ɫ������

SAS members Message from the PSA

  3 March 2017

SAS members – Message from the ɫ������– 3 March 2017 (PDF Version)

‘Department fails students,’ says ɫ������at Inquiry into Students with Disabilities and Special Needs in NSW schools

The ɫ������has completed a submission on behalf of members to the NSW Legislative Assembly’s Standing Committee. The Inquiry, launched in September 2016, “into the provision of education to students with a disability or special needs in government and non-government schools in New South Wales” follows on from a similar Inquiry held in 2010.

The ɫ������has made it clear that in the seven years since that time, there has been little action to support our members in their role in supporting the educational needs of students in public schools.

The submission highlights the lack of formal training for members who work with students as well as touching on issues of regional under-resourcing and the problems caused by the Local Schools, Local Decisions policy. It also highlights the recent actions of the Department in attempting to force educational support staff to perform health care procedures for students with complex health requirements.

General Secretary, and former ADHC Disability Support Worker, Stewart Little stated, “We are dealing with a government that treats the most vulnerable in our society appallingly, seemingly because they think they can.

“SAS members are there to facilitate the educational development of students, not act as a cost-saving for the department in place of trained medical professionals.”

The ɫ������has lodged a dispute over the health care procedures dispute in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission over this matter and will continue to update members on its progress.

Using the vast experience of Delegates and ɫ������staff, and with the support of our colleagues at the NSW Teachers Federation and the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, the PSA’s submission highlights the hard work and dedication of SAS staff and identifies the problems our members face on a daily basis.

You can read the full submission here.

The next step for the Inquiry is to have public hearings, which the ɫ������and your representatives will attend, before finalising a report. The ɫ������has made a number of recommendations on a number of concerns for staff and will pursue their adoption by this government and the Department of Education.