as has occurred with the NDIS. This could contribute to an improved approach, and has the advantage of allowing any unintended consequences of the model to be addressed before scaling up. One of the major issues highlighted internationally is not the lack of resources to support children and young people with AHDN, rather the inefficient use of existing resources. Interventions provided within schools to support children and young people with AHDN including efforts to upskill the teaching workforce should be – – evidence based, but this evidence base also needs to be further developed. The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data may provide an opportunity to contribute to an evidence base about how students with disabilities are being supported, and can best be supported at the school, state/territory, and national level. 7.0 Conclusions The Victorian review of the Program for Students with a Disability Government’s offers the opportunity to better consider the provision of support for children and young people with a range of additional health and developmental needs (AHDN). This is particularly relevant to children and young people with SRD who, like other children with milder conditions, are not currently captured within the Program. This report has detailed an overview of inclusive education for children and young people with AHDN, provided a summary of effective approaches and school-based interventions for children and young people, and presented an alternative funding approach and accompanying recommendations. The alternative model suggested is based on a reorganisation of the way funds are currently distributed and used to meet children and young learning needs, and does not necessarily involve people’s additional cost despite benefiting many more children. The proposed model – purposefully takes into account the feasibility of shifting to a strength-based functional needs approach, the need to support children and young people as they transition to new educational settings, and the capacity to promote excellence in inclusive education. A funding model that includes best-practice principles of inclusive education, alongside guiding principles for effective implementation, offers an opportunity to better support the needs of Victorian children and young people with AHDN. Through this, children and young people will be better able to realise their potential, Victoria’s both in terms of classroom participation, and in a manner that equips them for future education and employment opportunities.
as has occurred with the NDIS. This could contribute to an improved approach, and has the advantage of allowing any unintended consequences of the model to be addressed before scaling up. One of the major issues highlighted internationally is not the lack of resources to support children and young people with AHDN, rather the inefficient use of existing resources. Interventions provided within schools to support children and young people with AHDN – including efforts to upskill the teaching workforce – should be evidence based, but this evidence base also needs to be further developed. The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data may provide an opportunity to contribute to an evidence base about how students with disabilities are being supported, and can best be supported at the school, state/territory, and national level. 7.0 Conclusions The Victorian Government’s review of the Program for Students with a Disability offers the opportunity to better consider the provision of support for children and young people with a range of additional health and developmental needs (AHDN). This is particularly relevant to children and young people with SRD who, like other children with milder conditions, are not currently captured within the Program. This report has detailed an overview of inclusive education for children and young people with AHDN, provided a summary of effective approaches and school-based interventions for children and young people, and presented an alternative funding approach and accompanying recommendations. The alternative model suggested is based on a reorganisation of the way funds are currently distributed and used to meet children and young people’s learning needs, and does not necessarily involve additional cost – despite benefiting many more children. The proposed model purposefully takes into account the feasibility of shifting to a strength-based functional needs approach, the need to support children and young people as they transition to new educational settings, and the capacity to promote excellence in inclusive education. A funding model that includes best-practice principles of inclusive education, alongside guiding principles for effective implementation, offers an opportunity to better support the needs of Victorian children and young people with AHDN. Through this, Victoria’s children and young people will be better able to realise their potential, both in terms of classroom participation, and in a manner that equips them for future education and employment opportunities.
psdlitreview_EducationalSupportforStudentswithDyslexia.docx