Response to
the discussion paper
“New directions for school
leadership and the teaching
profession”
Prepared by Murray Dawson-Smith
Chief Executive Officer
24th. July, 2012
Background
Amaze (Autism Victoria) has been established for over 45 years and throughout this period of
time has been the key voice on Autism Spectrum Disorders for individuals, families and
professions working in the area of autism spectrum disorders in Victoria.
During this 45 year history Amaze has also provided an advice and support service to
individuals and families and to an increasing extent, professionals, including school teachers.
We believe we can talk with authority on the issues and challenges facing all involved in the
education of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
In the past 4 years Amaze has been conscious of the increasing numbers of calls our
organization receives seeking advice and guidance on a range of issues including issues
related to young people in the education system.
Current call rates from families and individuals number in the order of 2,000 to 2,500 annually
and the range of issues include concerns regarding curriculum, relationships, classroom
structure and experiences of exclusion from the normal experiences of students. Amaze also
receives approximately 50 calls per month from individual teachers as well as 2 - 4 professional
development requests from schools per week.
In effect many of the experiences of students and families are related to the approach of the
school and staff. Where the school is embracing of difference and staff are well skilled our
students and families report relatively positive school outcomes. However where a school
perhaps lacks the commitment from the school leadership or the staff lack the necessary
training then often the experience of students in these settings is far less positive.
It suggests therefore the challenge is to encourage and support school management to be
inclusive and to support this strategy by ensuring staff are well trained and skilled in working
with a range of students across the broad disability needs spectrum.
Proposal 1
In line with the desire and aim to address inconsistencies across school settings it is also
important to ensure that any solution accords with current Government policy and that all
actions are underpinned by good structures.
To this end it is critical to note and acknowledge this Government has a commitment to
supporting the policy of inclusive schooling.
The challenge, Amaze would suggest, is how to support an inclusive schooling model within the
current financial constraints both at the global level but also at the local school level.
Consideration must also acknowledge that embracing an inclusive school model also demands
a recognition of new skills and strategies for both teachers and school leadership.
This is critical if the aim of moving “Victorian education to the global top tier” is to be achieved.
This becomes ever more critical if the impact on learning is to be enhanced within an inclusive
model which demands all students are encouraged and supported to experience a positive
school experience and an experience which does not have a negative impact on the learning
outcomes of all students in the school community.
To this end Amaze would suggest a number of strategies for consideration by the Department
within the context of “New directions for school leadership and the teaching profession” that are
both cost neutral and which also accord with and support the new directions of greater school
autonomy being promoted by the Department.
Amaze is aware the Department is currently undertaking a re-organisation of the Department
including establishment of new regional boundaries and greater fiscal and operational control of
schools will be delegated to Principals and School Councils.
Given this new focus allows greater decision making at the local level it is also assumed that
this will come with key performance indicators that ensure the broader departmental and State
government directions are also being followed.
It suggests therefore the new environment in which schools will operate will, in effect, be a
school system which has devolved much of the decision making to the local school within a
broad range of policies, one of which is that schools have embraced the notion of inclusive
practices
Recommendations in response to the Questions “What is missing” and “What are the
priorities
1. Amaze would propose that within this context consideration be given to
supporting the policy of inclusion by including a key performance indicator for all
Principals that recognizes and supports the need to develop and implement a
broad inclusion program.
It is acknowledged that this may be challenging for some school principals but in response
Amaze would note that many schools have managed to implement a successful and ongoing
inclusion program and these schools could act as mentors to the schools that are seeking to
meet this kpi.
The mentoring role would support principals struggling with the strategy of inclusion but would
also encourage schools currently operating within a context of “best practice” to be recognized
as such by their peers.
Likewise other organizations that could assist in this process include the Autism Teaching
Institute and Amaze.
The proposal above also aligns with Action Statement 3 “Provide strong direction and
support: elevate the role of leadership at school and system level”.
Proposal 2
Amaze acknowledges that any new initiative whether driven by the need to meet kpi’s or to
ensure policy directions are implemented must have more than simply a commitment by senior
staff for its success.
This is also true if schools are to successfully develop and implement broad inclusion programs.
Not only must management and staff be committed to the initiative but staff must also have the
necessary skills and knowledge to effectively implement and maintain a positive inclusion
program.
Again it is important to recognize and acknowledge Government is supporting the skill
acquisition of staff through a range of new initiatives including scholarships for teachers to
attend the Autism Teaching Institute, on line teaching resources, practice validation and
resource developments for primary teachers.
Having said that each of these initiatives relies on State Government committing resources in
one form or another to support the skills development of teachers when it could well be argued
that it should in fact be a primary role of the teacher training programs to ensure new graduates
enter the school system already skilled to meet the needs of all students entering school.
Amaze recognizes that at present little to no effective teacher training takes place that truly
equips new teachers to meet the complex demands of the current learning environment
particularly with regards the teaching of students with a disability. The result of this reality is
that additional pressures are placed on both existing staff and Principals to manage and support
new teachers entering the teaching professional whilst at the same time many new graduates
are leaving the system as they feel under equipped and overwhelmed with the challenges of
teaching diverse and complex classes.
2. Teacher Training institutions be approached and advised that employment
preference will be given to teacher training programs that provide a minimum of
120 hours of teacher training in the area of teaching students with a disability and
that student teachers have minimum of 4 weeks placement in identified best
practice schools (The inclusion schools, the schools that have undertaken
practice validation, or those schools recognized as best practice mainstream).
This proposal ensures teacher training providers recognize the needs of the employer and as
importantly accept that this is a cost that should be borne by the teacher training provider not
State government
The proposal above also aligns with Action Statement 1 “Attract great people into
teaching: attract stronger candidates and improve their preparation”.
Proposal 3
Having highly skilled staff and a committed leadership group will go part of the way to ensuring
Victorian schools move “to the global top tier”. However they will not in themselves ensure a
sustainable and consistent model of education delivery unless there is an imbedded culture of
excellence within the whole school community.
Creating this culture of excellence and then ensuring its’ sustainability will require additional
strategies that can be introduced and then reinforced by external input. The external input can
be developed through the recognition of best practice via a system of accreditation or practice
validation.
A practice validation/accreditation process will ensure a consistent standard of education across
the state from inner metropolitan to rural schools capturing and demanding quality in wealthy
and poorer areas.
Use of practice validation/accreditation will also encourage, recognize and support innovation in
the school and allow schools to demonstrate and be rewarded for exceeding defined standards.
This process will also enable schools to develop inclusive programs that can be validated by
external audit and give credence to the notion of all policy directives including the policy of
inclusion.
There is of course a cost associated with this process but it could well be argued that all schools
receive school support funding and a proportion of these funds could and should be allocated to
the validation/accreditation process. Given that the validation/accreditation process will support
the adoption of best practice methods this should also ensure that many of the current
challenges facing schools with regards student discipline and student welfare may be
addressed.
3.
All schools to be required to participate in and meet detailed standards through a
practice validation/accreditation process. The process should capture not only
best practice models but also encourage and reward schools for innovation in
learning.
This proposal supports and encourages best practice across all schools and rewards innovation
in schools.
Further supporting schools and the ability of teachers to develop student learning outcomes is
the need to acknowledge and embrace the role of new technologies in supporting student
performances. This is particularly relevant for many students with a disability including students
with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The introduction of new technologies is particularly relevant to secondary schools where there
appears to be a lag between development and adoption.
The proposal also aligns with Action Statement 2 “Create a high performance profession:
stimulate a culture of excellence and effective professional development”.
Murray Dawson-Smith
Chief Executive Officer