style tabletop role-playing game, children build social confidence, emotional awareness, teamwork, and communication skills through imaginative play in a safe and supportive environment. For more information, visit the Social Play Academy website
New in 2027, the Autism Pathways Expansion Initiative is a Senior Years program at Blackwood High School, made possible through $10,000 in funding secured from the Department for Education's Career Education and Pathways Strategy – Expansion of the Disability Transition Program. The initiative is designed to support students with autism in Years 10 and 11 to develop the transition, employability, and wellbeing skills needed for successful post-school pathways.
Starting high school is a big deal. For priority learners and students who need a little extra support to make that leap, our Inclusive Education transition program offers transition planning meetings and opportunities to get familiar with the school, the staff, and the routine — well before the first official day. We will liaise with your young person’s primary school to make this happen, once the enrolment form for your young person is received by the school.
Moving into the Senior Years can also be a big deal for our students. To help them get to know their new Year Level Leader, we are excited to team up with RecFish SA to take interested students fishing at the Happy Valley Reservoir in term 4.
Students with disability can access additional programs offered by the Department for Education through a referral process. These include the Students with Disability Swimming Program and the Student Pathways and Careers Transition Program for year 12 students.
Referrals can also be made to Autism SA for students with disability, who require substantial or extensive adjustments to access their learning program, for additional support.
Each year, we contribute to this national collection of information about students with disability. It helps us better understand what our students need and make sure our support is as effective as it can be.
For students facing significant barriers to learning in a mainstream setting, Tailored Learning Options offers a different approach. A dedicated Leader and Case Manager works one-on-one with your young person to develop a learning pathway that makes sense for their situation and their goals.
Ready to talk about how we can support your young person?
We'd love to hear from you. Reach out to our Leader, Inclusive Education to start the conversation about your young person's learning and how we can work together to help them find their path, their place, and their potential.