Closing date: May 31, 2024
Are you a student and passionate about disability inclusion? We need your help. We are looking for six secondary school students to help us design a range of resources for schools. The final resources will: Deepen student understanding around what disability inclusion is. Explain the need for inclusion (through a rights-based lens). Provide practical and … Continued
The pandemic showed that remote learning is effective. It’s absurd that universities are going back to processes that exclude us
School Can’t Australia has launched a Crowdfunding Campaign. This will enable our organisation to continue growing, supporting those impacted by School Can’t. We would love your support! If you are in a position to do so, please consider making a donation, even $1 is helpful, and/or please consider sharing this with your own networks. The more sharing, the … Continued
Nothing can hold 11-year-old Jamahl Ali back. The caring and confident student enjoys school, has lots of friends and is school captain this year, but it’s been a long journey to get where he is today. Jamahl’s mother Shanna Ali started noticing developmental concerns with Jamahl when he was just 18 months old.
Closing date: February 23, 2024
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) is a statutory authority serving both government and Non-Government education institutions. The VCAA is responsible for providing high quality curriculum, assessment and reporting for early years and school-aged children to senior secondary. As part of its functions the VCAA: develops policies, criteria and standards for learning, development and … Continued
A leading autism researcher who has been appointed to join the national board overseeing school funding arrangements says Australian children with disabilities are “struggling now more than ever” and urgent reforms are needed.
The new school year is about to start, and you may have questions and concerns about how best to support your child and work with the school. For support and advice, call the ACD Support Line today. It’s a free telephone advocacy service for all Victorian families raising children with developmental delay and disability from birth to 18.
Felix Waiss doesn’t speak, but he’s learning to communicate in his own way. By pushing icons on a device, the non-verbal four-year-old is figuring out how to formulate sentences and express what he has to say. Next year, Felix will start kindergarten at Tasmania’s Northern Support School, where all staff are trained in using augmentative and alternative … Continued
A diagnosis of autism is unlikely to be enough to guarantee future access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme as the government prepares to clarify that individualised packages were designed only for Australians with profound disabilities.
In its final report handed down in September, the disability royal commission called for the phasing out of segregated education by 2051. It’s a call that has sparked deep debate. Even the six commissioners disagree. Only three — including the two who live with disability — recommended phasing special schools out. The other three did … Continued
Association for Children with a Disability has prepared a 2024 Victorian State Budget submission that highlights key areas of funding for children with disability and their families. You can read ther state budget submission
A pair of disability advocates with very different lived experiences are helping young people be more accepting, one school at a time. Scott Jones and Maree Jenner, who work with NDIS partnering organisation Social Futures, have been running disability inclusion programs at regional primary schools for more than two years.
School is the highlight of Brittany’s* life, but the Queensland high school student, who has a disability, is rarely there. “It’s not a very nice feeling being suspended,” she said. Her sister Bell* said Brittany was suspended four times this year and put on reduced hours.
When Maree MacDermid drives her son Joseph to school in the morning, it’s “like dropping him off to family”. “Every staff member in this school knows Joseph. They know how he communicates. They know his challenges,” she said. Joseph, 16, lives with severe intellectual disability, hearing and vision impairment, and has attended St Lucy’s special … Continued
It’s a week since the Disability Royal Commission handed down it’s report and debate is still raging over one of the recommendations… to phase out special schools. The commission was split on the decision, and it appears that many Australian families living with disability are too. So what are the arguments for and against? And … Continued