Education and Health Standing Committee Inquiry into support for autistic children and young people in schools
Government of South Australia submission
Introduction
In a nation first, the Premier appointed an Assistant Minister for Autism to solely focus on representing the autistic and autism communities. The State Government believes that education has the power to have the greatest impact on a young person’s future opportunities and outcomes. However, we have heard from the autistic and autism communities about the opportunities for improving how autistic children experience their education. This submission provides information to the committee on the approaches taken by the South Australian government and Department for Education to build the capability of our workforce and the programs in place to support autistic children and young people.
Autism Inclusion Teachers
From the 2023 school year, the South Australian Government has funded access to an Autism Inclusion Teacher in every public primary school, including reception to year 12 schools. $28.8 million over the forward estimates (2022-23 to 2025-26) will be provided for each primary school to release a teacher to the role for one day a week or one day a fortnight.
The initial focus of the Autism Inclusion Teacher (AIT) role is to build professional capability through formal learning, collaborative practices and resources provided by the department. Positive Partnerships has provided 2 days of training to all Autism Inclusion Teachers as part of their initial training. Positive Partnerships is a national project funded by the Australian Government and delivered by Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect). Importantly the delivery of the 2 day training by Positive Partnerships includes autistic facilitators who provide lived perspectives.
Autism Inclusion Teachers are being trained to share contemporary evidence-based approaches with their fellow educators at the school level to assist them to support and educate autistic children and young people. This will enable improved practice relating to autism that builds inclusivity and works for individual school communities. It is expected the work of the AITs will influence how autistic children, including those without a formal diagnosis, experience their learning.
In recognition of key principles of effective adult learning, professional learning is being delivered through Autism Inclusion Teacher Networks. These networks are coordinated online as communities of practice that enable Autism Inclusion Teachers to connect both formally and informally in a safe and supportive environment. The Autism Inclusion Teacher Networks also provide Autism Inclusion Teachers with ongoing guidance, resources, support and advice from a dedicated multi-disciplinary team of allied health professionals, including Developmental Educators, occupational therapists, speech therapists and psychologists.
Building understanding of autism in preschools
The South Australian Government has committed to increasing autism-qualified staff in preschools. In the first instance position descriptions for preschool educators now include qualifications in autism (or equivalent experience where considered appropriate) as desirable criteria. The Department for Education is also exploring a range of options to make training more accessible and relevant for early years educators.
The government has also committed to actively working with service providers including Autism SA, speech therapists, occupational therapists and NDIS support coordinators to invite them to use space in our children’s centres to offer early support services. Many of the South Australian Government’s children’s centres offer a different range of services tailored to their local setting, including autism intervention services.
100 FTE in Mental Health and Learning Support Specialists
It is known that autistic children and young people experience more mental health at a higher rate than other disabilities and the general population. This predominantly presents as anxiety, depression and/or obsessive-compulsive disorders.
The government is investing $50 million over 4 years to enable 100 FTE mental health and learning support specialists to provide more support to students, including those with autism across South Australia.
A new School Mental Health Service will employ 55 FTE to help support the increasing number of students who experience mental health concerns that impact on their wellbeing and learning.
Mental Health Practitioners will be based in up to 65 schools to support young people with mild to moderate and emerging mental health concerns. The 65 schools will receive a School Mental Health Service practitioner either full time or part time, based on the number of students enrolled at the school.
Practice Guides
Practice guides are being developed which are designed for educators, that clearly articulate the evidence- based strategies and advice to improve learning and wellbeing outcomes. The first tranche released in 2022 below substantially focused on Autism.
| About autism | Autism adjustments |
| About autism and ADHD | Autism and ADHD adjustments |
| About autism and anxiety | Autism and anxiety adjustments |
| About autism and girls | Autism and girls adjustments |
| About autism and PDA profile | Autism and PDA profile adjustments |
Recent research has demonstrated that the prevalence of autism in girls has been misunderstood and providing specific practice guides on autism in girls was seen as a priority. The diverse range of practice guides also acknowledges that autism presents in a variety of forms and can coexist with other disabilities. Parents and the community can access practice guidance fact sheets that summarise the full practice guides via this link - https://www.education.sa.gov.au/schools-and-educators/health-safety-and-wellbeing/practice-guidance-learners-additional-needs.
Inclusive Education Support Program
The Inclusive Education Support Program (IESP) provides resourcing to South Australian Government schools and preschools. This funding is to support students with disability in schools and preschools based on a student’s identified functional needs. The nine categories of funding for the IESP are aligned to the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) and Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
Each school and preschool receives a flexible site grant, known as the IESP grant, to support children with disability who may have learning difficulties, communication difficulties, or children with short term immediate curriculum access support needs.
Schools and preschools can use this grant at their discretion, without an application process, to provide support typically to groups of students with similar needs such as through:
- oral language interventions
- speech interventions
- social skills programs
- literacy and numeracy targeted interventions.
For children who require more significant and ongoing adjustments based on their disability, schools and preschools can apply for targeted individualised resourcing through the IESP, which is assessed by a centralised panel of experts (IESP Panel), with the process being managed by the department. Additional student funding will be provided per the IESP Panel’s approved outcome. This resourcing is often used to employ additional staff to provide in class support.
The following criteria for funding to these categories, includes Autism spectrum.
