Inquiry calls for increased funding of students with disabilities and special needs

By

Ted Kenny

The NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into the provision of education to students with disabilities and special needs has called on the NSW Government to "substantially increase funding" for those students. The Inquiry received "an overwhelming response" with well over 700 submissions from parents, teachers and others which described "significant inadequacies" in the system for students with disabilities and special needs.

The Federation organised and encouraged members and school staffs to make submissions, as well as preparing a major submission itself. Federation Officers gave evidence to the Inquiry during the public hearings. The key elements of the Federation's submission, and those of many members have been validated by the findings and recommendations of the Inquiry.

While there is much emphasis on the needs of students in regular schools the Inquiry recommendations also identified students in SSPs and special classes and specifically indentified those in SSPs when calling for increased funding. Specific recommendations call for the Government to "address the current anomaly in which SSPs are staffed and funded on a primary formula, even though they cater for a large number of high school students".

The Inquiry also recommended that the DET "increase the number of special education places and classes to ensure that there are adequate places to cover demand..." and specifically, "abandon plans to dissolve existing language support classes", this being a direct reference to the DET School Learning Support Program proposal. Other recommendations also address this proposal. It is not insignificant that the Inquiry described the claim by the DET that "there are no waiting lists for special education places" as "perplexing". They go on to recommend that the DET "acknowledge and accept....widespread concern about the unmet demand for special education places..."

A number of recommendations specifically address the DET School Learning Support Program proposal, currently being trialled in the Illawarra-South East Region. Commenting on the creation of learning support teachers in every school the Inquiry noted, "We are uncertain that any teacher in this position could have the necessary breadth of expertise to meet all of the diverse needs of students with disabilities and special needs".

Apart from the reference to Language Support classes, the Inquiry specifically recommends, "a formal independent evaluation of the trial...one year after the commencement". This would extend the current trial to a date beyond the State election in March 2011. The Inquiry clearly identified concerns with the "100 hours online" training in recommending, "an independent review of the SLSP online training course, and in doing so, consult more widely with local academics and experts..."

In all the Inquiry has made 31 recommendations which cover a range of issues including an increase in the number of School Counsellors, Training and Development, Curriculum (including a reference to the development of a national curriculum) and the functioning of Learning Support Teams. The full report of the Inquiry can be found at http://bit.ly/rp100719.

The Federation will be writing to and seeking discussions with both the Government and Opposition in relation to implementation of the Inquiry recommendations in the near future and in the period leading up to the State election in March 2011.

The membership of the Federation is congratulated for generating the "overwhelming" response received by the Inquiry.

Ted Kenny is a City Organiser.

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July 2010 contents