By Liz Riley     In this article, the Catholic Education Office Melbourne offers its perspective on special needs education, and the right of special needs children to be educated in mainstream schools, within an inclusive environment.  Three examples of schools and their special needs philosophy are cited.  Parents of special needs children may find the information here helpful in assessing the suitability of a school for their child.

A Changing Perspective

In the past few decades, around the world, education, like other aspects of society has undergone significant change. One facet of these changes has been our approach to the education of students with disabilities and additional learning needs. Historically such individuals were educated in segregated settings. However, there has been a growing awareness and recognition of the need to accord all individuals, regardless of ability, or gender, race, religion or financial status, the same fundamental rights as the rest of the community.

Within education, which is a reflection of broader society, inclusion and participation are seen as essential to human dignity and human rights. This belief has led to ever-growing numbers of students with additional learning needs being educated in their local school. Based on the assumption that human differences are normal, learning environments have adapted to meet the needs of students.

International initiatives

International initiatives have supported the principle of and move towards inclusive education. The United Nations ‘International Year of Disabled People’, in 1981, was underpinned by Article 26 of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights : that all people have the right to education. The World Conference on ‘Education for All’, in 1990, recognised and applauded the attempts of many educational authorities to implement the principles of inclusive schooling.

At the UNESCO World Conference on Special Education ‘Access and Quality’, held in Spain in 1994, the Salamanca Statement  was adopted, a landmark declaration by 94 counties, both developed and developing. It supported the provision of education to children and young people with additional learning needs within their regular school setting.

Catholic Schools

Today within our own education system, increasing numbers of parents are choosing their local Catholic school for the education of their sons and daughters with additional learning needs. While legislation such as the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1995  and the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 , along with the Disability Standards for Education 2005  support this right, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the principles of social justice and equity for all underpin the practice of inclusion within our schools.

Classrooms in the Archdiocese of Melbourne are multi-dimensional, made up of students with differing abilities, gender, ethnic groups, sizes, ages, and backgrounds. Our challenge as educators is to provide learning environments:

• that celebrate these variations
• where positive learning outcomes are the goal for all students
• where everyone, regardless of ability, belongs
• where all kinds of learning, some of which is academic, take places and are valued.

Inclusive education relies on a school community’s ability to embrace diversity and be flexible in its approaches – where the school system and structures change to fit the needs and strengths of a child, rather than attempting to change the child to fit the system, and where the benefits derived from overcoming barriers to the access, participation and achievement of particular students have a positive impact upon the teaching and learning environment for all.

Characteristics of Inclusive Schools

A wealth of research exists which informs us of the characteristics of inclusive schools (see, for example, Foreman 1996; Westwood 1997). These characteristics include the following:

• Strong management, with collaborative teams sharing responsibility, leadership, expertise and decision-making
• Inclusive philosophy, articulated in the school mission statement and committed to by all staff and the wider school community
• Educators demonstrating positive attitudes towards all students and welcoming parental involvement and open communication
• High quality teaching, where teachers have access to professional learning which focuses on inclusive teaching and learning practices
• Inclusion of all students in the educational programs, with the diversity of the student population seen as a resource to support learning, rather than as a problem to be overcome
• Deliberate grouping of students by differing abilities and involvement of students in structured cooperative learning activities
• Grade-level placement independent of individual curricular content
• Adaptation of instruction to include students at all levels of achievement, with carefully structured learning activities that ensure success for all
• Active and creative instruction, collaborative among members of the school community
• Provision of time and opportunity for pre-teaching, practice, review and reteaching
• Explicit teaching of receptive and expressive language skills
• Provision of opportunities for students to learn and practise appropriate social skills and to develop self-management skills
• Evaluation of students by individually appropriate standards and associated outcome performance measures
• Provision of instructional support from people who are generally located in or come primarily from sources internal to the classroom and school community, with additional support networks and professional associations developed outside of the school
• Adequate resources in terms of materials, technology and personnel
• School communities proactive, not reactive, in eliminating unnecessary boundaries to the participation of its members in the life of the school
• School communities proactive, not reactive, in eliminating discrimination, bullying and victimisation.

Core Principles

The Victorian Essential Learning Standards  are underpinned by a clear set of educational principles . The first of these is ‘Learning for all – proceeding on the basis that all students can learn given sufficient time and support, and that good schools and good teaching make a positive difference to student outcomes’. The Catholic education system, through the Strategy Plan 2006–2010 for Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Melbourne and the School Improvement Framework, articulates critical elements of effective schools. One of these is ‘Ensuring high achievement for all students’. It is within this context that Catholic schools strive to ensure that all their students demonstrate ongoing achievement, while removing unnecessary boundaries to the participation of all students in the life of the school and the church community.

