Disability Inclusion
The Department of Education is now in the final stages of rolling out the reforms in all Victorian schools and VUSC is in its final year of implementation. The reform initiative aims to ensure that every student at every ability experiences successes at school by understanding their strengths and needs and making educational adjustments that support their learning.
Parents and guardians can read about this reform here:
https://www.schools.vic.gov.au/disability-inclusion
Our college has some new members to the Disability Inclusion Team for 2026 who will be working with teachers, parents/carers and students to ensure we can provide an inclusive education for all.
Who are the team members?
James Dowie - Assistant Principal who oversees the implementation of Disability Inclusion.
Athena Vass - Disability Inclusion Team Leader
Zip Genc is new to the role of working with Athena to lead the process for implementation. Zip is also a new teacher to the college working in the Arts. In 2025 they worked with students who have targeted learning needs as learning support. Welcome Zip!
Sue McFerran and Jenny Kirkcaldy - Disability Inclusion Team members who are working on implementing the reform. They will often be engaging with parents and allied health teams working with our students outside the school.
Language Support:
Keryn Stewart - (Junior Campus) Language Support Coordinator who is supporting the implementation of the reform for students with speech and language difficulties and disorders.
Mariana Valencia - (Junior Campus and iCan Campus) Language Support Coordinator who is supporting the implementation of the reform for students with speech and language difficulties and disorders.
Sophie Heys - (Senior Campus) Language Support Coordinator who is supporting the implementation of the reform for students with speech and language difficulties and disorders.
Mackenzie Fisicaro - (Senior Campus) Language and Learning Support. Mackenzie also teaches in the Art Domain and brings a wealth of knowledge to the team in planning for adjustments and supporting senior students in the classroom.
Sharon Chak - (Junior and Senior Campus) Speech Pathologist who is working with targeted students and supporting Disability Inclusion Profiles.
We are also very fortunate to have several Learning Support Staff who will be working in our classrooms supporting our students with their learning. We have added several new staff to the team this year - welcome to Mika, Munazza, Danielle and Megan. Danielle and Megan will be starting in the next 2 weeks.
Learning Support Staff:
Junior Campus: Max Thomas, Pamela Salvosa, Jacinta Denys, Mika Gerrish, Munazza Shaheen, Danielle Cassar
Senior Campus: Arok Duot, Tevita Kafoa, Pam Campbell, Megan Ellis
Parents or guardians who have any completed mental health, medical, cognitive or speech assessments for their children which may impact their child’s learning can forward them electronically to athena.vass@education.vic.gov.au. It is also important that parents contact the college if their child is currently undergoing any such assessments so we can plan the best way to support them in the classroom.
For completed assessments, the college prefers electronic copies, but if there is an access issue for families, hard copies can be brought into your campus office. Original copies will be scanned and returned to parents immediately. Only relevant information such as learning recommendations from these assessments are provided to classroom teachers to support student learning and access to the curriculum.
Parents and Guardians who have children accessing NDIS support need to be aware that therapeutic sessions will not be able to take place at the college. We have hundreds of students accessing services and the college does not have space for supervision of these sessions.
Please contact Athena Vass (Tue, Wed, Fri), Jenny Kirkcaldy (Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri) or Sue McFerran (Mon and Fri) on 9363 1155 should any parents/guardians have further questions.