Category: News

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Why we support the Year 1 Phonics Check

Read AUSPELD’s submission supporting the national Year 1 Phonics check recently sent to all State and Territory Education Ministers…

Last week, state and territory education ministers met to discuss the proposed Phonics Check – a 5-7 minute “Check” of student progress. AUSPELD (The Australian Federation of SPELD Associations) supports the implementation of the Phonics Check in Australia because of its potential to identify students at risk of literacy failure. The reasons for this support are outlined in a letter sent to the Ministers prior to the meeting. Please read – AUSPELD Letter to Ministers – Support of the Year 1 Phonics Check

 

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The Guide is Online!

VERY exciting news! The new AUSPELD website Understanding Learning Difficulties: A Guide for Parents is now on-line at www.uldforparents.com! The website contains a wealth of information for families, educators, allied health professionals and others about how best to support students with learning difficulties. The information can be accessed easily using the inbuilt text-to-speech function available across all pages of the website. The strategies and programs recommended are practical and evidence-based. There are great videos across the website (and more will be added over time). We hope you find the website useful and informative.

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AUSPELD President Awarded Order of Australia Medal

Mandy ResizedAUSPELD is extremely proud to announce that AUSPELD President Mandy Nayton was awarded an Order of Australia medal on June 13th for her service to education and to those with learning disabilities. Mandy has spent much of her career investigating and introducing strategies designed to improve children’s literacy and is currently the chief executive officer of the Dyslexia-SPELD Foundation in Western Australia, as well as the president of AUSPELD. The Medal of the Order of Australia is awarded for exceptional service in a given field. This acknowledgment of Mandy’s dedication to the area of literacy and learning difficulties is richly deserved and a significant marker of the importance of AUSPELD’s essential national role in the advocacy and support of children and adults with learning difficulties.

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Two New Guides from AUSPELD: Understanding Learning Difficulties

Understanding Learning Difficulties: A practical guide

A comprehensive, evidence-based reference of strategies to assist students with learning difficulties.

This booklet, in conjunction with the enclosed CD, is designed to provide principals, teachers and school psychologists throughout Australia, with a greater awareness and understanding of the significant impact learning disabilities can have on students, and to outline the most effective remediation and accommodation strategies available to them in the classroom.
The CD contains a copy of the Guide plus a wide range of effective resources and strategies, all of which can be saved and printed for use throughout the school.

To purchase a copy of the guide please visit our resources information page.

Understanding Learning Difficulties: A guide for parents

Many parents or carers notice that their child is struggling at school but are unsure about the steps they should take. This Guide is designed to answer some of these questions. It has been developed to provide parents and carers with current information about the nature of learning disabilities and to offer practical guidance on the most appropriate identification and support.

To purchase a copy of the guide please visit our resources information page.

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AUSPELD makes submission to Senate Inquiry

Recently, AUSPELD contributed a submission to the Senate Inquiry into current levels of access and attainment for students with disability in the school system, and the impact on students and families associated with inadequate levels of support. A full version of AUSPELD’s submission can be downloaded below.

Public hearings will be taking place in various cities around Australia. For more details regarding the public hearings please visit the Department of Senate Website

Download AUSPELD’s Full Submission

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Congratulations to Jackie French; Senior Australian of the Year for 2015

jackie-frenchAUSPELD extends congratulations and accolades to Jackie French for her well-deserved award of Senior Australian of the Year on Australia Day. Jackie has been a long term supporter of many of the State and Territory SPELDs and has already done so much to encourage and support Australian children and adults with learning difficulties. She is an inspiration to so many, and, as a person who has experienced first-hand the challenges of attending school with dyslexia, is able to speak from the heart about the importance of providing effective support and encouragement to all students.

{gspeech}We look forward to working with Jackie in 2015!{/gspeech}

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Australian National Curriculum Review and Federal Government’s Response

Earlier this year the Federal Government established a review of the process and development of the Australian National Curriculum.

Professor Ken Wiltshire AO, the J.D.Story Professor of Public Administration and Leader of the Not for Profit Unit at The University of Queensland Business School, along with Dr Kevin Donnelly, Executive Director of the Education Standards Institute and Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Catholic University, were appointed to carry out The Review.

The Review of the Australian Curriculum Final Report was released in October 2014 and three weeks later the Initial Response from the Australian Federal Government was also released.

AUSPELD welcomed The Review as it shows encouraging amounts support for the explicit and systematic teaching of phonics when it comes to early literacy. Although the teaching of phonics is already referenced in the Australian National Curriculum; submissions to The Review of the Australian National Curriculum outlined a need to increase the Curriculum’s emphasis and detailed guidance on phonics. As a result The Review noted the following recommendation:

The Australian Curriculum: English should be revised to place greater emphasis on a more structured and systematic phonics and phonemic awareness approach during the early years of reading.

The full Review of the Australian National Curriculum, the Federal Government’s Response to The Review as well as all submissions considered in writing The Review can be downloaded through StudentFirst website. See; http://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/review-australian-curriculum

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Review of the Disability Standards for Education

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Update:
The final report on the Review of the Disability Standards for Education was released, on the 1st of August by the Hon Jacinta Collins Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations. The Report makes 14 recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the Standards, a copy can be dowloaded by clicking the following link – Final Report on the Review of the Disability Standards for Education.
The report provides valuable information on what needs to happen to support students with disability in education, the Australian Government has responded to the final report with the following – Australian Government Response to the Review.

Original Post…

Earlier this year, the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, Peter Garrett, invited submissions for the Review of the Disability Standards for Education (the Standards). The most recent version of the Standards came into effect in August 2005 and, as with previous versions, was designed to clarify the rights of students with disabilities to access and participate in education and training on the same basis as students without disabilities. It was also intended that the Standards would give education providers clear guidance on how to meet their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (1992).

A major focus of the review was to ascertain to what extent the Standards were understood by education providers and to establish whether students, and their families, were aware of their rights. The Standards are intended to give students with disability, including learning disabilities, the same access to educational programs, as other students. All students, including those with a developmental learning disability, should enjoy the benefits of education and training in a supportive environment which values and encourages participation by all students. Education providers have a positive obligation to make changes to reasonably accommodate the needs of a student with disability. Mandy Nayton, current President of AUSPELD (the Australian Federation of SPELD Associations), provided the following submission for the review process.

Please click here to view the submission.