The West Coast Language Development Centre is a specialist Education Support facility that also includes the Statewide Speech and Language Service (Outreach) for the North Metropolitan (coastal schools) and the MidWest Educational Regions. The centre is located over four sites.
The West Coast Language Development Centre is a centre of excellence that provides specialist early direct intervention (for students), outreach (for schools and networks) and research and development services in the area of speech, language and associated literacy. The synergism and cohesion among service delivery, teaching and research leads to changes in classroom practice as knowledge increases, 'best practices' are identified, and service needs are recognised within the centre and across mainstream schools.
The West Coast Language Development Centre works at the system, network, individual school, leadership, teacher and student level to provide high quality services in speech, language and associated learning that are based on current best practice evidence. The services build on each other and include:
1.Direct services for students: intensive, early intervention
An early, intensive intervention service for kindergarten to year 1 targets students with identified Specific (Primary) Language Impairment in the metropolitan area. High quality assessment, teaching and learning informs and is informed by research and evidence. Teacher leaders and support staff (including speech pathologists) empower and build the capacity of teachers so that they are results orientated and transformational leaders in their own classroom.
2.Outreach
This service responds to the distinctive needs of public primary schools with a focus on improving speaking, listening and literacy learning for students with language difficulties, difference and disorders. The emphasis is on sustainable capacity building of teacher, school and system to deliver high quality learning opportunities.
3.Research and development
The service conducts and supports the research, development and trialling of evidence based practices for speech, language and associated literacy by establishing collaborative partnerships with schools and universities.
Early intervention, outreach, and research & development services of the West Coast Language Development Centre engage in the provision of high quality, differentiated, flexible, practical support to schools and their communities to develop practices and programs that accelerate and maximise learning outcomes for students with speech, language and associated literacy needs. This is underpinned by the moral imperative that all students can learn, including students with language difficulties, delays, disorders or impairments.
The West Coast Language Centre Services works in partnership with the North East Language Development Centre to provide an integrated cohesive approach to speech and language services in the North Metropolitan Educational Region. North East and West Coast also work with Language Centres from the South Metropolitan Region to provide integrated State-wide Services in Speech and Language across the state.
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