Education

Disability Framework for Action
The state government’s original Disability Framework for
Action 2005-2010 (DFA) required each agency to develop
and implement a Disability Action Plan (DAP). The DFA sets
out the government’s vision of Tasmania as an inclusive
and caring community. It provides a whole-of-government
approach to addressing the needs of people with disability
in the design and delivery of all government policies,
programs, services and facilities.
A review of the DFA was undertaken by the Department
of Premier and Cabinet (DPaC) in 2012 and the Premier
launched the Disability Framework for Action 2013–2017.
A review of the department’s DAP was delayed pending
the DPaC review and was planned to commence in
July 2013.
The department’s Disability Action Plan 2008–2010 (DAP),
which is available on the department’s website, includes
measures to address issues identified in the framework as
important to people with disability. This plan will remain
in place until a full review is undertaken in line with the
new DFA.
The sections that follow describe some of the outcomes
and achievements from the plan for 2012–13.
Disability Standards for Education 2005
The University of Canberra and education jurisdictions
(including the department) commenced collaborative
development of an eLearning resource to improve
participants’ capacity to enact their obligations under the
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards
for Education (DSE) 2005 (“the Standards”).
This eLearning is targeted to meet the different learning
needs of key client groups (i.e. school teachers and
administrative staff, educational leaders, and parents and
caregivers) with a common core of content material.
It is designed to develop the learner’s practical skills and
strategies in regard to meeting the DSE through interactive,
experiential learning, such as scenario-based problem
solving. In each course participants will proceed through
a series of compliance lessons and then work through
the remaining material within the course to achieve
desired learning outcomes. All learning material, including
compliance lessons, will be presented in the following eight
courses to reflect the learner’s specific context:
1. Early childhood – prior to full-time school
2. Early childhood – school
3. Primary
4. Junior secondary
5. Senior secondary
6. Educational leaders
7. Parents and community
8. Education assistants.
More Support for Students with Disability National Partnership Agreement
In the 2011 Federal Budget, funding was made available
over two years to support programs for students with
disability. The funding available to the state government
system in Tasmania totalled $3.8 million, commencing in
March 2012 and ceasing at the end of 2013.
The funding was delivered through a national partnership
agreement to ensure schools and teachers are better
able to support students with disabilities, contributing
to improved student learning experiences, educational
outcomes and transitions to further education or work.
The funding must be used to meet outputs devised at
the commonwealth level within the advised timeline.
Therefore consideration of sustainability is important and
is addressed by focusing on building professional expertise,
skills and knowledge through professional learning using
train-the-trainer and cascade learning models.
Components within the plan were developed in
consultation with a range of key stakeholders including
the Tasmanian Principals Association, the Special and
Additional Needs Principal’s Reference Group,
Managers–School Support, support staff and peak
parent associations and disability groups.
Project funding within Tasmanian Government schools is
focused on achieving the following:
1. Training for teachers to build their skills in
special education
A license has been purchased that allows all staff within
the department to access a range of online professional
learning modules across a range of disability areas.
Twenty-three staff, including specialist support staff and
class teachers, have been trained as facilitators to support
the use of online disability modules within schools.
The numbers of staff completing the modules are
outlined below:
Module
Number
of staff
Motor Coordination Difficulties 48
Managing Behaviour Difficulties 115
Dyslexia 86
Speech and Language Communication 57
Autism Spectrum Disorder 122
Vision and Hearing Loss 4
Total 432
Required Reporting » Disability Framework for Action
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