INCLUSION AT MILTON

It is so very important that we understand just what ‘inclusion’ is all about and why at our school we will not turn students away because they have a disability or some sort of special need. This is an aspect of education that we as a school team are particularly passionate about and will not accept anything less from our school community.  

Our school is a microcosm of the real world, so inclusion of all is the ultimate goal and a step towards creating a gentler, kinder world. A key reminder in all of this is that we are a state school and as such, will have a wide variety of students and open our doors to all who come from within our catchment. The fact that 85% of the students who are of primary school age, living in our catchment attend Milton, is a testament to our inclusivity and reputation.

The greatest gift you can give your children is that of inclusivity. The more they interact with all members of society, the more they will understand about building positive and successful relationships, tolerance and acceptance. Essentially, they will become much better human beings and after all, isn’t that what we want for our children?

My own greatest learning came to me in primary school, where one of my closest friends had a diagnosed disability. My parents never discouraged me from building that friendship, firmly believing that everyone has their place in the world and whilst there were some challenging times within that journey, we are still firm friends to this day. I believe I am a far richer person for having sustained this relationship. He has taught me so much. The other point to really consider is that at any time, any one of our children could present with some sort of learning need or disability. How would you want your child to be treated?  

We believe at Milton that, ‘Equity is who has keys to the room. Diversity is who is in the room. Inclusion is who feels welcome in the room’.

At Milton, we are proud of the work we do to support students with a disability, to ensure that they are able to access education on the same or equal basis as any other student. For this reason, we are dedicated to providing inclusive education (students with impairments working within classrooms). Inclusive education ensures that schools are supportive and engaging places for all school community members. It builds communities that value, celebrate and respond to diversity. It is underpinned by respectful relationships between learners and school community members. It is supported by collaborative relationships with parents and communities through communication, learning partnerships, participation and consultative decision-making.

All Queensland State schools are required to adhere to legislation, which ensures people with disability have access to equal participation in education and society as those without disability. The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) aims to protect and promote the rights of people with disability. The objectives of the DDA are:

• to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against people on the grounds of disability
• to ensure that people with disability have the same rights before the law as the rest of the community
• to promote the principle that people with disability have the same rights as the rest of the community.

Inclusive education means that every day in every classroom, every student is learning and achieving in a safe, supportive, inclusive and disciplined learning environment.

In our school and community we strive to:

• provide high-quality education for all students
• respond constructively to the needs of educationally disadvantaged/marginalised students
• view difference as a resource to support learning
• ensure that all school community members feel safe and free from discrimination, bias and harassment
• promote locally negotiated responses to student, family and community needs through effective community engagement processes and cross-agency collaboration
• ensure that inclusive education practices are embedded in all state schools’ policies and initiatives.

So, what does this really mean for us?

We currently support students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Physical Impairment, Down Syndrome, various medical conditions and Speech- Language Impairment. All students are integrated into classrooms and their learning needs factored into learning programs. Many of our students are also supported by our Inclusion Teachers, Differentiation Teachers and teacher aides while in class. We also have students with more ‘hidden’ disabilities including anxiety, specific medical conditions and significant learning difficulties.

We cater for these students by ensuring we have key people, processes and support mechanisms to support their unique needs also. Our Deputy Principals Kylie Dunne and Anita Heinrich (who leads the ACCESS Team) along with Inclusion teachers Tracey Balmanno and Jacki Hodge, Differentiation teachers Georgia Greer & Jenny Gallagher, Guidance Officer Damien Cole, Speech Language Pathologist Katie White and Social Worker Rosa Shephard, coordinate, manage and lead a dedicated team so our students are effectively ‘wrapped around’ (holistically)  to ensure that they are supported academically, socially and emotionally while at school. Their hard work and liaison with other school staff, parents, external organisations and the school Leadership Team, ensures that every child is ‘visible’ and their needs are understood and met, within reasonable expectations and adjustments.

We work exceptionally hard to ensure that we best meet the needs of all our students, utilising school funds and the availability of qualified and specialised staff. We strive hard to employ staff that understand the unique needs of our students with disabilities, support our inclusion philosophy and processes and demonstrate empathy and compassion towards our students with additional needs and their families. As a result, we have staff who are very powerful advocates for our students with disabilities, and develop strong partnerships, to ensure that all our students have access to a high quality education, on the same or equal basis as students without disabilities.

One of the myths that I do hear, is that our students with ‘disabilities’ receive special privileges, are treated better or their behaviour isn’t held to the same standards as ‘neurotypical students’. Inclusion is not about elevating the needs of students with additional or special needs.  The needs of students with disabilities are varied and complex. A student who is ‘neurodiverse’ may intellectually be able to meet or exceed the academic demands of the classroom, but may need support to socially interact within his/ her peers.

Similarly, a student with an intellectual impairment may need adjustments made to the curriculum, but is able to interact positively and productively with classmates. Some students with disabilities actually require little or no adjustment to the curriculum or learning environment, and so their school experience may be no different from that of a “mainstream” student.  Inclusion therefore provides the student with disabilities the opportunity to demonstrate and be appreciated for their strengths, recognises that their needs are unique (and unlike any other student who may share the same disability) provides students with the opportunity to engage in a learning context that replicates real life. For that reason, we ensure that we differentiate our approach, processes, teaching methods and expectations to meet the individual needs of all students, including those with a disability, within the confines of the resources we have available.

It must be remembered that neurotypical students (those without a diagnosed disability) can also have a number of additional or complex learning or social-emotional needs. Classrooms are now complex places that represent a large diversity and range of student needs and challenges.

Students who are neurotypical benefit enormously from having students who are neurodiverse in their classrooms. Neurodiverse students provide a unique gift to all students – an opportunity for those students to develop greater empathy, kindness and compassion. These lessons cannot be taught – they have to be experienced first-hand. A number of times, I have seen students demonstrate such consideration and gentleness towards a fellow student who was struggling in their learning, their self-regulation or in their navigation of the school environment.

The ultimate goal of inclusion at our school therefore is to ensure that all students feel welcome, valued and wanted at our school. We acknowledge that at any one time, a student may be struggling with a life event – e.g. death of a family member, separation or divorce or a traumatic incident, that requires us to “wrap around” a child and their family. We have students that may have such a high level of anxiety that they refuse to get dressed and come to school – we also support these students to feel wanted, and help them to enter the classroom to ensure they have a productive and happy day. We also support students that are feeling disengaged and uninterested in school, by working with families, teachers and the students to find the cause of this disengagement and resolve it. At any one time, your child may have a ‘special need’ that we will do our best to work with you to address and manage.

Kind regards,
Paul Zernike
Principal
pzern1@eq.edu.au