Held back > The experiences of students with disabilities in Victorian Schools

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Held backgt The experiences of students with
disabilities in Victorian Schools
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This workshop

• Main findings from the research
• Latest on implementation
• Discussion on lessons across jurisdictions

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Who participated?

• Over 1800 people
• Survey 883 educators, 617 parents and carers and
  60 students, plus phone in
• Have a say days 169 participants in 15 locations
• 38 case studies from parents and educators

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Structure of findings

• Compliance with five Disability Standards for
  Education
• Issues of concern
• Building capacity (includes funding, workforce,
  accountability)

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Main findings- discrimination

• 56 of parents said their child had been
  discriminated against at school
• Half the students had experienced unfair
  treatment
• One in four teachers had witnessed discrimination
• In class, playgrounds, excursions and exams

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Main findings- discrimination

• Six out of 10 SWD bullied because of disability
• Three times the rate of general student
  population
• Even higher for some disabilities ( ASD 70,
  behavioural including ADHD- 80)
• Includes taunting, shunning and assault

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Main findings- participation

• Significant variation in teacher and parent
  perceptions of participation
• partial adjustments
• 63 of educators said some disabilities harder to
  accommodate than others

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Main findings- adjustments

• Most frequently requested adjustments were
• integration aides
• specialist therapists
• teacher training and PD
• specialist equipment and materials

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Main finding- inconsistency

• Experience depends on which school, which
  principal and which teacher- attitudes and
  practices
• Mixed reviews on SSGs and ILPs from parents and
  teachers appear commitment and practices vary
• One in 4 students who should have an ILP do not

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Other issues of concern

• Part time attendance (links to funding)
• Suspension and expulsion (no data collected)
• Use of restraint and seclusion (lack of
  independent oversight)

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Other issues of concern

• Transport (especially for special schools)
• Transitions (including step down in funding at
  Yr7)
• Complaints system

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Barriers to inclusion

• Parents say- lack of teacher training, time and
  supports
• Educators say lack of funding, support and time
• Students say- understand by disability
• Barriers amplified for RRR, CALD and ATSI
• Leadership and critical mass are vital

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Capacity issues- funding

• PSD- rigid eligibility, deficit focussed and
  complex process
• Communication with parents about how PSD spent
• Concerns for students not eligible for PSD,
  especially when schools already struggling with
  limited resources

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Capacity issues- workforce

• Over half the educators surveyed said did not
  have the support, training and resources needed
• 42 did not know Disability Standards existed

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Capacity issues- workforce

• Inadequacy of teacher training courses at
  universities
• Specific needs of integration aides
• Significant unmet need for speech therapists, OTs
  etc

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Systems issues - accountability

• Leadership and critical mass are what makes the
  difference at the school level
• Devolved system
• No existing performance indicators for PSD
  funding- no links to educational outcomes

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Systems issues - accountability

• Many good things might be happening but no
  current means to measure success (also see VAGO)
• Relies on individual parents and teachers to
  raise problems carry the load for compliance-
  yet DEECD is legally liable
• We could use existing systems to improve
  accountability without adding an administrative
  burden

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What next?

• 50 recommendations to DEECD, Catholic Ed and
  independent schools
• also to DHS, VRQA, VCAA and others
• working with them to implement recommendations

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Implementation

• Doing the research built the relationship
• High level cross DEECD implementation group
• Roll out of training on standards across state
• Review of major policies ( eg restraint)

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Discussion points

• Are there similar problems in your jurisdiction?
• What activity is happening in each of our
  jurisdictions?
• How do we link dispute resolution and
  policy/research functions to build the evidence
  base for systems change?