7.0 Support students with additional learning needs
7.1 Backing specialist support services
The Department of Education is committed to a program of inclusive education. The QTU anticipates that the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability will make recommendations pertaining to inclusive education, and the Queensland Government will need to ensure an allocation of funds is available to enable the department to consult with the QTU on a plan for the implementation of any recommendations that are accepted. The QTU has previously called for additional resourcing and training to implement effective inclusive education policies at the local level.
The QTU welcomes the introduction of the Reasonable Adjustment Resourcing (RAR) staffing model for the education of students with disability and its alignment with Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) data. The QTU welcomes the additional staffing allocated in the 2022 state budget to support the transition to the RAR over the next three years, but also calls on the state government to implement an effective indexed recurrent funding model for students with disability that recognises the level of disability of each student and allocates funds on this basis.
The QTU believes that early childhood development programs (ECDPs) are essential for Queensland’s most vulnerable children. ECDPs support young Queensland children with a diagnosed or suspected disability and their families with wrap-around care. The QTU strongly supports the continuation of ECDPs in all regions throughout the state. The QTU welcomes the commitment by the Palaszczuk government to the continued operation of ECDPs in Queensland, but also calls on the government to lift the freeze on the number of teachers that can be employed in ECDPs. This employment ceiling is limiting the number of children who can be involved in the quality education provided by ECDPs.
The Queensland Government must guarantee the availability of funding through Treasury so that Queensland state schools can maintain adequate staffing and facilities to cater for all students who have a disability, as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act.
The QTU believes that quality and effective inclusive education requires increased guaranteed, indexed funding and the employment of teachers and other school-based officers who have qualifications relevant to the education of students with a disability. Many years ago, the department sponsored a significant number of teachers to undertake post-graduate study linked to special or inclusive education, but that approach ceased nearly two decades ago. We now have a situation where less than half of the teachers working with these students have relevant qualifications. The QTU calls on the state government to provide the department with funding to enable the universities to offer such courses to departmental teachers again.
The QTU believes that advisory visiting teachers (AVTs) are vital in providing specialist knowledge and skills to support students with disability and their teachers. Current allocations have reduced this vital service to low incidence disabilities of students with hearing impairment, visual impairment, physical impairment and intellectual impairment. Schools are highly nuanced workplaces, and the QTU calls on the Queensland Government to recognise the crucial role that AVTs play in supporting the high-quality curriculum and therapy delivered inside the school gate. AVTs also provide a vital conduit between stakeholders, including teachers, students, and their families, as well as other services, including NDIS providers.
7.2 Backing guidance officers
Mental health is identified by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments as a national health priority (Dewar 2000). The QTU recognises the importance of measures that focus on promoting mental health, resilience and wellbeing through prevention and early intervention. State school guidance officers and senior guidance officers are registered and experienced teachers who are specifically qualified and experienced to work with students and families and school communities. The contextual knowledge of the guidance workforce as experienced teachers is highly valued.
Guidance officers are on the frontline of providing support for children with mental health issues. Guidance officers work with “kids in care” and children experiencing domestic or family violence. In secondary schools, guidance officers play a significant role in vocational and careers support. The additional complexities that schools encounter often relate to mental health issues, trauma, students at risk in families engaged with Child Safety and other agencies, socio-economic concerns, and unverified behavioural issues. Geographic isolation is a factor that impacts on the support that students and families can access. To ensure that all schools have access to high quality guidance services, the QTU calls on the Queensland Government to guarantee that all schools are allocated one permanent full-time guidance officer per 500 FTE student enrolments, with additional funded allocations for complexity and geographic isolation.
As leaders, senior guidance officers deliver for schools and regions. Importantly, senior guidance officers provide regular clinical and technical supervision of guidance officers, including programs of induction and professional development. Senior guidance officers collaborate with principals to facilitate the provision of guidance services that are appropriate and relevant to each school context. Despite this crucial role in working with guidance officers one-on-one and as a regional cohort, there is no transparent allocation to regions based on guidance numbers, including clear allocations for additional school-purchased guidance officers. Moreover, the number of senior guidance officers employed in each region is at the region’s discretion, with no transparent guidelines or link to regional complexities. The QTU calls for greater transparency and clarity in relation to senior guidance officer numbers in regions.
To ensure that guidance officers receive quality clinical and technical supervision, the QTU calls on the Queensland Government to fund a ratio of one senior guidance officer per eight guidance officers, with additional allocations for complexity and/or geographic isolation.
RECOMMENDATIONS
42. Establish a staffing model for students with a disability outside of special school settings that is fully funded by Treasury, transparent and has fixed staffing and resourcing ratios.
43. Continue to fund and staff ECDPs and remove the funding ceiling.
44. Introduce departmental funding for teachers to undertake post-graduate study in the education of students with disability.
45. Guarantee that all schools are allocated one permanent full-time guidance officer per 500 FTE student enrolments, with additional loadings for complexity and geographic isolation.
46. Provide quality clinical and technical supervision of guidance officers by committing to allocation of one senior guidance officers per eight guidance officers, with additional allocations for complexity and/or geographic isolation.
QTU State Budget Submission 2023-24