The Department of Education has released a new report into the treatment of public school students with a disability in NSW, revealing improved teacher capability, funding to encourage inclusive education and smoother transitions from primary to high school.
The report, tabled by the Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning, Sarah Mitchell outlined the work undertaken in response to the findings of a Parliamentary Inquiry into Education of Students with a Disability or Special Needs.
“I’m conscious our students with disability have many different experiences of learning and I’m committed to working with our schools to create a more inclusive system so all students with disability can thrive at school,” Ms Mitchell said.
“We are building the capacity of mainstream public schools so that all students, regardless of disability, can fully participate in learning at their local school and access teaching strategies and support tailored to meet their individual needs,” she said.
Ms Mitchell said achievements in 2019 and highlights for 2020 outlined in the Report included: improved teach capability; more inclusive learning; and a smoother transition to high school, with automatic support funding roll-over.
“In addition to improved professional learning, a scholarship has been launched for teachers to study a Masters in inclusive or special education, with more than a hundred scholarships expected to be taken up in 2020,” she said.
“A new Innovation Program is being launched to provide funding for schools to test new ideas that improve the learning and wellbeing of students with disability and evaluate how initiatives that improve outcomes for students can be scaled up across the State.”
Ms Mitchell said the Progress Report set out an ambitious agenda for 2020 including a commitment for the Department to explore new approaches to the use of disability criteria to better capture student need, as recommended by the Parliamentary Inquiry.
The 24-page progress report can be accessed at this PS News link.
