John Wollaston Anglican Community School

JOHN WOLLASTON ANGLICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL

TALKABOUT FOR EARLY LEARNERS

The partnership between John Wollaston Anglican Community School (JWACS) and Telethon Speech and Hearing (TSH) will expand next year with TSH staff set to deliver the Talkabout 4 program in the School’s Early Learning Centre.

Talkabout 4 is a curriculum compliant program operating one day per week, to complement mainstream Kindergarten. The program is supported by therapists who work directly with children in smallgroup, play-based activity stations facilitated by an Early Childhood teacher and allied health specialists. Small class sizes of 10 students and high staffing levels allow for intensive, individualised work on key focus areas such as receptive and expressive language skills, fine and gross motor skills, and sensory integration. The program will also provide an opportunity for young children across the local and Perth community to attend the program, with Mineral Resources establishing Early Intervention Scholarships to fully fund the enrolment of 10 students in Talkabout 4 next year. This generous incentive will provide extensive therapy and support resources for children and families who may otherwise be ineligible for NDIS funding. The Talkabout 4 program will be delivered in a new purpose-built facility which also comprises a classroom for Pre-Kindergarten children. Principal Anne Ford said she was delighted that the generosity of Mineral Resources would allow TSH’s successful Talkabout 4 program to be established at John Wollaston in 2023.

“In partnership with TSH, our priority will be to provide a nurturing learning environment in which the children can thrive.”

JWACS is the first Anglican School in WA to accommodate a Telethon Speech and Hearing (TSH) outpost. Since 2015, the successful partnership has provided a comprehensive in-school support program staffed by Teachers of the Deaf and Education Assistants catering for students with moderate to severe hearing loss.