The learning and support journey
The process of supporting your child during their education can be broken down into the following steps.
Step 1: Identifying your child’s needs
- You and your child’s local school identify what your child’s needs are. This may happen before your child starts school, or at any point during their education.
- You can provide information about your child if you have it, and your child’s school may collect additional data. This can include information from your child’s preschool, Allied Health providers, paediatricians, NDIS-funded early childhood partners or any other key workers.
Step 2: School adjustments and additional support provisions
- Teachers in your child’s school will talk with you to identify possible adjustments for your child.
- Most students will attend their local school and be supported there.
- If your child has complex needs and meets eligibility criteria, the school can apply for additional support with your agreement. This includes Integration Funding Support (IFS), early intervention, itinerant support teacher hearing/vision or enrolment in a support class in a mainstream school or a School for Specific Purposes (SSP).
What are adjustments?
Adjustments are ways that teachers and schools make changes to teaching and learning programs, lessons, assessments or the school environment for children with disability and additional learning and support needs. This allows all students to access and participate in education on the same basis.
How we will work with you
We want to ensure that all children and young people attending NSW public schools are known, valued and cared for and that they:
- are welcomed and included in their local school community.
- enjoy a wide range of experiences.
- learn to their fullest capability by accessing the same curriculum-based learning outcomes as their peers, in developmentally appropriate ways
- receive a quality education, with expertise available to support access to the full curriculum in a way that is relevant to them
- build friendships, interact with other students, and feel a sense of belonging.
In collaboration with you and your child, teachers:
- will discuss your child’s strengths, interests and areas of need
- will give feedback on your child’s progress
- will help to explain what personalised learning and support for your child might look like, and may develop this support for your child
- will discuss specific learning adjustments that could be made to support your child
- will keep in mind that adjustments can relate to curriculum, instruction and/or the school environment
- and may suggest any community supports or allied health providers who could to support you and your child.
