Month: November 2011

A recent report produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers under contract of the Department of Education has provided some good news for those with learning disabilities.

In 2008, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to work towards a nationally consistent approach to the collection of information on students with disability. This approach took the form of a National Model developed under the guidance of an expert advisory group which met in 2010. The National Model was developed to gather comparable information about the numbers of students with disability and most importantly, the level of adjustment provided to students with disability.

This Model consists of a process to identify:
–  school students with a diagnosed disability, or a disability ‘validated’ by an Education Authority, as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act (1992), and then
–  information on the level of adjustment provided for these students. The adjustments are classified as – extensive,
substantial, supplementary or no adjustments
– Supplementary information on the type of disability under four groupings was also collected – physical, cognitive,
sensory, and social/emotional and the extent of adjustments (measures or actions) taken by a school or provider to
assist these students to access and participate in education on the same basis as students without disability. Collecting
information on student‘s disability is not the focus of the National Model, however, it provides more context to the
students‘ needs for adjustments in schools and provides a level of detail that will be valuable to educators and policy
makers.

To view the report in full please click here.