‘Held Back -the experiences of students with disabilities in Victorian schools’ Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission 2012 pp113 – 115:
“Around one in three parents reported not being consulted by the school about the adjustments their child required to participate on the same basis as students without disability.
As part of the ongoing communication between the parent and the school, student support groups (SSG) are the main mechanism for consultation in the government school system. Similar processes occur in the Catholic and Independent school sectors. These work well in many schools, however, the frequency, quality and results of these meetings are inconsistent, despite such groups being mandated under the Program for Students with Disabilities Guidelines.’”
“Formal consultation through the SSG (or similar) is probably the single most important means to ensure that all people supporting the student with disability and the parents have a shared understanding about what the student needs to get the best possible educational outcomes. They are also the immediate mechanism for making sure the school delivers on its commitments and, as such, provides an important accountability measure at the school level. It is therefore vital that these groups are regularly held, properly constituted, fulfil their brief, and are respectful of parental and specialist input.”
“While the intent and purpose of having SSGs is sound, parents advised that meetings did not occur unless they initiated them, were often not documented, and student outcomes were often not identified. Parental awareness of SSG processes was generally poor:”. p85
Student Support Groups, their membership, objectives and ongoing functions are set out in the DET annual Student Support Group Guidelines booklet, which can be found online. Other descriptions of the Student Support Group can be found in the DET guideline “Effective Schools Are Engaging Schools” and the “Including Students with Disabilities: a Curriculum Toolkit for Schools and Teachers” Royal Children’s Hospital Educational Institute (DET).
All these documents align. The Student Support Group is a formal group, with a specific membership, aims and objectives. It has an agenda, minutes, and has the responsibility of developing the Individual Education Plan. It has the responsibility of monitoring and evaluating the plan and ensuring its effectiveness. It relies on the involvement of external consultants when the child with disabilities presents educational and behavioural challenges that are best served with professional expertise.
DET Practice
Despite the importance of formal consultation through the Student Support Group, in practice, schools frequently do not hold Student Support Groups as set out in the documents described above.
In relation to consultation, the DET requires no more than an informal telephone call in order to justify a claim of consultation. In Walker v State of Victoria the DET convinced the Federal Court that consultation as referred to in the Disability Standards for Education 2005 was as follows:
‘They do not, however, require that such consultation take any particular form or occur at any particular time. Those involved may meet formally or informally. Discussions can be instigated by either the school or the parents. Consultation may occur in face-to-face meetings, in the course of telephone conversations or in exchanges of correspondence. Once consultation has occurred it is for the school to determine whether any adjustment is necessary in order to ensure that the student is able, in a meaningful way, to participate in the programmes offered by the school. The school is not bound, in making these decisions, by the opinions or wishes of professional advisers or parents.’ [284]
This can be compared with DET guidelines which state:
“Parent/guardian/carer(s) play a vital role in the Student Support Group. They have a holistic understanding of the child and provide ongoing involvement in their education. Parent/guardian/carer(s) are often in the best position to provide information on the effectiveness and practicality of particular strategies and programs. They provide knowledge and experience of previous events that may influence programming decisions. Parent/guardian/carer(s) are able to contribute to the goals and strategies that will support the education of their child, including their transition to further education, training and employment.”
Student Support Group Guidelines 2015
The “Schools List” section on this website outlines the practices of different schools. All education complaints that have resulted in court cases provide a clear picture of how the DET views compliance with its own guidelines. The decisions in those court cases makes it clear that in relation to Student Support Groups, any meeting at all, no matter how few people attend, no matter the absence of any formal agenda, minutes or outcomes, constitutes a Student Support Group in the eyes of the DET even if the parent and student are not in attendance.
Advocacy
Where does this leave parents?
While the DET have made it clear, and continue to make clear in each court or tribunal case they are involved in, that their policies, practices and procedures are not required to be adhered to, parents must regardless arm themselves with the appropriate DET documentation and insist that individual schools follow these guidelines.
The guidelines have many elements of best practice, which the DET claim in various documents guides their provision of education to all students. It is important that regardless of the position of the DET, each individual school is encouraged to conduct the support of children with disabilities in a professional manner. This involves using policies, procedures that are based on best teaching practice.
There may be individual schools where best practice in relation to Student Support Groups will be adhered to, despite the formal position of the DET.
See section on “Individual Learning Plans“.