A — Recognise and respond
The student attends, notices, indicates yes/no or preference, matches, chooses between concrete options or participates with direct assistance.
Opening The Smiling Monad…
SM-SCH-001 · Support units and care-team curriculum
Students learn to create, understand and direct the teams that support their lives.
This pathway begins with the student’s identity, communication, choices, trusted people and transition priorities. Teaching, app access and evidence are adjusted without removing the central concept or the student’s authority over their own response.
Every support lesson has two complete pages
Each lesson tile opens a teacher plan and an accessible student worksheet. The documents include explicit app steps, four access levels, communication options, supported assessment evidence and the seven care-team safety gates.
Central principle
The student is not taught as a passive recipient of care. The student learns how to communicate what matters, choose trusted people, understand roles, set information permissions, participate in meetings and request changes when a care team is not working.
Personalised access
Four access levels, one dignified curriculum
B — Choose and communicate
The student makes choices, communicates key information, follows a familiar sequence and uses prompts or models.
C — Use and contribute
The student uses a familiar tool, contributes to planning or teamwork, checks key information and seeks help with occasional prompting.
D — Plan, direct and review
The student initiates, explains, adapts, directs aspects of support, evaluates outcomes and transfers learning to new contexts.
Support-unit outcomes
Ten outcomes with access indicators
SU-01
My identity and preferences
Communicates strengths, interests, preferences, culture, sensory needs and what a good day looks like.
A — Recognise/respond
attends to or selects a preferred item/activity
B — Choose/communicate
communicates likes, dislikes or strengths using a preferred mode
C — Use/contribute
creates or updates a supported profile
D — Plan/direct/review
explains how preferences should influence plans and support
SU-02
My communication
Uses and teaches others how to use preferred communication methods.
A — Recognise/respond
responds using an established communication method
B — Choose/communicate
uses a preferred method to request, refuse, comment or ask for help
C — Use/contribute
uses different messages for familiar purposes and checks understanding
D — Plan/direct/review
directs others in how to communicate effectively and adapts across contexts
SU-03
My rights, choice and safety
Recognises choice, consent, boundaries, trusted help and ways to raise a concern.
A — Recognise/respond
recognises a trusted person or safe/unsafe cue
B — Choose/communicate
uses yes/no, stop, help or complaint pathways
C — Use/contribute
applies consent and boundary strategies in familiar scenarios
D — Plan/direct/review
explains rights and directs a safe response in unfamiliar situations
SU-04
My people and roles
Identifies trusted people, understands why they are involved and helps decide their roles.
A — Recognise/respond
recognises familiar trusted people
B — Choose/communicate
matches a person to a simple support role
C — Use/contribute
selects appropriate people and describes their responsibilities
D — Plan/direct/review
designs and reviews roles to reduce gaps, duplication or overreach
SU-05
My information and privacy
Indicates what information can be shared, with whom, for what purpose and when urgent help overrides normal privacy.
A — Recognise/respond
indicates private/not private using symbols or choices
B — Choose/communicate
chooses who may receive familiar information
C — Use/contribute
applies need-to-know and consent rules with prompts
D — Plan/direct/review
sets, explains and reviews information permissions and urgent exceptions
SU-06
My plans and wellbeing
Uses routines, calendars, goals, reminders, regulation strategies and backup plans.
A — Recognise/respond
participates in a routine or wellbeing activity
B — Choose/communicate
uses a visual schedule, reminder or regulation choice
C — Use/contribute
plans a balanced routine and a backup with support
D — Plan/direct/review
directs and reviews plans across school, home, community or work contexts
SU-07
My community and adult life
Participates in community, money, transport, service, work and transition decisions.
A — Recognise/respond
participates in a community or life-management activity
B — Choose/communicate
makes a choice about place, purchase, transport or work interest
C — Use/contribute
uses a budget, route, service comparison or participation plan
D — Plan/direct/review
evaluates options and coordinates an adult-life or community action
SU-08
My meetings and handovers
Participates in meetings and helps create accurate, respectful messages and action lists.
A — Recognise/respond
attends and contributes a choice or message
B — Choose/communicate
uses an agenda, turn-taking support or action symbol
C — Use/contribute
contributes relevant information and checks an agreed action
D — Plan/direct/review
co-chairs a meeting and reviews communication quality and follow-through
SU-09
My care team
Creates, reviews or contributes to a fictional or approved real care team.
A — Recognise/respond
recognises people in a practice team
B — Choose/communicate
chooses who should help with a familiar goal
C — Use/contribute
builds a team with roles and permissions using support
D — Plan/direct/review
directs, reviews and changes an approved team based on usefulness and consent
SU-10
My transition portfolio
Builds a portable, student-owned record of communication, strengths, goals, plans, supports and next steps.
A — Recognise/respond
contributes an item or choice to a portfolio
B — Choose/communicate
selects evidence of strengths, communication and goals
C — Use/contribute
organises a supported portfolio and explains key sections
D — Plan/direct/review
leads a transition conference and manages next-step ownership
Recommended sequence
Four-term support-unit scope and sequence
Term 1 — Me and my communication
Identity, strengths, preferences, communication, choice, consent, trusted help and safe AI.
Core products: Communication Passport; help card; strengths profile.
Curriculum links: English, PDHPE, Creative Arts, Languages.
Term 2 — My people and my week
Trusted people, Circle roles, privacy, meetings, routines, calendar, wellbeing and backup plans.
Core products: Practice Circle; weekly plan; wellbeing plan; meeting action list.
