Policy & Reform: Students with Disability
Term 3 2017
THE AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION REPORTER
Supporting students with disability
While the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has been high on the political agenda in recent years, sufficient education
reform for students with disability has, in comparison, been overlooked.
Cameron Drummond
According to the Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS), 7.7 per cent of children
and young people aged 0-24 years
in Australia in 2016 had an identified
disability.
In terms of education, just 41 per cent
of people with disability had completed
Year 12, compared to 63 per cent of
people without.
The final report of a 2015 Federal
Senate Inquiry into Current levels of access
and attainment for students with disability
in the school system, and the impact on
students and families associated with
inadequate levels of support, stated that:
15
All images: CYDA.
of Data (NCCD) on School Students with
Disability showed that about 469,000 (12.4
per cent) of students received some form of
Throughout the course of this inquiry, the committee received support for a disability that required additional
funding than that already provided within
overwhelming evidence regarding the many barriers faced by students schools.
with disability and their families. Access to education is a basic human
The NCCD is a nationwide survey of
all educational settings including special
right, but for many students with disability in Australia, schools.
With a 99.9 per cent participation rate, it
it is a right which they are prevented from accessing. is the most comprehensive data collection
of students with disabilities in our education
system.
The NCCD identified 685,911 or 18.1
per cent of students received an educational
COAG Education Council data released necessary additional funding needed for their adjustment due to disability.
in May showed that about 270,000 students education. Of that number, only about 216,000 students
with a disability are in schools without the Its 2016 Nationally Consistent Collection received adequate government support.
 16 Policy & Reform: Students with Disability
The Phonak Roger Receiver.
Better
hearing
for all
students
FOR the last 9 years, Hearing Loop
Australia has supported students and
schools by supplying Phonak hearing
equipment and technology.
Many classrooms have a mix of
hearing and language issues that benefit
from the integration of hearing equipment
to aid communication.
Some children have access to hearing
aids through Australian Hearing,
and standard packages may include
hearing aids (or Cochlear implants), a
Phonak Roger Receiver and/or Phonak
microphone.
Phonak has a range of equipment to
support group communication, which
plays a large part in Australian classrooms.
The company offer pass-around
microphones and media hubs that connect
to amplified devices including IWBs, iPads
and TVs.
It has also developed the DynaMic
SoundField speaker enabling children
to hear the teachers voice at the same
volume, regardless of their position in the
classroom; this allows effectiveness to be
maintained whilst also protecting their
voice.
For those with learning issues, an
amplifying system has been proven to
enhance listening and learning skills.
Many childrens hearing aids dont
have their t-switch activated because of
the difficulty younger children experience
activating and deactivating their device,
however without activation, a child cant
link to traditional hearing loops.
The Roger Receiver enables children to
connect to Phonak solutions, eliminating
the need for t-switch activation.
It is imperative schools hearing systems
are compatible with student requirements,
and Hearing Loop Australia invites
schools, builders and developers to engage
the company to customise solutions for
their projects.
The company offers post-sales support
and training to applicable parties, ensuring
that the equipment meets everyones
needs.
For more information, visit:
www.hearingloop.com.au.
A message
from CYDA
Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) is the national, not-for-profit peak body
which represents children and young people (aged 0-25) with disability. We spoke with Children
and CYDA chief executive Stephanie Gotlib about what can be done to improve support for the
education of children with disability.
Cameron Drummond
CYDA chief executive Stephanie Gotlib.
Q. The COAG Councils NCCD
data on School Students with a
Disability shows a shortfall in
government support for students
with a disability. What needs to be
addressed?
Unfortunately from the information
released to date it appears that the
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data
on Students with Disability (NCCD) shows
approximately a 100 per cent increase
in the number of students identified as
experiencing disability, yet Commonwealth
funding for the next year (2018) only
reflects about a 3 per cent increase.
I am greatly concerned that this will then
mean that available funding will be spread
even thinner for students with disability.
It is typical for students with disability to
contend with discrimination, inadequate
resourcing, exclusion, limited expertise
and a systemic culture of low expectations
throughout their school years.
Reports of restraint and seclusion are
also becoming alarmingly more frequent.
This reflects a system in crisis which in
my view is failing to adequately meet the
needs of students with disability.
Q. How can the government best
implement the necessary reforms?
Adequate funding is critical to enable
the breadth of reform needed to ensure
students with disability are afforded their
right to access an inclusive education.
It is believed that the Australian
Government needs to show leadership in
this reform. CYDA would like to see the
establishment of a national strategy for
the education of students with disability.
This needs to reflect the United Nations
General Comment on Article 24 on
Inclusive Education for Students with
Disability.
The Australian Government has
articulated very clearly its commitment to
people with disability and this needs to
be articulated where school education is
concerned.
Previously, Minister Birmingham
articulated concerns regarding the
robustness of the NCCD for students with
disability.
CYDA agrees that there is work needed
to refine and improve this data collection
process. It needs to be clearly articulated
and publically available. The direct
experience of students with disability and
their families needs to inform this process.
Q. What is CYDAs role in helping
push through reforms?
Accessing school education has consistently
been a primary concern articulated by our
national membership.
A key purpose of CYDA is to ensure that
the direct experience of children and young
people with disability informs policy and
practice.
CYDA has been an extremely strong
voice in articulating and raising awareness
of the poor educational experiences and
outcomes of students with disability.
The organisation works with a range
of education stakeholders at all stages of
the policy reform process. Stakeholders
include students, families, educators, peak
bodies, government departments, statutory
departments and governments.
Q. In NSW, at least, parents
that home school children with
disabilities currently do not
receive support provided to other
students. Why is this, and is this
issue being properly addressed?
Term 3 2017
THE AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION REPORTER
It is commonly reported to CYDA that home
schooling is undertaken as the education
system has not been able to adequately
meet the needs of the child concerned.
It is often not a choice by families but
the only alternative. It is common for it to
be reported to CYDA that students have
experienced physical and/or psychological
harm at school which is a major influencing
factor regarding the decision to home
school.
It is important to acknowledge that
there are some families of children with
disability that decide independently that
home schooling is their preferred mode
of education delivery, independent of the
issues raised above, but they are the minority
of instances reported to CYDA.
There is an obligation to ensure that
students with disability are afforded access
to education on the same basis as their peers
without disability. Students with disability
should be afforded the assistance required in
any education setting. I think it is important
that the Governments concerned provide
reasons for any funding discrepancies which
may exist.
Q. What is CYDAs position on
Pauline Hansons call for students
with autism and disabilities to
be removed from mainstream
classrooms?
CYDA views Senator Hansons comments
as offensive and ill-informed. It is well
articulated in available research that
inclusive education provides best
outcomes for students with and without
disability.
Many classrooms at the moment are
struggling to meet the needs of students
with disability due to inadequate funding,
resources and expertise.
The culture of some schools also reflects
an uninformed understanding of disability
as an inability, rather than a different
ability. These factors combined, result in
some classrooms being unhappy places.
The answer however is not to exclude and
segregate students with disability. The
answer is to implement the reform needed
in our education system.
I would love to see Australia as a world
leader in providing an inclusive education
system. The evidence and expertise is
readily available to make this happen. We
just need the will to make this a reality.