SOME HANDY INFORMATION TO KNOW ABOUT BUSES

Getting to and from school

parents/carers have primary responsibility for transporting their children to and from school, however the department does provide a bus service within the Designated Transport Area (DTA). Eligibility requirements do need to be met.

Eligibility for Transport Program

For students to be eligible to access the bus program:

·they must reside more than 4.8km away from the school

·families must reside within the Designated Transport Area (DTA). To check if your address falls within the DTA for Sunshine SDS, please google:

www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au/dta-search/

Enter your address and a list of schools will appear. If Sunshine SDS is in the list, then you are within the DTA. If it is not in the list, you are not within Sunshine SDS DTA and unfortunately unable to access the bus program.

·Submitting an application for accessing the transport program does not guarantee a place on the bus. All applications will be subject to availability and meeting the eligibility criteria.

In the past we have requested special permission from the Department for children outside our DTA, however, currently Sunshine SDS buses are now at capacity and only students qualifying will be considered. Waitlists may come into effect even if the family reside within the DTA if the bus is currently at capacity. A spot on the bus is not guaranteed.

Dropping / Picking Up your child at the designated bus stop

We ask parents / carers to wait until bus departs before leaving so they can assist in settling students if required.

The bus will only wait at the bus stop for 2 minutes and then move on.

Whether picking up or dropping off, please ensure you are at the stop at least 5 minutes before the approximate arrival time. Due to traffic and other unforeseen circumstances, the arrival time is a guide and the bus may be late getting to your stop. Please be patient. If more than 10 minutes late, you may then call the transport phone, 0413 274 863.

Notifying the school of student not travelling

If your child is not using the bus in the afternoon, you must notify the school with ample warning. Please ensure that the school is notified no later than 2:30pm on the day, otherwise we can not guarantee we will be able to action your request as the students may already be on the bus or the bus may have already departed.

Home Pick Ups

Student Transport are a section within the Department of Education who are responsible for the approval of all bus travel and the routes that the buses take. The school does not have the authority to approve changes to bus stops, it is the sole responsibility of Student Transport.

Buses provided under the SDTP (Student Transport) policy are intended to help contribute toward the travel costs families may incur while their child attends a specialist school. As such, the service is not designed to be door-to-door.

Please note that home pick-up requests are an exception and not the rule. A home pick up request requires detailed, complex and compelling justification in all cases.

Parents / carers must provide evidence in writing to the school in order for the school to forward on the request to Student Transport for consideration.

It is the preference of Student Transport to have stops that will cater for several students at once. This is to minimise the time that students are on the bus. It is to also ensure privacy for our families. If you have a home pick up, other students my be allocated to the same stop.

Authorised Pick Ups

Notify school if a new person is picking up the student that has not picked up in the past. Parents will need to call the school early in the day to advise of whom will be picking the student up. We will require the name of the person, that they are over the age of 16 and that person will need to show ID at the bus stop before bus staff will allow the student to be discharged into their care. If parents / carers do not give authorisation to the school earlier in the day, the student will not be allowed to disembark the bus until parents / carers are contacted.

Moving house

If parents / carers are moving house, please ensure that you check the Designated Transport Area (DTA), as per instructions under Eligibility for Transport Program, to ensure that you still qualify for the bus. If you are moving out of the schools DTA, there is a high chance of the student losing their spot on the bus. This is due to high demand for spots on the bus.

Going on Holiday or Lengthy Absence

If your child will not be accessing the bus for a period of time, please notify the school of the dates the student will not be travelling. This is to ensure that you do not lose your place on the bus. Students who are allocated a spot on the bus but do not use it, may be removed to allow for other students to access the bus. A letter will be sent home to parents/ carers prior to the student being removed.

School staff pay and conditions

As parents and carers may be aware, staff at our school who are Au7stralian Education Union 9AEU) members have been negotiating, alongside teachers, education support staff, assistant principals from public schools around Victoria, with the state government and Department of Education for improvements to pay and employment conditions. Negotiations have been occurring over the last seven months, and the state government has not made any offer at all to this point in time.

Currently, Victorian public schools are the lowest funded in Australia and there are significant staffing shortages across Victoria. Victorian public school teachers are also the lowest paid teachers in Australia, with many education support employees and school leaders paid less than their colleagues in other state and territories who do the same role.

AEU members are seeking pay increases and reductions to excessive workloads, with the aim of ensuring the retention of existing employees and the attraction of the next generation to enable the ongoing provision of a high-quality education to students. Because there ha snot been any offer, AEU members are undertaking a vote to endorse industrial action, with the union calling a statewide 24 hour stopwork for Tuesday 24 March, should the government not respond properly to key claims.

The AEU has written to our school council outlining some of the issues that school staff need resolved, including school funding and staffing shortages, as well as pay and conditions, The union acknowledges that a decision to stop work is not one to be taken lightly and regrets the impact it has on students and their families, with the state government able to avoid such action if a fair and decent offer is made to employees. If the industrial action goes ahead, we will provide our school community with all the information needed to manage the situation.

It goes without saying that as a school community we support all of the staff in our school and expect them to be paid reasonably and have fair conditions of work.

PARENT INFORMATION

IMPORTANT FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES FOR 2026

CSEF – Camps, Sports & Excursions Funding

Families holding a Centrelink concession card may be eligible for the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF). Please complete the application form attached to the Newsletter and return it to the office along with your concession card so staff can make a copy for CSEF processing.

Parent Payment Policy

At our school, we’re proud to offer a rich and engaging curriculum that sparks curiosity, encourages creativity, and supports every child’s growth and success. Our dedicated staff work together to create meaningful learning experiences across all year levels, and we truly value the strong partnership we share with our families and wider school community. Your support through the Parent Payment Policy (see attached) helps us provide even greater opportunities and resources for our students. We are sincerely grateful for any contributions you can make as your involvement makes a real difference in our school community. Please see the Department of Education’s Parent Payments Policy overview attached.

Dear parent / guardian,

Sunshine Special Developmental School is looking forward to another great year of teaching and learning and would like to advise you of Sunshine Special Developmental School’s voluntary financial contributions for 2026

Schools provide students with free instruction to fulfill the standard curriculum requirements, and we want to assure you that all contributions are voluntary. Nevertheless, the ongoing support of our families ensures that our school can offer the best possible education and support for our students. We want to thank you for all your support, whether that is through fundraising or volunteering your time. This has made a huge difference to our school and the programs we can offer.

Sunshine Special Developmental School is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient under the Income Tac Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) with the result that any donations made by you will be tax deductable. To be tax deductable, your donation needs to be made voluntarily. We have suggested an amount to be contributed under “Curriculum Contributions” and “Other Contributions” below, but please feel free to contribute an alternative amount. Amounts paid under “Extra-Curricular Items and Activities” are not donations and are not tax deductable.

For further information on the Department’s Parent Payments Policy please see a one-page overview attached.

Your sincerely.

Lisa Murphy

Principal

FREE Public transport

From 1 January 2026, people aged under 18 can travel free on all Victorian public transport services using a new youth myki card. This includes trams, trains, buses and coach services.

To access free travel, they must tap the myki card on and off each time they travel. For areas that do not use myki cards, they must show their myki card to travel free.

More information about the youth myki card will be available later in Term 4, 2025 – refer to the myki types webpage on the Transport Victoria website.

For more information about other travel options to school, and support for eligible students, refer to the Travelling to school webpage on the Victorian Government website.

Sunshine SDS 2026 Term 1

Week 8- 20th March 2026 · 20 Mar 2026

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