Dubbo West Public School - Student Support Programs

Dubbo West Public School makes it one of their main priorities to aid in the educational 
growth and development of your child. The school conducts several programs to help 
children that both have difficulty in learning and are academically advanced. Some of these
programs are described below.


At the Infants Department

ESSP (Early Special Support Programs)

The Early Special Support Programs cater for students from Kindergarten to Year 2 and focuses 
mainly on students with mild intellectual ability. Students attend normal classes but receive support 
from the ESSP teacher to cater to their learning needs.

Reading Recovery

Reading Recovery is an early intervention program that caters for students in Year 1 that have 
difficulties in reading. The program consists of  individual lessons that occur for half an hour on 
a daily basis.

Support Teacher Learning Difficulties

The Support Teacher Learning Difficulties provides support to students in regular classes that 
have difficulties in learning. The role of the Support Teacher may be team teaching with the 
class teacher, consultation with the class teacher or withdrawal of a student to attend a special
program. Students may attend these special programs either individually or in small groups.

AELDP (Aboriginal Early Language Development Program)

The AELDP  is designed to develop the language and literacy skills of aboriginal students. The 
program is based on the belief that Aboriginal students can be successful literacy learners, and is 
part of the schools commitment to meeting the language and literacy needs of Aboriginal students
 by providing a supportive school environment.

Penni Brydon
Aboriginal Education Resource Teacher


At the Primary Department

The O.C. (Opportunity C) Class

Dubbo West Public School hosts the O.C. class for Dubbo and District. This is a two year 
program and the curriculum is based upon the normal work of Years 5 and 6.
As the children cover this work in a shorter time, there is a greater opportunity for both enrichment 
and acceleration activities.

A central goal of the O.C. class at Dubbo West is to equip the students with the necessary skills to 
become a self-motivated, independent worker with a commitment to learning as a lifelong process 
and with a willingness to accept educational, social and personal responsibilities.

Literary skills are given high priority through the study of quality literature, while well-defined writing 
skills facilitate learning through all Key Learning Areas.

The children learn to organise and extend their creative and critical thinking skills through 
De Bono's Six Thinking Hats Program. There is an emphasis on problem solving in Mathematics 
and Science & Technology with practical work given a high priority.

The children are encouraged to participate in all school based sporting, cultural and creative 
activities. 

Lynn Bolton
O.C. Class Teacher

Support Class Intellectually Mild

This is a district class that caters for students with mild intellectual ability from Years 3-6. The size
of the class is kept at or below 18 students to allow a more individualised teaching approach to 
occur. This allows the teacher to better cater to the students needs.

Support Class Intensive Reading

The Intensive Reading program is a district class that caters for students from Years 2-6 having 
difficulties with reading. The program is aimed at mainly students with average or slightly above 
average reading ability and is used to allow the students to "catch up" to the level that fellow 
students are at. Individual programs are run for half the day on a daily basis in the first term, then 
there is one term of follow up work in the home school.

Meryl Usbach
Executive Teacher Support