Inclusive Education Strategy

Nicole:

Inclusive Education Strategy is a 10-year reform program. It's really looking at how we make all of our ACT public schools more inclusive so that students with disability have every opportunity that every other child has in our schools. So, we know it's going to take time to achieve and there's a lot of great work already happening in our schools and this is really about how the system can support schools to do that even better and make sure that kids have what they need to learn.

Jodie:

In practice, when we're doing our planning, we think about how do we make a lesson or an experience engaging for everybody from the start, because really, whatever is going to work for somebody that needs something extra usually will help everybody else in the classroom.

James:

We use a lot of assistive technology with Chromebooks, noise-cancelling headphones, the students have a variety of workspaces, movement breaks, fidgets, visuals on the board and then we do a check-in each morning to meet their wellbeing. As the teacher that sets me up for success to meet their needs on any given day.

Sarah:

Having regulation spaces where students can go and regulate themselves and get back into a space ready for learning. Whatever your needs might be, we're going to be able to help you to move forward.

Paul:

We have ILP meetings a few times a year where we plan and strategise for educational goals as well as his safety and well-being goals. We have a dedicated little comms channel, engaging with us and co-designing as we go, maximises the benefit to him.

Felicity:

Every single year we've had a great deal of thought put into which class will Sebastian be in, how will his needs work in that classroom? They've all been very open to additional training for staff. There's just been really no limits, in terms of the approach.

Yashvi:

They help me by making sure I can hear the instructions. I feel included. I feel happy that I can do things, a lot of things.

Mathisha

It made her life completely different at home as well. She became very confident, independent. She started researching things on her own. If she is curious, she starts asking questions.

Price:

How you learn is very important if you want to develop. If you’re not taught in the way that you learn, then education is kind of separate from you and then you have this big gap between people who are educated, people who are not educated.

Kimberly:

Supports my child receives at school is very meaningful relationships that see him as more than his disability. They don't see him as a problem to be solved. They see the entirety of him and that has made all the difference.

Jodie:

I have students that communication was probably one of their biggest goals to start off with, just actually being able to advocate for themselves, to be able to be clearly heard. And now they’re some of our most confident communicators and then they can reflect on all the things that they've achieved, and they see their accomplishments as the focus rather than what they can't do.