Respectful Relationships News

Soundfields Classrooms
EDSC is pleased to announce that we have been able to have four of our classrooms set up with Soundfields technology.
This technology utilises a multi-directional speaker and a smart touchscreen microphone to allow the teacher's voice to be clearly heard by everyone in the room. People wearing hearing aids will also be able to receive sound from the system directly to their hearing aids.
Research into the Soundfields system shows that it improves the teaching and learning experience for everyone, minimising background noise and distractions, ensuring that all parts of the room have equal access to verbal instructions and explanations and reducing strain on voices.
We would like to thank Hearing Australia for their support in this.
Hearing Australia offers free hearing tests and free devices (eg: hearing aids) for all people under the age of 26. If parents or students would like to have students assessed for hearing issues or supported with devices, Hearing Australia has sites at Doncaster, Box Hill and Forest Hill shopping centres. Details on their website.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability
Every year, EDSC, along with all schools in Australia, participates in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD).
The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).
Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:
- year of schooling
- category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
- level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.
This information assists schools to:
- formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
- consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
- develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.
The NCCD will have no direct impact on any child in the school – there will be no additional testing, only collection of information from enrolment documents, reports provided by parents to the school, and assessments of data and programs being conducted at school. Parents should be aware that any information they have provided to us in relation to their children with a disability, will be included in this national survey.
The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they
need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability. The Australian Government ensures that the privacy and confidentiality of all students is protected. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please click on the below link
Further information about the NCCD can be found on the below link:
If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.
Anna Kissane
Learning Support Coordinator
Everyone in our community deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally. We know that changes in attitudes and behaviours can be achieved when positive attitudes, behaviours and equality are embedded in our education settings.
Respectful Relationships is about embedding a culture of respect and equality across our entire community, from our classrooms to staffrooms, sporting fields, fetes and social events. This approach leads to positive impacts on students' academic outcomes, their mental health, classroom behaviour, and relationships between teachers and students.
Together, we can lead the way in saying yes to respect and equality and creating genuine and lasting change so that every child has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
The EDSC Respectful Relationships Pledge:
"All members of our school community have a responsibility to stand up against family violence and the misuse of gender power and control. We foster relationships that are respectful, caring and fair."
If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic violence the following services are available.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger call 000 and ask for the police.
For non-urgent help, please contact:
- 1800RESPECT: The national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. Phone and online services available 24/7.
- Doncare: (03) 9856 1500
- Free From Family Violence Service (FVREE): (03) 9249 4200 OR 0466 748 880
- Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre: 1800 015 188
- Migrant Information Centre support for people from diverse cultural backgrounds: (03) 9285 4888
- inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence at 1800 755 988
- Men's Referral Service: 1300 766 491
- Eastern Community Legal Centre: 1300 325 200
- The Orange Door: 1800 354 322
- Rainbow Door: 1800 729 367 Free specialist LGBTQIA+ helpline
More resources/agencies can be found on our Wellbeing, Engagement and Positive Futures page of the East Doncaster Secondary College website
https://www.eastdonsc.vic.edu.au/wellbeing-ngagement-positive-futures