Released 25/07/2017
Today I am pleased to update the Canberra community, through a statement to the Legislative Assembly, about the progress of the Schools for All program, which covers the implementation of recommendations of the Expert Panel on Students with Complex Needs and Challenging Behaviour.
It’s really good to see evidence that momentum is building across ACT schooling sectors and real progress is being made towards the inclusive vision of the Expert Panel – that every school in Canberra is able to cater to the diverse needs of each student in their local community.
Of the 50 recommendations made in the original Expert Panel report and accepted by the ACT Government, the Education Directorate has closed 15 recommendations while Catholic Education has closed seven of their 26 recommendations as at the end of September 2016.
The remaining recommendations are on track to be completed in a timely way.
It is really encouraging to see continued evidence of the shared commitment across public, Catholic and independent schools to make sure our young people feel connected, respected, achieve success and are fully engaged in education.
Although implementation of the recommendations is essential, there is also a focus that goes beyond the recommendations. The schooling sectors have made a three year commitment to achieving sustainable change and we are making sure we take a holistic approach, working together to achieve this.
Independent, Catholic and public schools across Canberra have embraced KidsMatter and MindMatters programs to support student wellbeing and the ACT now has the highest uptake in any Australian jurisdiction.
We have employed additional psychologists, social workers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists to support students and their families and the government’s commitment is to employ a further 20 school psychologists during this term.
We know that student wellbeing is strongly linked to teacher wellbeing and the government has also committed additional funds to increase support to teachers through mentoring support and an examination of professional development and career pathways.
We have continued communicating with our parents by hosting quarterly forums and providing regular items to our schools for their newsletters.
In the period covered by this update, there was also strong focus on capital upgrades for safe sensory spaces in schools with 35 projects being progressed for roughly $2.2 million.
These can take many forms and one successful example is the sensory learning ‘igloo’ spaces that provide a safe and supportive space for all students, but especially students with complex needs and challenging behaviours.
While we have made a lot of progress around the Schools for All recommendations, the work is ongoing and we will keep working hard to make sure all of our schools are equipped and able to cater for the needs of the children in their community.
The third quarter reports on the Schools for All Program are available on the Education Directorate website at www.education.act.gov.au/school_education/schools-for-all.
- Statement ends -
Yvette Berry, MLA | Media Releases
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