Curriculum links: PDHPE, Mathematics, HSIE, English.
Term 3 — My community and adult life
Transport, money, services, community participation, work roles, digital safety and advocacy.
Core products: Community map; budget; route plan; service comparison; work interest profile.
Curriculum links: Mathematics, Commerce, Work Education, Computing Technology.
Term 4 — My care team and transition
Create/review care team, communication plan, goals, transition portfolio and student-led review.
Core products: Care-team charter; permissions; transition portfolio; capstone conference.
Curriculum links: Stage 6 Life Skills, careers, work and community programs.
Real care-team creation
Seven safety gates before a real team is created
Gate 1
1. Student voice and purpose
Confirm what the student wants help with, how they communicate consent and what success would look like.
Gate 2
2. Identify possible people
List existing trusted family, school, community or professional adults. Public searching and unknown-adult contact are not used.
Gate 3
3. Verify and approve
The school/family administrator verifies identity, relationship, role, child-safety requirements and authority before any invitation.
Gate 4
4. Define roles and boundaries
Record why each person is involved, what they can do, what they cannot do and how conflicts or concerns are handled.
Gate 5
5. Set information permissions
Choose what each person can see, why they need it, whether the access expires and how the student can request a change.
Gate 6
6. Establish communication and meetings
Agree preferred communication, accessibility, message urgency, meeting frequency, agenda and action-record process.
Gate 7
7. Review, change or close
Ask whether the team is useful, respectful, safe and manageable. Remove people or information when purpose, consent or authority ends.
Non-negotiable School Mode controls
- No public marketplace access.
- No unrestricted community chat or contact with unknown adults.
- No worker-employment, invoicing or public-profile functions.
- Practice Circles use fictional or approved de-identified information.
- Student publication is moderated or disabled.
- Kimi is clearly identified as AI and never replaces a known human staff member.
- A school-approved adult verifies every real care-team invitation and permission.
Complete care-team lesson documents
Ten linked teacher plans and student worksheets
Open a lesson to view the full two-page document. Each plan is designed for flexible communication, supported participation and evidence gathered through student voice, observation, product, generalisation or reduced prompting.
- 1
What helps me live well?
Outcomes SU-01, SU-06
Open two-page lesson →Learning product
Create ‘a good day’ and ‘what gets in the way’ profile.
- 2
How I communicate and decide
Outcomes SU-02, SU-03
Open two-page lesson →Learning product
Teach the team the student’s communication, consent and decision supports.
- 3
Who is already in my life?
Outcomes SU-04
Open two-page lesson →Learning product
Map trusted people and current roles.
- 4
What help is actually needed?
Outcomes SU-04, SU-09
Open two-page lesson →Learning product
Match goals and support gaps without adding unnecessary people.
- 5
Who needs to know what?
Outcomes SU-05
Open two-page lesson →Learning product
Set information categories and recipients.
- 6
Invite and explain the role
Outcomes SU-02, SU-04, SU-09
Open two-page lesson →Learning product
Create accessible invitations and role cards.
- 7
Run an inclusive meeting
Outcomes SU-08
Open two-page lesson →Learning product
Use agenda, AAC, turn-taking, choices and action log.
- 8
Use the team for a real goal
Outcomes SU-06, SU-07, SU-09
Open two-page lesson →Learning product
Coordinate an approved goal such as transport, work experience, recreation or appointment preparation.
- 9
Check whether the team works
Outcomes SU-08, SU-09
Open two-page lesson →Learning product
Gather student voice and evidence of follow-through.
- 10
Change, continue or close
Outcomes SU-09, SU-10
Open two-page lesson →Learning product
Update roles, permissions and next steps; add evidence to transition portfolio.
Teaching and access strategies
Complex language
Response: Plain English, Easy Read, one idea at a time, pre-teach vocabulary and use concrete examples.
Evidence: Selection, matching, symbols, demonstration, short oral/AAC response.
Limited literacy
Response: Read aloud, audio, text-to-speech, visuals, video modelling and supported scribing.
Evidence: Recorded response, photo sequence, role-play, teacher observation.
Complex communication
Response: AAC access, wait time, communication partner training and consistent yes/no confirmation.
Evidence: AAC log, observed choice, partner-confirmed response with safeguards.
Executive-function demand
Response: Visual schedule, first–then, chunking, timer, checklist and repeated workflow.
Evidence: Completion across steps, reduced prompts over time, transfer to another setting.
Anxiety or sensory overload
Response: Predictability, opt-in practice, sensory supports, breaks, quiet mode and alternative presentation.
Evidence: Private demonstration, small-group task, asynchronous or supported submission.
Motor or access needs
Response: Switch access, alternative input, physical assistance that does not determine the response, and accessible layouts.
Evidence: Student-directed selection, adapted device use, verbal/AAC explanation.
High prior skill
Response: Leadership, unfamiliar scenarios, deeper research, project ownership and mentoring.
Evidence: Independent product, evaluation, peer support and transfer evidence.
Alternative evidence methods
Observation
Makes a choice, uses a help pathway, follows a schedule, selects a recipient, participates in a meeting.
Product
Profile, Circle map, permission card, visual schedule, budget, route plan, action list or portfolio.
Student voice
Speech, AAC, sign, eye gaze, symbols, video, audio, supported interview or preference comparison.
Generalisation
Uses the same skill with a different adult, location, task or app workflow.
Reduced support
Completes more steps, initiates earlier, requires fewer prompts or corrects an error.
Quality of life / participation
The learning increases choice, safety, participation, predictability, communication or useful support.