One of the biggest, yet most rewarding tasks that our School has been involved with in 2022 is the implementation of the new Education Department Disability Inclusion model. Disability Inclusion has provided us with significant additional funding which has allowed us to support a wider range of students and provide an inclusive environment for all members of their school community.

In 2021, the State Government announced it was investing nearly $1.6 billion to transform funding and support for students with disability in Victorian government schools. As a member of the Bayside Peninsula network, we were one of the first schools to move to this new model.

Whilst under the previous model, a small number students with significant additional needs received targeted funding under the Program for Students with Disabilities (PSD), many students with additional needs or disabilities that did not meet the funding threshold did not qualify and so no additional resources or support were provided to the school.

Under the new model, we now receive supplementary 'tier 2' funding each year to support students with disability in need of adapted teaching, targeted support and school-level adjustments.

Led by Michelle Bove, our Assistant Principal in charge of Inclusion, we have used this funding to provide a number of effective supports and interventions. These include;

employing an occupational therapist to work with individuals and small groups
employing a speech therapist to screen our Foundation students and provide targeted support
engaging a counsellor and supplementing her sessions with students with anxiety and other additional social and emotional needs.
running social skills groups
running additional Literacy intervention
employing additional integration aides to support students in class with learning
purchasing resources and equipment for students with sensory needs
training for our teachers and Education Support staff to better understand disabilities

Michelle has also spent much of this year getting to know the new model and the 'Disability Inclusion profiles' that have been introduced to identify and support students with complex and high needs who will be eligible for 'tier 3' funding.

Whilst the transition to this new way of working has been a challenge and, as one of the first schools involved, we are encountering plenty of teething issues, our involvement with Disability Inclusion has been a great success.

The way that we have been able to provide such significant support to a far greater range of students is wonderful and we are already starting to see the results of this. We are looking forward to the next few years when we can continue to learn and build upon our practices to ensure all of our community feel supported and included at school.

If you wish to discuss aspects of the Disability Inclusion model, including how we can better support your child, please contact Michelle at michelle.bove@education.vic.gov.au

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

One aspect of our Inclusion Practices is our involvement 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 provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. 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 refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.dese.gov.au/about-us/resources/department-education-skills-and-employment-complete-privacy-policy-0).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.

Neil Scott, Principal

Team Kids Update

What's happening in Before and After School care