Examples

Across the Archdiocese of Melbourne there are many examples of the theory of inclusive education being put into daily practice. The following are a few accounts of the experiences of some of our schools:

• St Andrew’s School, Clayton South, by Colleen O’Grady
• St Mary’s School, Dandenong, by Denise Lithgow
• St Anne’s School, Seaford, by Margaret Batt

St Andrew’s School, Clayton South
By Colleen O’Grady

Two years ago a young mother nervously approached our school to enquire if her autistic and intellectually disabled son could join his older sibling, who was already one of our students. I remember thinking this was a sad situation – that a parent needed to enquire about the possibility of enrolment, rather than assuming it to be an accepted fact. It would be in most other situations where a sibling was already enrolled at a local school.

Concern and trepidation were experienced by both the parents and the school about how to best meet this child’s high educational needs while also caring for his complicating medical requirements. However, after the first Program Support Group (PSG) meeting there was a real feeling of hope, direction, enthusiasm and commitment. Many meetings, communications, observations and investigations followed, with the parents ultimately deciding that the best setting at that time for their young son was actually at Southern Autistic Centre in Bentleigh.

Two years on, with the older sibling now at secondary school, the mother approached our school again. Her young man, now in Year 2, has been at our school for the past eight months, attending two days a week and loving it! The initial anxiety of the mother and our school staff has reduced and all the goals set for the student, particularly in the domains of communication and social skills, have been successfully met and extended.

While the needs of this student are very high and many barriers have had to be overcome, he has become a valued and valuable member of our school community. His classroom teacher recently expressed that she found it fulfilling to know that she has contributed to the successful inclusion of this student and that she no longer sees the student as an ‘autistic person’, but as someone who has a great deal to offer the class, his family and friends, and the wider school community.

Colleen O’Grady is Student Wellbeing Coordinator at St Andrew’s School, Clayton South.

St Mary’s School, Dandenong
By Denise Lithgow

 

For our new arrival students a friendly smile and a warm greeting can help to make them feel a part of their new school. Making sure that they understand the new routines and that they are familiar with their new environment is important to assist them to quickly feel at ease. Classroom buddies for different subjects help to model and provide information on what is required, while pairing with students who speak the same language can help answer questions and solve problems as they arise.

Activities such as jigsaws, computers, picture story books, construction, drawing and modified worksheets can be used when a student feels unable to cope with the classwork. Music and songs, along with repetitive stories, can help children pick up words and the rhythm of the language. Practical and hands-on activities, such as cooking, craft, gardening, art and music, provide a meaningful and concrete context for students to practise their developing English language skills. Play sessions and cooperative learning activities in mixed-ability groups provide modelling and enhance language skills.

Initially informal learning is critical for our new arrival students. By using dolls and doll houses, puppets, plastic zoo and farm animals, train and car sets, dress-up clothes and shop settings or cubby houses, children are able to develop the social language and social skills required for their new life in the classroom.

Over time, the challenges and contributions these children have presented to our school have enhanced and enriched the learning environment. While at times it is not easy, as teachers we have had to develop new skills to ensure a secure, accepting and stimulating environment for all our students.

Denise Lithgow is a New Arrivals Teacher at St Mary’s School, Dandenong.

St Anne’s School, Seaford
By Margaret Batt

Inclusion is articulated as a core value of our school. In our vision statement we talk about justice, peace and love within our global world and this statement is a living document acted out daily in our school environment.

St Anne’s School in Seaford is no different to any other Catholic primary school across Australia, where everyday practice is inclusion. Such inclusive practice could range from assisting a child who has trouble making friends to the education of another child who is severely disabled. We attempt to include all students in the life of our schools as we are required to do through anti-discrimination legislation and through what we are called to do by our vocation and our work to educate each person to their full potential.

For inclusion to be successful, we need to begin to think of it as a model of enrichment for our schools – not ‘What changes do we have to make?’ ‘What extra work will staff have to do?’ BUT ‘What will this child bring to the life of our school, to our professional learning, and to our school community and our wider community?’

The Australian Government’s Literacy, Numeracy and Special Learning Needs (LNSLN) program , administered through the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) , provides additional funds to support the implementation of student programs. I believe this to be an appropriate use of the available resources. Funding the program and not the child has benefits for all school communities. In this way each school has the capacity to use its funds creatively to develop inclusive programs and initiatives. We can also be flexible in the way we employ staff for the whole of our program. This is critical for schools and for students with additional needs, as it gives students the opportunity to be independent and active members of the school community.

Margaret Batt is Principal of St Anne’s School, Seaford. She can be contacted by Phone +61 3 9786 4736 or Email.

References

Foreman, P (ed.) 1996, Integration and Inclusion in Action, Harcourt Brace, Sydney.
Westwood, P 1997, Commonsense Methods for Children with Special Needs, Routledge, New York.

About the author:

Liz Riley is a School Adviser in the Student Services Staff Group of the Catholic Education Office Melbourne. Located in the Southern Region of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, she can be contacted by Phone: +61 3 9532 1922 or by Email <lriley.ceo.melb.catholic.edu.au>.

This article comes from the Catholic Education Office, Melbourne  http://www.ceo.melb.catholic.edu.au/

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