Student Support

Kaikorai Valley College (KVC) has a very strong record of catering for the needs of all students, based on our mantra of “Opportunity and Success for ALL”. This means we will turn over every stone to make sure students are able to taste success, whatever that may mean for each individual.

At KVC we are very proud of our inclusiveness and this is something people are very quick to feed back to us in conversations around how things are going for their children. The family atmosphere means students and staff look out for each other and take a personal interest in ensuring that everyone is being looked after.

Learning Support

At Kaikorai Valley College we take Learning Support very seriously – but we still try to have fun! By this we mean that we do everything we can to help our students find success in their schooling and feel positive about their achievements. At KVC we have a lot of experience working with students of all different levels, stages, physical and learning disabilities. If we don’t know much about a particular learning need, we will find out.

The Learning Support Department aims to provide positive and encourage support for students’ so that they can fully access the New Zealand curriculum through:

General and targeted teacher aide support in mainstream classes.
Professional development for college staff to develop teaching skills/ strategies to support students in their classes.
Information gathering and dissemination to staff about student’s specific learning needs e.g. dyslexia and many more.
Special conditions support e.g. reader writer support.
Coordinated links to the many appropriate external services and personnel e.g. RTLB support (Resource Teachers for Learning and Behaviour).

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact our Learning Support Coordinator, Ms Karen Flett

Ph 03 453 6035
E kaflett@kvc.school.nz

or Mrs Rachael Morrison our SENCO

Ph 03 453 6035

E ramorrison@kvc.school.nz

Special Needs

The Brathwaite Centre is a supported learning environment for students with ORS funding and is an integral and valued part of Kaikorai Valley College. The Centre caters for ORS students within our specialist learning department providing specialist teacher and teacher aide support for special needs students in the Centre and in mainstream classes. Within the Centre, learning opportunities are provided in small groups or in individual programmes. All policies and procedures follow those of the larger school community, where the focus is ‘Opportunity and Success for All’.

We foster a supportive atmosphere where students develop confidence to learn and grow. We celebrate diversity and difference and promote empathy, caring and respect for everyone.

We work strongly as a team when setting specific goals for students. Consultation with students, parents/ caregivers, classroom teachers, specialist expertise from the Ministry of Education, and input from other agencies, are all-important aspects of each Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting.

The Brathwaite Centre is a base where specific needs are met in a variety of ways including:

Students being fully mainstreamed.
Students partly mainstreamed and part-time in the Centre classes.
Students full-time in the Centre.
Students part-time in the Centre or mainstream and transitioning to workplace or community activities.

For further information please contact:

Head of Department, Mr Daryll Hananeia.

E: dahananeia@kvc.school.nz

Careers Advice

Careers' advice, Course advice, STAR courses, Tertiary entry and enrolment information, Gateway work placement, Work experience, Job application assistance, CV writing guidance and Interview assistance are available to all students through the Careers Department.

Career planning encompasses understanding of personal skills, values, qualities and abilities and then identifying a range of viable career options to explore before decisions are made. Students are encouraged to be flexible, adaptable and recognise that they can develop transferable skills in a range of environments.

School courses, work exploration and career planning are, where possible, arranged to meet the needs of individual students. Parents are invited and encouraged to be part of this process. Close links are maintained with a wide range of employers in the greater Dunedin area and students regularly enter work or apprenticeship directly from school.

Information about entry to work, and Tertiary education is constantly up-dated and made available to all students. Liaison visits with Polytechnics and Universities happen at regular intervals.

Margaret Beagley is our Careers Advisor.
Contact Details: mabeagley@kvc.school.nz or telephone 453 6035 extension 816.

Information

Career Study and Life Planning
Schoolleaver.nz aims to try to give high school students as much information and useful links as possible to help them make better-informed career or training choices as they transition from secondary school. The site is designed to complement and support the work of careers advisors by helping and enabling students at all levels of achievement to undertake their own exploration or research into potential study or vocational options.

SchoolConnect - a career planning resource for secondary school students from Year 9 to Year 13. The website can be used by students, parents or schools searching for simple, user-friendly career information to help our youth make informed decisions before taking their next step.

What is SchoolConnect?

Online information resource outlining study, work and travel options
Completely free
Questions and Answers function allowing students to interact with experts, employers and careers advisors
New areas of the site are Careers Questionnaire and Scholarship and Grant listings.

Sites of interest

Guidance Counsellor

Everyone has difficult experiences or feelings at some point in their lives, and it isn't always easy or useful to try to deal with them alone. At times like this it can help to talk with our Guidance Counsellor who provides a confidential and safe counselling service for our students.

Possible reasons to see a counsellor:

Feeling down
Family problems
Struggling with school
Stress
Anxiety and worries
Feeling bullied
Feeling alone, lost or isolated
Needing help to express anger safely
Wanting to talk about friendships and relationships
Gender and sexuality issues
Having experienced a death or significant loss
Feeling unsafe
Difficult life events, trauma, abuse
Something just doesn’t feel right and you’re not sure why
Wanting to make some changes, set goals and find new ways of doing things.

What happens in counselling?

When you visit the Guidance Counsellor you will be invited to talk about whatever your concern is. If you prefer you can draw or write to share your story. You will be listened to sensitively, respectfully and without judgment or blame. Together we can explore your problem and gain a deeper understanding of the situation. You may decide to make some changes, try some new things or come up with a different solution. Often just by being able talk about problems and be really listened to people start to feel better.

Students decide how long they would like to see the counsellor for and when to finish. Sometimes a couple of sessions is enough, and other times we may work together for much longer. Students are welcome to return should they require support at a later date.

How to make an appointment:

To self-refer students need to fill in an appointment slip and pop it in the box outside my office.
Alternatively, students may speak with their teacher or Dean and ask to be referred to the Guidance Counsellor.
Parents, caregivers and whānau are welcome to make an appointment, or contact me by phone or email if they have concerns about their child.

I am available from Monday to Thursday.

Leigh Gillespie
Guidance Counsellor

DDI 03 453 1606
M 027 561 6268
E legillespie@kvc.school.nz

Out of School Support