Submission 19 — Department of Education Queensland — Inquiry into support for autistic children and young people in schools | External submission

Queensland
Government

Department of
Education
30 June 2023

Mr C.J. Tallentire, MLA
Chair
Education and Heath Standing Committee
Western Australian Legislative Assembly

Dear Mr Tallentire

I refer to your letter dated 18 May 2023 to Mr Michael De’Ath, Director-General, Department of Education, regarding the Education and Heath Standing Committee’s inquiry into support for autistic children and young people in schools. The Director-General has asked me to respond on his behalf. I apologise for the delay in replying to you.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input into this important work. The Department of Education remains committed to providing high quality education to all Queensland students through the recently released education strategy, Equity and Excellence: realising the potential of every student.

The department’s Every student with disability succeeding plan 2021—2025 aims to further support the success and wellbeing of every student with disability through each stage of learning. In line with this plan, educators and families are able to access autism-specific services and resources delivered through the department’s Autism Hub, to improve the engagement and educational achievement of students with autism in all Queensland schools.

I am pleased to share details of the department’s initiatives which aim to support students with autism to realise their potential. The department’s submission to the inquiry is attached (Attachment 1).

If you would like further information or assistance, please contact Ms redacted
Assistant Director General, Disability, Inclusion and Student Services, on redacted
or by email at redacted.

I trust this information will assist the Education and Heath Standing Committee with their inquiry and I look forward to hearing of the outcome.

Yours sincerely

redacted

STACIE HANSEL
Deputy Director-General
Schools and Student Support

Ref: 23/386051

Enc

Queensland Government Department of Education submission to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Education and Heath Standing Committee inquiry into support for autistic children and young people in schools.

Questions in Terms of Reference	Response
The prevalence of autism in WA and projected demand for support in schools. How will an increase in the prevalence of autism affect the availability of support for autistic students in schools?	In Queensland state schools, a whole school approach to supporting students with autism builds teacher expertise and confidence so that every student can reach their full potential. Equity and Excellence: realising the potential of every student renews our focus on empowering our teachers and school leaders, investing in digital innovation, school performance, fostering collaboration between schools and community, and delivering sustainable investment in schools for the future. The Queensland School Autism Reflection Tool (QsART) has been developed for Queensland state schools to support educational leaders to reflect, plan, implement and review the school improvement processes that support students with autism. The tool is informed by evidence-based practices and is designed to align with existing school improvement planning, whereby the whole school is engaged in the development of improvement priorities and in setting a clear direction for the year or years ahead to improve the engagement, retention and academic achievement of students with autism.
Current support available for autistic students in WA schools, including consideration of how:	a. evidence-based practices are implemented across the school system; What are the challenges and successes for implementing evidence-based practices across the school system?
	b. school supports are co-ordinated with other service areas to respond to the needs of autistic students and their families. What is the interaction between school supports and other service areas that autistic students are accessing?

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Questions in Terms of Reference	Response
	The Autism Hub website and Advisory Service supports students, their families and educators to navigate and access the wide range of dedicated autism support services and programs offered by the Queensland Government and non-government agencies. Schools and parents are able to access information and resources 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Specialist Disability Support in Schools (SDSS) Program supports schools by providing funding to approved organisations to deliver services to improve access to, and participation in, the curriculum and the educational outcomes for eligible school-aged students with disability. The Autism Queensland (AQ) School is an autism-specific school under the SDSS program which comprises three education campuses located in Brisbane at Brighton and Sunnybank Hills, and in Cairns at Edmonton. The AQ School is designed to support a small number of students with autism with a high level of adjustments. The campuses share a part-time enrolment with the student’s base-school, supporting students to transition back into their local state school after a period of time. The shared enrolment allows the AQ School multidisciplinary team to support the student’s skills in an education environment and build capability in the student’s school team to support the necessary adjustments in the school and classroom setting. Principal Advisors, Autism are able to support state schools to implement the AQ School’s recommendations at a school level.
Strategies in other jurisdictions that support school systems to respond to the needs of autistic students, and the applicability of those strategies to WA.	Prior to school, children with an autism diagnosis or a suspected autism diagnosis can access Early Childhood Development Programs (ECDP) which provide multidisciplinary support to enable children 0-5 to develop skills and access education specialists to support their participation in kindergarten and successfully transition to school. All Queensland state schools make reasonable adjustments to enable children of all abilities to attend school, participate in school activities and access the curriculum. To support students with autism, schools are able to access a range of supports and services tailored to meet their individual needs. Educators have access to a range of specialist supports to help make reasonable adjustments for students with autism including speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, registered nurses and guidance officers. The department’s website contains further information regarding support for students with autism. In addition, the Queensland Department of Education Autism Hub builds the capability and confidence of school leaders, teachers and parents to improve educational outcomes for students with autism. The Autism Hub is a cross sector service which offers a range of services and resources to support schools and parents to include, engage and retain students with autism including; an advisory service providing specialist advice, professional learning for teachers, workshops for parents, a website providing evidence-based resources e.g. guided functional behaviour assessment tool, and 15 Principal Advisors, Autism in total, located in all education regions across the state, focused on building the capability of school communities.

Questions in Terms of Reference

Response

The Autism Hub website and Advisory Service supports students, their families and educators to navigate and access the wide range of dedicated autism support services and programs offered by the Queensland Government and non-government agencies. Schools and parents are able to access information and resources 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Specialist Disability Support in Schools (SDSS) Program supports schools by providing funding to approved organisations to deliver services to improve access to, and participation in, the curriculum and the educational outcomes for eligible school-aged students with disability. The Autism Queensland (AQ) School is an autism-specific school under the SDSS program which comprises three education campuses located in Brisbane at Brighton and Sunnybank Hills, and in Cairns at Edmonton. The AQ School is designed to support a small number of students with autism with a high level of adjustments. The campuses share a part-time enrolment with the student’s base-school, supporting students to transition back into their local state school after a period of time. The shared enrolment allows the AQ School multidisciplinary team to support the student’s skills in an education environment and build capability in the student’s school team to support the necessary adjustments in the school and classroom setting. Principal Advisors, Autism are able to support state schools to implement the AQ School’s recommendations at a school level.

Strategies in other jurisdictions that support school systems to respond to the needs of autistic students, and the applicability of those strategies to WA.

Prior to school, children with an autism diagnosis or a suspected autism diagnosis can access Early Childhood Development Programs (ECDP) which provide multidisciplinary support to enable children 0-5 to develop skills and access education specialists to support their participation in kindergarten and successfully transition to school.

All Queensland state schools make reasonable adjustments to enable children of all abilities to attend school, participate in school activities and access the curriculum. To support students with autism, schools are able to access a range of supports and services tailored to meet their individual needs. Educators have access to a range of specialist supports to help make reasonable adjustments for students with autism including speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, registered nurses and guidance officers. The department’s website contains further information regarding support for students with autism.

In addition, the Queensland Department of Education Autism Hub builds the capability and confidence of school leaders, teachers and parents to improve educational outcomes for students with autism. The Autism Hub is a cross sector service which offers a range of services and resources to support schools and parents to include, engage and retain students with autism including; an advisory service providing specialist advice, professional learning for teachers, workshops for parents, a website providing evidence-based resources e.g. guided functional behaviour assessment tool, and 15 Principal Advisors, Autism in total, located in all education regions across the state, focused on building the capability of school communities.

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