Willmott Park Primary School, celebrates a diverse range of family backgrounds, which brings a rich and positive perspective to our community. The school offers many incredible support and extension programs along with a range of extra-curricular activities for students. The Willmott Park Deaf Facility was established in 2003 and provides access to a comprehensive education for primary aged Deaf and hard of hearing children in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne. The majority of classrooms at Willmott Park use soundfield systems to assist in providing optimal access to language for all students within the classrooms.
Students enrolled in the Deaf Facility are fully integrated into the classroom, while also accessing Deaf Facility programs aimed at meeting individual students’ needs. The Teacher of the Deaf works closely with the classroom teacher to ensure the classroom environment and teaching strategies optimise the children’s participation and learning at all times. Professional development is given to the school staff each year on Deafness and how to support students to function confidently throughout the school. Willmott Park Primary School’s Deaf Facility is staffed with specially trained teachers of the Deaf. All teachers within the facility have either a master’s degree, or equivalent, along with training in Auslan (Australian sign language).
All Deaf Facility students access programs through the Deaf Facility. Students have access to daily testing and troubleshooting of personal hearing devices in addition to a termly visit from a paediatric audiologist from Hearing Australia. The program delivery for each student is based on their individual needs, informed by test results and analysis of communicative competence. Through the Student Support Group (SSG) process, students are provided with twice yearly Individual Education Plans (IEP) that are developed in conjunction with parents, classroom teachers, allied health professionals, such as speech pathologists and students themselves. Willmott Park Primary School has a School Wide Positive Support program that explicitly teaches and rewards our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Achievement. The Deaf Facility ensures that these essential learning behaviours are clearly understood and practised.
Programs Focus On:
The Victorian Deaf Education Network offers membership to educational professionals who lead programs that specialise in teaching children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Victoria and pay respect to the ongoing living cultures of First Peoples.
Contact the Chair of VDEN