Case study: Grace

Our case study illustrates adjustments for a student with disability who is moving into Stage 6. Grace is in Year 10 and has chronic fatigue syndrome. Learn about the personalised adjustments made to her teaching, learning and assessment activities.

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Collaborative curriculum planning for Grace

Grace is in Year 10 and has chronic fatigue syndrome. She is in a mainstream classroom in a high school. Grace is planning her transition into Stage 6 to receive her HSC credential. She hopes to study occupational therapy when she leaves school.

Grace demonstrates sound knowledge and understanding across her subjects in Stage 5. Because of her chronic fatigue syndrome she suffers from:

disrupted sleep
problems with temperature regulation
exhaustion from everyday activities
pain in her muscles and joints
light sensitivity
occasional clumsiness
inability to concentrate.

Grace’s school attendance rate is approximately 65%. It includes periods of extended hospital stays.

Using collaborative curriculum planning, Grace's learning support team identifies that she needs supplementary adjustments in all her subjects. This includes adjustments and support to manage her learning when she is unwell. It also includes adjustments to her learning environment.

Adjustments for Grace

Through collaborative curriculum planning, it’s decided that Grace would benefit from the adjustments outlined below.

Supporting Grace at school

Grace has attended the school for 4 years. The school has provided ongoing adjustments and resources to support her health needs. Current strategies in place to support Grace include:

Using ground floor classrooms close to her locker and bathroom. This helps to minimise fatigue as she moves between environments.
Providing her with extra rest breaks during tasks and activities that may require her to exert herself. For example, through physical activity.
Observing and identifying possible changes to her behaviour that could indicate a flare in her chronic fatigue.
Modifying Grace’s workload based on her levels of fatigue.
Having classroom teachers report updates on Grace’s progress. This happens via email on a weekly basis to the year coordinator.
Accessing assistive technology to support learning.
Providing additional time to complete class work and assessment tasks.

Supporting Grace during remote learning

When she is not able to attend school, Grace receives support via remote learning. This includes:

accessing class work via the school’s learning management system
accessing class work as printed materials to return via post if needed
attending some lessons online via Zoom
attending lessons at the hospital school when she is well enough.

Supporting Grace through assessment experiences

Grace’s teachers use a range of informal and formal assessment experiences for her. Her teachers use these to assess and report on her achievement in relation to the outcomes. If Grace cannot complete a formal assessment task due to her chronic fatigue, her teachers do one or both of the following:

Use informal assessment evidence to assess and report on her achievement against the outcomes. This includes classwork and observations.
Refer to the school’s illness/misadventure policy and provide Grace with an alternate task or estimate, as appropriate.

Moving to Stage 6

Grace, her learning support team, classroom teachers, and parents discussed her transition into Stage 6. During subject selection for Year 11, Grace indicated that she wanted to study:

English Standard
Biology
PDHPE
Community and Family Studies
Visual Arts Mathematics Standard.

Her learning support team reviewed which strategies and adjustments were successful for her during Stage 5. The team has planned future options to meet her individual needs across all her subjects.

To be eligible for the HSC at the end of Year 12, Grace will need to:

satisfactorily complete a Preliminary pattern of study that includes at least 12 units
satisfactorily complete an HSC pattern of study that includes at least 10 units
complete HSC: All My Own Work (or its equivalent) before she submits any work for Preliminary or HSC courses
meet the HSC minimum standard of literacy and numeracy
sit for, and make a serious attempt, at the required HSC exams.

Grace’s teachers will continue to support her when she is unable to attend school during Years 11 and 12. They will provide access to learning and assessment experiences at home and in hospital. To complete each course, Grace will need to show diligence and sustained effort to the learning and assessment. This will need to happen whether they take place at school or outside of school.

Adjustments for Stage 6

Grace’s team identified the following adjustments and supports for Years 11 and 12.

Continue current adjustments

Grace will keep using the adjustments that are already working well for her.

Review subject selection

The team reviewed Grace’s subject selection and pattern of study to avoid placing extra pressure on her. For example, they avoided having Grace choose too many subjects with HSC projects. Grace chose Visual Arts, giving her a creative outlet and flexibility in how she creates for her body of work.

Follow a flexible learning pathway

Grace will accumulate courses. This will allow her to complete her HSC courses over time to manage her workload. She may start with 2 or 3 subjects in Years 11 and 12. Later, she can either:

continue at school to complete the rest of her courses
leave school with a RoSA and finish her HSC at TAFE NSW.

Using this pathway, there is no time restriction for Grace to complete her Preliminary courses. It also means she can complete her HSC courses over a 5-year period. To successfully complete a HSC course, students must show diligence and sustained effort. Accumulating courses means Grace’s study can be flexible should her chronic fatigue result in changes to her attendance or health.

Resources for Grace’s teachers

Grace’s learning support team gathered useful information for her teachers and school staff. These include the following ACE references:

Related information

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