Details

Aimed at all teaching staff who work with students with special needs, this workshop will investigate how to use the Kitchen Garden Program as a resource for achieving student learning outcomes in classroom, garden and kitchen settings.

The day will begin at Geebung Special School, which has 180 students aged 2-12 enrolled with intellectual and other multiple impairments. Bruce James, their Garden Specialist, will lead the group on a tour of the established garden, discuss working with students with sensory defensiveness, examine how they have adapted the garden and garden activities for their students, and lead a general discussion on class delivery methods.

This will be followed by a morning tea hosted by the school, a kitchen tour, and a group brainstorm around problem solving in the special needs kitchen garden environment.

The final session before lunch is 'In Conversation'. We have invited a panel of speakers experienced in working with special needs students in the kitchen and garden to discuss the effects of targeted nutrition for these students, as well as working with students with sensory defensiveness, in the context of the Kitchen Garden Program. We are very excited to welcome Jillaine Wheeler, a nutritionist with a specialist interest and expertise in Autism spectrum disorders and dietary intervention, who is part of the support team at W.I.N Health Coach Clinics, and Tracy Harb, Accredited Practising Dietitian with a special interest in paediatric nutrition. 

The group will then move on to Aspley State Special School, which provides education programs for 60-70 students aged between 12 and 19 with intellectual impairments and additional disabilities. Lunch will be provided by the school, before the final sessions of the day. Garden Specialist Alison Hawe will lead the group through Aspley's journey, detailing how they have adapted kitchen classes to deliver the best results for their students, before the final group session rounds out the day workshopping resources and how to adapt them for special needs classes.

For those interested in visiting a third school in the region, there will also be a Gold Coast Regional Networking session on 22 May to which you are invited. This will include a visit to Currumbin Special School. Please register for this event on our website here.

Additional Details

Please bring a notebook and pen, as well as a hat/sunscreen or jacket as some periods may be spent outdoors in the gardens.

Participants will be asked to take their own transport from Geebung to Aspley schools. Please let us know if you would like to be considered for car-pooling by emailing karyn@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au