By Holly Thompson
A landmark review of Western Australia’s outdated School Education Act has been tabled in parliament – but while the education minister has called it “incredibly important”, advocates say it is nothing more than “fairy dust and spin”.
Education Minister Sabine Winton tabled the review on Thursday morning, nearly two years after it was first announced.
WA Education Minister Sabine Winton.Credit: Hamish Hastie
The review was aimed at improving access to education for those living with a disability and their families, as well as supporting teachers dealing with increasing complex needs in the classroom.
Winton said the government’s response would strengthen legislation and policy to ensure students with disability have more equitable access to quality education.
The review identified a number of barriers that need to be addressed to make that happen and made 15 recommendations.
Those included aligning the definition of disability with the “social model of disability”, changing the act to enable the formation of a single panel to consider a student’s disability when disciplining them, and reviewing enrolment-related regulations, policies, procedures, and guidance to ensure all students are treated fairly in relation to enrolment.
The review notes private schools can currently indirectly discriminate by requesting information such as NAPLAN scores to inform enrolment decisions.
Winton said the state government would also form a dedicated disability reform unit to drive the work arising from the review.
“That’s the focus I had when I read these reports, what practical, immediate and real difference will it make for children in our schools?,” she said.
“While legislative reform is important, and the review was clear about that, we want to get on with practical ways to support children with disability.
“I look forward to continuing to progress this important work as part of a long-term disability reform plan for education in Western Australia.”
The government has also allocated an additional $395 million in this year’s State Budget to support the increasing number of students with disability in schools.
Square Peg Round Whole founder Symone Wheatley-Hey has expressed anger at the final report, stating it was not progress or reform, but “fairy dust and spin”.
She said there was a gap between “what the premier promised and (former Education) Minister Buti started, and what Minister Winton is delivering now.”
“It’s a waste of public money in a system that should be one of the most important priorities in our state,” she said.
Wheatley-Hey said the report offers vague “accepted in-principle” statements on critical recommendations, no clear implementation timetable, no funding strategy, and no meaningful shift in law or policy.
“Millions of dollars, hundreds of hours, and the trust of families, teachers and advocates have gone into this process. People turned up. They shared their experiences. They contributed their expertise.
“If all that ends in a half-hearted, maybe later response, that’s not policy – that’s waste, that’s contempt for the people who engaged in good faith and the public who paid for the review.”
Wheatley-Hey said the issues discussed in the review were not niche, but impacted 43,600 children with disabilities across the state.
She called for the cabinet and the premier to step in, saying the final review was “standing in the way of the will of the community and three national reviews”.
“That’s not democracy, it’s dystopian,” she said.
Opposition Education Minister Liam Staltari said families, educators and advocates contributed to the review in good faith and “should not have had to wait nearly a year for it to see the light of day – often having their requests for an update rebuffed”.
“We will now consider the recommendations carefully, but there are clear opportunities to act immediately,” he said.
“Students with disability, their families and their teachers deserve confidence and support, and now is the time for real action.
“There can be no more delays. The government’s disability reform unit must not be used to kick meaningful reform into the long grass. It needs to be transparent, consultative and get to work immediately.
“To give the community confidence, it’s vital that the government sets out clear timelines for delivering these reforms.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