- Cognitive Delay
- Communication
- Language
- Intellectual
- Autism Spectrum
- Complex Social/Emotional (Behaviour)
- Complex/Acute Health Care
- Physical
- Vision
- Hearing.
Noting wait times for assessments in the community, prior to diagnosis, autistic children often access IESP funding through the Complex Social/Emotional criteria above based in their functional needs. This helps ensure that diagnosis is not a barrier to school-based funding.
Student Support Services
Student Support Services (SSS) provide an integrated, multidisciplinary specialist service of approximately 500 FTE to assist schools and preschools to meet the needs of children with additional learning needs, including behaviour support needs, complex communication needs, and other complex support needs.
The department directly employs speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, special educators and behaviour support coaches within SSS to support students with disability within the education context. These specialist services operate from local metropolitan and regional offices across the state.
Targeted support for educators provided by SSS includes:
- Assessing and recommending adjustments to improve outcomes for students
- Coaching and working alongside educators
- Providing advice on evidence-informed programs
- Supporting development and implementation of personalised learning plans.
The Self-Regulation Service is a team in SSS supporting government schools and preschools across South Australia to meet the needs of students with a focus on regulation.
The Self-Regulation Service is a multi-disciplinary team primarily staffed by Occupational Therapists as well as educators and psychologists. The service utilises a capacity building approach in working with educators in schools and preschools to develop skills and knowledge to proactively support student regulation. This is accomplished through the delivery of a range of professional development workshops and support options for educators including small group and individual coaching, as well as support to develop specific regulation spaces. The work of the Self-Regulation Service is underpinned by the Department for Education Occupational Therapy Regulation Model, trauma informed principles and practices, neuroscience and developmental stages of regulation, social emotional learning frameworks and neuroaffirming practices.
Self-Regulation Service grant funding is available to preschools and schools who are actively engaged with the service. Funding assists preschools and schools with expenses related to implementing regulation approaches, such as Zones of Regulation, programs and environment changes to support student engagement, participation and learning.
Complementary measures
Trauma-Informed Practice in Education
In 2018, the Trauma-Informed Practice in Education (TIPiIE) approach commenced with expanded training offerings for South Australian government schools and preschools, along with consultancy and implementation support to develop the capacity of staff, to improve the accessibility of learning environments, support children to develop self-regulation abilities, positive self-regard, and build supportive relationships.
The approach is not a trauma-specific intervention or treatment and does not require identifying of children affected by trauma. Instead, the strategies within the various forms of training are universal and able to be applied consistently in education settings to the benefit of all students.
In addition to providing an understanding of the neurobiology of developmental trauma, the key strategies within the training offerings relate to:
- School belonging and connectedness: where educators display their unconditional positive regard for children/students and use strategies such as, allocating an identified safe person and promoting positive relationships and connections. These strategies improve a child’s sense of safety and security in a school setting, increase engagement and limit triggers associated with fight or flight stress responses.
- Emotional awareness and regulation: involves educators building children/students’ awareness of their emotions, the impacts of their behaviours on others and teaching strategies to regulate. By also providing less punitive prompts these strategies offer opportunities to deescalate, a child’s emotional and behavioural responses.
- Predictable routines and consistent practices: through educators’ use of strategies such as visual schedules, verbal reminders, setting clear expectations, consistent limits, clear sequenced instructions, transition management and similar practices, when applied across a preschool/school, reduce stress and anxiety around change that is often associated with trauma.
- Development of individual strengths: through using strategies such as identifying and working with strengths, setting challenges and achievable goals, building resilience and supporting a growth mindset, provide children with an opportunity to develop identity, sense of achievement and regain a sense of influence of their environment.
Education Environments
The Department for Education incorporates Universal Design principles in its Education Facilities Design Standards, Early Childhood Facilities — Design Standards and Guidelines and Outdoor Learning Environments Standard that are applied to the construction and upgrading of new and existing education and care facilities.
Recently the department has completed the development of new Planning Standards for Education and Care Facilities which detail the planning principles and guidelines for the construction of new education and care facilities. The 2023 Planning Standards ensure elements to support inclusion are embedded into all new facilities and include:
- Internal and external student wellbeing spaces
- Psychologist/counsellor office space
- Visiting support staff clinical spaces
- External self and co-regulation spaces
- Inclusive learning, play, sensory/regulation spaces throughout early childhood education and care facilities.
Autism Strategy and Charter
The State Government has listened to the calls of autistic people and families and has committed to working with the autistic and autism communities to co-design the state’s first Autism Strategy (the Strategy) and Charter (the Charter). It is recognised that meaningful cultural change and greater inclusion in our community can only come about by consulting, listening, and creating open dialogue with the autistic and autism communities.
The Strategy will support a dedicated whole of Government approach to create a fairer and more inclusive society, including a focus on education. The State Government is also developing a Charter that all State Government agencies will be required to adopt. The Charter is intended to provide State Government agencies with a series of principles and commitments to ensure they are responsive to the needs of autistic people and are accountable for how their services respond to, and engage with, autistic and autism communities.
Conclusion
The Government of South Australia looks forward to building knowledge and understanding of Autism creating cultural change across the broader community. An Autism Education Advisory Group which has been established and includes people with lived experienced, parents and carers of autistic children and young people, experts on autism, advocates, and community organisations, will continue to be used to test ideas, seek views and contribute local knowledge.