WA teachers set to be trained to better support children with higher needs

WA teachers will be taught how to better support children with higher needs amid rising rates of disability diagnoses, after a report found public schools needed to do more.

The state government has committed $16 million over the next four years for a professional learning hub that will include mandatory inductions for special needs education assistants and disability modules for graduate teachers.

“We have more children with complex needs,” Education Minister Sabine Winton told the ABC.

“We know that more children are in the system with a diagnosis of disability. 

Sabine Winton has acknowledged that there are more children with complex needs in WA. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)

“What I can do as the minister is make sure we’ve got a workforce that’s supported, that has got the expertise and the skills to meet the changing environment.”

Ocean Reef Senior High School principal James Kent said about one in five students at his school had specific needs — a figure he said had “soared” across the system over the past decade.

James Kent says about one in five students at his school has specific needs. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)

“Best practice changes on a daily basis,” Dr Kent said.

“Having a hub where all of the resources are quality assured about being best practice makes it then far easier for the school and the individual teacher to access the professional learning they need.”

‘Practical’ supports falls short

The focus on “practical” supports falls short of what experts and advocates in disability education have been calling for, and which a review of the laws governing public education released last year recommended.

WA is the only state in the nation with a provision that allows a principal to deny enrolment to a student if a school does not have an “appropriate educational program”, which the review found could be “a barrier for students with disability to enrol at their local school”.

It called for the creation of a “universal right to enrol” supported by “increased funding, enhanced teacher training, upgraded infrastructure” and better policies.

Symone Wheatley-Hey wants more support for families who have children with higher needs. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)

Symone Wheatley-Hey has seen the impact of the education system on her own children with disabilities, and other families she has advocated for through support group Square Peg Round Whole.

While her children have been permitted to enrol in local schools, she said denials took an “enormous toll” on families.

“We have young people who are absorbing the message: you are not welcome here,” Ms Wheatley-Hey said.

“Often these are young people who are in very fragile years in terms of mental health and self-image and access to education.”

WA is the only state that allows a principal to deny enrolment to a student if a school does not have an “appropriate educational program”. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)

That is not the situation at all public schools, with Dr Kent saying it was his school’s policy to “enrol our local students” and support them, including if they had disabilities.

Ms Wheatley-Hey said her younger son was in a local public school where he was well supported and “thriving”.

Changing the law would force the government to make this standard for all children with a disability, she said.

Calls for stronger laws to stop schools rejecting students with disabilities

Not enough is being done to prevent children being denied enrolment at WA schools because of their disability, advocates say.

“I believe things like training, and I believe that practical, on-the-ground reforms, are really important, and I think they would supplement and complement legislative reform,” Ms Wheatley-Hey said.

“But as a standalone measure, I don’t believe they’re enough.”

Ms Winton said she was “open” to amending the law, but that the government needed to understand how any changes would fit with other anti-discrimination laws.

That advice is expected in the next six to 12 months, and in the meantime, she hoped additional training would help principals feel better equipped to enrol students with disabilities.

“What I hear each and every day since I’ve been in this job for the past 12 months is schools need more support, practical support, right now,” she said.

Opposition education spokesperson Liam Staltari stopped short of endorsing a change to the legislation, but said the government needed to be clear about when any reforms would be introduced, given it has had the review since the end of 2024.

Liam Staltari says the government needs to be clear about when any reforms will be introduced. (ABC News:  Keane Bourke)

“For these families, one or two years of the government going through the motions is a lifetime,” he said.

“They deserve support, and they deserve clarity on when they can expect to see some change.”