6/06/2023
Regarding the Inquiry into support for autistic children and young people in schools being conducted by Education and Health Standing Committee, I wish to make the following submission.
As a teacher working in the Primary Education Support System in Perth, Western Australia, I feel that unrealistic expectations are being put upon not only the students, but teachers as well.
When I first started working with students with Autism, in 2016, the curriculum was based around Life-skills and training and teaching our students how to live within and contribute to the community. We taught basic skills of self-care, cooking, shopping, money, and public transport skills.
Of course, we taught reading, writing, maths, art, and physical education/fundamental movement skills, but relevant learning to their individual needs. Skills like communication, understanding facial cues and Protective Behaviours were seen as the most important lessons for these children. Especially when research proves that these students are the most vulnerable for abuse – of all kinds.
We are now teaching HASS, Science and subjects that not only take time away from the basic needs of these children, but force teachers to try to make these students “fit” the mainstream curriculum. This does not align with the Individual Teaching and Learning frame for these students.
It is not only completely unrealistic to expect these students to meet their “appropriate year level” goals, but soul destroying for students, parents and teachers knowing that we are bound to fail.
We also had students within a “MAG” system – Multi-Age-Group classes that placed students with similar needs and learning levels together. This allowed those students with higher levels of understanding and learning capabilities to be taught in greater depth and further extension, but, it also allowed those students who required communication and personal skill education – the basics that the Curriculum now fails to acknowledge – the ability to focus on those things such as using devices to communicate, learning to read facial cues, toileting and dressing skills – those things that “mainstream” curriculum does not cater for anymore.
I challenge anyone from these decision-making organisations to come and spend time in these centres to understand the value and necessity of going back to making a real and significant impact on our students lives. I am convinced that if you saw the impact “curriculum” teaching has on the majority of our students, you would have no question about letting our centres go back to what is important and fundamentally required for our students.
Individual learning plans and needs of our students are not considered in any of these decisions, and you wonder why teachers are leaving the profession? Especially in Education Support? Unrealistic expectations, ridiculous amounts of paperwork and data collection to prove that this system is failing.
Again, I challenge you to physically attend these centres or at least engage the teachers, Education Assistants, and parents to attend your committee meetings and discussions so that you understand the impact you have on peoples lives with your decisions.
We do this job because we love what we do. We want to help every one of our students reach their full potential and the Education Department and whichever government is in power, adding barriers and red tape to it is causing and continuing the breakdown of our success with our students and families.
I hope that you consider what I have said, but to be completely honest, I think that your decisions are already made and that people on the ground enacting your decisions, teachers, students, and their families will be forced to continue suffering the consequences.
Another issue I think needs to be investigated is the “Zero tolerance to violence in schools”. We have been continually told that the “Ministers Statement on School Violence” does not apply to Education Support settings due to the Disabilities Act, and that the Department is working on a policy especially for this environment. How long does it take? How many more teachers and education assistants need to be out on workers compensation for injuries inflicted at work by students?
No one comes to work to be attacked, and in our setting, it has become totally acceptable for this to continue to occur. And what is the main factor driving these behaviours and violence? Forcing our students to participate in lessons and subjects that they have zero interest in or ability to master. I ask you, what is the point of creating Individualised Education Plans if the Department is going to decree a blanket curriculum?
Again, I task you a challenge. Research how many staff are injured while working with our cohort of children, how many are on workers compensation, and how many have been off – long term. Then, look at how many in our profession are deciding to leave jobs they love due to lack of support, higher expectations and the ever-widening gap it is creating for the successful living skills of our students.