Brophy Family and Youth Services
Education
A collaborative response to youth disengagement in regional Victoria
Case Study: Holy Trinity Parish
ProjectThe Holy Trinity Arrowsmith Program
Amount$60,000 over two years
Date2015
ProgramEducation
| TRUST OBJECTIVES | PROJECT OBJECTIVES |
|---|---|
| This grant was approved under previous grants policy (Jan 2014 – March 2017) | |
| Building organisational capacity | Implement and evaluate the Arrowsmith Program pilot, in order to continue and expand the program across Victoria |
| Extending opportunity | Change the lives of children with learning disabilities by strengthening the weak cognitive capacities that cause dysfunction. |
| Collaboration and partnership | Catholic Education Office; State Government of Victoria; Monash University; Cities of Kingston & Glen Eira; Victorian schools |
Turning children with learning disabilities into effective, confident, self-directed learners for life
In 2015 The Holy Trinity Parish commenced a 3-year pilot of the Arrowsmith Program, a revolutionary program that uses cognitive exercises and neuroplasticity to equip students with the skills and brain capacity to function in the mainstream classroom confidently and independently.
Image Students hard at work on their cognitive exercises in the The Holy Trinity Arrowsmith Program Classroom
Snapshot:
- 1 in 10 children in Victoria has a learning disability.
- The Arrowsmith Program is a unique program which identifies, intervenes and strengthens weaker cognitive capacities for students with a learning disability across the broad spectrum of mild to severe learning problems.
- Effective for students having difficulty with reading, writing and mathematics, comprehension, logical reasoning, problem solving, visual and auditory memory, non-verbal learning, attention, processing speed and dyslexia.
- Three Holy Trinity teachers underwent specialised training in Canada to become qualified Arrowsmith teachers in preparation for the pilot.
- The pilot is split across two schools over three years with 30 students, ranging in age from 6-11 years (Years 1-5) participating in four cognitive sessions each day and the rest of the time with their homeroom class.
- Throughout the program, the teachers record data on each student daily and weekly, to ensure that benchmarks are met and to make adjustments if needed.
- An independent research study on the pilot is being conducted by Monash University.
- Findings from the research will be shared with the broader community.
"We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential." Michael Juliff, Co-ordinating Principal of the Federated Schools of Holy Trinity Parish
