FeedbackontheDisabilityStandardsCatholicSchoolParentsAustralia(CSPA)
Whileanumberof CSPACouncilorshavegivenfeedbackthroughthevarious communityforumsorsubmissions,onbehalfof CSPAIsubmitthefollowing.Itis notedthatsomecommentshavebeengleanedfromforumspersonallyattendedand somecommentscouldbeoutsidethescopeof thestandardshowevertheyhavestill beenincluded.
- Theprofessional development ofteachers andother specialistsupport staffis vital to the whole enterpriseof equityforallstudents, especiallystudents with adisability. Thefundingprovided forthis PD is stillamajorissue
- TheNCCD has had apositive effect onhelpingteachers to rethink the standards for allstudents, includingthose with averifiabledisability
- Whileincreasingschool autonomyhasadvantages, rural and remoteschools aremajorlyreliant upon ‘system’support for access to specialist support services
- Catholic schools haveprotocols aroundthe enrolment ofstudents with adisability,a keyconcern can beraisingtheawareness of parents/carersof achild with disabilityof theiroption for Catholic schooling– i.e. theymaynever comeinto the school to commencetheconversation. Whilethis could bemorean issuefor individual schools, anational awareness raisingcampaign wouldgreatlyassist thesefamilies.
- Is thereconsideration towards thestandards applyingto childcareaswell
- Thelanguageof thestandards needs to bemoretowards‘commitment’ratherthan ‘compliance’
- Parents need to beable to more easilyaccess thestandardswhich havebeen written/summarised in plain languageto enable awidedemographic of parents/carers to be able to understand them
- Thewordingin the standards, e.g. ‘as far as possible’ and ‘as faras practicable’ and ‘promote’ can become acceptablydiscriminatoryin themselves; theylack capacity and expectation through theuseof thoseterms. Therefore‘toeliminate, as far as possible, discrimination againststudents with adisability’ could be‘to eliminate discrimination againststudents with adisability’;or even better “to includeall students, especiallystudents with a disability”
- Whatever can bedone/said in the standards to facilitateparents beingable to passionatelyput theircasewithoutdestroyingrelationships/partnershipswith schools.
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Parents need to bewell resourcedand wellconnected. At themoment, much parent advocacyresides in theindividual medical support theydo ordon’t receivein support of, for example, applications for enrolment
- Thereis nothingin thestandards in relation to equityaroundaccessingtechnology which can impact majorlyon access to curriculum
- Thereshould beequitable expectation placed onachild withadisabilityinthe same waythat expectation should be placed ona childwithoutadisability
- Implementation ofthe disabilitystandards, whatever theyare, is often ‘just-in-time’ learningwhena child presents at aschool. Thereneeds to beready, nationalaccess to information on an arrayof disabilitytypesand educational options/needs/ approaches/strategies/necessaryresources on a‘just-in-time’basisfor, e.g.Principals, as the needarises
- Thereneeds to beanational campaign to promotethe sensitive verification of students with disabilitiesfrom a very youngagetoallow maximum timetoput specialistprograms and support in place. All parties, includingparents, need to be across this agenda.
- Thestandards need to promotethe free, on-lineavailabilityof resources
- Somehowstandards needto havesome contextual flexibilityaroundlocation of schools
- Standards need to assist schools and parents of students with a disabilityto arriveat a workable reality, e.g. brokering what is able to beprovided and what is expected. Could therebeanational hotline established regardinginterpretation of therevised standards?
- Fundingmodels need tobefocussed on directlyassistingthe learningof the child with a disability
- Mostpeople more easilyunderstandflowcharts ofinformation and infographics
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- Thereneeds to beathink-tank aroundthe unintended consequences of anydrafts of revised standards such that theseUCs can beminimised
- Major concern repersistent talk of funding cuts through beinglinked to thecpi rather than morereflectingactual need; funds for disabilitystudents could beunder even morepressurethan what theyarenow.Thereneeds to bemorethan rhetoric around adequatefunding
- Somehowthe standardsneed to access thebest parts of centralisation (nationalisation) and decentralisation (State control)offunding forstudents with adisability
CatholicSchoolParentsAustralia