The Rockliff Liberal Government is committed to providing high-quality inclusive education for students with disability.
Introduced in 2020, the Educational Adjustments Disability Funding Model has been providing additional support to schools for students with disability to enable them to access, participate and engage in quality educational programs.
Minister for Education, Children and Youth, Roger Jaensch, said that since implementing the model, an additional 3,134 students with disability have been supported and 80 full-time equivalent additional Support Teachers have been funded through the Educational Adjustments Model.
“Today, I am pleased to release an Independent Review Report of the Educational Adjustments Model and its implementation in Tasmanian Government Schools,” Minister Jaensch said.
“I welcome the Independent Report and I am pleased to confirm that all 12 recommendations in the Report have been accepted by the Tasmanian Government.
“The purpose of the independent review was to better understand how the model has supported students with disability and schools; and identify areas for improvement.
“The report confirms that the Educational Adjustments Model has had a positive impact overall with a greater number of students receiving funded support, along with a positive shift in culture and inclusive education practice. It also provides recommendations on where we can do better so that we can continue to improve our support for students, their families and our schools.”
Minister Jaensch said the recommendations present an opportunity for us to further improve support for students with disability and strengthen inclusive education practices more broadly across Tasmanian Government schools.
“This is also an important opportunity to strengthen the understanding, engagement and communication within school communities on the planning and supports provided to students in their community,” Minister Jaensch said.
The Report has been informed by broad consultation state-wide with schools, families, students, disability and education stakeholder groups, and relevant departmental business units.
“Thank you to everyone who participated and provided important feedback throughout the consultation – your knowledge and experiences have helped shape the report and the recommendations within,” Minister Jaensch said.
To view a copy of the Report, please visit Educational Adjustments Funding Model.
Report from the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with a Disability
Separately, it is important to note that at the end of September the national Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with a Disability report was released.
There are 222 recommendations in this report, asking for changes in all areas of disability support, including education, employment, justice and housing.
The recommendations talk about the importance of inclusive education, specialist disability expertise and how to best support student learning for children and young people with disability so they can have a great future in our community.
There is strong alignment to this Government’s significant education reforms to make our schools inclusive for students with disability.
The Tasmanian Government will now take time to review the recommendations in a fully considered and consultative approach.
