The Minister for Early Childhood Education and the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme have provided new resources for schools to help students with disability participate in education on the same basis as students without disability.
Young children with a disability remain Australia’s most vulnerable students, but many schools still lack the guidance and support when it comes to the group’s learning needs.
Inclusion of people with disability starts with accessibility, which is what Ministers Anne Aly and Bill Shorten are targeting to accomplish with the launch of these new resources based on the Disability Standards for Education 2005.
“The resources are designed to ensure all levels of education and training are accessible to all Australians, no matter their ability,” Aly said. “This is particularly important for helping young children with disability to participate in early childhood education, ensuring the best possible foundation for future learning.”
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The informative resources are co-designed by young people with disabilities and their carers.
Inside are fact sheets, workbooks, and action plans that will help students with disability and their carers understand their rights to education and how to exercise those rights.
Education providers from kindergarten to university are expected to meet the new standards in ensuring that the rights under the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 are respected.
The Australian Government is closely working with Children and Young People with Disability Australia in the development of these tools. Other disability and education stakeholders are also being looped in to help implement the recommendations from the 2020 Review of the Standards.
“More needs to be done to allow children with disability to access education and these tools will help. Parents of children with disabilities should not be made to feel like bullies for asking for reasonable adjustments for their kids,” Shorten said. “We work closely with Children and Young People with Disability Australia and I’m proud that these valuable resources we’re created in consultation with such an important organisation.”
The new resources can be found here.