*Garden Club Thursdays Weeks 2-9 in Term 3

Michelle and Jade organised a wonderful day today! It was really relaxed and our students were great! This has been good practice for the ESNN carnivals and our faction carnival coming up.

Sean is working on an up to date plan for swimming, and will send this out next week. Please remind parents about swimming, and that sending thongs, and an oodie or dressing gown is actually easier for us than sending a towel.

Thankyou to all staff for encouraging parents to get onto Compass and process permissions and payments. At this stage, we are only waiting on hard copy forms from Kieharn (Rm 22), Grace (Room 25) George (Room 2) and Noah (Room 2). Additional forms have been put into staff pigeonholes for these students. 

Teachers, I have attached a PowerPoint and nomination document to do with the future leader framework. It is an initiative the Joondalup Learning Community do, and it is about supporting those who are interested in leadership at any level. This could be within your classroom, or at a committee level, or school level. If you are interested in some more information please let me know. There would be a commitment to attending professional learning both during school time and after school for some sessions.

The department has allocated 2 dispensers (free) for our campus. The period product dispensers for JPS and JESC will be installed on Thursday 12 September (Week 9). One will be installed in the D Block girls toilets. This other will be installed in the H block universal access toilet.

JPS – located D Block Girls Toilets

JESC – located H Block UAT

Below is some information to do with the Royal Commission and what was recommended for schools like ours;

As you may be aware, phasing out segregated education (Recommendations 7.14–7.15) (pg. 121-124) Commissioners Bennett, Galbally and McEwin recommended the following:

• the phasing out of special/segregated education
• no new special/segregated schools being built or new special/segregated classes or units being included within schools from 2025
• a process for work on milestones and activities related to ceasing special/segregated education by all jurisdictions

The responses government can give to recommendations are; accept, reject, accept in principal or note.

With regard to Recommendations 7.14–7.15, the Government response was as follows:

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Joint Response: Note

“The Australian Government and state and territory governments note the differing views held by Commissioners and the community on special /segregated settings. The Australian Government recognises the ongoing role of specialist settings in service provision for students with disability and providing choice for students with disability and their families. State and territory governments will continue to be responsible for making decisions about registration of schools in their jurisdictions, with the intent to strengthen inclusive education over time.”

Cook Government responds to Disability Royal Commission findings | Western Australian Government (www.wa.gov.au)

Rather than having to navigate the document this is what they have said about segregated settings.

Education

The Disability Royal Commission found that Australian schools are not consistent in delivering inclusive education. It found that students with disability face many barriers to inclusive education, such as lack of appropriate adjustments and supports that help participation, engagement in decision making, and planning to support transitions to further learning or work. All Commissioners agreed major reforms are needed to overcome these barriers.

The WA Government is committed to providing inclusive education settings, policies and practices and acknowledges that students with disability thrive when they are in a welcoming environment and provided with the same educational and social opportunities as students without disability. Since 2007, WA-endorsed education support programs have been built on mainstream school sites, rather than stand-alone, segregated schools or centres.

All education related recommendations are accepted in principle by the WA Government, except recommendations 7.14 and 7.15, which represent transformative change for many families and will require appropriate consultation, sequencing, and support.

Disability and Inclusion in education

In December 2023, the WA Government commenced a review of the School Education Act 1999 (WA) to better safeguard students with disability and to strengthen access, inclusion and services across the public education system. This review will ensure the Act is meeting the needs of people with disability, their families and carers, and WA’s public schools.

Since the School Education Act was introduced in 1999, there have been significant changes in law and disability services that have impacted the education of students with disabilities and learning difficulties. The WA Government has led many inquiries and consultations that have shown there is a need to improve inclusion, participation, recognition, equity, rights and attitudes towards young people with disabilities.

Telethon Kids Institute autism researcher Professor Andrew Whitehouse will provide expert input and strategic guidance during the review process. To support this long-term transformation, a trial of 16 Complex Behaviour Support Coordinators will help school leaders develop tailored and inclusive approaches that suit the specific needs of students with disability.

Many changes have already been implemented to increase inclusion in WA’s schools. The Department of Education’s Enrolment in Public Schools policy was updated and came into effect in July 2022. The policy states that principals will enrol students with disabilities on the same basis as students without disability at their local public school. The new Enrolment Framework for Students with Disability in Public Schools is mandated and sets out the enrolment criteria and priorities for specialist disability programs.